JOSEPH

Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Biblical
Pronounced: JO-sef (English), zho-ZEF (French), YO-zef (German)
Meaning: Down to Earth
From Iosephus, the Latin form of Greek Iosephos, which was from the Hebrew name Yosef meaning “he will add”. In the Old Testament Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob. Because he was the favorite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an adviser to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the New Testament, belonging to Saint Joseph the husband of Mary and Joseph of Arimathea.

In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).

ADAM

Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Jewish, Arabic, Biblical
Pronounced: A-dum (English), AH-dahm (German, Dutch, Polish), ah-DAHM (Russian)
Meaning:
This is the Hebrew word for “man”. It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew Adam meaning “to be red”, referring to the ruddy color of human skin, or from Assyrian adamu meaning “to make”. According to Genesis in the Old Testament Adam was created from the earth by God (there is a word play on Hebrew Adamah “earth”). He and Eve were supposedly the first humans, living happily in the Garden of Eden until Adam ate a forbidden fruit given to him by Eve.

As an English Christian name, Adam has been common since the Middle Ages, and it received a boost after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).

JONAS

Usage: Lithuanian, Norweigan, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: JO-nus
Meaning:
The name “Jonas” is derived from the Greek “Ionas”, ultimately from the Hebrew name Jonah, meaning “dove”. The biblical character Jonah entered the whale’s gape, but was spared, and exited the gape alive — a prime example of God’s mercy in biblical terms.

The Hebrew version of the name means Dove; a symbol of peace. From this it is assumed that the name Jonas means a peaceful being. The Biblical version of the name includes the Hebrew meaning, but additionally means someone who is a ‘destroyer’ or ‘he who oppresses’. As a variation of Jonah, it can be considered to mean ‘accomplishing’, and a ‘gift from God’.

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