Religion and Origin Name Lists: What the Labels Mean and Don't

What a religion or origin list is, and is not

This site has lists by religion and by origin. They are built from labels recorded in the dataset, and the labels mean less than they look like they do. A religion label records the collection a name came from. An origin label records a language only where a source named one. Neither describes how a family uses a name.

The table shows how large each list is and how many of its names have a documented meaning.

Reading the labels

1. Origin is a language label. Lists such as Hebrew baby names, Sanskrit baby names and Latin baby names group names by the language recorded.
2. Religion is a collection label. The Christian, Hindu and Muslim lists record the collection a name came from. A name can be used well beyond the list that holds it.
3. Neither label tells you about customs. This site holds no data on naming ceremonies, family-name conventions or patronymics, so this article does not describe them. Ask your family, or a reference you trust.

Where the labels are thin

For many names the data records no language. In our dataset, 14,302 of 19,763 records carry a placeholder origin instead of a language. A name missing from an origin list may simply have no origin recorded.

Using the lists well

• Start from the list, then read each name's own page for its meaning and sources.
• Treat the meaning as one documented sense. Check it with someone who speaks the language.
• For names written in other scripts, check spelling variants. The Muslim names guide explains how Arabic spellings vary.
• If a family tradition tells you something different from a list, trust the tradition.

For origin coverage in more detail, see the Irish, Italian, French and Greek guide.