evangelical Christian names?

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This is a sequel to my thread in which I asked about the etiquette of giving a Jewish name to a child with a non-Jewish mother. We'll go for it.

My next question is, can we think on any typically evangelical Christian names to use as a middle name? What's popular right now?

For boys, Luke and Jonathon and Nathaniel seem perennial favourites.

For girls, I can only really think of Grace, but that's popular anyway.

Anyone?

Prudence
Faith
Hope
Charity
Constance

Mary
Ruth
Naiomi

Boys:
Jacob
Ethan
Michael
Alexander
Joshua
Daniel
Noah
Isaac
Evan
Caleb
Zachariah

Girls:
Ava
Abigail
Hannah
Leah
Madeline
Faith
Hope
Charity
Rebecca

salome
tabitha
dorcas
lydia
lois
priscilla
anna
eunice
julia
candace
mary
susannah

Jemima
Esther
sarah
naomi
ruth
leah
elisabeth
hannah

Umm, Angela? Evangeline? Christine/a?

Jude
Nathaniel
Jonathan

Martha
Hannah
Rebekah
Lydia
Abigail

Paul
Jude
James
Simon
Peter
Columba
Timothy
Christian
Andrew
Adonijah (perhaps to OT)
COrnelius
Emmanuel
Gabriel
Michael
Baruch
Jairus
Luke
Lucas
Patrick
David
Mark
Matthew
John
Peter
Phillip
Stephen
Kingdom

Loads of other ones like Caleb, Samuel, Isaac, Jeremiah, Josiah, Uriah, Zephaniah are all very Old Testament but full of Evangelical resonance. Not what you want though.

TAbitha
Talitha
Dorcas
Lydia
Mary
Elizabeth
Faith
Hope
Charity
Bernice
Candace
Martha
Eden
Joy
Mercy
Angel
Evangeline
Serena/Serenity
Prisca
Thea/Dorothea
Eleutheria
Truth/Verity/Aletheia

Same again, some popular ones like Rachael, Rebecca, Hannah, NAomi, Sara, Deborah, Abigail, Miriam, Jael etc. are very OT and with a JEwish first name might not show the Christian side of the family.

Some great ideas on here. Shortlist now about 15 boys names and 20 girls

What makes a name 'evangelical Christian'?

Billy. Graham.

MY BIL and sister are evangelical Christians and their sons have New Testament names, so I think more of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and then Peter, Thomas, Andrew, James or Philip. Less so Thaddeus or Bartholomew perhaps.

Girls would be a little more difficult, as there are so few in the New Testament, and obvious one (Mary is I think very associated with Catholicism, which might not be what you are interested in). I think you'd have to go for early saints, but again they might be more associated with Catholicism. Perhaps Helena, Priscilla or Catherine? Women associated with early protestantism include Sojourner Truth, Frances Willard or another Catherine, Catharine Beecher.

Oh, yes, there are definitely names that Evangelical protestants would want to avoid, there are a lot of Christian names that need to be avoided in the area where I live because the might be associated with RC, as well.

I had a think about this and thought of some more.

Martin
Luther
Calvin
Silas
Knox
(You can tell my background quite easily, can't you!)

Temperance
Honor
Eirene
Anastasia (means ressurection in Greek)
Beth (too OT?)
Lucia or some variant of Lux
Christiana
Eunice
Anna
Agape

Anything that features in the Bible, I would have thought. And preferably someone that presents a good role model (i.e. not Jezebel ).

MA, I think it would be a name that is implicitly Christian in origin but not associated too closely with Saints/Judaism, perhaps a sort of name from the Reformation or a Gospel name. Just a name that will make the baby's heritage obvious.

There's also:
Philo
LAzarus (perhaps not)
Luc or Lux
Panis
Pax

Add message | Report | Contact poster stressedHEmum Wed 01-Sep-10 08:56:54

Oh, yes, there are definitely names that Evangelical protestants would want to avoid, there are a lot of Christian names that need to be avoided in the area where I live because the might be associated with RC, as well.

Why?? Really, why? Why would evangelical CHristians want to avoid certain names?? I am one (well, sort of, getting a bit dissillusioned sith it all to be honest!), and I just don't get this. We didn't name our children according to our religious beleif, why would we? We have a girl with a biblical name, but chosen as it was her Great-grandma's name. We have another girl with a greek name not related to biblicla CHristianity at all. Our ds has an Irish saint's name (therefore regarded as RC by his northern irish protestant family). Because we liked it!!

Why would we want to avoig a name just bcause we are evangelical protestants? Sorry, this sounds like a load of rubbish to me and one of those things that the scarey evangelicals do: "well I named my son Jesus so we could spread the Word" sort of thing. Ewww. Name your child what you like, don't restrict them to biblical names cos that's what you think - they might grow up to be something very different indeed!

Agree with weegiemum that it is sad that people feel they have to avoid certain names so as not to be mixed up with the "other lot". Nothing wrong with choosing names that have some meaning for you, though. We went for a mixture of family names, Biblical names and ones that we just liked. But they do all have some significance to us as a family.

Where I live, which I don't think is that far from you, Weegie, there are names that ask for trouble, if you see what I mean, and are best avoided for the child's sake.

I'm not an evengelical, just a run of the mill CoS, but a lot of the more evangelical/Pentecostal Christians that I know give their children very biblical names while trying to avoid (like most of the rest of us around here) names that could in any way be linked to Catholicism. So Gospel names, missionary type names, OT names, but not really saints names (except the apostles.) Evangelical Christianity is quite new in our area and is gathering in a LOT of young people who are having babies and giving them obviously Christian names. Again, a reason to avoid a name would be negative associations, so JEzebel or Salome wouldn't be that great, really. ALthough I know couple who called their daughter Rahab, which was greeted with dismay until people realised that she was actually an ancestor of Jesus.

I think that the OP wants an overtly Christian name because of their particular circumstances, Jewish father, Christian mother. They want to make the baby's heritage obvious because of the reaction that their marriage has received from both their communities.

Obviously, you should name your child anything that you like, without restriction, children rarely follow the paths their parents expect. None of my kids have biblical names at all, they all have instantly recognisable Scottish/Irish names.

I don't think that evangelicals are very scary, by the way, just a bit misunderstood.

Smithagain, it's not so much about not being mixed up with "the other lot". It's about avoiding distress for your child because of the reactions and actions of other people. I live in a place where sectarianism is rife and Roman Catholics get a really hard time. In fact it is a great art of catholicism here not to let people know.

The trouble comes not from Christian people of any type but from other people, one's who have probably never had any contact with Christianity except in school but have a deep seated dislike of all things RC. It's a bit hard to explain to someone from the outside, really.

StressedHEmum - I didn't mean to criticize - apologies if it came across like that. I grew up in a part of Scotland where sectarianism was pretty rife, so I know where you're coming from. And I'm sure you will agree that it is very sad that people feel so labelled - and discriminated against - by their beliefs that they have to avoid certain Christian names.

Oh aye, it's very sad and I hate it. I really, really wanted to call my DS1 Sean but was absolutely forbad by my then FIL. He reckoned that he would never be able to hold his head up in public again.

Actually, there are a lot of things that I hate about living here, but that's a whole different story.

I live in the west of Scotland, my son has an Irish name, we're protestant. I don't care what people think, and I think that is the attitude everyone should take. Your FIL "forbade" a name?? Not his choice, not his problem, not his child!! - bugger him, you name your child as you wish. I can't. can't be doing with this crap where grandparents get a say!!!

And yes, there are scarey evangelicals out there! I spent 2 years at an evangelical Bible college in Glasgow (go figure) and I am telling you that the place is coming down with scarey people. Not misunderstood - genuinely frightening attitudes which has heavily contributed to my move aay from evangelicalism. Someone (and this is merely an example, I came across this all the time) told me that "no intelligent Christian" could believe that there was such a thing as evolution!! So, am I thick, or not a Christian? This was NOT an isolated opinion either!!!

Good grief, weegiemum, perhaps the evangelicals that I know aren't very mainstream or committed or something, or perhaps they just know when to keep their mouths shut. I have come across some that have pretty extreme and intolerant views, but I am surrounded by that sort of thing all the time, anyway, just in different guises. I also find that they seem to see the Devil everywhere. That's a bit scary.

I do know, though, that the pastor of the local evangelical place has told his flock not to use the services of people outside the congregation if at all possible. SO only use hairdressers/plumbers/babysitters from the church. That's a bit cultish if you ask me. The thing is that, around here, they are attracting all the young people and the more mainstream churches are losing their youth. I went to New College, for what it's worth, so my knowledge of pentecostal viewpoints is limited.

Does your son not get grief over his name. I have known RC people here to be spat on, have things thrown at them, have their property vandalised, have their garden/bins and stuff urinated and defecated in, be called all the usual names etc. I have even, in the past, known a girl who was refused service in a local shop because she was a Catholic. I don't think that would happen nowadays, though. So most folk don't really publicise the fact that they are RC and don't have very obviously "RC" names.

The FIL thing was more down to my ex husband who wouldn't go against his dad or his background.

HEmum You were forbidden a name

Really, for me wanting a name with connotations of evangelical Christianity - essentially, it's more of an identity than a faith thing, and I read NT Greek so like all the meanings. But essentially I'm with weegiemum in getting a bit pissed off with all the intellectual and cultural crap which swirls around in such circles.

How about names for the four evangelists?

John and Johanna

Luke and Lucy

Mark and Marcia

Matthew and ? (is there a feminine version of Matthew ?)

flip stressedHEMum where do you live cos I am in Glasgow city and get none of this!

Apart from a few faces from dh's Belfast family, we have never had a comment abotu ds's name (which is Aidan) and certainly no sectarian crap. Might be partly as my kids go to the Gaelic school, but our local primaries are so heavily laden with Mohammeds that Aidan is nothing special (one of the reasons I like living on the Southside!).

New College is a bit different to where I went (ICC) and I am actually finishing my degree via open learning with Aberdeen Uni. These attitudes are not uncommon in the evangelical circles I have been involved with. Its a bugger really - I love Jesus but I'm not currently too enamoured of his followers!