Interest in the history of the appearance of names has always been high among people. It does not fade even today. The owner of a particular name usually wants to know where it came from, which means what impact it can have on a person’s fate. But from the entire list of proper forms used today, a special group is made up of biblical names. Each of them has not only a unique history of its appearance, but also a certain meaning.
What are biblical names?
The heroes of the stories of the Old and New Testaments are endowed with names that have different origins. Regardless of this, they are usually classified as biblical names. In the future, many of them began to be used by different peoples of the earth. Names from the New Testament gained particular popularity after the widespread spread of Christianity. Later they were enshrined in church names and firmly entered the life of many peoples. They are still used today.
All Biblic althe names are not of the same origin. Among them there are Hebrew, Greek, Egyptian, Chaldean, Aramaic, Canaanite. In total, there are about 2800 personal names in the narrations of Holy Scripture by researchers. Some of them are equally revered by both the Orthodox and Catholic churches.
Hebrew names
Most of the names used in the Bible are of Hebrew origin. They, in turn, can be divided into two large groups:
- names-phrases or phrases;
- having the grammatical form of one word.
The first group includes such names as Jeroboam, which means "the people will multiply", Abigail - in translation means "my father is joy." The same category of names includes those where the name of God is mentioned. As an example, the following can be cited: Daniel - "God is my judge", Eleazar - "God helped", Jedidia - "Yahweh's favorite", Elijah - "my god is Yahweh", Joel - "Yahweh is the Lord God", Jotham - "Yahweh is perfect", Jonathan - "given to Yahweh".
Examples of biblical names that have the grammatical form of one word: Laban - "white", Jonah - "dove", Etham - "constancy", "immutability", Noah - "rest", "peace", Anna - " mercy", "grace", Tamar - "fig tree".
Bible Borrowed Names
As mentioned earlier, not all names inThe Bibles are of Hebrew origin. Borrowing words came from the languages of neighboring peoples. This trend is especially clearly seen in the exposition of the Old Testament. Examples are such names: Potiphar - "belonging to Ra", borrowed from Ancient Egypt. Esther - "star", came from Persia. Mordecai comes from the name of a Babylonian deity. As a rule, non-Jewish characters in the Bible were given borrowed names.
In the New Testament, another large group of onyms stands out, which are of Greek and Roman origin. The following can serve as examples: Aristarchus - "the best ruler", Phlegon - "flaming", "burning", Fortunatus - "lucky", "happy", Pud - "shameful", "modest", "decent".
Greek was widely spoken over a large area, including the Middle East. This was the reason why Greek names were used to criticize children and Jewish nationality.
Roman names used in the Bible are also not an indicator of the ethnic origin of the owner: they were worn by everyone who had Roman citizenship. So, the Jew Saul ("begged", "begged") is also known to us as Paul. And indeed, the Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, and hereditary, which is confirmed by the dialogue with the Jerusalem commander: “Then the commander, going up to him, said:"Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" He said yes. The commander of the chief answered: "I acquired this citizenship for a lot of money." But Paul said, “And I was born in him.”
The first two disciples of Christ also had names of different origins. One of them was called Simon, which is a Hebrew name, and the other was named Andrew, which comes from the Greek language.
Short list of names. Their main meaning
Modern researchers are constantly trying to combine the names of biblical characters into a single list. Interesting is the fact that the publication of such lists have a variety of variations. This applies to both the sound of the name and the disclosure of its meaning.
The following is a list and translation of biblical names that appear most frequently in Scripture:
- Adam is the first man born by the will of God. The word is translated into modern language in the meaning of "earth".
- Eve - the first woman on earth, the wife of Adam. The name means "alive".
- Cain is the first child born to humans. Adam and Eve were his parents. Translated, the word means "brand", "blacksmith" or "forge".
- Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve. The word is translated as "vanity", "steam", "breath".
- The name Abraham in some languages sounds like Abraham. Translated means "father of a large number of people", "father of peoples".
- The name Joseph is one ofmost common in biblical stories. In some publications, it sounds like Yosef. The word means "beautiful". Sometimes translated as "God multiply".
The name Mary, which is common today, also belongs to a category called "Biblical Names". His translation sounds like "desired", "beloved".
The meaning of many names used in the Bible can only be understood from the specific content of a particular story.
Names of biblical heroes in the language of modern Islamic peoples
Bible female names, like male names, have become widespread in many regions. Countries where the religion of Islam is widespread today are no exception.
Scientists have proved that some names from the languages of Islamic peoples have an analogue from the Bible. The coincidence cannot be called accidental. Such a fact may indicate the unity of peoples in the distant past. Examples of such names are the following: Ibrahim - Abraham, Isa - Jesus, Ilyas - Elijah, Musa - Moses, Mariam - Mary, Yusuf - Joseph, Yakub - Jacob.
Rating of male names
Social public organizations regularly publish lists of the most popular male names given to newborn boys around the world. As statistics show, the first ten lines of such a list are occupied by biblical names. The masculine forms of such onyms in modern languages may have different sounds, but their roots go back to the time of those events that are described in the Oldand the New Testament.
Jacob has been known to top the list of the most popular biblical names for boys for several years in a row. Such onyms as Ethan, Daniel, Noah, Elijah, John are also popular.
Bible female names: rating
A similar situation in the ranking is observed when choosing women's personal names. Biblical names for girls are popular in the US, Europe and the CIS.
For a long time, the leading position in the list was occupied by the name Isabella as a variant of the name Elizabeth. In recent years, it has been relegated to second place by the personal name Sofia. Various variations of the name Eve are also popular, one of them is Ava. The name Maria has been out of competition for many years on different continents of the earth.
Recently, the following trend is visible. Parents choose forgotten names belonging to characters from the Old Testament to rebuke their kids. Abigail, or Abigail, is one of those. But today its popularity has skyrocketed. And today it is in the top lines of the ranking, in which the majority are occupied by biblical names for girls.
But it is also worth noting that in the Bible, most female names belong to maidservants or those whose fate was not so favorable. Therefore, parents who are confident that a name can influence the events of a person’s whole life should know well which characters the biblical names belonged to. And their meanings also need to be studied.
Names of angels andarchangels
In biblical stories, events related to the actions of angels and archangels are repeatedly mentioned. According to legend, these are holy and incorporeal spirits, whose mission is to faithfully serve the Lord.
The angelic host is so numerous that it was impossible to list the names of each of them in the Holy Scripture. However, from the same source it is known that there are seven spirits who, unlike other angels, are admitted to the throne of God. Their names are also known - Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Selaphiel, Uriel, Barahiel, Yehudiel, Jeremiel. As you can see, some of the biblical boy names on the list are still used today to reprimand children.
Who owned the name Michael in the Bible
The personal name Mikhail in its various variations is quite popular today. As already mentioned, the name has a biblical origin. Michael (as an option - Michael) is translated "who is like God".
Michael occupies the leading position among the supreme angels. On icons, he most often appears in the guise of a warrior equipped in full battle armor. This is a reminder of the fact that in heaven, once upon a time, events took place when two armies of angels were in opposition.
Mikhail with his army was forced to confront the army of fallen angels. The image of the Archangel Michael, like his name, is a symbol of honor, justice, courage.
Names and Holy Baptism
The statement that when a child is baptized he is given the name of one of the angels is erroneous. This is due to the fact that inpeople have such a thing as the day of an angel. In fact, during this sacrament, a person can be assigned not only the names of angels, but also the holy ministers of the church, biblical names - male or female. For example, the name Ivan can be given to a boy who was baptized on the day of St. John the Theologian. Peter is a name given to men who were born or received the sacrament of baptism on the day of the apostles Peter and Paul. It is believed that the saints, after whom a person is named, as well as guardian angels, protect him from adversity and all sorts of misfortunes.
How many names does God have?
The Biblical name of God is mentioned in Holy Scripture several times. An interesting fact is that it is mentioned here in several different ways. In the Old Testament, the names by which God is called are of a divine nature. Existing, Almighty, Preserving, Eternal God, Most High and other epithets are found when referring to God in the Bible.
It is also recognized that there is a proper name for God, but it is not allowed to use it out loud in everyday life. Therefore, in prayers, it is replaced by other words. They are different for different nations.
