Using Historically biblical names when not religious

[morningapproach.livejournal.com]

I expressed to my BFF the other day that I love the name Elijah. She was absolutely aghast that I would consider naming my child - as yet unconceived - a name that was equivalent to Jesus when I am agnostic. She compared it to naming my child Mohammed. Personally I see no difference between the name Elijah and John or Jacob or Ezra or any other biblical name.
What do you think, is it appropriate use a historically religious name is you are not a member of said religion?

Comments

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

lol how is Elijah = Jesus?

[morningapproach.livejournal.com]

She went on and on about how in some prophecy Jesus was referred to as Elijah the savior or something like that. It is possible that she might be mistaken, since she wasn't 100% sure, but she sure was offended when I told her that I really liked that name.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it was that Elijah was supposed to come before the Lord, so it was John the Baptist who was considered to be Elijah, not Jesus. So unless you wouldn't name your child John . . .

[pyrokitten77.livejournal.com]

It's just a name - a nice one at that. Personally, I didn't even know that Elijah was a religious name. Chances are, most other people won't jump to religion when hearing that name either.

I think she needs to take a chill pill.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't equate Elijah with Jesus at all. Maybe if you were using the name Abraham or something...

I think essentially what it comes down to are the connotations. When you think of Jesus or Mohammed or Abraham, I think most people's first thoughts are of those particular religious figures. John or Jacob or even Elijah could make a person think of any number of individuals.

[frost.livejournal.com]

This.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

Well, I'm an atheist and I try to *avoid* very biblical names. For instance, I love some Hebrew names like Ezra, but I just can't get over the fact that it would seem very odd for me to use it - I'm not "tied" to that type of name in any way. That's why I'm trying to find Irish names or family names.

[flailing-cock.livejournal.com]

I am the same way. I like the name Isaiah, but I couldn't use it, it would not look right!

[a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com]

This.

They can be hard to avoid, so if I have to, I'll use one and make it a point to mention that babby is named after so-and-so scientist or what have you. But I haven't had trouble finding names I like that aren't biblical. They may not be in the top 100, but most of those don't turn me on anyways.

I make exceptions for Judas and Thomas, for obvious reasons.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

Well if they are biblical names, I at least want them to be family names or cultural names (like Irish names). Sometimes I don't care, but if it's really obvious, I try to stay away from using them.

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

Um, no. Not the same thing AT ALL. Naming your kid JESUS when you aren't Christian would be the equivalent of naming your kid Mohammed if you aren't Muslim. Elijah (and all of those other Biblical names) are commonly accepted names in most (if not all) English-speaking, western nations, REGARDLESS of the parents' religious practices.

So.

If the name is commonly seen ONLY in that culture -- for example, Mohammed is not a name used outside of the Muslim faith; no one names their kid Jesus, no matter how religious they are (unless the name is Jesús [different] and they are Spanish-speaking) -- then don't use it unless you are from that culture. But when a name becomes common even outside of it -- John, Jacob, Ezra, Elijah, Noah, etc. -- there is absolutely no reason you shouldn't use it.

That said, if you use all Biblical names (ie, if you named all of your kids Elijah, Ezra, Noah, and Abraham), people might assume you are religious. But there's nothing wrong with using those names and others like them, if you like them, regardless of your religious beliefs.

(Honestly, you'd be hard pressed to find a boys name that is common in English-speaking countries that DOESN'T have religious connotations. Especially for boys. I just counted: in the top 10, there are only two names that don't show up in the Bible -- Anthony and Jayden. And Anthony still has religious connotations because he was a Saint. That leaves you with Jayden.)

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

Hahaha. See? Even Jayden is in the Bible!

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

PS - I actually just counted. Out of the top 100 names in the US in 2009, only 32 of them don't have some connection to Christianity (either [1] in the Bible or [2] names of Saints). And of those 32, two more of them could arguably have Christian connotations, as they (Gavin and Carter) were last names of Saints.

So, unless you want to name your kid Wyatt, Chase, Hunter, or Brody, you really don't have a ton of options unless you go with a name that is somehow connected to Christianity. Which means Atheists either need to use them or else name their kids really dumb names.

(That said, I know there are a lot of quality names that aren't in the Bible that are just further down on the top 1000 list, but you get the idea.)

[satunian.livejournal.com]

wait... dod you count through 100 or 1000 names??

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha, only 100. I couldn't possibly have gone through all 1000.

[daveandmonika.livejournal.com]

'dumb' is relative...I wouldn't choose those names, but here in Oklahoma I know a Chase, a Brody, and a Hunter around my sons' ages at church :-p...they fit in out here in the not-very-wild west ;).

[sal_amanda]

This is exactly what I was thinking.

[qtshorty1625.livejournal.com]

As a religious person, I don't really see why it's a big deal. I mean, a name's a name, right?

Also, in the case of Elijah, it has deviated from being strictly religious anyhow (for example, when I hear that name, I first think of Elijah Wood).

And going off that, I once knew a kid named Jesus (pronounced Hey-Zeus).

[satunian.livejournal.com]

Uhh, I'm with you. I think you're friend's overreacting. I mean, I guess that would be the best word, it's just that i don't even see anything to react TO for it to be an OVERreaction.

[solitudete.livejournal.com]

Meh. That's really not your friend's business, IMO. It's not like you're naming your kid "Christianitysuxlol," or even "Jesus." And there are plenty of people named Jesus anyway (hey-zeus).

[joereaves.livejournal.com]

http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p157.htm

If you read down I think you'll see where your friend got her (incorrect) idea that Elijah is equivalent to Jesus. Actually he's equivalent to John the Baptist, and I can't imagine very many people would reject the name John for being too Christian. While I'm not religious myself a lot of my family are, but I still had to google to try and figure out what she might have meant. The only thing I remembered was he was a prophet and that he ascended to Heaven in the fire whirlpool (technically he's the oldest man in the Bible according to some people, since unlike Methusalah he never actually dies but is rather taken bodily into Heaven).

Your friend is having a serious overreaction (although I agree with one of the earlier commenters that that implies there's anything to react to in the first place, and there isn't). And anyway at the end of the day, it's none of her business what you name your child.

There's nothing offensive about using a 'biblical' name when you're not Christian

[fleckerbug.livejournal.com]

Meh, the name existed before the person, and if you're agnostic then it really doesn't hold any meaning for you other than being a name you like. I'm not Christian or Jewish and I love biblical names. I think her example of Mohammed is different as biblical names are extremely common in the US.

Also, 'Elijah' is not equivalent to 'Jesus'. Elijah was just a character, a prophet, in the Old Testament and your friend is projecting the Christian notion of Elijah onto the name, which I think is wrong of your friend to do. It's very Christian-centric of her to insist that Elijah has only a Christian meaning and to insist that anyone wanting to use it is forced to conform to some Christian vision of what the name means. Elijah has a different meaning to different people, Jewish people for instance, who would probably be more offended at your friend's insistence that it means 'Jesus' than by your agnostic use of the name. We have a friend from a Bosnian Muslim family who goes Alijah (Ollie-yuh), which is a form of Elijah. :P

There are plenty of other names that are just as rooted in the bible as Elijah, names a lot of people don't even stop to think of as biblical.

So, basically tell her to STFD and STFU. :P

[blue-raine.livejournal.com]

both my aunts are divorced aka expelled forever from the catholic church. they have 9 kids all together, and 7 of those have biblical touched names. im no fan of most of the names, but hell, its just names. if you like them choose them. i wouldnt care where they come from. as long as you dont name your kid al-caida (recently heard), hitler or anything in that direction, i wouldnt care. and probably dont choose jesus? ;)

[solitudete.livejournal.com]

may i ask how one gets expelled forever from the catholic church? this agnostic is curious..

[blue-raine.livejournal.com]

divorce and abortion. for the second you can get excluded directly, with the first they force you to leave. at least they did in the small town most of my family lives.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Think about it this way: several of the names of the days of the week come from Germanic gods. I'm guessing that you do not worship Germanic gods, and yet you still say Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday . . .

Biblical names entered general European language and culture hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Elijah is a very popular name. I'm sure plenty of people who use it are not Christians. Don't worry about it.

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

Nothing to say that hasn't been said but... Just because a name appears in The Bible does not make it off-limits for non-Christians. I'm pretty sure that in order for those names to make it into the Bible, they had to exist previously.

I like lots of names that are in the Bible, like Joseph, Michael... even Gabriel and Elijah, and I am agnostic.

[longlostblue.livejournal.com]

It's not a big deal. So many names from the Bible are commonly used - John, Jacob, Noah, James, Michael, Matthew, Paul, David, the list goes on - and nobody automatically associates them with religion.