Every parent knows the importance of finding the right name for a child. As a fiction writer I also know how important it is to find the right name for my characters. I’ve written a little about it here.
The wrong name can completely destroy the illusion a writer is trying to create.
Sometimes the reader brings their own ideas to a book. That can work for a writer or against them, as happened with a recent novel I started to read. The main character, who was not exactly like likeable, had the same name as my daughter. Try as I might I couldn’t get past that barrier. Because for me the name conjured up my daughter’s face, I couldn’t believe in the character the author had created.
Names are important in God’s sight too. In Biblical times names had great meaning. Names often conveyed the circumstances surrounding their birth
Samuel is one example – named so because his mother asked God for him, 1 Samuel 1:20
Other times the name signified either the character of the person or the job they were to undertake
God changed Abram’s name to Abraham Genesis 17:5. The name Abraham means ‘father of many.’
God changed Jacob to Israel, Genesis 35:10-11. This was the name by which his descendants and the land they inhabited became by known
The name Hoshea in Numbers 13:8, 16 meant ‘salvation.’ Hoshea’s name was changed by Moses to Joshua which means ‘the Lord saves,’ Numbers 13:16. Joshua led the people of Israel into the promised land.
Interestingly, the Greek form of Joshua is Jesus. Jesus leads believers into the promised land. God was very specific that his son was to be called Jesus because ‘he will save his people from their sins.’ Matthew 1:21
Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter which means ‘rock’ Matthew 16:18. There are lots of other biblical examples of the importance of names.
Below are some of the names for followers of Jesus.
‘disciples,’ Acts 6:1, Acts 9:19, 26,
‘Christians,’ Acts 11:26,
‘A holy priesthood,’ 1 Peter 2:5,
‘A chosen people, a royal priesthood,a holy nation,a people belonging to God,’ 1 Peter 2:9.
‘the people of God,’ 1 Peter 2:10
‘A people that are his very own,’ Titus 2:14
‘children of God’, John 1:12,I John 3:1-2, or ‘sons of God,’ Galatians 3:26, Romans 8:14,19,
‘son’ and ‘heir,’ Galatians 4:6-7
‘God’s children,’ Luke 20:36, Romans 8:16, Romans 9:8
‘children of the resurrection,’ Luke 20:36,
‘God’s fellow workers,’ ‘Gods field, God’s building,’ 1 Corinthians 3:9
I John 3:10 tells us we can know who the sons of God and who the sons of the devil are by the way they live their lives – by the things they do or don’t do. Are you living up to your name?
Bible verses from The New International Version
Please visit these related blogs
Let’s talk about naming your baby
the names of God -an introduction