Look up Name Trends

Why did God sometimes change a person's name in the Bible?

Answer:  When God gave someone a new name is was usually to establish a new identity. God changed Abram’s "high father" name to Abraham "father of multitude" (Genesis 17:5). God changed Jacob’s "supplanter" name to Israel “having power with God” (Genesis 32:28). He changed Simon’s "God has heard" name to Peter "rock" (John 1:42). Why did Jesus occasionally call Peter “Simon” after He had changed His name to Peter? My guess is that Jesus called him Simon whenever he was not being the “rock” God called him to be. The same is true for Jacob. God continued to call him Jacob to remind him of his past and to remind to depend on God’s strength. Another possible example is Saul / Paul. The name Saul means “asked.” The name Paul is a variation of the name Saul. The Bible does not say God changed Saul’s name to Paul. It only states that Saul was also called Paul (Acts 13:9).

 

Top 1000 U.S. Names

The Social Security Administration has released the most popular U.S. baby names of 2005. The list is derived from all Social Security card applications for children born last year. Click on a name to learn what makes it special, plus how its popularity has waxed and waned through the decades. 

9,840

#	Boys# babies		Girls# babies
1	Jacob	25,347	Emily	23,544
2	Michael	23,324	Emma	19,976
3	Joshua	22,775	Madison	19,240
4	Matthew	21,045	Abigail	15,492
5	Ethan	21,039	Olivia	15,453
6	Andrew	20,323	Isabella	14,908
7	Daniel	19,776	Hannah	14,553
8	Anthony	19,016	Samantha	13,436
9	Christopher	18,871	Ava	13,411
10	Joseph	18,737	Ashley	13,092
11	William	18,695	Sophia	12,458
12	Alexander	17,821	Elizabeth	12,453
13	Ryan	17,735	Alexis	11,770
14	David	17,712	Grace	11,633
15	Nicholas	16,772	Sarah	11,263
16	Tyler	16,712	Alyssa	10,726
17	James	15,773	Mia	10,663
18	John	15,458	Natalie	10,579
19	Jonathan	14,180	Chloe	9,406
20	Nathan	14,116	Brianna	9,218
21	Samuel	13,967	Lauren	9,098
22	Christian	13,919	Ella	8,930
23	Noah	13,623	Anna	8,885
24	Dylan	13,575	Taylor	8,538
25	Benjamin	13,282	Kayla	8,483
26	Logan	13,258	Hailey	8,475
27	Brandon	12,730	Jessica	7,966
28	Gabriel	12,471	Victoria	7,812
29	Zachary	12,047	Jasmine	7,713
30	Jose	11,836	Sydney	7,286
31	Elijah	11,355	Julia	6,968
32	Angel	10,788	Destiny	6,703
33	Kevin	10,756	Morgan	6,643
34	Jack	10,755	Kaitlyn	6,423
35	Caleb	10,710	Savannah	6,345
36	Justin	10,345	Katherine	6,276
37	Austin	9,963	Alexandra	6,225
38	Evan	9,962	Rachel	6,077
39	Robert	9,953	Lily	5,980
40	Thomas	9,866	Megan	5,783
41	Luke	Kaylee	5,779
42	Mason	9,639	Jennifer	5,752
43	Aidan	9,608	Angelina	5,690
44	Jackson	9,432	Makayla	5,623
45	Isaiah	9,310	Allison	5,566
46	Jordan	9,190	Brooke	5,478
47	Gavin	9,188	Maria	5,450
48	Connor	9,176	Trinity	5,370
49	Aiden	8,946	Lillian	5,141
50	Isaac	8,915	Mackenzie	5,127