Mormon-culture names

General Name Discussion
1

If you know me from around the forums, you’ll know I am uncomfortable giving away personal information on such a public forum (I do wish these were private forums that you could only see if you joined, but oh well), and I’m about to do just that. Meep.

I’m a Mormon, and have been considering for some time using a name from Mormonism for my future kids. So pretty much that would include Bible names, names from the Book of Mormon, or names of prophets/apostles/leaders of the church.

I want to have a nice balance of Mormon and normal, though, so I am hoping to get insight from both Mormons and non-Mormons alike.

Names I’m liking/considering include:

[name_m]Hiram[/name_m] ([name_m]Hyrum[/name_m] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] and [name_m]Hiram[/name_m] [name_u]Page[/name_u] were both noteworthy Mormons in the early days of the church)
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] (as in [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] [name_m]Taft[/name_m] [name_m]Benson[/name_m])
[name_m]Brigham[/name_m]
[name_u]Spencer[/name_u] (as in [name_u]Spencer[/name_u] W. [name_m]Kimball[/name_m])
[name_m]Gordon[/name_m] ([name_m]Gordon[/name_m] B. Hinckley)
[name_m]Thomas[/name_m] ([name_m]Thomas[/name_m] S. Monson)

[name_f]Eve[/name_f]
[name_u]Eden[/name_u]
[name_f]Sariah[/name_f] (a BoM woman)
[name_f]Emma[/name_f] ([name_m]Joseph[/name_m] [name_m]Smith[/name_m], [name_m]Jr[/name_m].'s wife)
[name_f]Sophronia[/name_f] (JS [name_m]Jr[/name_m].'s sister)

And basically what I’m wondering is are these too Mormon? Is it eye-roll inducing or over the top?

And then, specifically to other Mormon Berries, I wanted to ask, what do you think of gender-bending these names?
I love [name_f]Sariah[/name_f], for example, but there are so few girl names to choose from…would it be disrespectful to use Nephi on a girl, for example?

And how far can you go before the name is too Mormon? I love the symbolism behind the Liahona, but is Liahona as a name ridiculous?

These are just things that have been on my mind lately. I have a lot of other, more mainstream names that I love, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Mormon names.

2

[name_f]Non[/name_f]-Mormon, here. :slight_smile: Until your post I did not know there were names tied strongly to Mormonism. FWIW, I wouldn’t think twice about the unusual names you mentioned, like [name_f]Sophronia[/name_f]. So many people around me have more unusual names that that! In my non-Mormon mind it could be a family name, a greek name, a creative name, a blend of the mom & dad’s names, anything really.

[name_m]Hiram[/name_m] - I like this name but it does sound like “hear 'em.” Which makes me wonder if there’s a [name_m]Bart[/name_m] [name_m]Simpson[/name_m] joke about it.
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] - one of my favorites.
[name_m]Brigham[/name_m] - this is the only one I connect to Mormonism. I like the sound. But for me, I prefer to avoid names I feel come preloaded with huge fame. So [name_m]Brigham[/name_m] to me is similar to [name_m]Lincoln[/name_m] or [name_m]Amadeus[/name_m] or [name_m]Moses[/name_m] in that I wonder how is a normal kid is going handle living under such a famous name?
[name_u]Spencer[/name_u] - [name_u]Love[/name_u] this
[name_m]Gordon[/name_m] - Like this
[name_m]Thomas[/name_m] - a classic name

[name_f]Eve[/name_f] - a classic name
[name_u]Eden[/name_u] - I used to have a huge crush on this name but it faded away. Still think its a pretty name.
[name_f]Sariah[/name_f] - I am leery b/c I think it will get confused into [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]. Mispronounced names is a real pain so I try to avoid names that get confused easily with other, more popular names.
[name_f]Emma[/name_f] - I think celebrities when I think of this name. It’s a popular name, I think.
[name_f]Sophronia[/name_f] (JS [name_m]Jr[/name_m].'s sister) - [name_f]My[/name_f] first thought was that this is a new, cool way to get to NN [name_f]Sophie[/name_f]. Aside from that, I have no idea how to pronounce it and it would take me a few repetitions before I could remember to pronounce it accurately. From a kid’s perspective it might be a pain to repeat one’s name all the time.

3

I’m a non-Mormon, though I’ve encountered some Mormon relations in genealogical research. The only names most non-Mormons know are [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] & [name_m]Brigham[/name_m] [name_m]Young[/name_m]. I still think [name_m]Brigham[/name_m] is a nice name, but that one will be strongly associated w/Mormonism. I have a non-Mormon gg grandmother named [name_f]Sophronia[/name_f]. I think that was just a popular name back then.

4

The only one I’d recognize as Mormon, or that I associate with Mormonism is [name_m]Brigham[/name_m]. All the other names are either common enough to not raise an eyebrow, or just sound like old fashioned names (which is very in, so again, no raised eyebrows). They’re all nice names, imo. [name_f]Sophronia[/name_f] is on my own list, and I’d love to see it used.

5

I agree with other posters that most of these names are not blatantly connected to your religion, so the eye-rolling and sigh-inducing you’re worried about will probably be avoided if you use any of these. Like others, them only one I would recognize right away would be [name_m]Brigham[/name_m], but it has a nice sound and kind of fits with a lot of boys names these days, so I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it on a non-Mormon child either. I really love [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and [name_m]Hiram[/name_m].

I wouldn’t use a boys’ name on a girl, but that’s a personal preference. All of the girl names on your list are lovely.

6

Never apologize for who your are or what you believe in.
If your children are going to be raised around Mormons than what is the problem? Your names are not so unusual as anyone else’ s unique names.

[name_m]Hiram[/name_m] - [name_m]Solomon[/name_m]
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] - Works better for a girl. how about [name_m]Esau[/name_m] or Ezekial
[name_m]Brigham[/name_m]- not so much maybe [name_m]Barnabas[/name_m]
[name_u]Spencer[/name_u] - too common-[name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_m]Silas[/name_m] or [name_u]Seth[/name_u]
[name_m]Gordon[/name_m] Not heard much anymore, also can use [name_m]Gideon[/name_m]
[name_m]Thomas[/name_m] - Traditional - But this can be Paired with [name_u]Spencer[/name_u]–sounds great!

[name_f]Eve[/name_f]-Pretty
[name_u]Eden[/name_u]- Pretty
[name_f]Sariah[/name_f] [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] this name!
[name_f]Emma[/name_f]- Very Popular - maybe [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f] (wife of [name_m]Aaron[/name_m]
[name_f]Sophronia[/name_f] - Like this name as well

7

Also non Mormon. I very much agree with prairiekeeper and I think her suggestions like [name_u]Seth[/name_u], Solomen, [name_m]Silas[/name_m], and [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] are great additions to your list. The only thing I don’t understand is the name [name_f]Sophronia[/name_f]. I’ve never heard of this name, it sounds made up. Not even sure how to pronounce it or which syllables to put the emphasis on. Is it [name_f]Soph[/name_f]-[name_f]RO[/name_f]-nia or Sophro-[name_f]NIA[/name_f]?
None of the names you chose are “eye-rolling” to me and if someone DOES roll their eyes just ignore it. Your child’s name is up to you, not them. For a boy I really like [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and for a girl [name_f]Sariah[/name_f]. The names also go well together as brother and sister if you were planning on having more than 1 baby.
For a middle name I think [name_f]Sariah[/name_f] [name_f]Eve[/name_f] sounds very pretty. Best wishes!