Some choose biblical names or names derived from the stories or chapters of the book of mormon, a religious text of the latter day saints. Tvedtnes, john gee, and matthew roper journal of book of mormon studies 91 2000. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. It turns out that a good number of them have plausible links with words or names in ancient near eastern languages, especially with hebrew and egyptian. In addition to mormon baby names, at baby name world you will find thousands of other unique and popular male and female baby.
This same ancient israelite practice of using names to express a key theme in a story also applies to names in the book of mormon. Book of mormon names the encyclopedia of mormonism. Anthropological perspectives are presented on names, and on the social and literary function of names, in principle and in the book of mormon. Useful new resource to explore meanings of book of mormon names. One of the best ways to test the book of mormons historical authenticity is to look at its names. Because of this reverence for titles and the meanings they conveyed, the name jehovah, sometimes transliterated as yahweh, was virtually unspoken among that people. The name enos is identical to a poetic hebrew word meaning man. Demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon 1 demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon 2 demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon 3 demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon. The book of mormon onomasticon project at byu is worth exploring. So, why not use the filters to choose a name from our baby name finder. Book of mormon language, names, and metonymic naming gordon c.
Is the writing in the book of mormon characteristic of the. We provide names from every origin you could possibly think of and with an overabundance of cultures to choose. But so many names would mean so much confusion, right. The name sariah is unique to the book of mormon and is often considered a combination of the words sarah and mariah. Mahonri m mormon in the book of mormon, the brother of jared is the most prominent person in the account given in the beginning chapters 16 of the book of ether. Despite being around for more than half a century, aaron is still an attractive and timeless choice for boys. The names given to our lord take on new significance when they are approached through a thoughtful and sensitive study of their meanings. Nephis name may come from one of two ancient egyptian words. According to some, sariah means princess of the lord, from the origin of the. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have been found as actual names from ancient history. They avoid using profane language, using alcoholtobaccodrugs, having sexual relations outside of marriage etc.
Over the past month ive received numerous requests asking when, or if, wed ever talk about our series, demonic names in the book of mormon so here it is. Hezron, memshath, ziph bm ziff, jether, epher, jalon, ezer, menahem, lecah, amnon bm amnor, zoheth, etc. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of mormon names. The book of mormon contains 337 proper names and 21 gentilics or analogous forms based on proper names. Book of mormon names eyptymology meanings hebrew transcriptions. The book of mormon was preserved to come forth in these latter days to convince the jew and gentile that jesus is the christ, the eternal god.
As with biblical names, some popular mormon names are derived from heroes or characters of the teachings or stories from the book of mormon, a religious text of the latter day saints. The word mormon most colloquially denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of mormonism in restorationist christianity. Hebrew names having meanings, the book of mormon claims. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have. The name is also associated with great missionaries and prophet in the book of mormon. Willes center for book of mormon studies book of mormon onomasticon. Book of mormon onomasticon has an entry about possible meanings for every name in the bom. Included in this count are names that normally would not be called proper, such as kinds of animals, if they appear as transliterations in the english text and not as translations. Imagine what else can be gleaned as we seek out possible meanings of other names in the book of mormon. Bold type indicates the person was an important religious figure.
Medieval authors encouraged a search for the cup that jesus christ drank from at the last supper. Given this grouping of the book of mormon onomasticon, 142 of the 188 unique book of mormon names are lehitemulekite, 41 are jaredite, and 5 are common to both groups. Book of mormon names attested in ancient hebrew inscriptions john a. In addition to that the names found in the book of mormon and internally consistent i. This was the unutterable name of deity, that power by which oaths were sealed, battles won, miracles witnessed. It is also borne by the hero of jonathan swifts novel gullivers travels 1726. Gideon in the book of mormon, gideon was a faithful leader of the church and an eventual enemy to the wicked king noah. Its purpose is to verify the divine sonship of the nazarene to those who ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in christ.
But, there are also egyptian names in the book of mormon, as well as a semitic name related to arabic. The book of mormon is literarily beautiful, doctrinally truthful, and everlastingly applicable. Its interesting that by using that same methodology, the savior is mentioned every 2. The first means sea captaina fitting name for the amateur but. This study considers the book of mormon personal names josh, nahom, and alma as test cases for the book of mormon as an historically authentic ancient document. For the present, lehite and mulekite names must be treated together. The know i, nephi, having been born of goodly parents 1 nephi 1. In the book of mormon it is the name of a son of lehi and sariah. Gender usage initial letter meaning expand search to ancestral names. Of these 337 proper names, 188 are unique to the book of mormon, while 149 are common to the book of mormon and the bible. Some years after the publication of the book of mormon, joseph smith mentioned that mahonri moriancumer was the. If the textual passages common to the book of mormon and the bible are excluded, 53 names occur in both books. Mormon baby names page 2 baby names, meanings and origins.
Useful new resource to explore meanings of book of mormon. Mormonwho was named after the landwas a 4thcentury prophethistorian who compiled and abridged many records of his ancestors into the book of mormon. Matthew bowen has written quite a few essays in mormon interpreter about word play in the bom based on the meanings of peoples names. The book of mormon does give the right type of hebrew. We have handpicked the best of mormon girl names and mormon boy names with their meanings. Fun fact while finding common mormon names to give joseph and zaylie for this pos mormons love oddball baby names. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of mormon.
Easy access to current research for further studies. Two years ago i was asked to give a paper on hebrew names in the book of mormon at the world congress of jewish studies held in jerusalem. Each of its unique names has now been looked at by scholars with linguistic training. These book of mormon names stand as additional evidence that the book is of ancient origins and was brought forth by the gift and power of god. Nephi is an ancient egyptian name with multiple meanings. The names in the book of mormon, another testament of jesus christ, have been thoroughly investigated and researched over the years. Baby name world has a growing list of popular mormon baby names and name meanings for you to peruse. Book of mormon names mosiah in 1965, john sawyer, a nonmormon biblical scholar, published an article entitled, what was a mosia vetus testamentum 15 1965. In ancient israelite storytelling, the meaning of personal names was used to enhance the memorability of a story. Isaiahs names and terms highlighting book of mormon themes. I think that was the first time that that organization of scholars from all over the world, most of them jewish, had really invited someone to discuss the book of mormon as one of the serious topics on that scholarly forum, and i was glad to do that. Finding doctrine and meaning in book of mormon isaiah. Ricks, associate professor of hebrew and semitic languages. Each list of mormon names can be sorted by mormon baby girl names or mormon baby boy names.
Members of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints lds a christian religion based on both the bible and the book of mormon. Members try to be honest, chaste, respectful, kind etc. This word, he noted, is hebrew and is found in the hebrew scriptures, but is never transliterated into modern english translations of the old testament as mosia. Many book of mormon names are not found in the bible, and were unknown to joseph smith. The many names and titles by which jesus immediately came to be known is a strong symptom of precisely such an expansive phenomenon. Much preliminary work remains to be done on the book of mormon onomasticon. Conversely, proper names that appear only in translation are not included, such as bountiful and desolation. According to the text of the book of mormon, the word mormon stems from the land of mormon, where the prophet alma preached the gospel and baptized converts. The theory behind the creation of these names is based on the small amount of surnames in the mormon population. In the book of mormon this is the name of lehis wife. This study considers the book of mormon personal names josh. The actual meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. Included in this count are names that normally would not be called proper, such as kinds of animals, if they appear as transliterations in the english text and not.
As with biblical names, some common mormon names are taken from the book of mormon, a religious text of the latterday saints, from heroes or characters of the teachings or stories. Mormon also commonly refers, specifically, to a member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, which is often colloquially, but imprecisely. Some names in the book of mormon do have hebrew derivations and meanings to them, so far as they can be recovered at the present. In fact only two women march through the pages of ancient american religious history by name. He has essays on nephi, alma, zoram, aminadab, joseph, benjamin, zarahemla, jershon, cain, abish, mary, mormon, judah. We excluded book of mormon names with these sounds and ones that were obviously brought from the middle east. Click on matching colored details icon to display details and to view scripture references. Demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon 1 life.
There are visions of mary, beautiful above all, but not a single jaredite woman is named. The meaning of the name of the book of mormon meridian. Sariah f mormon possibly from an alternate reading of hebrew see seraiah. Creating unusual first names is a good way for parents to give their children a way to distinguish themselves from others with the same last name. Thus, moroni could be rendered moronite from the land of moron known in the book of mormon. Do names in the book of mormon have a hebrew meaning. Names and maya glyphs book of mormon archaeological forum. Also, a quick glance at a dictionary of maya glyphs shows that they lack several letters found in hebrew. Look for the new updates on the day of posting and be sure to share these with the mormon you know. Brinnlee brielle anderson and other great utah names zion curtain said on february 4th, 2017 at 5. For example, many book of mormon names end in i, which in most cases probably serves as the hebrew nisbeh, or gentilic suffix, rendered in english as ite. For those interested in the possible ancient roots of book of mormon names, now there is a large online resource compiling extensive research. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of.
In ancient israelite storytelling the meaning of personal names was used to enhance the memorability of a story. By dividing the number of verses in the book, by the number of those names, she discovered that, on average, the savior is mentioned every 1. Is there an explanation for the appearance of a greek name in the. Being a mormon, it can be a bit difficult to pick a name that not just honors the heritage, but also makes the child proud to bear it. Here are four examples of book of mormon names whose meanings may surprise you and inspire you. Demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon life. Blueperson purpledeity greencityplace redcountry yellowother. These hits provide additional evidence that the book of mormon is indeed an ancient record. It was called san greal holy grail, but a modern author speculated that it actually was sang real royal blood. Some of the names in the book of mormon, another testament of jesus christ, are not of hebrew origin, but rather they are of egyptian origin, and also there are some other ancient nearest languages involved. Missing indices indicate people in the index who are not in the book of mormon. Hebrew names turned up on ancient jar handles from other places also have a familiar book of mormon ring. Til a healthy number of book of mormon names have meaning.
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