A Puritan Lover's Guide to Baby (Boy) Names
(Since things over at Pyromaniacs have gotten a little zany lately, I thought I could get away with this.)Want to show the world your admiration for those lovable early modern English reformers, the Puritans? Why not name your child after one! Friend, forget those lengthy 'baby names' books. All the info you need is right here. It's actually quite simple.
If you want to go the conservative route, there are only five names you need to know:
- William (as in Whitaker, Perkins, Ames, Gouge, Twisse, Guthrie, Bridge, Fenner, Spurstowe, Jenkyn, Bradford, Bates)
- Richard (as in Greenham, Rogers, Stock, Sibbes, Vines, Busby, Baxter, Gilpin, Steele)
- Thomas (as in Gataker, Jackson, Hooker, Young, Coleman, Case, Goodwin, Temple, Cawton, Shepard, Fuller, Warren, Manton, Watson, Lye, Jacomb, Jollie, Doolittle, Boston)
- Robert (as in Rollock, Bolton, Harris, Baillie, Leighton, Dingley)
- John/Jonathan (as in Calvin, Foxe, Dod, Rainolds, Rogers, White, Ley, Selden, Cotton, Davenport, Trapp, Arrowsmith, Lightfoot, Milton, Maitland, Wallis, Owen, Collinges, Murcot, Flavel, Bunyan, Howe, Willison, Edwards)
And for those with more eccentric tastes, there's Gervase (Babington), Cornelius (Burgess), Simeon (Ashe), Jeremiah (Burroughs, Whitaker), Obadiah (Sedgwick), Tobias (Crisp), Sidrach (Simpson), Isaac (Ambrose), Lazarus (Seaman), Archibald (Johnston), Ezekiel (Culverwell, Hopkins), and the illustrious Increase (Mather).
Coming soon: How to include The Conventicle in your will!
Coming soon: How to include The Conventicle in your will!
8 comments:
Thanks for the invitation to the blog. I have often thought that a fun game at parties would be to see how many puritans and other theologians named John one could name. You can see why I am not invited to many parties.
Look forward to posting soon.
Tim Bridges
Don't worry about being a social outcast on account of your unique theological and historical interests, brother. That's exactly why we started the Conventicle. We're the academic version of A.A.
[Collective welcome from members seated in semi-circle:]
"Hi, Tim."
(I would say at this point that what is shared here, stays here ... but actually it gets broadcast to the entire online world. At least you can be assured WE won't deride your quirky party games.)
Chris,
Just wanted to congratulate you on contributing the 100th entry to The Conventicle! A memorable one to be sure.
Well done. Thanks for your hard work my friend.
Soli Deo Gloria,
JWT
I went a rather different route, instead using the last name of a Puritan for a first name. My son is therefore named Owen.
Good to know I am among friends. I am actually making this comment to see if my new profile picture will post with it (a sketch of Faithful speaking in his defence from Pilgrim's Progress).
I'm glad you listed MY name as a Puritan one! And with the English spelling too (too many assume the French spelling is correct. It isn't.
There was a Gervase Smith too, but he was one of the minor Puritans.
I know a man who named one of his sons John Owen. He has another called Howell Harris. His wife is Welsh.
Yours
Mr. Gervase Charmley
Jordan,
naming kids with a Puritan's surname is what I had in mind, too.
but what if we went further and named a son
"Owen John FamilyName"?
or "John Owen FamilyName"
Another idea,
2 surnames together in one baby: "Owen Baxter Familyname"
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