I am not religious and [name]Isabel[/name] is one my all time favorite names, so no I am not avoiding them. I prefer bibilical alternatives though, like [name]Isabel[/name] and [name]Andreas[/name], names that are not directly in the bible. Regular old biblical classics like [name]Matthew[/name] just arent my style but that is for other reasons.
I prefer bibilical alternatives though, like Isabel and Andreas, names that are not directly in the bible.
It depends in what language you’re reading the bible. Nameberry’s entry for [name]Andreas[/name]: Original New Testament Greek variation of [name]ANDREW[/name], “strong and manly”.
I’m with the camp that thinks it’s virtually impossible to find a name that doesn’t have some religious connotation unless you resort to noun names. For the record, I would never assume that someone gave the name [name]Andreas[/name], or [name]Andrew[/name] for that matter, for religious reasons. I just don’t think most people make those kinds of connections. I don’t even view the name [name]Mary[/name] as religious unless it’s one of those double-barrel [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Katherine[/name] type names.
Okay, I’m [name]Christian[/name] and I wouldn’t assume that someone with a Biblical name was [name]Christian[/name] or Jewish for that matter. “Biblical” names likely existed before the Bible was compiled/written have been used in throughout the 1500-2000 years since. In my family, maybe great-great-great grandpa [name]Daniel[/name] was named from the Bible, but every [name]Daniel[/name] that came after him were named for him and/or the other [name]Daniels[/name] that have come since. ([name]Daniel[/name] is a huge family name for my mom’s family. Thus, it is my brother’s name.)
Bottom line, if you like the name, use it. In addition, not one in hundred people are going to know the name meaning so I wouldn’t let that be a huge deterrent to a name that you love either.
I worry about this all the time! But for my DH and I, its more about the meaning of the name than the impression of religiousness it may give others. For example: we love [name]Theodore[/name] and [name]Dorothy[/name] but they both mean “gift of god”. I picture my future school-aged child looking up the meaning of his/her name for a school project or any reason and discovering that it means “gift of god” and subsequently being confused as to why his/her parents would choose a name with that meaning when they do not believe in ‘god’. As an extension of that, I do not want them to be embarrassed that the meaning of their name contradicts their beliefs (or for that meaning to highlight the contradiction in school). Obviously we have thought far too much into this, but I really am unsure what to think. It’s sad that I can’t name my daughter [name]Dorothy[/name] (after the [name]Wizard[/name] of [name]Oz[/name], which had a HUGE impact on my childhood) because of the names origin or meaning.
For those avoiding religious names because you are not religious and are afraid that your kids will be embarrassed at having a religious name, think about them as literary names. You never know what your children may decide to believe/not believe as they grow. My name is [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f], like the greek prophet. It’s just an interesting factoid of my name, not that I actually think that my name makes me a prophet or makes others think that I believe in prophets. There are so many beautiful names out there that it would be a shame to pass some of them up because of the documented meaning.
My brother is an agnostic [name_u]Michael[/name_u]. His name means ‘who is like God?’. I don’t think he’s ever given the meaning of his name a second thought in conjunction with his beliefs, he knows what it means but that’s as far as it goes.