Most
Christian countries share a common set of names, although those
names are often pronounced and spelled differently across the
various languages. The majority of this common set of names
derives from either Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or one of the early
Germanic, Celtic or Slavic languages. An important source has
always been the names of famous saints. The church strongly
encouraged the giving of saintly names to children, and this
encouragement continues in Catholic countries. Some of these
saints appear in the New Testament of the Bible, where the names
are generally either Hebrew or Greek. Hebrew New Testament names
include John, Simon, Matthew and Mary. Greek names include Peter,
Luke and Stephen, while Paul and Mark are Latin. Other saints
do not appear in the New Testament but play roles in later history
and legends, for example saints Katherine, Patrick, Anthony,
Barbara and George. A large number of these important early
saints have names of Greek or Latin origin. Old Testament names
were not commonly used by Christians until relatively recent
times. Names from the Old Testament are predominantly Hebrew,
and examples include Adam, Jacob, Noah, David, Jonathan, Isaac
and Jeremiah. Some female examples are Eve, Sharon, Leah, Sarah,
Rebecca, Ruth and Miriam. |
