New Testament, names in
New Testament, names in
Of the 173 names of persons given in the New Testament, 62 are of unknown meaning. Of these 60 are taken from the Greek, one Greek from Latin, and one from the Hebrew. In the Old Testament the majority of proper names are derived from the Hebrew; in the New Testament, from the Greek. In the latter, of the names dealing with the Deity. They are:
Ananias, Jehovah protects
Elizabeth, worshipper of God
Gabriel, strong man of God
Gamaliel, God recompenses
Heli, Jehovah is high
Jesus, Jehovah saves
John, gift of God
Matthias, gift of Jehovah
Michael, who is like God?
Nathanael, gift of God
Timothy, honoring God
Zachary, Jehovah remembers
Zebedee, gift of God
A large class of proper names for men and women is made up of adjectives denoting personal characteristics, such as
Andrew, manly
Asyncritus, incomparable
Bernice, victorious
Clement (Latin), kind
Eunice, victorious
Pudens, modest
Timon (Hebrew), honorable
Zacheus, pure
Names of things, and words referring to trades or avocations were taken as proper names:
Andronicus, conqueror
Anna, grace
Caiphas, oppressor
Judas, praise
Malchus, ruler
Manahen, comforter
Mary (Hebrew), bitter sea
Philip, lover of horses
Prochorus, leader of a chorus
Salome, peace
Tyrannus, tyrant
Some names seem to have been suggested by particular circumstances:
Cleophas, of an illustrious father
Joseph, whom the Lord adds
Mnason, he who remembers
Onesiphorus, bringer of profit
Philologus, lover of words
Sosipater, saviour of his father
Names of animals and plants are not frequent, the only example being
Damaris, heifer
Dorcas and Tabitha, gazelle
Susanna, lily
Rhode, rosebush
Names derived from numbers are
Quartus, fourth
Tertius and Tertullus, third
Names without Christian significance and probably derived from pagan mythology are:
Apollo, contracted form, of Apollonios, belonging to Apollo
Apollyon
Diotrephes, nourished by Jupiter
Epaphroditus, beautiful
Hermes
Hermogenes
Phebe, shining
“Bar” in a name means “son of,” e.g.,
Barabbas, son of the learned man
Barnabas, son of consolation
Barsabas, son of Sabas
Bartimeus, son of Timai
Bartholomew, son of Tolmai
There is only one word derived from a color,
Rufus, red
Names derived from kindred are
Thomas and Didymus, twin
Trophimus, foster-child
New Catholic Dictionary