5 entries from the /names/ index. Names with their own individual page link out.
Meaning: Hebrew "pleasant" or "my delight."
Figure: Mother-in-law of Ruth; returned to Bethlehem from Moab (book of Ruth).
Naomi is the mother-in-law of Ruth whose grief at the death of her husband and sons in Moab and whose eventual return to Bethlehem frame the book of Ruth. The name has come into significant modern Christian use across English-speaking families.
Meaning: Hebrew "gift of God."
Figure: Apostle in the Gospel of John (John 1:45-51; 21:2); traditionally identified with Bartholomew.
Nathanael is the apostle named in the Gospel of John whom Jesus calls "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit" (John 1:47). Christian tradition typically identifies him with Bartholomew, since he appears in John's lists alongside Philip just as Bartholomew appears alongside Philip in the Synoptic Gospels. The name Nathaniel has come into significant modern use, particularly in English-speaking Protestant families.
Meaning: Hebrew "the Lord comforts."
Figure: Cup-bearer to Artaxerxes who returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt its walls (book of Nehemiah).
Nehemiah is the figure who led the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile (book of Nehemiah). The name appears in modern Christian use, particularly in English-speaking Protestant and Evangelical families.
Meaning: Greek "victory of the people" (nike + laos).
Figure: Saint Nicholas of Myra; fourth-century bishop; the historical Saint Nicholas of Christmas tradition.
Saint Nicholas of Myra is the fourth-century bishop in what is now southwestern Turkey whose gifts to poor children gave rise to the entire Western tradition of Christmas gift-giving in his name. Patron saint of children, sailors, merchants, and many countries (including Russia). The Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican calendars commemorate him on December 6.
Meaning: Hebrew "rest" or "comfort."
Figure: Patriarch through whom humanity was preserved through the Flood (Genesis 6-9).
Noah is the patriarch whose family God preserves through the Flood, and with whom God establishes the rainbow covenant (Genesis 9). Christian tradition reads the ark as a figure of the Church and of baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21). The name has surged in modern Christian use across all the traditions.