A Century of US Names, Pt 1: Male Monikers with Hebrew Bible, Greco-Roman, and Germanic Roots
The ultimate origins of the most common names given to male newborns in the US from 1923 to 2022
When looking up name origins on Google, you'll often find your search results inundated with SEO-driven baby name websites that lack depth and quality. There's no denying the gradual deterioration of Google search results due to the prevalence of SEO-optimization.
A while ago, I came to realize that there is a highly reliable open-access resource for etymology: Wiktionary. This crowd-sourced dictionary is an affiliate project of Wikipedia and, in all honesty, is a remarkable lexicographic tool. One which I make use of on a daily basis.
Though no etymological source can guarantee 100% accuracy, I've chosen to present the most plausible origins of the names.
The names I've explored are the most common names given to newborns from 1923 to 2022, as recorded by the US government's Social Security Administration, under the title "Top Names Over the Last 100 Years". This list is based on a dataset that comprises 95 million names
The first part of this series will focus on boys' names. This series is a part of a broader research project on names.
Breaking down the list of a hundred boys’ names by origin, there are 27 names from the Hebrew Bible, 24 names with Greco-Roman roots, and 18 names of Germanic origin.
Hebrew Bible
James - From Latin Iacomus, a variant of Iacobus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿăqōḇ).
John - From Middle English John, Johan, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, from Latin Iōhannēs, from Ancient Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān).
Michael - From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, and directly from their source Latin Michaēl, Michahēl, from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”).
David - From Middle English David, from Old English Dāuīd, from Latin David, from Ancient Greek Δαυίδ (Dauíd), from Hebrew דָּוִד (dāwīḏ).
Joseph - From Middle English Joseph, Josef, from Latin Ioseph, from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוֹסֵף (Yoséf).
Daniel - From Hebrew דָּנִיֵּאל (daniyél, “God is my judge”).
Matthew - From Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Μαθθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, “gift of YHWH”).
Joshua - From Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (y'hoshúa, “Yahweh is salvation”).
Jacob - From the Latin Iacobus, which was from the Greek Ιακωβος (Iakobos), which was from the Hebrew name יַעֲקֹב (Ya'aqov).
Jonathan - From the Hebrew name יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonatan, literally "Yahweh has given").
Benjamin - From the Hebrew name בִּנְיָמִין (Binyamin) which means "son of the south" or "son of the right hand".
Samuel - From the Hebrew name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemu'el), which means "name of God".
Jack - Originally a medieval diminutive of JOHN.
Aaron - From the Hebrew name אַהֲרֹן ('Aharon).
Jose - Spanish form of Joseph, from Hebrew Yosef meaning "He will add".
Adam - From the Hebrew name אָדָם ('Adam).
Nathan - From the Hebrew name נָתָן (Natan) meaning "he gave".
Zachary - From the Hebrew name זְכַרְיָה (Zekharyah) meaning "YAHWEH has remembered".
Noah - Derived from the Hebrew name נֹחַ (Noach) meaning "rest, repose".
Ethan - From the Hebrew name אֵיתָן ('Eitan) meaning "solid, enduring, firm".
Jeremy - Medieval English form of JEREMIAH.
Jordan - From the name of the river which flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is יַרְדֵן (Yarden), and it is derived from יָרַד (yarad) meaning "descend" or "flow down".
Jesse - From the Hebrew name יִשַׁי (Yishai) which possibly means "gift".
Gabriel - From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri'el) meaning "God is my strong man".
Joe - Short form of Joseph, from Hebrew Yosef meaning "He will add".
Juan - Spanish form of John, originally from the Hebrew name Yochanan meaning "YAHWEH is gracious".
Elijah - From the Hebrew name אליהו.
Greco-Roman
Christopher - From the Late Greek name Χριστοφορος (Christophoros) meaning "bearing CHRIST".
Anthony - From Latin Antonius, name of a Roman gens, probably of Etruscan origin.
Mark - From Latin Marcus, name of an ancient Roman gens.
Steven - From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, garland”).
Andrew - From Latin Andreas, from Ancient Greek Ἀνδρέας (Andréas), from ἀνδρεῖος (andreîos, “manly”).
Paul - From Latin Paulus, originally a cognomen of the gens Aemilia.
George - From Latin Georgius, from Ancient Greek Γεώργιος (Geṓrgios), from γεωργός (geōrgós, “farmer, earthworker”), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) + ἔργον (érgon, “work”).
Timothy - From the Greek name Τιμόθεος (Timotheos) meaning "honouring God".
Jason - From the Greek name Ιασων (Iason) meaning "healer", derived from Greek ιασθαι (iasthai) "to heal".
Nicholas - From the Greek name Νικολαος (Nikolaos) which meant "victory of the people".
Stephen - From the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown, garland".
Larry - Diminutive of Lawrence, which is from the Roman cognomen Laurentius ("from Laurentum").
Justin - From the Latin name Iustinus, which was derived from JUSTUS.
Gregory - From the Late Greek name Γρηγόριος (Gregorios) derived from γρηγορός (gregoros) meaning "watchful, alert".
Alexander - From the Greek name Αλεξανδρος (Alexandros) which meant "defending men".
Patrick - From the Latin name Patricius, which meant "nobleman".
Dennis - From Dionysius, the name of the Greek god of wine, which is derived from the name of the ancient city of Dionysia.
Peter - Derived from Greek Πέτρος (Petros) meaning "stone".
Christian - From the medieval Latin name Christianus meaning "a Christian".
Austin - Medieval contracted form of AUGUSTINE.
Lawrence - From the Roman cognomen Laurentius, which meant "from Laurentum".
Vincent - From the Roman name Vincentius, which was derived from Latin vincere "to conquer".
Philip - From the Greek name Φίλιππος (Philippos) meaning "friend of horses".
Eugene - English form of Eugenius, the Latin form of the Greek name Εὐγένιος (Eugenios), which was derived from the Greek word εὐγενής (eugenes) meaning "well born".
Germanic
Robert - From Old English Hrēodbeorht, from hrēod ("fame") + beorht ("bright").
William - From the Old Norman French Willaume, corresponding to the English William.
Richard - From Old English rīċe ("ruler, king") and hard ("hard, brave, strong, stern").
Charles - From Middle English Charles, Carles, from Old French Charles, from Latin Carolus.
Edward - From Old English Ēadweard, equivalent to ead (“wealth, fortune”) + weard (“guard”).
Jeffrey - Variant of Geoffrey, from a medieval variant of Geoffroy, from Old French Geuffroi, from Proto-Germanic *Gautafrīþuz.
Gary - From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "spear town" in Old English.
Frank - From a Germanic name which referred to a member of the Germanic tribe, the Franks.
Raymond - From the Germanic name Raginmund, composed of the elements ragin "advice" and mund "protector".
Henry - From the Germanic name Heinrich, composed of the elements haim "home" and ric "ruler, power".
Walter - From a Germanic name meaning "ruler of the army", composed of the elements wald "rule" and hari "army".
Roger - Derived from the medieval Germanic elements hrod "fame" and ger "spear".
Gerald - Derived from the Germanic elements ger "spear" and wald "rule".
Carl - German form of Charles, from the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word meaning "man".
Billy - Diminutive of William, from the Germanic name Willahelm, which was composed of the elements wil "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection".
Albert - From the Germanic name Adalbert meaning "noble and bright".
Willie - Diminutive of William, from the Germanic name Willahelm, which was composed of the elements wil "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection".
Ralph - Contracted form of the Old Norse name Ráðúlfr, composed of the elements ráð "counsel" and úlfr "wolf".