[name]How[/name] much importance do you put on the meaning of a name? I am loving [name]Gideon[/name], but as a person that is not at all religious I’m not sure if it’s weird or not to use a biblical name. I’m also weirded out by the meaning in general. What do you think? If you love the sound is that enough or do you think a name should have a more substantial reason behind its use? Would you use a name that wasn’t from the same origin as you or your partner? That last one seems to be something my bf gets stuck on. He’s a big believer in using an Irish or English name, seeing as that is where we come from. Before that I really hadn’t put much thought into the origins of the names I liked. [name]How[/name] important is it?
I think the actual meaning of the name doesn’t matter much. The meaning of your name in no way influences your life or how people feel about you. Of course if your chosen name has a relevant double-meaning (Like the name [name]Melena[/name] being also an icky medical term) that might affect modern life. My husband never bothered to find out the meaning of his name until he was in his 20’s (and then only because I was so into names I looked it up for him).
But I will say I do think it’s weird to use a religious name from any tradition if you are not a believer. I’d picture a kid named [name]Gideon[/name] to come from a traditional conservative [name]Christian[/name] household & I think if you choose a religious name you may be setting your child up to be stereotyped.
I would use a name that is not from my own origins geographically but not one so blatantly religious as [name]Gideon[/name] (I don’t see the appeal by the way).
I strongly prefer the boys’ names in your sig, especially [name]Owen[/name], [name]Flynn[/name], [name]Dexter[/name], [name]Rory[/name] & [name]Finlay[/name].
I love the name [name]Gideon[/name] and I like it’s rhythm, which is a rhythm I gravitate to for both girls ([name]Vivien[/name], [name]Imogen[/name]…) and boys, while being less well-used than [name]Jonathan[/name] or [name]Sebastian[/name].
But I am kind of religious and I don’t mind that coming across, though I am not [name]Christian[/name] or British and I don’t know if that would change it for me.
To me that’s not the meaning, anyway, its just the background. I know a [name]Rafael[/name] (“G-d will heal”) born to atheist parents. That’s more striking to me as far as meaning than [name]Gideon[/name], which means warrior or tree-cutter. I can think of a lot of very mainstream names, like [name]Daniel[/name]/[name]Michael[/name]/[name]Christopher[/name] that have more religious meanings than [name]Gideon[/name] does. Whether the background, however, worries you as far as coming across as from a religious family, is different. And honestly I don’t know how it would be seen.