Key to pronunciation

      a as in ham

      ah as in father

      ai as in air

      aw as in saw

      ay as in bay

      b as in big

      ch as in chin

      d as in dog

      e as in bet

      ee as in see

      eer as in beer

      er as in her

      ew as in too

      ewr as in pure

      f as in fish

      g as in go

      h as in hot

      i as in it

      j as in jam

      k as in keep

      ks as in mix

      l as in leg

      m as in man

      n as in no

      ng as in long, finger

      o as in top

      oh as in go

      oo as in too

      oor as in poor

      ow as in cow

      oy as in boy

      p as in pad

      r as in red

      s as in sit

      sh as in ship

      t as in too

      th as in thin

      th as in then

      u as in cup

      uh as in driver, China

      uu as in bull

      v as in vase

      w as in win

      y as in cry, yes

      yoo as in you

      yr as in tyre

      z as in zoo

      zh as in vision

      Stress is shown in capital letters: sister: SIS-tuh

Introduction

      Christian Christian names are back in fashion. In 2008, over half the top 100 most popular boys’ and girls’ names in the UK had a religious background. Names like Noah, Isaac and Jacob have been steadily returning to popularity over a number of years.

      Religious names also stand the test of time. Research compiled for this book shows that in the last 100 years, in both the UK and the US, names with a religious background were 50 per cent more likely than other names to have remained in the top 100 charts.

      Even in an increasingly secular culture, the popularity of religious names isn’t surprising. Parents of all beliefs are looking for names with a genuine meaning and story behind them, and they are finding that names with a Christian background fit the bill perfectly.

      Christian christian names come from two main sources: the Bible and the saints through church history. This compilation gives the background to these names. It lists some well-known names from the Bible: David, Noah, Ruth and Sarah alongside the less familiar Chloe and Susannah. The names of saints such as Anthony, Bernadette, George and Martin and many others are also included, as are Christian virtues such as Joy and Faith.

      Names appear in alphabetical order under their most common spelling, with their gender (m or f) in brackets. The following line explains the typical pronunciation (for a guide see page) and the derivation of the name (if known). The main body of the text details