The Common And The Obscure

Hubby Tony was gone when I rolled out of bed this morning, and I knew that he had left to go to  Mass and then out for coffee and socializing with his friends. When he came home, he told me that the Gospel reading for today was the beginning of the Book of Matthew in the Bible, the part that lists the lengthy ancestry of Jesus:

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. 

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations."

 Our conversation got me thinking...why have some Bible names become popular and others haven't? Over the years I've talked with Davids, Jacobs, Jesses, Josiahs, Rams, Josephs, and even an Amos or two. I've never met a Amminadab or a Uzziah. According to Babycenter, in 2021 David was the 41st most popular boy's name. Uzziah was 3,042 (and down 388 from the year before).

Even when you look at women's Biblical names some are popular, and others not so much. Of course there are countless Marys, Ruths, Elizabeths, and Sarahs. Hannah and Jordan were popular choices a couple of decades ago. I've heard that Martha and Delilah are starting to trend. But Tamar, Sapphira, and Zipporah? In my area, not so much.

Five years ago: Not Again!