# Some Christians Name Their Kid 'Christian' (or the local equivalent); Do Other Religions Do This? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307 "2019-06-10T16:10:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/1 "2019-06-10T16:10:09Z")
The name “Christian” is not particularly uncommon in English, even if the parents bestowing the name aren’t particularly devout. I assume that the same is true in other culturally-Christian nations that don’t use English. Do children get named for their religion outside of Christianity? Are there little Buddhist children named [the local equivalent of] “Buddhist”? Are there little Muslim kids named [the local equivalent of] “Muslim”? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/2 "2019-06-10T16:15:16Z")
“[Islam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_(name))” is both given name and surname. People with Islam as a given name: Islam Slimani (born 1988), Algerian football player Islam Karimov (1938–2016), president of Uzbekistan Islam El-Shater (born 1976), Egyptian football player Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (born 1972), Libyan political figure and son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/3 "2019-06-10T16:17:00Z")
In the way that “Christian” comes from “Christ” (i.e. both the word and the name is from the founder of their religion), there are tons of Muslims named “Muhammed”. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/4 "2019-06-10T16:37:21Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > In the way that “Christian” comes from “Christ” (i.e. both the word and the name is from the founder of their religion), there are tons of Muslims named “Muhammed”. I don’t think it’s even comparable - Muhammed and its variants is\* by far\* the most popular male first name in the world. I’d happily wager there’s more than one order of magnitude difference in the popularity of the one vs the other in their respective cultures, too - I only personally know one Christian, for instance (although I know several people with that as a surname. Ironically, they’re Muslim. Slave naming is _weird_.) but I think ~50% of the Muslims I know have Mohammed as a first name (and 25 % have Abdullah or some variant)- so much so, most Muslims I know actually go by their second name. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/5 "2019-06-10T17:01:44Z")
The Hebrew first name “Yehudah” seems very close to the Hebrew word for “Jew” (_Yehudi_?). The English version of “Yehudah” is “Judah” or “Jude”, with “Judith” being a feminine form. “Yehuda” was, apocryphally, one of Jacob’s sons and later the name of one of the twelve tribes. What I don’t know is whether or not it’s common for non-devout folks of Jewish ancestry to use these given names. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/6 "2019-06-10T17:27:20Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I don’t think it’s even comparable - Muhammed and its variants is\* by far\* the most popular male first name in the world. I’d happily wager there’s more than one order of magnitude difference in the popularity of the one vs the other in their respective cultures, too - I only personally know one Christian, for instance (although I know several people with that as a surname. Ironically, they’re Muslim. Slave naming is _weird_.) but I think ~50% of the Muslims I know have Mohammed as a first name (and 25 % have Abdullah or some variant)- so much so, most Muslims I know actually go by their second name. I agree that Mohammed is much more common than Christian, however, _Jesus_ is a fairly common name in some parts of the world. Oddly enough, I personally know 1 Christian but zero Muhammeds or Jesuses, of course the former is probably influenced by knowing fewer than a dozen muslims that I know of in my lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/7 "2019-06-10T17:57:39Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I agree that Mohammed is much more common than Christian, however, _Jesus_ is a fairly common name in some parts of the world. Oddly enough, I personally know 1 Christian but zero Muhammeds or Jesuses, of course the former is probably influenced by knowing fewer than a dozen muslims that I know of in my lifetime. Or Hispanics… “Jesus” (Hay-ZOOS) is an extremely common name in NYC. Or Major League Baseball :). I’m not sure I’ve met a guy named Christian, but any number of "Chris"es may have been “Christian” in full. I have met many a Christina / Cristina / Christine, but again, “Cristina” is an extrely common Hispanic name (it’s also the name of a Spanish language talk show I used to see advertised all the time, obviously named for the host). Growing up in an Italian neighborhood, I knew a couple of kids named “Sal” that I learned much later was short for “Salvatore”, meaning “Savior”. I have never met a Hispanic person with the Spanish equivalent, “Salvador”, but I remember one of the main characters in the Netflix import “Money Heist” (originally produced in Spain under the title of “Casa de Papel”) takes the name “Salvador”, and he gets called by nicknamed “Salva” - so it’s a common enough name (in Spain, at least) to have a standard short version. I always wonder how “religious sounding” such names are to their ear, as to me, “hay-ZOOS” is just a typical Hispanic name, it does not connote “Jesus Christ” to me in the way that it probably does to a native Spanish speaker who grew up religious. My guess is that once a name is that common, it probably loses its religious overtones except when specifically used in prayers and similarly overtly religious contexts. Unless a guy named Jose married a Maria and named their first child Jesus, that might draw some comments. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/8 "2019-06-11T02:35:25Z")
I’ve been acquainted w/ two men at different times who are named Gotama, and they are Buddhist. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/9 "2019-06-11T03:15:44Z")
I know a couple of Chris(tian)s, a Judith, a couple of Judys (not Jewish), but no one named Islam. I know a couple of Mohammeds, but no Jesus’s None of those names feels very religious to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/10 "2019-06-11T03:26:56Z")
I’ve known several people named Tao. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/11 "2019-06-11T03:42:30Z")
I have an ancestor named Christian. Taiwan’s religion is sort of a mix of various influences and I have yet to meet anyone name “A mix of various influences.” I will post an update if I ever meet anyone named that. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/12 "2019-06-11T03:51:02Z")
A coworker is named Gopal Krishna. He tells me these are both common names in India. [Krishna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna) is a major deity in Hinduism. [Gopal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopal_(Krishna)) is the infant/child form of Krishna. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/13 "2019-06-11T04:59:48Z")
Probably a majority of popular names among Hindu Indians are the names or epithets of Hindu deities: Ram, Ganesh, Parvati, Mahesh, Indrani, Narayan, etc. etc. etc. I’m not sure if this counts as being named for one’s religious **denomination** , though, as in the given name “Christian”. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/14 "2019-06-11T05:23:16Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > A coworker is named Gopal Krishna. He tells me these are both common names in India. Looking at our phone directory, I see several people with either middle or surnames of Gopalakrishna, Gopalakrishnan, and minor other variations. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/15 "2019-06-11T05:38:19Z")
If a boy or man has a name like Hyrum or Brigham, you can almost certainly guarantee that they’re Mormon, or at the very least, their parents were when they were born. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/16 "2019-06-11T06:46:15Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I agree that Mohammed is much more common than Christian, however, _Jesus_ is a fairly common name in some parts of the world. And don’t forget the feminine version, Emma, popular in multiple cultures which view naming their sons Jesus as “taking God’s name in vain”. > [@robardin](#): > > I have never met a Hispanic person with the Spanish equivalent, “Salvador”, but I remember one of the main characters in the Netflix import “Money Heist” (originally produced in Spain under the title of “Casa de Papel”) takes the name “Salvador”, and he gets called by nicknamed “Salva” - so it’s a common enough name (in Spain, at least) to have a standard short version. Just as a curiosity: if you meet a Spaniard called Salva(dor), you can safely ask if he’s from Valencia. There’s about a 99% probability he’ll be; the few who aren’t are named after their grandfather who was from Valencia. (and it’s _La casa de papel_) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/17 "2019-06-11T06:55:20Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > The Hebrew first name “Yehudah” seems very close to the Hebrew word for “Jew” (_Yehudi_?). The English version of “Yehudah” is “Judah” or “Jude”, with “Judith” being a feminine form. > > “Yehuda” was, apocryphally, one of Jacob’s sons and later the name of one of the twelve tribes. > > What I don’t know is whether or not it’s common for non-devout folks of Jewish ancestry to use these given names. I know of at least one Spanish Judah who was Jewish, the poet [Judah Halevi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_Halevi); it’s the name used to indicate that a male character is Jewish in Spanish legends, stories and plays (the female name used is Rebecca, there is a whole genre of legends called _la bella Rebeca_, “beautiful Rebecca”). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/18 "2019-06-11T07:47:31Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > And don’t forget the feminine version, Emma, popular in multiple cultures which view naming their sons Jesus as “taking God’s name in vain”. If someone’s named Emma, it’s much more likely their name stems from the [various Germanic roots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_(given_name)) than … whatever path gets you \*Emma \*from _Jesus_. Not an origin I’d ever encountered before today, and one of my daughters is named Emma. Is it short for Emmanuella or something? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/19 "2019-06-11T08:09:53Z")
Bingo, although both in English and French it would normally be spelled Emmanuelle. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307/20 "2019-06-11T09:48:40Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > The Hebrew first name “Yehudah” seems very close to the Hebrew word for “Jew” (_Yehudi_?). The English version of “Yehudah” is “Judah” or “Jude”, with “Judith” being a feminine form. > > “Yehuda” was, apocryphally, one of Jacob’s sons and later the name of one of the twelve tribes. > > What I don’t know is whether or not it’s common for non-devout folks of Jewish ancestry to use these given names. Israel is also a fairly common Jewish name (or at least it was - it’s considered old fashioned now). This does not necessarily refer to the country; “Israel” is also a euphemism for the Jewish people, AKA the “Children of Israel” or “Israelites”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-christians-name-their-kid-christian-or-the-local-equivalent-do-other-religions-do-this/835307.md?page=2)