Theophoric name
This articlepossibly containsoriginal research.(December 2010) |
Atheophoric name(fromGreek:θεόφορος,theophoros,literally "bearing or carrying a god" )[1][2]embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that deity. For example, names embeddingApollo,such asApolloniosorApollodorus,existed in Greek antiquity.[3]
Theophoric personal names, containing the name of a god in whose care the individual is entrusted (or a generic word forgod), were also exceedingly common in theancient Near EastandMesopotamia.[4][5][6]Some names of theophoric origin remain common today, such asTheodore(theo-,"god";-dore,origin of word compound in Greek:doron,"gift"; hence "God's gift"; in Greek:Theodoros) or, less recognisably,Jonathan(fromHebrewYonatan/Yehonatan,meaning "Yahweh has given" ).
Classical Greek and Roman theophoric names
[edit]Deity | Name | Meaning |
---|---|---|
Aphrodite | Aphrodisius, -a | |
Hermaphroditus | "Hermes and Aphrodite" | |
Apollo | Apollodorus,-a | "gift of Apollo" |
Apollonides | "son of Apollo" | |
Apollonius | ||
Ares | Arius | "war-like" |
Artemis | Artemiche | |
Artemidorus | "gift of Artemis" | |
Artemisius, -ia | ||
Athena | Athenaeus | |
Athenais | ||
Athenagoras | "man in Athena's market" | |
Athenodorus,-a | "gift of Athena" | |
Cephissus | Cephisodorus | "gift of Cephissus" |
Cephisodotus | "given by Cephissus" | |
Demeter | Demetrius,-ia | |
Demetrodorus | "gift of Demeter" | |
Dionysus | Dionysius,-a,Dennis | |
Dionysodorus, -a | "gift of Dionysus" | |
Dionysicles | "glory of Dionysus" | |
Fortuna | Fortunatus | "fortunate, lucky" |
Hecate | Hecataeus | |
Helios | Heliodorus | "gift of the Sun" |
Hephaestus | Hephaestion | |
Hera | Heracles | "glory of Hera" |
Heraclitus | ||
Herodotus | "given by Hera" | |
Hermes | Hermaphroditus | "Hermes and Aphrodite" |
Hermesianax | "king Hermes" | |
Hermione,Hermion | ||
Hermippus | "horse of Hermes" | |
Hermocrates | "strength of Hermes" | |
Hermogenes | "born of Hermes" | |
Hermolaus | "people of Hermes" | |
Isis | Isidorus,-a | "gift of Isis" |
Mars | Marcus | |
Martialis | "Mars-like" | |
Martinus | ||
Mene(Selene) | Menodora | "gift of the Moon" |
Minerva | Minervina | "little Minerva" |
Nymphs | Nymphodora | "gift of the nymphs" |
Poseidon | Poseidippus | "horse of Poseidon" |
Poseidorus, -a | "gift of Poseidon" | |
Poseidonius | ||
Serapis | Serapion | |
Themis | Themistocles | "glory of Themis" |
Zeus | Dio | of Zeus (gen.Dios) |
Diocles,Diocletian | "glory of Zeus" | |
Diodorus | "gift of Zeus" | |
Zeno | of Zeus (gen.Zenos) | |
Zenobius,-ia | "might of Zeus" | |
Zenodotus | "given by Zeus" |
Certain names of classical gods are sometimes given as personal names. The most common isDianaand its variants, such asDiane;others includeMinerva,Aphrodite,Venus,Isis,orJuno.The firstpopeto take aregnal name,Pope John II,had the given nameMercuriusand changed his name as he considered it inappropriate for the pope to have a pagan deity's name.
Christian theophoric names
[edit]- Abdelmasih:(Arabic) "servant of the Messiah"
- Abdisho:(Syriac) "servant of Jesus"
- Ahadabui,alsoAhidabu:(Syriac) "brother to the Father"
- Ahischema:(Syriac) "brother of theschema"
- Aitillaha:(Syriac) "God exists"
- Amadeus:(Latin) "lover of God"
- Attallah:(Arabic) "gift of God"
- Bakhtishu:(Syriac) "redeemed by Jesus"
- Bogdan:(Slavic) "God given"
- Bogomil:(Slavic) "dear to God"
- Bozhidar:(Slavic) "gift of God"
- Christian:(Greek) "believer in Christ"
- Christodoulos:(Greek) "servant of Christ"
- Christopher:(Greek) "Christ-bearer".
- Deodatus/Deusdedit:(Latin) "God-given"
- Dorotheus/Dorothea:(Greek) "gift to God"
- Fürchtgott:(Germanic) "God-fearing"
- Gebreamlak: (Ge'ez) "servant of God"
- Geoffrey/Gottfried:(Germanic) "God's peace"
- Gottlieb:(Germanic) "God's love"
- Ishodad:(Syriac) "given by Jesus"
- IshosabranorSabrisho:(Syriac) "patient for Jesus"
- IshoyahborYahbisho:(Syriac) "Jesus has given"
- Marnazka:(Syriac) "the Lord has conquered"
- Philothea/Philothei/Philotheos:(Greek) "lover of God"
- SabrishoorIshosabran:(Syriac) "patient for Jesus"
- Shubhalisho,alsoShubhisho:(Syriac) "praise to Jesus"
- Shenouda:(Coptic) "son of God"
- Slibazka:(Syriac) "the Cross has conquered"
- Theodore/Theodora:(Greek) "gift of God"
- Theodosius/Theodosia,Theodotos/Theodotē andDositheus/Dosithea: (Greek) "God-given"
- Theodotus: (Greek): "given by God"
- Theodulus:(Greek) "servant of God"
- Theophilus:(Greek) "one who loves God"
- Theognis:(Greek) "God-knowing"
- Theophanes/Theophania,Tiffany:(Greek) "manifestation of God"
- Theophrastus:(Greek) "godly speech"
- Theaetetus:(Greek) "one who pleads to God"
- Timothy/Timotheus:(Greek) "one who honors God"
- Yahballaha:(Syriac) "God has given"
Some Christian saints have polytheistic theophoric names (such asSaint Dionysius,Saint Mercurius,Saint Saturninus,Saint Hermes,Saint Martin of Tours,Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki).
Germanic theophoric names
[edit]Rarely, Germanic names contain the elementWod(such asWoðu-riðe), potentially pointing to an association with the godOdin.In connection, numerous names containingwulf"wolf" have been taken as totemistic, expressing association with Odin in the earliest period, although-ulfdegenerated into a mere suffix from an early time (Förstemann 1856).
Hinduism
[edit]The personal names of almost all gods and goddesses of various deities from the polytheistic Hindu pantheon are considered common and traditional names for people from the Indian subcontinent. Many traditional Hindu names are in fact from various names or epithets of Hindu gods or goddesses. This is in addition to compound theophoric names using the name of a deity in addition to possessive qualifiers.
- Names of gods that are also used as personal names include
- Personal names using a deity's name as the base
- Vaishnavi, meaning "a worshipper of Vishnu"
- Shivansh, meaning "a part of Shiva"
Brahma,the Hindu creator god, is one of the only deities of the pantheon whose name is rarely if ever used as a personal name or a base for theophoric personal names.
Some seemingly theophoric names may in fact be more related to the original etymology of the deity's name itself. For example, bothLakshmi(fortune, success, prosperity) andLakshman(prosperous, principal, marked) are names of a deity and an avatar respectively, which are related tolakṣmeaning "to mark or see".[7]
Islam
[edit]- Abdullah:"servant of God"
Judaism
[edit]MuchHebrewtheophory occurs in theBible,particularly in theOld Testament.The most prominent theophoric names are:
- names containingEl,a word meaningmight,powerand (a)godin general, and hence in Judaism,Godand among the Canaanites the name of the god who was the father of Baal.
- names containingYah,a shortened form ofYahweh.
- names referring to Levantine deities (especially the storm god,Hadad) by theepithetBaal,meaninglord.
In later times, as the conflict betweenYahwismand the more popular pagan practices became increasingly intense, these names were censored andBaalwas replaced withBosheth,meaningshameful one.But the name Yahweh does not appear in theophoric names until the time of Joshua, and for the most part is very rare until the time of King Saul, when it began to be very popular.[8]
El
[edit]- Abdiel:"Servant of God"
- Ariel:"lion of God"
- Daniel:"God is my judge" or "justice from God"
- Elijah:"my God is YHWH"
- Elihu:"He is my God"
- Elisha:"my God is salvation"
- Elisheba(Elizabeth): "my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance"
- Immanuel:"God is with us"
- Yehezkel(Ezekiel): "God will strengthen"
- Gabriel:"man of God" or "power of God"
- Ishmael:"God listens"
- Israel:"who struggles with God"
- Lemuel:"Dedicated/Devoted to God"
- Michael:"Who is like God?"
- Nathaniel:"God-given" or "gift of God"
- Raphael:"God heals/God is great"
- Samuel:"God heard"
- Uriel:"God is my light"
- Uzziel:"God is my strength"
Yahweh
[edit]The name of the Israelite deity YHWH (usually shortened to Yah or Yahu, and Yeho or Yo) appears as a prefix or suffix in many theophoric names of theFirst Temple Period.For example,Yirme-yahu(Jeremiah),Yesha-yahu(Isaiah),Netan-yah,Yedid-yah,Adoni-yah,Nekhem-yah,Yeho-natan(Jonathan),Yeho-chanan(John),Yeho-shua(Joshua),Yeho-tzedek,Zekharya(Zechariah).
"Yahū" or "Yah" is the abbreviation of YHWH when used as a suffix in Hebrew names; as a prefix it appears as "Yehō- ", or" Yo ". It was formerly thought to be abbreviated from theMasoreticpronunciation "Yehovah".There is an opinion[9]that, as Yahweh is likely animperfectiveverb form, "Yahu" is its correspondingpreteriteorjussiveshort form: compareyiŝtahaweh(imperfective),yiŝtáhû(preterit or jussive short form) = "do obeisance".
- Abijah:"my father is YHWH"
- Adonijah: "YHWH is the Lord"
- Hezekiah:"YHWH strengthens"
- Isaiah:"YHWH is salvation"
- Jedediah:"friend of YHWH"
- Jehu:"YHWH is He"
- Jeremiah(Jeremy): "YHWH will raise"
- Joel:"YHWH is God"
- Jonathan:"YHWH has given"
- Joseph:"YHWH shall increase"
- Josiah:"YHWH saves"
- Matityahu (Matthew): "gift of YHWH"
- Micah/Micaiah:"who is like YHWH?"
- Nehemiah:"YHWH comforts"
- Obadiah:"servant of YHWH"
- Toviyahu (Tobias): "the goodness of YHWH"
- Uriah:"YHWH is my light"
- Uzziah:"YHWH is my strength"
- Yeho'ezer(Yoʼezer): "YHWH is my help"
- Yehoshua (Joshua)/Yeshua(Jesus): "YHWH will save"
- Yohanan(John): "graced by YHWH" or "YHWH is gracious"
- Zechariah(Zachary): "YHWH has remembered"
- Zephaniah:"hidden by YHWH"
In the table below, 13 theophoric names with "Yeho" have corresponding forms where the lettersehhave been omitted. There is a theory byChristian Ginsburgthat this is because Hebrew scribes omitted the "h", changing Jeho (יְהוֹ) into Jo (יוֹ), to make the start of "Yeho- "names not sound like an attempt to pronounce the Divine Name.[10][11]
Strong's # | the name | other element | English conventional form | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
long form | short form | long form | short form | long form | short form | |||
3059 | 3099 | יְהוֹאָחָז | Yᵉho'achaz | יוֹאָחָז | Yo'achaz | achaz [# 270] | Jehoahaz | Joahaz |
3060 | 3101 | יְהוֹאָש | Yᵉho'ash | יוֹאָש | Yo'ash | 'esh [# 784] | Jehoash | Joash |
3075 | 3107 | יְהוֹזָבָד | Yᵉhozabad | יוֹזָבָד | Yozabad | zabad [# 2064] | Jehozabad | Jozabad |
3076 | 3110 | יְהוֹחָנָן | Yᵉhowchanan | יוֹחָנָן | Yochanan | chanan [# 2603] | Yehochanan | Jochanan |
3077 | 3111 | יְהוֹיָדָע | Yᵉhoyada | יוֹיָדָע | Yoyada | yada [# 3045] | Jehoiada | Joiada |
3078 | 3112 | יְהוֹיָכִין | Yᵉhoyakin | יוֹיָכִין | Yoyakin | kun [# 3559] | Yehoyakin | Joiakin |
3079 | 3113 | יְהוֹיָקִים | Yᵉhoyaqim | יוֹיָקִים | Yoyaqim | qum [# 3965] | Yehoyakim | Joakim |
3080 | 3114 | יְהוֹיָרִיב | Yᵉhoyarib | יוֹיָרִיב | Yoyarib | rib [# 7378] | Jehoiarib | Joiarib |
3082 | 3122 | יְהוֹנָדָב | Yᵉhonadab | יוֹנָדָב | Yonadab | nadab [# 5068] | Jehonadab | Jonadab |
3083 | 3129 | יְהוֹנָתָן | Yᵉhonathan | יוֹנָתָן | Yonathan | nathan [# 5414] | Yehonathan | Jonathan |
3085 | — | יְהוֹעַדָּה | Yᵉho'addah | — | — | 'adah [# 5710] | Jehoaddah | — |
3087 | 3136 | יְהוֹצָדָק | Yᵉhotsadaq | יוֹצָדָק | Yotsadaq | tsadaq [# 6663] | Jehozadak | Jozadak |
3088 | 3141 | יְהוֹרָם | Yᵉhoram | יוֹרָם | Yoram | rum [# 7311] | Jehoram | Joram |
3092 | 3146 | יְהוֹשָפָט | Yᵉhoshaphat | יוֹשָפָט | Yoshaphat | shaphat [# 8199] | Jehoshaphat | Joshaphat |
3470a | 3470 | יְשַׁעְיָהוּ | Yᵉsha'yahu | יְשַׁעְיָה | Yᵉsha'yah | yasha [# 3467] | Yeshayahu | Isaiah |
5418a | 5418 | נְתַנְיָהוּ | Nᵉthanyahu | נְתַנְיָה | Nᵉthanyah | nathan [# 5414] | Netanyahu | Netaniah |
138a | 138 | אֲדֹנִיָּהוּ | 'Adoniyahu | אֲדֹנִיָּה | 'Adoniyah | 'adown [# 113] | Adoniyahu | Adonijah |
452a | 452 | אֵלִיָּהוּ | 'Eliyahu | אֵלִיָּה | 'Eliyah | 'el [# 410] | Eliyahu | Elijah |
3414a | 3414 | יִרְמְיָהוּ | Yirmᵉyahu | יִרְמְיָה | Yirmᵉyah | rum [# 7311] | Yirmeyahu | Jeremiah |
— | 5166 | — | — | נְחֶמְיָה | Nᵉchemyah | nacham [# 5162] | — | Nechemiah |
Referring to other gods
[edit]- Jerubbaal,the alternate name ofGideon,variously translated as "Baalwill contend "
- Jezebel:"glory to Baal"
- Ishbaal:"man of Baal"
- BalthazarandBelshazzar(Babylonian): "Baal, protect the king"
- Abijam:"my father isYam"
- Shalmaneser(Assyrian): "Shulmanuis foremost "
- Sennacherib(Assyrian): "Sînhas replaced the brothers "
- Pygmalion(Phoenician via Greek): "Pummayhas given "
- Nebuchadnezzar(in Babylonian:Nabu-kudurri-usur): "Nabu, watch over my heir"
- Mordecai:"fromMarduk"
- Ben-Hadad: in Hebrew means "son ofHadad",but his originalAramaicname isHadadezer:"Hadad is help"
Theophoric names containing "Baal"were sometimes" censored "as-bosheth= "shameful one", whenceIshboshethetc.
References
[edit]- ^"theophoric".Merriam-Webster online dictionary.
- ^θεόφορος.Liddell, Henry George;Scott, Robert;A Greek–English Lexiconat thePerseus Project.
- ^Shendge, Malati J.The Language of the Harappans: FromAkkadiantoSanskrit,1997. p 24. "It may also be interpreted as theophorous names, i.e. the name of the god forming part of the name of an individual. The usage is theophorous because besides theeponymousAsura, each individual of high or low status has apersonal name."
- ^Zadok, R.The Pre-HellenisticIsraeliteAnthroponymyandProsopography,1988. p 16. "The Period of the Judges (J) The theophorous names constitute a sizable minority (almost 40%). Many of the hypocoristica possibly originate from compound theophorous names (e.g., Abdon, Gerd, J21 1 1 1 1, 2141 12)."
- ^Benz, Frank L.Personal Names in thePhoenicianandPunicInscriptions.p 233. "Any one of the three major types of elements,divine nameor theophorous, nominal, or verbal can make up a Phoenician-Punichypocoristic name.The divine namehypocoristicis the least attested. The simplest formation is that of a single... "
- ^Drijvers, H. J. W.Cults and Behafs at Edessa,1980. p 21. "The proper names, which are mainly theophorous ones, may increase our knowledge of the religious feeling of the people ofEdessaand of thecultspracticed by them, insofar as their theophorous elements reflect existing beliefs. "
- ^Madhuri Agrawal.Dictionary, Sanskrit English Dictionary Wilson.
- ^Mark Haughwout, "Personal Names Before Exodus 6:2-3"
- ^Anson F. Rainey,How Yahweh Was PronouncedArchivedDecember 2, 2011, at theWayback Machine,QUERIES & COMMENTS.
- ^Christian Ginsburg,Introduction To the Massoretico-Critical Edition Of The Hebrew Bible, p 369
- ^Scott Jones,JehovahArchivedDecember 15, 2005, at theWayback Machine
External links
[edit]- Gonzalo Rubio,Gods and Scholars: Mapping the Pantheon in Early Mesopotamiain Beate Pongratz-Leisten (ed.),Reconsidering the Concept of Revolutionary Monotheism,Eisenbrauns 2011
- Lexicon of Greek Personal Names
- Ogden Goelet, "Moses' Egyptian Name"
- When Can Muslims Use the Name Mohammed?: Plus, why don't English speakers name their children Jesus?by Michelle Tsai