| So, what name are you considering for your brand | | | | offer the world. For example, not only is Adam a nice |
| new, or soon-to-be brand new baby? Well, if you live in | | | | name, but it also means "A man of the red earth" and |
| the USA and are of European descent, the chances | | | | how nice for a god-fearing Adam to know that he is |
| are it will be a biblical name. This is even more likely if it | | | | named after the first man in existence, according to |
| is a boy! | | | | the Bible. Aaron is a beautiful-sounding name, with an |
| There are few places in the world where biblical | | | | even better meaning - "Exalted." Aaron was the |
| names as popular as in the US. For centuries, | | | | brother of Moses in the Bible. |
| American parents-to-be have turned to the Bible for | | | | Although biblical baby names remain popular, they are |
| divine baby-naming inspiration. But why is this? Well the | | | | much more popular when naming boys than girls. This |
| answer lies in its Puritan history. The split between the | | | | is because parents tend to be much more |
| Roman Catholic and Protestant religions in England led | | | | adventurous when naming girls, given the potential |
| to serious conflict between the two groups in the 16th | | | | effects that having an unusual name can have on a |
| and 17th centuries. The Puritans came into being as an | | | | boy. If we look at historical baby naming trends, we |
| extreme religious faction of the Protestant faith. The | | | | see that Mary (Jesus' virgin mother and the most |
| continued persecution of the Puritans led to their | | | | popular biblical baby name for girls of all time) was |
| immigration to the New Land - the USA. This explains | | | | ranked number 1 for 60 years from the beginning of |
| the dominance of Old Testament names - and biblical | | | | the 20th century. Since then it has fallen rapidly and |
| names in general - in America. | | | | now sits at number 63. By contrast, my own name |
| For many, many years, the bible was used as a | | | | Michael ("Who is like God" - one of the Archangels) |
| primary source for naming babies - hence the term, | | | | was firmly in the number 1 position for the last 40 |
| "Christian name." The bible is actually one of the | | | | years of the 20th Century and has remained solidly at |
| world's largest resources for baby names, containing | | | | number 2 ever since. |
| literally thousands of names, sourced not just from | | | | A look at the current list of most popular names in the |
| characters in the bible, but also places, flowers, jewels, | | | | US tells an even more significant story about the |
| plants, etc. In addition, there are many popular | | | | popularity of boys' biblical baby names. The 2004 list |
| derivatives of the traditional biblical baby names. | | | | for girls has only 3 biblical names in the top 10 list - |
| Interestingly, the Protestants always preferred names | | | | Hannah (5th), Abigail (6th) and Elizabeth (10th). By |
| from the Old Testament, whereas Roman Catholics | | | | contrast, in the boys' list, 9 of the 10 names have |
| have preferred the names of Saints. Hebrew names | | | | biblical origins - Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan, |
| also come mainly from the Old Testament. | | | | Andrew, Daniel, Joseph, and Christopher. The first 7 of |
| Biblical baby names have remained extremely popular | | | | these occupy the top 7 positions, headed by Jacob |
| throughout the centuries because, not only do they | | | | ("Held by the heel"), which has been in top spot since |
| sound great, but they also have wonderful meanings | | | | the start of the new century. If your are looking for a |
| and a deep spiritual significance because they're part | | | | name that sounds nice and is meaningful and spiritual |
| of fascinating stories from the Bible; stories which | | | | at the same time, biblical baby names will always fit |
| often highlight the best of what man or woman can | | | | the bill. |