Faith (name)

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Faith
Andrea di Niccolo 1495 -1550 Galereia Uaildenstain i Ko.jpg
"Faith" by Andrea di Niccolo.
Genderfemale
Origin
Word/nameEnglish
Meaning faith
Region of originEnglish-speaking countries
Other names
Related namesFaithe, Fay, Faye, Fidelia, Fides, Pistis, Vera.

Faith is an English feminine given name derived from the word faith. It became popularized when the Puritans began using it as a virtue name during the 17th century. [1] Puritans also used Faith as part of longer phrase names, such as Be-faithful, Faithful, Faith-my-joy, and Fight-the-good-fight-of-faith. [2]

The name is also the usual English translation of the Greek name of Saint Faith, an early Christian child martyr who was tortured to death along with her sisters Hope and Charity. She is known as Pistis in Greek and Fides in Church Latin and her name is translated differently in other languages.

Faith, Hope and Charity, the three theological virtues, are names traditionally given to triplet girls, just as Faith and Hope remain common names for twin girls. There were 40 sets of twins named Faith and Hope born in the United States in 2009, the second most common name combination for twin girls. In 2011, there were 33 sets of twin girls named Faith and Hope in the United States, the fourth most common name combination for twins. [3] One example were the American triplets Faith, Hope and Charity Cardwell, who were born in 1899 in Texas and were recognized in 1994 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest lived triplets. [4]

Faith has been a consistently popular name for girls in the United States, ranking among the top 1,000 names since 1880 and the top 500 names since 1921. It has ranked among the top 100 names in the United States since 1999 and was ranked as the 71st most popular name for newborn girls in 2011. [5]

Other cultures also give names in reference to religious faith. The name Iman is used by Muslims for both boys and girls in reference to faith in Islam.

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Charity is an English feminine given name derived from the English word charity. It was used by the Puritans as a virtue name. An earlier form of the name, Caritas, was an early Christian name in use by Romans.

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Thomas is a male name of Aramaic origins. The English spelling "Thomas" is a transliteration through Latin "Thomas", of the approximate Greek transliteration, from Aramaic "תאמא" ("tɑʔwmɑʔ"), from Classic Syriac " ܬܐܡܐ" (toma), meaning 'twin'. Thomas is recorded in the Greek New Testament as the name of Thomas the Apostle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy (given name)</span> Name list

Dorothy is a female given name. It is the English vernacular form of the Greek Δωροθέα (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift", from δῶρον (dōron), "gift" + θεός (theós), "god".. It has been in use since the 1400s. Although much less common, there are also male equivalents in English such as Dory, from the Greek masculine Δωρόθεος (Dōrótheos). Dorofei is a rarely used Russian male version of the name. The given names Theodore and Theodora are derived from the same two Greek root words as Dorothy, albeit reversed in order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca (given name)</span> Female given name

Rebecca or Rebekah is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It is the name of the biblical figure Rebecca, wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau. The name comes from the Semitic root ר-ב-ק (r-b-q), meaning "to tie firmly"; Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and the NOBS Study Bible Name List suggest the name means captivating beauty, or "to tie", "to bind". W. F. Albright held that it meant "soil, earth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autumn (given name)</span> Name list

Autumn is a feminine given name derived from the Latin word autumnus, meaning "fall" or "autumn".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alethea</span> Name list

Alethea is an English-language female first name derived from the Ancient Greek feminine noun ἀλήθεια, alḗtheia, 'truth'. Aletheia was the personification of truth in Greek philosophy. Alethea was not in use as a name prior to the 1500s, and likely originated when Puritans started using it as a virtue name.

Hope is a given name derived from the Middle English hope, ultimately from the Old English word hopian referring to a positive expectation or to the theological virtue of hope. It was used as a virtue name by the Puritans. Puritans also used Hope as an element in phrase names, such as Hope-for, Hopeful, and Hope-still.

The United States has very few laws governing given names. This freedom has given rise to a wide variety of names and naming trends. Naming traditions play a role in the cohesion and communication within American cultures. Cultural diversity in the U.S. has led to great variations in names and naming traditions and names have been used to express creativity, personality, cultural identity, and values.

Virtue names, also known as grace names, are used as personal names in a number of cultures. They express virtues that the parents wish their child to embody or be associated with. In the English-speaking world, beginning in the 16th century, the Puritans commonly expressed their values through creative names, many in the form of virtue names such as Grace, Felicity, Faith or Hope. These names have entered the standard British and American usage, without the religious connection.

References

  1. Mike Campbell. "Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Faith". Behind the Name. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. "Name Nerds! List of the Week". Namenerds.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  3. "Popular names for twins born in 2011". www.ssa.gov. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  4. "AT HOME WITH: Faith, Hope and Charity; 285 Years Young". The New York Times . 7 July 1994. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  5. "Popular Baby Names". Ssa.gov. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2014.