Christian names beginning with L

Meaning: Hebrew "God has helped" (a contracted form of Eleazar).

Figure: Brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany; raised from the dead by Jesus (John 11).

Lazarus is the brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany whose raising from the dead in John 11 is the climactic sign in the Fourth Gospel, immediately preceding the Passion. Orthodox tradition commemorates Lazarus Saturday before Palm Sunday with particular weight; Catholic and Anglican tradition commemorates him on July 29 with Martha and Mary.

Meaning: Hebrew of contested etymology; traditionally interpreted as "weary" or possibly "wild cow."

Figure: First wife of Jacob; mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah (Genesis 29-30).

Leah is the first wife of Jacob, given to him by Laban's deception (Genesis 29:23-25), and the mother of six of Jacob's twelve sons including Judah, the tribe through whom David descends. The name has come back into Christian use in recent decades in English-speaking Protestant and Catholic families.

Meaning: Hebrew "joined" or "attached."

Figure: Third son of Jacob; the priestly tribe; also another name for Matthew the apostle (Mark 2:14).

Levi is the third son of Jacob and the namesake of the priestly tribe of Israel. The same name is given to Matthew the tax collector in Mark and Luke before his calling (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). The name is in modern use particularly in English-speaking Protestant and Evangelical families.

Meaning: French place name; the Marian apparition site in southern France, 1858.

Figure: Our Lady of Lourdes.

Lourdes is the Marian name from the apparition site at Lourdes in southern France, where the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. The Catholic feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11 is also observed as the World Day of the Sick. The name has been in significant Catholic use, particularly in French and Spanish-speaking families.

Meaning: Greek "from Lucania" (a region of southern Italy), or possibly a shortened form of Latin Lucanus or Lucius.

Figure: Evangelist; physician; companion of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Gospel of Luke and Acts).

Luke is the evangelist traditionally identified as the author of the third gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, the physician described in Colossians 4:14, and a companion of Paul on portions of his missionary journeys. The Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican calendars commemorate him on October 18. He is the patron saint of physicians, surgeons, artists (an early tradition holds that he painted the first icon of the Virgin Mary), and butchers.

Meaning: Greek "from Lydia" (a region of Asia Minor).

Figure: Seller of purple cloth; first European convert (Acts 16:14-15).

Lydia is the seller of purple cloth in Philippi who became Paul's first European convert (Acts 16:14-15) and in whose house the Philippian church first met. The name has been in continuous Christian use, particularly in Protestant families.