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ArchivesRe: Why are so many biblical names rarely used in continental Europe, unlike English-speaking countries?
in reply to a message by czmyth
Thanks!
This book explains a lot about the history of naming in Germany: Wilfried Seibicke: Die Personennamen im Deutschen. Eine Einführung. (for those, who know german).
Also, quite a few of the non-biblical names you mentioned have a christian background via meaning (Dominick, Benedicta) or saints/legends (Melchior, Martin, Catharina, Albert ...).
My own family doesn't trace as far back as yours, but the oldest names are mainly christian (versions of John, Catherine, Eve and Elizabeth). The 3 most popular names in my family tree are versions of Anna, John and Elizabeth.
I found a non-representative list of the 49 most popular German women's names from the late Middle Ages:
10 of them were biblical, 2 were non-Christian, I couldn't find out the origin of 5 of them (presumably short forms, they are sometimes difficult to assign) and the remaining 32 names had a Christian background, e.g. saints.
https://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/1701-1495-w.htm
I guess, it's just a different sense of naming tradition.
In European countries, other biblical names have a longer tradition than in the USA or UK.
This book explains a lot about the history of naming in Germany: Wilfried Seibicke: Die Personennamen im Deutschen. Eine Einführung. (for those, who know german).
Also, quite a few of the non-biblical names you mentioned have a christian background via meaning (Dominick, Benedicta) or saints/legends (Melchior, Martin, Catharina, Albert ...).
My own family doesn't trace as far back as yours, but the oldest names are mainly christian (versions of John, Catherine, Eve and Elizabeth). The 3 most popular names in my family tree are versions of Anna, John and Elizabeth.
I found a non-representative list of the 49 most popular German women's names from the late Middle Ages:
10 of them were biblical, 2 were non-Christian, I couldn't find out the origin of 5 of them (presumably short forms, they are sometimes difficult to assign) and the remaining 32 names had a Christian background, e.g. saints.
https://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/1701-1495-w.htm
I guess, it's just a different sense of naming tradition.
In European countries, other biblical names have a longer tradition than in the USA or UK.
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