Biblical names for men and women, their meanings and translations

Interest in the history of the appearance of names has always been high among people. It still does not die out today. The owner of a particular name usually wants to know where it came from, which means what impact it can have on the fate of a person. But the biblical names make up a special group from the entire list of own forms used today. Each of them has not only a unique history of its appearance, but also a certain meaning.

What names are called biblical?

The heroes of the narratives of the Old and New Testaments are endowed with names that have different origins. Regardless of this, they are usually classified as biblical names. Later many of them began to be used by different peoples of the earth. Especially popular names from the New Testament were given after the widespread spread of Christianity. Later they were fixed in church names and firmly entered the life of many peoples. They are also used today.

All biblical names have a different origin. Among them there are Hebrew, Greek, Egyptian, Chaldean, Aramaic, Canaan. In total, in the narratives of the Holy Scripture researchers have about 2,800 personal names. Some of them are equally revered by both the Orthodox and the Catholic Church.

Hebrew names

Most of the names used in the Bible are of Hebrew origin. They, in turn, can be divided into two large groups:

• Word-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." To the same category of names are those where the name of God is mentioned. As an example, the following can be cited: Daniel - "God is my judge", Eleazar - "God helped," Jedi - "favorite of Yahweh," Elijah - "my god - Yahweh," Joel - "Yahweh is the Lord God," Jotham - "Yahweh is perfect," Jonathan is "given Yahweh."

Examples of biblical names that have the grammatical form of a single word: Lavan - "white", Jonah - "dove", Efam - "permanence", "immutability", Noah - "rest", "peace", Anna - "grace", "grace ", Tamar -" fig tree. "

Borrowed Biblical Names

As mentioned earlier, not all names in the Bible are of Hebrew origin. The borrowing of words came from the languages of neighboring peoples. This tendency is especially clearly seen in the presentation of the Old Testament. Examples of such names are: Potiphar - "owned by Ra", borrowed from Ancient Egypt. Esther - the "star", came from Persia. Mordecai comes from the name of the Babylonian deity. As a rule, borrowed names were called the characters of the Bible, not belonging to the Jewish people.

In the New Testament there is another large group of onms, which are of Greek and Roman origin. Examples are the following: Aristarchus is the "best ruler," Flegont is "blazing," "burning," Fortunate is "lucky," "happy," Pud is "bashful," "modest," "decent".

The Greek language was widely distributed in a large territory, including the Middle East. This was the reason that Greek names were used to censure children and Jewish nationality.

The Roman names used in the Bible are also not indicative of the ethnic origin of the owner: they were worn by all who had Roman citizenship. So, the Jew Saul ("begging", "beggar") is also known to us as Paul. And indeed, the Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, hereditary, which confirms the dialogue with the Jerusalem commander: "Then the captain of the hill came to him and said:" Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? " He said: "Yes." The captain answered: "I bought this citizenship for a lot of money." Paul said: "And I was born in it."

The two first disciples of Christ also had names of different origins. One of them was Simon - this is a Hebrew name, and the other was called Andrew - the name comes from the Greek language.

A short list of names. Their main importance

Modern researchers constantly make attempts to combine the names of biblical characters in a single list. It is interesting that the publication of such lists has a variety of variations. This concerns both the sounding of the name and the disclosure of its meaning.

Below is a list and translation of the biblical names found in the Scriptures most often:

• Adam is the first man born in the world according to the will of God. The word is translated into modern language in the meaning of "earth".
• Eve is the first woman on earth, the wife of Adam. The name is "live".
• Cain is the first child born to humans. Adam and Eve were his parents. In translation, the word means "brand", "blacksmith" or "forge".
• Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve. The word is translated as "vanity," "steam," "whiff."
• The name Abraham in some languages sounds like Avraham. In translation means "the father of a large number of people", "the father of nations".
• The name Joseph is one of the most common in the biblical tales. In some publications it sounds like Yosef. The word means "beautiful." Sometimes translated as "God multiply."

The widely spread name Mary today also belongs to the category called "Biblical names". His translation sounds like "coveted," "beloved."

The meaning of many names used in the Bible can be understood only from the specific content of a particular story.

The names of biblical heroes in the language of modern Islamic peoples

Biblical female names, like men's, have spread in many regions. The countries in which the religion of Islam is now spread are not an exception.

Scientists have proved that some names from the languages of Islamic peoples have an analogue from the Bible. Coincidence can not be called accidental. Such a fact can indicate the unity of peoples in the distant past. Examples of such names are: Ibrahim - Abraham, Isa - Jesus, Ilyas - Elijah, Musa - Moses, Mariam - Mary, Yusuf - Joseph, Jacob - Jacob.

Rating of male names

Social organizations regularly publish lists of the most popular male names, which are called newborn boys in different countries around the world. As the statistics show, the first ten lines of this list are occupied by biblical names. Male forms of such onms in modern languages can have a different sound, but their roots go back to the times of those events that are described in the Old and New Testaments.

It is known that the name of Jacob has been heading the list of the most popular biblical names for boys for several years running. Also popular are such onms, as Ethan, Daniel, Noah, Elijah, John.

Biblical female names: rating

A similar situation in the rating 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 on the list was taken by the name Isabella as a variant of the name Elizabeth. In recent years, it was moved to the second place by the personal name Sophia. Various variations of the name Eve are also popular, one of them is Ava. Maria's name has been beyond competition for many years on different continents of the earth.

Recently, the following trend is seen. Parents choose forgotten names for the kids' complaints, belonging to the characters from the Old Testament. Abigail, or Abigail, is one of those. But today its popularity has increased dramatically. And today it is in the top line of the rating, in which most borrow biblical names for girls.

But it should also be noted that in the Bible most female names belong to servants or those whose fate was not so supportive. Therefore, parents who are confident that the name is able to influence the events of a person's entire life should know well which characters the biblical names belonged to. And their values also need to be studied.

The names of angels and archangels

In the biblical stories are repeatedly mentioned the events associated with the actions of angels and archangels. According to the legend, these are holy and disembodied spirits, whose mission is to faithfully serve the Lord.

The angelic congregation 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. Also known are their names - Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Selafil, Uriel, Varahiel, Jehudiel, Jeremiel. Apparently, some of the biblical names for boys on the list are used to censure children today.

Who owned the name of Michael in the Bible

It is quite popular today the personal name of Mikhail in different variations. As already mentioned, the name has a biblical origin. Michael (as an option - Michael) translates "who as God."

It is Michael who occupies the leading position among the supreme angels. On the icons, he most often appears in the guise of a warrior equipped in full combat armor. This is a reminder of the fact that in heaven, once a very long time, events occurred when in the confrontation were two armies of angels.

Michael with his army was forced to enter into confrontation with 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 assertion 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 people have such a thing as the day of the 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 calls men born or adopted the sacrament of baptism on the day of the apostles Peter and Paul. It is believed that the saints, in whose honor the person is named, as well as the 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 the Holy Scripture several times. An interesting fact is that it is mentioned here in several different ways. In the Old Testament, the names that God is called have a divine nature. Jehovah, the Almighty, the Guardian, the God of the Eternal, the Supreme and other epithets occur when one addresses God in the Bible.

It is also recognized that the name of God exists, but it is not allowed to use it aloud in everyday life. Therefore, in prayers it is replaced by other words. They differ from people to people.