Namesake Day – March 2, 2025

History of Namesake Day

The history of the ‘namesake’ is, in itself, a history of names, which is why many of us bear the same names today. However, we cannot say when naming began. But we do know it existed as long as humans have existed. From the beginning of written history, most names have always taken a descriptive form – that is, they were literal translations of objects, animals, or phrases. For example, Sarah named her son Isaac in the Bible, meaning ‘one who laughs’ or ‘one who rejoices.’

Also, Jacob was renamed Israel, meaning ‘struggle with God’ or ‘fighter of God.’ Early names were also compounds, for example, Frankish names such as Fredegund (peacebattle) and Childeric (battlepowerful). However, descriptive names were most pervasive, and as the pool of descriptive names grew in each culture, people stopped creating names and naming their children after existing ones. But as time went by and old languages went extinct, these names lost their meanings, and only the word itself remained.

The rise in prominence of the church began the traditions of naming people after saints and martyrs of the church. These include Jewish names found in the Bible, such as John, James, Joseph, and Mary, and ancient Romans that converted to Christianity, such as Mark, Nicholas, Martin, Paul, and Catherine. That trend spread across most of the world, with cultures abandoning their original name pools and adopting the Christian ones as they converted to Christianity.

Native saints and martyrs were also added to this pool. Due to that, many old names have survived to this day. An example is Edward, an Anglo-Saxon name, which is still used today because it was the name of a famous saint. Today, this tradition of naming ourselves after saints, martyrs, or famous people remains, and hardly new names are created. While some people’s names no longer mean anything literally, they still carry a meaning that reflects our parents’ hopes and dreams.