I Am Called 'elohim' Series

Here are some actual names that probably could have used a bit more thought:

• “Hashtag Jameson” … not the symbol hashtag … which would have been strange enough … but ‘hashtag’ spelled out … h-a-s-h-t-a-g Jameson.

• How would you like your name to be “Pickle Parker”?

• Or “Gamble Moore” … as in “Gamble M-o-o-r-e.”

• “Mustard M. Mustard” … care to guess what this middle initial stands for? Yep … “Mustard.” Mustard Mustard Mustard … Some parent’s sense of humor is down-right cruel.

• An Egyptian couple named their daughter “Facebook.”

• You could do like these parents and name your child after your favorite video game …. “Ninja Quest.” There actually a human being out there somewhere with the name "Ninja Quest."

• Or your favorite brand names: Lexus, Armani, Rolex, Ikea. All of these are real people’s names according to the U.S. Census.

• One person named her son “Alucard” … which is “Dracula” spelled backwards.

• One of my favorites … and it’s one that’s a little more popular than you would think … is “Ab-suh-day” … which is spelled “A-b-c-d-e” and pronounced “ab-suh-day.”

• And the prize for seriously creepy name goes to a New Zealand couple who tried to name their child “Lucifer4real.” That’s “Lucifer” … the number ‘4’ … and the word ‘real’ all in one word … or name. Fortunately for the child, the New Zealand government stepped in and said, “No.”

• And last, but certainly not least, there was the infamous New Jersey couple Heath and Deborah Campbell who named their three children “Adolf Hitler,” “Joslyn Aryan Nation,” and “Honszlynn Hinler” … for real.

In the days of the Bible, your name connected you to your father. Jesus’ true or full name was not Jesus Christ. Christ is a title, not a name. His true Jewish name was “Yeshua ben Joseph” … or, in English, “Yeshua, son of Joseph.” “Ben” or “Bar” is Hebrew for “son.” For example, ‘Barnabas’ name means “Son of encouragement.” His original name, ‘Joseph’ meant “God shall add” … so if we go back to Jesus’ original and full Hebrew name it meant “Savior or Deliverer, son of God shall add.”

Remember, you and I have a “given” names … a name that was given to us by our parents … but some people in the Bible have “God-given” names. The angel Gabriel told Zechariah to name his son ‘John’ … which means “Graced by God.” An angel told Mary to name her son ‘Yeshua’ … which means “Savior” or “Deliverer.”

Sometimes God would give a person a new name to reflect a change in that person’s relationship to Him or their role in God’s plan. God changed Abram’s name … which means “High Father” … to ‘Abraham’ … which means “Father of Many.” His wife’s name … ‘Sarai’… which means “My Princess” … was changed to ‘Sarah’ … which means “Mother of Nations.” Jacob’s name meant “Holder of the Heel” or “Grabber” or “Supplanter.” Both meanings … “Grabber” or “Supplanter” … turned out to be prophetic because Jacob came out of his mother’s womb grabbing his twin brother by the heel and then later supplanting his brother Esau by tricking him out of his birthright.