Religious Names from Around the World

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Written by Monica Beyer

Organized religion is the backbone of people, families and countries. Holy books, worship and traditions build cultures that the world's population learns about and practices. The names from religions find their way onto birth certificates worldwide. Come check out the most interesting names for boys and girls that come from Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and more!

Christian Names

Christianity is the world's largest religion with over 2.1 billion followers. Christians of all denominations turn to the Bible for guidance and comfort and it is no wonder that so many people around the world have a Christian- or Bible-based name.

The name Mary comes from the Bible as the mother of Jesus. She has inspired parents around the world who have bestowed that name, or one of the many variations of it, on their daughters. Mary is of Latin origin and has uncertain meaning, possibly "star of the sea" or, conversely, "bitter." The older version of the name is Miriam, which is a Hebrew name. Miriam is also the name of the sister of Moses. Maria is another version of the name and is widely used around the world as well -- for example, in some countries, such as Mexico, it is a tradition to name the firstborn daughter Maria. Another version, Marie, is a popular choice and is used not only as a first name but also as a middle name.

If you like the name Mary but want to honor her with a name that is a little less common, try Mari, Marianne, Maura, Moira, Molly, Marin, Marianna, Marilyn, May, Marla, Meridel, Maritsa, Muriel, Marybeth, Marya, Malia, Marilla, Maureen, Mamie or Marietta.

Rebecca is a name from the Bible that has become quite popular as well. The original version was Rebekah and it means "to bind." Other versions of this name that you might want to check out are: Becca, Riva, Rivi, Rivka, Reba, Ree, Rebekha, Rebba, Rivy and Rivekka.

Joseph and its variants are also very popular for boys. Meaning "Jehovah increases," this name has Hebrew roots and has quite a number of different varieties to choose from. Try these on for size: Che, Iosef, Joss, Joe, Giuseppe, Yusuf, Seppi, Joey, Pino, Jodie, José, Josep or Pipo.

Abraham is another major Biblical figure and there are several other versions of that name as well: Ibrahim, Avi, Avram, Bram, Abe, Abarran and Abran.

Other popular boy names with Biblical roots are: Jacob, Isaac, Jesus (popular in Spanish-speaking countries), Eli, Samuel, Simon, Peter and David. Variants of these names include: Cobb, Jacoby, Seamus, Iago, Zack, Elijah, Shem, Simeon, Symon, Per, Piotr, Davon, Davi and Daviel.

Islamic Names

The religion of Islam has over 1.5 billion adherents. Its founder, the prophet Muhammad, has been the namesake of countless boys. The name has a few different versions and spellings, such as Hamid, Mohammed, Mehmoud, Mehmet, Mahmoud, Hammad and Mehmood.

Other Islamic boy names come from what are known as "attribute names" of Allah, or God. Some of the more popular ones are Ali, Kadir, Quadir, Rahim, Wahib, Azim and Hakeem.

Muhammad's family tree gives us the origin of many popular Islamic girl names. His first wife was called Khadija. This name means "early baby" and according to the Koran she is known as one of the four perfect women -- the others being Mary (mother of Jesus), Fatima (daughter of Muhammad) and Aisha (another wife of Muhammad). In Islam, Mary is more commonly known as Maryam, the Arabic version of her name.

Hindu Names

Hindu is the third largest world religion with around a billion followers. The religion features a large number of deities -- over 300,000 in fact!

Some girl names that come from Hindu goddesses are: Kali, Durga, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Devi, Sita, Radha, Parvati and Matrikas.

Some Hindu god names for boys are: Deva, Shiva, Rama, Indra, Surya, Brama, Krishna, Murugan, Hanuman and Ganesha.

Bestowing a religious name on your child is a wonderful way to honor your religion. Whatever religion you follow, look to holy scriptures and important figures in your quest.