# God's Gift **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347 "2012-01-23T00:39:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/1 "2012-01-23T00:39:52Z")
God’s Gift Achiuwa is a college basketball player and that is his given name. Can’t link on phone but: no pressure son just be better than Buddha’s fat kid. ---
**Author:** ![slm2955](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@slm2955](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slm2955)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/2 "2012-01-23T00:41:10Z")
You know he gets made fun of… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/3 "2012-01-23T00:48:53Z")
Tell that to Goodluck Jonathan. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/4 "2012-01-23T01:16:33Z")
Why would the idiots who named him call him that? Why not Theodore? That’s what “God’s Gift” means. I’d rather have this “God’s Gift” [http://www.businessreviewcanada.ca/lifestyle/cars-toys/worlds-largest-emerald-to-be-auctioned-in-canada](http://www.businessreviewcanada.ca/lifestyle/cars-toys/worlds-largest-emerald-to-be-auctioned-in-canada) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/5 "2012-01-23T01:40:53Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Why would the idiots who named him call him that? Calling them ‘idiots’ is a bit out of order. While such a practice seems bizarre and hilarious to us, it appears to be a relatively normal practice in Nigeria where Achiuwa comes from. Cf. the name of Nigeria’s president, that I mentioned upthread. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/6 "2012-01-24T12:05:56Z")
I’ve seen it in Polynesian communities - a lad with the christian name “St John the Baptist” wasn’t unusual, and none of that _Sinjin_ business, either. Si ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/7 "2012-01-24T12:49:37Z")
Hey, since Bautista is “the” traditional Spanish butler’s name, no making fun of them! I’ve known women called Regalo and Presente, in both cases the word means gift and the “of god” was implied. Also a Don de Dios, no implications there. ---
**Author:** ![Walther\_Ego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Walther\_Ego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walther_Ego)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/8 "2012-01-24T13:11:06Z")
My favorite in Spanish is Conception Immaculata. Using a theological concept to name a child? How should atheists then name their daughters? Pythagorean Theorem? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/9 "2012-01-24T13:35:20Z")
Quite a few names translate as “God’s Gift”. Besides _Theodore_ (cited above by **Baker** There’s also (allowing for non-Christan gods) **Godiva** (from Anglo-Saxon _God Gifu_) \*\*Deodat Apollodorus Ramses Thuthmose Moses \*\* (accepting the theory that this is in originan Egyptian name, with the Theophorus part snipped off. The “-mose” part means “child of”, so “Ramses” is “child of Ra”) The idea of calling a child a “gift od gad” is pretty obvious – where else do kids come from? The example in the OP is only making this more plain in clear English. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/10 "2012-01-24T16:48:30Z")
> [@Walther\_Ego](#): > > My favorite in Spanish is Conception Immaculata. Using a theological concept to name a child? How should atheists then name their daughters? Pythagorean Theorem? Hmmm, “Hypotenuse Jones” has a nice ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/11 "2012-01-24T17:53:43Z")
> [@Walther\_Ego](#): > > My favorite in Spanish is Conception Immaculata. Using a theological concept to name a child? How should atheists then name their daughters? Pythagorean Theorem? Lot of those, too. The name _Joel_ basically means “Yah(weh) is God” Then there’s all those virtues: \*\* Faith Hope Charity Temperence Patience \*\* Coming up with Securlar Equivalent could be a fun game, especially based on math: **Pons Asinorm** Whittaker (Witch of ) **Agnesi** Jones **Koenigsburg Bridge** Matthews **Mobius Strip** Chambers **Tesseract** Flanders ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/12 "2012-01-24T18:53:26Z")
> [@Walther\_Ego](#): > > My favorite in Spanish is Conception Immaculata. Using a theological concept to name a child? How should atheists then name their daughters? Pythagorean Theorem? Inmaculada Concepción, dude. You’re mixing your Spanish, your English and I’m guessing Italian. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/13 "2012-01-24T19:15:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Quite a few names translate as “God’s Gift”. Besides _Theodore_ (cited above by **Baker** There’s also (allowing for non-Christan gods) > > **Godiva** (from Anglo-Saxon _God Gifu_) > \*\*Deodat > Apollodorus > Ramses > Thuthmose > Moses \*\* (accepting the theory that this is in originan Egyptian name, with the Theophorus part snipped off. The “-mose” part means “child of”, so “Ramses” is “child of Ra”) You missed **Nathaniel** (or Nathanael) which also means “gift of God” from the Hebrew. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/14 "2012-01-24T19:30:55Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > You missed **Nathaniel** (or Nathanael) which also means “gift of God” from the Hebrew. Oh, I know the list isn’t complete/. There are others. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/15 "2012-01-24T19:49:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Oh, I know the list isn’t complete/. There are others. I just meant that, like Theodore, Nathaniel is a fairly popular English name. Unlike Apollodorus. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/16 "2012-01-24T20:44:17Z")
IIRC, my grandmother’s cousin, born in rural Quebec in the 1920’s, had the given name “Dieu-Donné”, French for “God-Given”. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/17 "2012-01-24T20:54:38Z")
It would be worth dating him just for the fun of introducing him to your parents. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/18 "2012-01-24T21:07:49Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > It would be worth dating him just for the fun of introducing him to your parents. As long as his last name isn’t “Towomen” ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-gift/610347/19 "2012-01-24T21:08:59Z")
“World Peace” is a Laker’s basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest.