What’s in a Name. If you have children you have thought about this question.
Jesus actually had a common name, Joshua but in its Greek form. Even His name tells His mission. He is the savior/healer of Jews and Gentiles alike! When you see Bar at the beginning of a Jewish name it means son of. El is generic as we use God. I put in Shelly as there were two in the congregation. It is Hebrew for Little Sheep. I think it some what providential that my sister the quilter is named Penelope. It means weaver. That’s close enough. Then you can see how I came to name this website. Geoffrey means God’s Peace.
We are somewhat used to the idea of celebrities changing their names. See the slide above. Sometimes Roman Catholics will take a saint’s name at confirmation. Wives used to always drop their maiden last name.
I had a parishioner who had the strange first name of Atwood. It was a family name from her mothers side and for generations of first born girls were given the name. The same was true in another congregation. There the name was Meme. Men often get named after their fathers with the addition of their birth order as in Junior, Trey, or The IVth.
Sometimes a titled is added to our list of names. Then, for some the title sticks even if the position ends, as in Governor or Ambassador.
