[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think it’d be weird to use a name with “God” in its meaning? Have you taken that into consideration with your name choices?
Excellent question! This is something I’ve thought a lot about. I’m Jewish and consider myself an observant atheist, which basically means I attend a progressive synagogue and observe the Holy Days but consider the whole God thing strictly metaphorical. Because my heritage is important to me, I love and would love to use Jewish names like [name_m]Dov[/name_m], [name_m]Rafael[/name_m], Aluma, [name_m]Abram[/name_m], [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m], [name_m]Oz[/name_m], [name_f]Talia[/name_f], [name_m]Judah[/name_m], [name_m]Zev[/name_m], [name_m]Simon[/name_m], [name_m]Moses[/name_m], [name_m]Gideon[/name_m], [name_f]Marnie[/name_f], [name_m]Mordecai[/name_m], [name_m]Reuben[/name_m], [name_f]Orli[/name_f], [name_m]Asher[/name_m], [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], [name_f]Ruth[/name_f], and [name_f]Devorah[/name_f] (to name just a few favorites)…despite the fact that pretty much all of their meanings invoke God. I definitely want discuss the concept of God with my kids, and I think that giving them names with these meanings could be a good jumping-off point.
That said, there are some names I adore but would feel uncomfortable using because they seem so inextricable from a religious context – specifically, a [name_m]Christian[/name_m] context. [name_f]Mercy[/name_f] and [name_f]Salome[/name_f] are big ones. Obviously, cool Bible-centric names like [name_f]Galilee[/name_f], Judea, [name_f]Bethel[/name_f], [name_u]Jericho[/name_u], [name_u]Vesper[/name_u], [name_f]Jubilee[/name_f], [name_f]Magdalena[/name_f], are totally off-limits. I’m even shaky on [name_m]Balthazar[/name_m] and [name_m]Jasper[/name_m] (two of the Three Kings present at the birth of [name_m]Jesus[/name_m]). [name_f]Lourdes[/name_f] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] are out – though I do like [name_f]Mary[/name_f] variations like [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] and [name_f]Maris[/name_f], which feel more secular. I guess my self-imposed restrictions are that God names are okay, as long as they’re Jewish and thus culturally (if not spiritually) relevant.
We take it into consideration but it hasn’t been much of an issue. A heavily religious meaning pretty much strikes a name off the list, but the only names that are very religion-oriented that I like are Castiel and [name_f]Marina[/name_f]. Although if I wanted to honor a family or friend in the middle spot and their name had a religious connection, that might not sway me away from the name.
I wouldn’t have any problem with the Hebrew Biblical names that have god in their meaning, but you can’t really tell without looking it up (unless you speak Hebrew, I presume?), e.g. [name_f]El[/name_f]ísabet, Matthías.
I would definitely avoid all names that explicitly mention god or [name_m]Christ[/name_m], e.g Guðjón, [name_m]Krist[/name_m]ín - and [name_m]Helgi[/name_m]/[name_f]Helga[/name_f] (meaning ‘holy’). I think these send too blatant a religious signal, despite being very common names.
I specifically talk about names related to the Judeo-[name_m]Christian[/name_m] tradition because it’s not likely a name would come up that had to do with another religion. Apart from ”satrú - I have thought about that a bit. Like, if I wouldn’t be willing to use Kristinn, should I also strike off Þórarinn, because I don’t believe in [name_m]Thor[/name_m] anymore than I believe in [name_m]Christ[/name_m]. I think I would on balance prefer to find names that don’t explicitly mention any gods, but I would be far more willing to reference [name_m]Thor[/name_m] than [name_m]Christ[/name_m]. Maybe that is hypocritical of me?
I personally do take it into consideration, but if the connection isn’t really obvious, then I’d probably still use it if I liked the name enough. Names like [name_f]Magdelene[/name_f], [name_u]Noah[/name_u] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] are too obvious for me, which is kind of disappointing because I love the way both [name_u]Noah[/name_u] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] sound.
As for names with god in the meanings, sometimes you can find secondary meanings to the names; ones that aren’t as common. On nameberry for example, [name_f]Arabella[/name_f] means ‘yielding to prayer’ which doesn’t really suit me. And yet, if you google ‘meaning of arabella’, it comes up with beautiful (Dutch) and, apparently, eagle heroine ([name_m]German[/name_m]), because the name has more then one root. So I can choose to take those meanings instead of yielding to prayer.
I’m also pretty much the same as @jackal - I’d be willing to use other gods and goddess names then names with a connection to an abrahamic religion. I love names like [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] and [name_f]Thora[/name_f] and [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] and Ares and [name_m]Perseus[/name_m] for example, because of the stories and personas behind the namesakes. I think I’d be more willing to use them because in todays society, they’re mostly recognised as [name_m]JUST[/name_m] ancient stories and myths, and, for most people, not part of a legitimate religion (although there are pagans, but paganism isn’t a major world religion and accounts for less then a quarter of religions internationally).
That’s the part that makes me uncomfortable, though. There are people who believe in those gods, and I don’t want to be treating those religions differently in my attitudes. I believe that all religions are equally legitimate (or in fact, equally illegitimate), although pagan religions are certainly less ominous due to their minority status. I don’t think Christianity deserves to be taken any more seriously than a belief in Norse paganism, just because there are more Christians at this point in history. I also don’t like the trend of talking about Norse mythology, but then being unwilling to talk about [name_m]Christian[/name_m] mythology (and yes, I’ve seen some people get incredibly upset at the latter term). It’s all stories and myths as far as I’m concerned (which in my view is not a slur, mythology is great and can teach us a lot, it’s just not literally true). It feels uncomfortably like discrimination, which is what makes me suspect my own hypocrisy when I think about names that involve the name of [name_m]Thor[/name_m] when I would never, ever think about a name that involved [name_m]Christ[/name_m].
I think it depends if I really love the name and I have other connections yes I would like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] … If I don’t then I would feel kind of odd using it which is why I don’t have very many biblical names on my lists
@jackals got it I completely agree
Like mckaylalove said, I would definitely avoid names with obvious, widely recognized connections like [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or [name_u]Noah[/name_u]. I would also avoid names like [name_m]Christopher[/name_m], [name_f]Christina[/name_f], etc. A name with a non-super obvious religious meaning/connection would still be considerable for me, as I’m reluctant to toss aside names that sound so lovely to my ears (ex [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m]) just because they’re affiliated with something I’m not.
I don’t think religious names are off limits, because regardless of you present beliefs, most people in the Western world have a strong cultural connection to Christianity.
I totally agree. The Bible is a very important text in Western culture, and it belongs to all of us, not just those who believe it is true. I am familiar with most Bible stories, and certain phrases from the most famous English translations - you have to be if you want to even start understanding a lot of English literature / phrases in our language / the whole cultural history of Europe. I’m sure it’s the same for literature in other European languages. For better or worse, it’s part of our cultural heritage no matter what our beliefs are. For my part, I think some bits of the Bible are beautiful and there’s a lot of great stuff in there (although it’s hit and miss, for sure). I love all mythology, though, I think it’s immensely valuable. [name_m]Just[/name_m] not keen on religion.
Directly referencing the name of God or [name_m]Christ[/name_m] in English/Icelandic is just a step too far for me. I don’t want to be associated with it to that extent.
I’d most likely try to find names that didn’t have a biblical connection, but there would likely be a connection to a saint. It would be hard for me to find a name I loved, but didn’t have any connection to any religion. I’d also try to avoid names that were used primarily by a certain religious group.
This is an interesting thread. I’m in a huge religious minority, being a Hellenistic pagan (I believe in the Greek Gods) but viewing the myths as moral teachings, parables of sorts. I was raised in a strongly [name_m]Christian[/name_m] family and find myself facing a huge dilemma in the form of religious ties.
[name_f]My[/name_f] three favourite boy’s names are [name_u]Dean[/name_u], [name_m]Christian[/name_m] and [name_m]Lucas[/name_m].
[name_m]Christian[/name_m] has a blatant tie to religion in that it literally is the name of a religious follower, whilst [name_u]Dean[/name_u] is related to the Church and [name_m]Luke[/name_m] was the name of one of the disciples and an author of one of the four published gospels.
As a polytheist many people believe that I vehemently oppose the idea of a single god. This is true to an extent, the concept of monotheism is something I cannot understand, how can one deity be responsible for the different personalities I find evident in nature? It is a concept that I cannot grasp. However, I do not deny that Christianity, and many other religions, teach outstanding moral lessons and help people through hardship. I do not contradict everything I hear a monotheist say. I do not worship Satan because I’m pagan, in fact my religion means that I do not believe in the Judeo-[name_m]Christian[/name_m] pantheon and subsequently don’t believe in Satan.
[name_f]My[/name_f] religion is a stark contrast to Christianity yet I find myself drawn to names with ties to it, though I have very different reasons for loving those names.
[name_u]Dean[/name_u] is the name I want to use for my first son, after my recently deceased grandmother [name_f]Geraldine[/name_f]. [name_m]Christian[/name_m] is a name I fell in love with through the character [name_m]Christian[/name_m] Ozera in [name_f]Richelle[/name_f] [name_u]Mead[/name_u]'s ‘Vampire Academy’ books and [name_m]Lucas[/name_m] is a name I love for many reasons; my cousin’s name is [name_m]Luke[/name_m], I love the nickname ‘[name_m]Cas[/name_m]’ and [name_m]Luke[/name_m] Castellan is one of my all-time favourite characters.
As aforementioned (in great detail) my beliefs are very different to that of a [name_m]Christian[/name_m], Muslim or Jewish person, but that doesn’t mean that I do not have respect for their beliefs and this will not stop me using names I love.
Georgia[/name_f]]
I really don’t put too much stake into meanings as a whole. If I find a name that I like because of the meaning I think that it’s good but if the meaning was bad it wouldn’t bother me. I actually did however pass by a name I thought I may like, but it was biblical which is typically fine but the meaning was 100 percent “hey I love jesus more than anyone ever” so I was like, nahhhh.
@jackal I totally get where you’re coming from about paganism and feeling hypocritical about being willing to use those names but not ones from a christian faith. I pretty much agree with you, in fact.
What I didn’t mention in my original post (I should’ve but i was probably tired and not thinking properly when I wrote it) is that I think i’d be more willing to use a name from a pagan religion as opposed to a name from a christian religion, for example, because while I’ve never had any bad experiences with paganism or people who follow a pagan religion, I have had bad experiences with people who follow christianity. I’m not saying all christians are bad people or anything because I know that isn’t true, but the kind of experiences I’ve had have stuck with me and when I think christianity, I think school (I went to a catholic girls school), family (most of my family is catholic and most aren’t strict) and the bad experiences, some of which have come from my extended family, some from school and some just being out in public. Some have even just been things written or posted on the internet. Again, I’m not saying all christians are awful people or anything like that, but in my mind, christianity comes attached with good and bad and in my life, I’ve been more affected by bad side, unfortunately. So that’s why I wouldn’t use a name that’s overly associated with the word “christ” or “prayer” or anything but i would use a name associated with paganism. Perhaps its just personal experiences that make the difference.
As an atheist, I’ve thought about this, but name meanings don’t matter much to me anyway. I wouldn’t discount a name I loved just because its meaning was somehow related to religion. However, I don’t really like many “biblical” names because of their strong connection to Christianity. That said, [name_f]Susannah[/name_f] is one of my favourite names and she’s a bible character.
I have [name_m]Tyr[/name_m], [name_f]Freya[/name_f], [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f], [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f], [name_f]Elysia[/name_f], [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f], [name_m]Theodoric[/name_m], [name_m]Adam[/name_m], [name_m]Thorin[/name_m] and [name_m]Sylvester[/name_m] on my list and I used to have [name_m]Godfrey[/name_m] and [name_m]Thor[/name_m], with [name_f]Mercy[/name_f] on my list… It used to bother me, but no more. I’m atheist.
I was raised in a very religious home and have a name with religious meaning. [name_f]My[/name_f] name means, ‘God is my judge.’ I am not [name_m]Christian[/name_m], but I don’t mind the meaning at all. I can even identify with it in a round about way. I wouldn’t even flinch when choosing a biblical name that I love. We considered [name_m]Abraham[/name_m] for a boy. The only reason it got cut from the top of the list is that my five year old immediately discovered the nn ‘[name_m]Ham[/name_m].’ [name_f]My[/name_f] husband didn’t like that. I do love [name_m]Abel[/name_m] and [name_m]Moses[/name_m] too.
I agree with this 100%!!
I hope I am not crashing the party here because I am a [name_m]Christian[/name_m] but I found this thread so interesting I just had to chime in. Christians do not “own” Christianity anymore than Pagans “own” Paganism. If a person loves a name and the meaning is not off-putting to them they should feel free to use it. Heck, a person doesn’t even need to know the meaning if they choose not to, though that probably wouldn’t apply to any of us name nerds 
Nice question! If I’d ever have a daughter I’d give her [name_f]Kristina[/name_f] as a middle name to honor my grandmother. It’s obvious connection to Christianity bothers me sometimes but I strongly associate the name with my grandma and I think that’s the most important part. As long as the connection isn’t obvious I’d still use another name if I really like it (for example I’d use [name_u]Joan[/name_u] if I really was in love with it - and it means “God is gracious”; but I’d find another name for the middle spot which would balance the meaning and refer to something other than religion).