Things I Didn't Know Until Today

First, the name 'Candace' is in the bible. Seriously I missed that! All the name meanings and origins were found at http://www.behindthename.com/. Second, the meaning of the name Candace, which is... CANDACE Gender: Feminine Usage: English, Biblical (Variant) Pronounced: KAN-dis (English), kan-DAY-see (English), KAN-də-see (English) [key] From the hereditary title of the queens of Ethiopia, as mentioned in Acts in the New Testament. It is apparently derived from Cushitic kdke meaning "queen mother". In some versions of the Bible it is spelled Kandake, reflecting the Greek spelling Κανδακη. It was used as a given name by the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 20th century by a character in the movie 'Meet the Stewarts' (1942). That is so cool! I'm reading chapter 7 of the Untold Story of the New Testament Church by Frank Viola. It covers the years 30 A.D to 41 A.D. I'm also reading ahead. A bad habit I've had since I was a kid. See I'm in the second half of chapter 7 and we're only discussing the first half this week. But it's so good it's hard to put down and I keep bouncing back a forth with my bible looking up the scripture references. It's great. But back to Candace. It got me thinking about the meanings of other biblical names. My name is sort of biblical but my brother's totally is. Jon, which is short for Jonathan. Bet you're wondering where 'Mikki' is in the bible. It's not. And neither is my full name Michelle...but take a few steps and there I am...sort of. MICHELLE Gender: Feminine Usage: French, English Pronounced: mee-SHEL (French), mi-SHEL (English) [key] French feminine form of MICHEL. It has been common in the English-speaking world since the middle of the 20th century. MICHEL Gender: Masculine Usage: French, German Pronounced: mee-SHEL (French) [key] French form and German diminutive of MICHAEL. (Also MICHAL (2) Gender: Feminine Usage: Biblical, Jewish Other Scripts: מִיכַל (Hebrew) Possibly means "brook" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she was a daughter of Saul who married David.) MICHAEL Gender: Masculine Usage: English, German, Czech, Biblical Pronounced: MIE-kəl (English), MI-khah-el (German) [key] From the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) meaning "who is like God?". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Saint Michael was one of the seven archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies, and thus is considered the patron saint of soldiers. I've most often seen Michelle defined as "who is like God?" or "who resembles God". No pressure with that name or anything! You can also take 'Mikki' to 'Mickey' to 'Michael'. But you know the old saying, eight one way, three-quarters of a dozen the other... So then my brother's name: JONATHAN Gender: Masculine Usage: English, German, Scandinavian, Dutch, Biblical Pronounced: JAHN-ə-thən (English), YO-nah-tahn (German) [key] From the Hebrew name יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonatan) (contracted to יוֹנָתָן (Yonatan)) meaning "YAHWEH has given". In the Old Testament Jonathan was the eldest son of Saul and a friend of David. He was killed in battle with the Philistines. As an English name, Jonathan did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who wrote 'Gulliver's Travels' and other works. Which leads inevitably to David, of whom I know many. There are two in my small group and at least four currently in my address book. DAVID Gender: Masculine Usage: English, Jewish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Slovene, German, Scandinavian, Dutch, Biblical Other Scripts: דָוִד (Hebrew), Давид (Russian) Pronounced: DAY-vid (English), dah-VEED (Hebrew), da-VEED (French), dah-VEET (Russian), DAH-fit (German), DAH-vit (Dutch) [key] Possibly derived from Hebrew דוד (dvd) meaning "beloved". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the Old Testament, including his defeat of Goliath, a giant Philistine. Jesus was supposedly descended from him. But how about some of the dudes I'm reading about in the New Testament? PETER Gender: Masculine Usage: English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical Pronounced: PEE-tər (English), PE-ter (German, Slovak), PAY-tər (Dutch) [key] Derived from the Greek Πετρος (Petros) meaning "stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the New Testament of the name Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle Simon by Jesus (compare Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus's ministry and is often considered the first pope. Due to the renown of the apostle, this name became common throughout the Christian world (in various spellings). In England the Normans introduced it in the Old French form Piers, which was gradually replaced by the spelling Peter starting in the 15th century. Besides the apostle, other saints by this name include the 11th-century reformer Siant Peter Damian and the 13th-century preacher Saint Peter Martyr. It was also borne by rulers of Aragon, Portugal, and Russia, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725), who defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War. Famous fictional bearers include Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter's children's books, and Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play. PHILIP Gender: Masculine Usage: English, Scandinavian, Dutch, Biblical Pronounced: FIL-ip (English), FEE-lip (Dutch) [key] From the Greek name Φιλιππος (Philippos) which means "friend of horses", composed of the elements φιλος (philos) "friend" and ‘ιππος (hippos) "horse". This was the name of five kings of Macedon, including Philip II the father of Alexander the Great. The name appears in the New Testament belonging to two people who are regarded as saints. First, one of the twelve apostles, and second, an early figure in the Christian church known as Philip the Deacon. This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians, though it came to the West by the Middle Ages. It was borne by six kings of France and five kings of Spain. It was regularly used in England during the Middle Ages, although the Spanish king Philip II, who attempted an invasion of England, helped make it less common by the 17th-century. It was revived in the English-speaking world in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the Elizabethan courtier and poet Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586). STEPHEN Gender: Masculine Usage: English, Biblical Pronounced: STEEV-ən (English), STEF-ən (English) [key] From the Greek name Στεφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". Saint Stephen was a deacon who was stoned to death, as told in Acts in the New Testament, and he is regarded as the first Christian martyr. Due to him, the name became common in the Christian world. It was popularized in England by the Normans. This was the name of kings of England, Serbia, and Poland, as well as ten popes. It was also borne by the first Christian king of Hungary (10th century), who is regarded as the patron saint of that country. More recent bearers include British physicist Stephen Hawking (1942-) and the American author Stephen King (1947-). SAUL Gender: Masculine Usage: Biblical, Jewish Pronounced: SAWL (English) [key] From the Hebrew name שָׁאוּל (Sha'ul) which meant "asked for" or "prayed for". This was the name of the first king of Israel who ruled just before King David, as told in the Old Testament. Also, Saul was the original name of Saint Paul before his conversion to Christianity. PAUL Gender: Masculine Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Romanian, Biblical Pronounced: PAWL (English), POL (French), POWL (German) [key] From the Roman family name Paulus, which meant "small" or "humble" in Latin. Saint Paul was an important leader of the early Christian church, his story told in Acts in the New Testament. He was originally named Saul, but changed his name after converting to Christianity. Most of the epistles in the New Testament were authored by him. Due to the renown of Saint Paul the name became common among early Christians, being borne by a number of other early saints and six popes. In England it was relatively rare during the Middle Ages, but became more frequent beginning in the 17th century. A notable bearer was the American Revolutionary War figure Paul Revere (1735-1818), who warned of the advance of the British army. Famous bearers in the art world include the French impressionists Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) and Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), and the Swiss expressionist Paul Klee (1879-1940). This is also the name of the legendary American lumberjack Paul Bunyan. SIMON Gender: Masculine Usage: English, French, Scandinavian, German, Hungarian, Slovene, Biblical Pronounced: SIE-mən (English), see-MAWN (French), ZEE-mawn (German) [key] From the Greek form of the Hebrew name שִׁמְעוֹן (Shim'on) which meant "he has heard". This was the name of several biblical characters, including the man who carried the cross for Jesus. However, the most important person of this name in the New Testament was the apostle Simon, also known as Peter (a name given to him by Jesus). Because of him, this name has been common in the Christian world. In England it was popular during the Middle Ages, though it became rarer after the Protestant Reformation. JOHN Gender: Masculine Usage: English, Biblical Pronounced: JAHN (English) [key] English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious". This name owes its popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered saints. The first was John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who was considered the forerunner of Jesus Christ. The second was the apostle John, who was also supposedly the author of the fourth Gospel and Revelation. This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians in the Byzantine Empire, but it flourished in Western Europe after the First Crusade. In England it became extremely popular: during the later Middle Ages it was given to approximately a fifth of all English boys. The name (in various spellings) has been borne by 21 popes and eight Byzantine emperors, as well as rulers of England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Russia and Hungary. It was also borne by the poet John Milton (1608-1674), philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), American founding father and president John Adams (1735-1826), and poet John Keats (1795-1821). Famous bearers of the 20th century include author John Steinbeck (1902-1968), assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), and musician John Lennon (1940-1980). The third thing I learned today was that almost all the other names of people I know that I looked up turned out to have Hebrew or Greek origins if you kept going. That was very cool. In the meantime...what does your name mean? And are you living up to it? I'm going to keep working on living up to mine. I think it's going to take a while.