Mothers of Boys with Religious Names

jasminelorraine20 · November 2013

DS's name is Elijah and today my supervisor asked me what his name meant. I was stumped! I'm not an atheist, or even close but it's been awhile since I cracked open the Bible. I kind of stood there like uhhhh...

Has anyone ever asked you what your children's names mean and did you have an answer right away? Was meaning even a factor when deciding your LO's names? I was a little embarrased, I chose his name because I really love it not because of meaning.

Dr.Loretta · November 2013

Not a mom of a boy or one with a Christian name, but DD has a very Gaelic first name. People often ask what it means. To be honest, we didn't even know the meaning until she was 3 months old. It's not a bad meaning or anything, it just wasn't terribly important

It will be important to some people, not so much for others. My family doesn't think about it much. DH's aunt is very big on name meanings. Strokes and folks

queenbone · November 2013

Both my sons have saints' names. DS1's means 'divine gift' which I particularly liked after dealing with IF. DS2's just means 'French man', but is the name of a universally beloved saint. (I say universally beloved, because even my friend who is an Atheist loves him.)

rbtrumpet · November 2013

no named children yet, but meaning is super important to me and DH.

Our girl's name doesn't necessarily have a "meaning" - but we really like the story around the name. So, I guess I count that as good enough

Our boy's name is DH's dad (passed away) and one of our favorite Bible characters - and has an awesome meaning to boot!

so - yes, meaning is something we thought of before naming our child(ren)

ALHickok1 · November 2013

DS's first name is not religious, but his middle name is. It means God is my strength. While the meaning behind his name was not our top priority, it definitely played a roll in it.

vulpini · November 2013

Meaning is important o me and I checked the meanings of all names I had on my list. I'm interested in name meanings and origins in general. I know the meaning of my son's first and middle names, my own name, my husband's, my mother's, father's, grandmother's, and several of my other relatives and friends.

NerdyLucy · November 2013

We have no children yet, but meaning is important to me. The first basic rule is that the meaning can't be negative, so a name like Mallory would be out even if I think it sounds pretty.

Zimger · November 2013

Meaning is important enough to me that it was the deciding factor in my top five. If someone asked me the meaning of my childrens names I would be able to tell them but that is because I am just interested in that kind of thing. I realize many people are not and I don't think it should always be a big deal. My first son has a middle name that does not really have an appealing meaning. I chose it because it is my grandfathers name and we are very close.

DS2 will have a name based in religion. We didn't really choose it for that reason but it's meaning is a strong one and also has personal meaning for me.

Scarlett&Gatsby · November 2013

I have no boys, but people are generally going to ask about unusual names rather than common ones. Even though Elijah is fairly popular now, I assume it wasn't for the greater part of your boss's life. No one's ever asked what Monica means (well, I think my mom did out of curiosity when she was born), but we're asked all the time what Tallulah means, where it came from, how we found it. As far as how important meaning is...eh, not terribly so to me. The meaning of Monica isn't even totally known, but we chose the name for St. Monica so the association with her lends its "meaning," I guess. Personally, I wouldn't choose a name that was blatantly associated with another religion, or even the name of someone who was particularly evil in the Bible (though most of those names are already cultural "no-no's" anyway, from Jezebel and Ahab to Lucifer). But beyond that, most everything is fair game. We have Claudia on our list and it means...something about a misshapen head...or crooked nose...or something.

BlessedMomma07 · November 2013

We are acually choosing Elijah because of it's meaning "my Lord is God'

https://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Elijah.html

The meaning of his name is why my DH wants to go with the full name Elijah instead of the name Eli (a name we really love)

allardr · November 2013

I look up meaning after we've decided a name, just to put it in the baby book. No significance in the process for us.

Off the top of my head I dont recall the meaning of DDs name either. I'd just chuckle in answer and say I dont recall, I chose it because it sounded beautiful.

strawberrytree · November 2013

My son`s name is not Biblical or religious, but it is uncommon enough that most people haven`t heard of it before and I do get asked about the meaning sometimes. We didn`t choose it because of the meaning, but I do like it. It means 'gentle' and is from Arthurian legend. We're not much into the rugged-manly-men trend, so the image of a gentle yet noble knight is appealing to us.

myschlove · November 2013

Meaning does play a factor a little.... however, i named my DH Jacob... i LOVE that name BUT it means "supplanter" which means "to take the place of another" and in some definitions it means "deceiver" which is negative

but its because Jacob in the bible deceived his father. so we paired it with William so if you look at his name as a whole then it means "take and protect"

which it a lot more positive than "deceiver"

TripMomma · November 2013

My youngest son is named Jericho. We are not church people and did not name him because of the city. People have asked, we have just been honest and said we just liked the name...heard it first in the movie Action Jackson, and did not have the Bible in mind what so ever.

catahoulatte · November 2013

Most people associate Gabriel's name with the archangel, so they say stuff like "Oh, is he an angel? Heehee!".

I do usually joke a bit and then tell them that his name means "Strong man of God" and when we were at the hospital and hadn't decided, we felt like the runner up name, Luke, would fit a mild, calm baby, and G was none of that. ETA: and yes, the meaning and history of a name factored in a lot when we were choosing his name.

mb314 · November 2013

We named our son after my FIL, so the meaning came from that, not what it really means. It is a saint's name, but that wasn't a consideration. I think most Americans don't look at meaning of the name for their kids.

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