| So, what name are you considering for your | | | | only is Adam a nice name, but it also means |
| brand new, or soon-to-be brand new baby? | | | | "A man of the red earth" and how nice for a |
| Well, if you live in the USA and are of | | | | god-fearing Adam to know that he is named |
| European descent, the chances are it will be | | | | after the first man in existence, according |
| a biblical name. This is even more likely if | | | | to the Bible. Aaron is a beautiful-sounding |
| it is a boy! | | | | name, with an even better meaning - |
| | | | "Exalted." Aaron was the brother of Moses |
| There are few places in the world where | | | | in the Bible. |
| biblical names as popular as in the US. For | | | | |
| centuries, American parents-to-be have turned | | | | Although biblical baby names remain popular, |
| to the Bible for divine baby-naming | | | | they are much more popular when naming boys |
| inspiration. But why is this? Well the | | | | than girls. This is because parents tend to |
| answer lies in its Puritan history. The | | | | be much more adventurous when naming girls, |
| split between the Roman Catholic and | | | | given the potential effects that having an |
| Protestant religions in England led to | | | | unusual name can have on a boy. If we look |
| serious conflict between the two groups in | | | | at historical baby naming trends, we see that |
| the 16th and 17th centuries. The Puritans | | | | Mary (Jesus' virgin mother and the most |
| came into being as an extreme religious | | | | popular biblical baby name for girls of all |
| faction of the Protestant faith. The | | | | time) was ranked number 1 for 60 years from |
| continued persecution of the Puritans led to | | | | the beginning of the 20th century. Since |
| their immigration to the New Land - the USA. | | | | then it has fallen rapidly and now sits at |
| This explains the dominance of Old Testament | | | | number 63. |
| names - and biblical names in general - in | | | | |
| America. | | | | By contrast, my own name Michael ("Who is |
| | | | like God" - one of the Archangels) was firmly |
| For many, many years, the bible was used as a | | | | in the number 1 position for the last 40 |
| primary source for naming babies - hence the | | | | years of the 20th Century and has remained |
| term, "Christian name." The bible is | | | | solidly at number 2 ever since. |
| actually one of the world's largest resources | | | | |
| for baby names, containing literally | | | | A look at the current list of most popular |
| thousands of names, sourced not just from | | | | names in the US tells an even more |
| characters in the bible, but also places, | | | | significant story about the popularity of |
| flowers, jewels, plants, etc. In addition, | | | | boys' biblical baby names. The 2004 list for |
| there are many popular derivatives of the | | | | girls has only 3 biblical names in the top 10 |
| traditional biblical baby names. | | | | list - Hannah (5th), Abigail (6th) and |
| Interestingly, the Protestants always | | | | Elizabeth (10th). By contrast, in the boys' |
| preferred names from the Old Testament, | | | | list, 9 of the 10 names have biblical origins |
| whereas Roman Catholics have preferred the | | | | - Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan, |
| names of Saints. Hebrew names also come | | | | Andrew, Daniel, Joseph, and Christopher. The |
| mainly from the Old Testament. | | | | first 7 of these occupy the top 7 positions, |
| | | | headed by Jacob ("Held by the heel"), which |
| Biblical baby names have remained extremely | | | | has been in top spot since the start of the |
| popular throughout the centuries because, not | | | | new century. |
| only do they sound great, but they also have | | | | |
| wonderful meanings and a deep spiritual | | | | If your are looking for a name that sounds |
| significance because they're part of | | | | nice and is meaningful and spiritual at the |
| fascinating stories from the Bible; stories | | | | same time, biblical baby names will always |
| which often highlight the best of what man or | | | | fit the bill. |
| woman can offer the world. For example, not | | | | |