Christian names beginning with A

Meaning: Hebrew name of contested etymology; traditionally interpreted as "mountain of strength" or "exalted."

Figure: Brother of Moses; first high priest of Israel (Exodus 28).

Aaron is the elder brother of Moses, the first high priest of Israel, and the figure through whom the Aaronic priesthood passes down in the Hebrew Bible. Modern Christian families across the traditions use the name freely. The Catholic and Orthodox calendars commemorate Aaron together with other Old Testament patriarchs in a shared feast.

Meaning: Hebrew "breath" or "vapor."

Figure: Second son of Adam and Eve; offered the accepted sacrifice (Genesis 4).

Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve, whose offering God accepts and who is killed by his brother Cain (Genesis 4). Christian tradition reads Abel as a type of the innocent sufferer; the Roman Canon names him in its commemoration of the righteous of the Old Covenant. The name has been used in Christian families since the early centuries.

Meaning: Hebrew "my father is joy."

Figure: Wife of David after the death of her first husband Nabal (1 Samuel 25).

Abigail appears in 1 Samuel 25 as a wise woman whose intervention averts violence between her household and David, and who later becomes David's wife. The name has been continuously in Christian use, with particular popularity in English-speaking Protestant families since the Puritan period.

Meaning: Hebrew "father of many" (Abraham); the earlier Abram is "exalted father."

Figure: Patriarch of Israel; God's covenant partner (Genesis 12-25).

Abraham is the patriarch through whom the covenant with God comes to Israel; his story spans Genesis 12 to 25 and his name change from Abram to Abraham (Genesis 17:5) marks the covenant. The name is honored across all Christian traditions and shared with the Jewish and Islamic traditions. Modern Christian families use the name freely.

Meaning: Hebrew "man" or "earth," with the wordplay on adamah (ground) explicit in Genesis 2.

Figure: First man; first human in the Genesis creation narrative.

Adam is the first man in the Genesis creation narrative, the figure from whom all humanity descends in the biblical account. Paul reads Christ as "the second Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45), making Adam a typological figure in the Christian theological tradition.

Meaning: Latin "from Adria" (a town near the Adriatic Sea), Christianized in usage through Saint Adrian.

Figure: Saint Adrian of Nicomedia; fourth-century Roman officer and martyr.

The Roman name Adrian (Hadrian) was Christianized through Saint Adrian of Nicomedia, a fourth-century Roman officer who converted to Christianity after witnessing Christian martyrs and was himself martyred. Six popes have taken the name (most recently Adrian VI in 1522). The name has been in continuous Christian use.

Meaning: Greek "pure" or "chaste" (hagne); often associated by folk etymology with Latin agnus, "lamb."

Figure: Roman virgin martyr, c. 304 AD.

Agnes is the young Roman virgin martyr (traditionally aged twelve or thirteen) killed in the Diocletian persecution c. 304. Her feast on January 21 is among the oldest in the Christian calendar; the Roman tradition of blessing the lambs whose wool becomes the pallium for newly appointed archbishops happens on her feast day. The name has been in continuous Christian use.

Meaning: Latin "of Alba" (the white city) or possibly from albus, "white."

Figure: Saint Alban; first British martyr (third or fourth century).

Alban is honored as the first British martyr, killed for sheltering a Christian priest during a Roman persecution (probably late third century, though traditional dates vary). The cathedral and town of St Albans in England take his name. He is honored in particular in the Anglican and Catholic traditions of Britain.

Meaning: Greek "immortal" (ambrotos).

Figure: Saint Ambrose of Milan; bishop and Doctor of the Church (c. 340-397).

Saint Ambrose is the fourth-century bishop of Milan, one of the four original Doctors of the Western Church, the figure who baptized Augustine of Hippo at the Easter Vigil of 387. His hymns, his preaching, and his confrontations with imperial power shaped the Western Christian tradition. The Catholic and Anglican calendars commemorate him on December 7.

Meaning: Hebrew "borne" or "carried"; traditionally interpreted as "burden-bearer."

Figure: Eighth-century BC prophet to the northern kingdom; book of Amos.

Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets, an eighth-century BC herdsman from Tekoa who prophesied against the northern kingdom of Israel. His name has come back into use in English-speaking Protestant families in recent decades; the Catholic and Orthodox calendars include feast days for the prophet.

Meaning: Greek "resurrection" (anastasis).

Figure: Saint Anastasia of Sirmium; fourth-century martyr.

Saint Anastasia is the early-fourth-century martyr whose feast in the Roman tradition is December 25 (traditionally the second Mass of Christmas Day was at Sant'Anastasia in Rome). The Orthodox calendar honors her on December 22. The name has been in continuous Orthodox use, with particular popularity in Russian families.

Meaning: Greek "manly" or "courageous" (from aner, andros, "man").

Figure: Apostle; brother of Peter; first-called disciple in John 1:40.

Andrew is the brother of Peter and one of the first apostles called by Jesus (John 1:40). Tradition holds that he preached in Greece and was martyred at Patras on an X-shaped cross (the saltire). He is the patron saint of Scotland, Greece, and Russia; the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican calendars commemorate him on November 30.

Meaning: Hebrew "grace" or "favor" (from Hannah, taken through Greek Anna into Latin and the European languages).

Figure: The prophetess at the Temple who recognized the infant Jesus (Luke 2:36-38); also the traditional name for the mother of Mary in Christian tradition.

Anna is the Greek form of Hebrew Hannah. The New Testament Anna is the prophetess at the Temple of Jerusalem who recognized the infant Jesus (Luke 2:36-38). The traditional name for the mother of the Virgin Mary in Christian tradition is also Anna (or Anne, in the Western form). The Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox calendars commemorate Saint Anne with major feasts.

Meaning: Old Germanic "divine helmet" or "God-protected."

Figure: Saint Anselm of Canterbury; Doctor of the Church (1033-1109).

Saint Anselm of Canterbury is the eleventh-century Benedictine monk, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Doctor of the Church whose ontological argument for God's existence and whose Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became Man) are foundational works of medieval theology. The Catholic and Anglican calendars commemorate him on April 21.

Meaning: Latin family name of contested etymology; possibly from Etruscan roots.

Figure: Multiple major saints: Anthony of Egypt (the Great); Anthony of Padua.

Two principal saints named Anthony are honored across Christian tradition. Anthony the Great (c. 251-356) is the Egyptian desert father, the founder of Christian monasticism, whose biography by Athanasius shaped Christian ascetic tradition. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) is the Franciscan Doctor of the Church, the patron of lost things, honored in Catholic devotional tradition. The Catholic calendar commemorates Anthony of Padua on June 13; the Orthodox and Catholic calendars commemorate Anthony the Great on January 17.

Meaning: Greek; the name is a shortened form of names like Apollonios (related to the god Apollo), Christianized in use.

Figure: Eloquent Jewish preacher from Alexandria who became a Christian missionary (Acts 18:24-28; 1 Corinthians 1-3).

Apollos is the Alexandrian Jewish convert described in Acts 18 as "an eloquent man, well-versed in the Scriptures." Paul refers to him as a co-laborer in 1 Corinthians 1-3. The name is rare in modern Christian use but appears in some traditions.

Meaning: Latin "eagle."

Figure: Jewish-Christian tent-maker who taught Apollos and worked with Paul (Acts 18; Romans 16:3-5).

Aquila is the Jewish-Christian tent-maker who, with his wife Priscilla, instructed Apollos and worked alongside Paul (Acts 18). The pair are referenced in Paul's letters as co-workers in the mission. The name appears in some Catholic use.

Meaning: Hebrew "happy" or "blessed."

Figure: Eighth son of Jacob; the tribe of Asher (Genesis 30:13).

Asher is the eighth son of Jacob and the namesake of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The name has come into significant modern use in English-speaking Protestant families, often chosen for its meaning ("happy" or "blessed") as much as for the biblical figure.

Meaning: Greek "immortal" (athanatos).

Figure: Saint Athanasius of Alexandria; Doctor of the Church (c. 296-373).

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria is the fourth-century bishop, theologian, and Doctor of the Church whose defense of Christ's divinity at the Council of Nicaea (325) and subsequent persecutions made him the principal figure in the Trinitarian controversies of the fourth century. The Athanasian Creed bears his name. The Catholic and Orthodox calendars commemorate him on May 2.

Meaning: Latin "venerable" or "great" (from augustus).

Figure: Saint Augustine of Hippo; Doctor of the Church (354-430).

Saint Augustine of Hippo is the great fifth-century bishop and Doctor of the Western Church, the author of The Confessions and The City of God, whose theological writing shaped both Catholic and Protestant Christianity. The Catholic and Anglican calendars commemorate him on August 28; the Orthodox calendar on June 15. The English contracted form Austin is also widely used.