Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief [1 ed.] 9781032350431, 9781032350448, 9781003325000

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Preface
Editor Biographies
Chapter 1: Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming : Names, Identity, and Belief
Background
Introduction to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Content and Structural Considerations of this Book
Recurring Themes Across the Book’s Chapters
Identity and Distinctiveness as a People
Special Status and Vulnerability
Beyond Referentiality
Names, Covenants, and Progression
Names and Doctrinal Insight
Notes
References
Part I: Cultural and Historical Perspectives
Chapter 2: Place Names of the Mormon West: Religion, Heritage, and Idiosyncrasy
Native Aboriginal Names
Spanish Place Names
Explorers, European Fur Trappers, and Place Names
Distinctive LDS Toponyms
LDS Scriptural Names on the Land
Contemporary LDS Names Given in the West
Biblical Names
Names by Latter-day Saints Following American Traditions
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 3: Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah
Historical Demographic Background Information
Personal Names
Surnames
Given Names
Bynames
Toponyms
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 4: Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore
Naming and LDS Folklore
Places
People
Family Names
Changing Names
Giving Names to Children
Church Leader Names
Labels and Titles
Labels
Titles
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 5: Composite LDS Given Names
Notes
References
Chapter 6: Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming
Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming. Part I (1982–98)
Percentages of Children Given the Most Common Names
Differences in Names Commonly Used
Names from the Book of Mormon
Naming After Famous Church Members
A Basketball Connection
Comparing Singular Names in Colorado and Utah
Are Utah Baby Namer Names Distinctively LDS?
Conclusion to Part I
Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming. Part II (for Data in 2012)
Percentages of Children Given the Most Common Names
Differences in Names Commonly Used
Book of Mormon Names and LDS Heroes
The Uniqueness of Utah Naming in 2012
Conclusion to Part II
Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming. Part III (for Data in 2021)
Percentages of Children Given the Most Common Names
Differences in Names Commonly Used
Book of Mormon Names and LDS Heroes
The Uniqueness of Utah Naming in 2021
Conclusion to Part III
Notes
References
Chapter 7: Early Latter-day Saint Code-Names
Notes
References
Part II: Doctrinal and Scriptural Perspectives
Chapter 8: Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief
Names and the LDS Belief in a Latter-day Restoration
Names and the Covenant Relationship
Names and LDS Heritage
The Importance of Personal Names
Names and the Doctrine of the Plan
Names and the Book of Mormon
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 9: The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
Taking Upon Oneself the Name of Christ
The Name of the Church
The Name Joseph Smith
The Gathering
Salvation as a Family Affair
Names, The Abrahamic Covenant, and the Eternal Nature of Families
Priesthood and the Name of God
Special Witnesses of the Name of Christ
Names and the Priesthood Keys Restored by Moses, Abraham, and Elijah
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 10: Book of Mormon Names: Beyond Etymology
Overview of the Book of Mormon
Trends in Book of Mormon Names
Apologetic Approaches
Etymological Approach
Attestational Approach
Deciding Between Alternatives
Naming Practices in the Book of Mormon
Future Work
Notes
References
Chapter 11: Striking While the Irony Is Hot: Hebrew Onomastics and Their Function within the Book of Mormon Text
A Note on Language, the Onomasticon, and Methodology
A “Wrestle… Before God”: Jacob and Enos
Sons and Daughters at the Right Hand of God: Benjamin
Alma: God’s “Young Man” in Hiding
Shilom: Peace and Its Absence in Zeniff's Autobiography
Noah: Rest and the Absence of Rest as the Inversion of a Biblical Onomastic Trope
“(The Divine) Father Is Man”: Abish as a Hebrew ʾăbî -name in the Narrative Context of Theophany
Mosiah: Yahweh is Savior
Ammon the Faithful
Seed of Compassion: Zarahemla and Its Abrahamic Covenant Significance
Place of Inheritance: Jershon and Its Abrahamic Covenant Significance
Lifted Up in Pride and Humbled in Poverty: The Narrative Juxtaposition of Zoram, Zoramites, and the Rameumptom Vis-à-Vis the Poor at Onidah
Descending to Destruction: Jared and Jaredites in the Cainitic Traditions
Other Examples: Joseph, Amlici/Amalickiah, and Rabbanah
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 12: “Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”: Names and Naming in the Ancient World
The Importance of Names
Naming and Existence
Renaming
New and Hidden Names
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 13: Book of Mormon Names: A Collection that Defies Expectation
Expectation 1: Personal and Cultural Identifiers
Name Letter Effect
Influence of Name Letter Preferences
Name Letter Use by Authors
Associations from Life and Culture
Expectation 2: “Rules” of Authorship
Care
Considerations
Accessibility
Character Fit
Multiple Sources
Expectation 3: Properties and Probabilities
Phonotactic Patterns
Name Sources for Comparison
Study Parameters
Phoneme Identity and Frequency
Phonotactic Probability
Measurement of Phonotactic Probability
Phonotactic Calculator Results
Variance in Phonotactic Probabilities with the First Four Phonemes
Probability Spread Across Four Phonemic Lengths
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index

Citation preview

Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming

Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming approaches cultural, historical, and doctrinal dimensions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through a fresh lens that explores how these dimensions intersect with names and naming. Featuring a collection of chapters from multiple authors, its bipartite structure examines fascinating topics in relation to the Church, looking first at cultural and historical perspectives before analyzing doctrinal and scriptural perspectives. The book discusses such matters as how contemporary naming practices of Latter-day Saints compare to those outside the faith, how code names were used in one of the faith’s books of scripture to protect Church leaders from persecution, and how names and naming relate to the covenant identity of Church members. Through its fresh approach to understanding religious identity and belief in relation to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this book is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of Mormon studies and will also be of interest to people with a fascination with names and naming issues as those occur in a variety of settings, including religious ones. Dallin D. Oaks is a professor of English Linguistics at Brigham Young University and the author or editor of several books, including Linguistics at Work and Structural Ambiguity in English (2 vols.). Paul Baltes edits academic books and other creative works. He has been researching names since his MA Thesis. He continues to research and apply how we process meaning in business and leadership organizations. Kent Minson has worked in editing and publishing for over two decades and is currently the manager of BYU Academic Publishing.

Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming Names, Identity, and Belief Edited by Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson

First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-032-35043-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-35044-8 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-32500-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000 Typeset in Bembo by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)

Contents

Preface Editor Biographies

vii ix

1 Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief 1 DALLIN D. OAKS

PART I

Cultural and Historical Perspectives

19

2 Place Names of the Mormon West: Religion, Heritage, and Idiosyncrasy 21 RICHARD H. JACKSON

3 Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah

42

LYNN HENRICHSEN, GEORGE BAILEY, TIMOTHY WRIGHT, AND JACOB HUCKABY

4 Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore

70

ERIC A. ELIASON

5 Composite LDS Given Names

101

DON E. NORTON

6 Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming

111

CLEVELAND K. EVANS

7 Early Latter-day Saint Code-Names JOHN A. TVEDTNES

161

vi Contents PART II

Doctrinal and Scriptural Perspectives

167

8 Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief

169

DALLIN D. OAKS

9 The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ 201 JOSEPH FIELDING MCCONKIE

10 Book of Mormon Names: Beyond Etymology

217

JOHN GEE

11 Striking While the Irony Is Hot: Hebrew Onomastics and Their Function within the Book of Mormon Text

228

MATTHEW L. BOWEN

12 “Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”: Names and Naming in the Ancient World

250

STEPHEN D. RICKS

13 Book of Mormon Names: A Collection that Defies Expectation 268 BRAD WILCOX, WENDY BAKER-SMEMOE, SHARON BLACK, AND BRUCE L. BROWN

Index

300

Preface

One of the first things we ask people when we wish to get to know them is their name. Learning people’s names is an important initial step to knowing about them, but in order to get better acquainted with them, we usually ask other questions such as where they are from, what kinds of jobs or hobbies they have, or something about their educational background. Interestingly, it doesn’t generally occur to us to ask them further questions about their name (or nickname) unless it is unique or unusual. Even then we may hesitate or ask only a quick, superficial question. We don’t often inquire about their family patterns of naming, nor do we query them about their views regarding names and naming culture, possibly because we feel it would be too socially invasive or unusual upon first meeting them, but more likely because we don’t really think about how much we might discover by doing so. Yet we could really learn some important information if we were to ask how they feel about their own name, how their name was selected, whether there was a significance to the name they were given, how the bestowal of the name was formalized, what kinds of names they would give (or have given) their own children, what kinds of measures they take to protect their names and those of loved ones or others they care about, etc. Such information would reveal much about their background, preferences, attitudes, and perhaps even beliefs. While the study of names and naming (onomastics) can be revealing on an individual level, it is very significant when applied and extended to a religious belief system, as well as the cultural practices and attitudes of its adherents. In this book, we have collected a variety of chapters that apply an onomastic lens to different facets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members have sometimes been known unofficially by the nickname “Mormons.” Our anticipated audience for this book consists of those who identify with the Church and its system of beliefs, as well as those who don’t but are interested in learning something more about the Church, its members, and their beliefs. For the benefit of those who are not very familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and thus might not recognize or understand certain references and discussions in what follows, we have provided some basic background information in the introduction. It should be noted here that when describing or referring to Church doctrine and history, this book will not encumber the text with a lot of qualifying

viii Preface expressions such as “alleged” or “claimed.” We will describe some events and beliefs from the perspective of a Latter-day Saint’s doctrine and belief, and we expect that our readers can recognize when religious claims are presented from that standpoint. We expect, for example, that if our readers see a reference to “the prophet Joseph Smith,” they can recognize that this phrase contains an accepted title and status from the standpoint of those who belong to the Church and believe its tenets. We also recognize that readers from outside the Church will apply their own interpretive significance to such a phrase. Similarly, in the last part of the book, we have a few articles involving apologetics. Those articles nicely illustrate how a consideration of names and naming can relate to defenses that people make for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. And even as some readers may not accept the conclusions that are drawn in those pieces, we think there is value in seeing how onomastic considerations have factored into arguments that have been made on behalf of that religious text. Of course, in all of what follows, the views, arguments, and beliefs that are presented are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This book has benefited from the efforts and input of various individuals. We first wish to acknowledge Professor Leonard Ashley, who initially proposed that a book related to Latter-day Saints and naming be prepared. We also thank all the various authors who have prepared articles for this book. In some cases, they have also assisted in reviewing or answering questions about other matters that have arisen in the preparation of this book. Over the years we have also received some useful input and assistance from Ed Geary, Bill Eggington, Matt Christensen, and John Gee. We have also had some editorial assistance or other support from Tim Zeidner, Raymond Pai, Rachel H. Bricker, Cari Taylor Averett, Bethany Cummings Petersen, the Brigham Young University (BYU) Linguistics department and College of Humanities, as well as Mel Thorne and the BYU Faculty Publications Center. We are especially grateful for the considerable help we received from Jessica Mitton and Kayue Chan. We also thank the editorial team at Routledge, and their colleagues, for their considerable kindness, help, and support, especially Ceri McLardy, Iman Hakimi, Thivya Vasudevan, and Helen Chomyszyn. For a variety of reasons, this book has been many years in preparation. The editors thank the authors for their patience in waiting for this volume to appear. We also respectfully acknowledge Joseph Fielding McConkie and John Tvedtnes, who both passed away before being able to see the completion of this book. They were excited to share their works, words, and ideas with the world.

Editor Biographies

Dallin D. Oaks, who is the lead editor of this book, is a professor of English Linguistics at Brigham Young University, and the author or editor of several books, including Linguistics at Work and Structural Ambiguity in English (2 vols.). Of the latter book, the Oxford Bibliographies says that it is “the most comprehensive treatment of ambiguity” and “a must-have reference for professionals.” Paul Baltes holds a PhD in English Linguistics from Purdue University and has professionally edited numerous academic books and other creative works. He has been researching names since his master’s thesis, “On Meaning, Reference, and Predicative Functions of Personal Names” (Purdue University, 1991). He continues to research and apply how we process meaning in business and leadership. Kent Minson holds both an MA in English with an editing emphasis and an MBA from Brigham Young University. He has worked in publishing for over two decades, and is currently the manager of BYU Academic Publishing. In addition, he has co-authored the article “When Pages Collide: Dissecting the Words of Mormon,” BYU Studies Quarterly 51, no. 4 (2012).

1 Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming Names, Identity, and Belief Dallin D. Oaks

It would be hard to think of very many things that would be more closely connected with people’s identity than their personal names. Infants’ early recognition of their own given (first) name comes around a time in which they also recognize their individuality and distinctness from their mother. With time they learn that they have a surname that often serves to establish their shared identity with other members of their family. But it also serves to distinguish them from those outside their immediate family unit. Although a family identity can serve to advance a person’s acceptance with certain groups outside the family, in some cases it can serve as a wedge to divide groups. And names are part of this as well. A Rockefeller might feel comfortable marrying a Carnegie, but we wouldn’t expect a Hatfield to marry a McCoy, or a Capulet to marry a Montague. Of course, a full consideration of names and identity includes more than a person’s given (first) and surnames as they relate to their immediate family. The perceived boundaries that people have can transcend their immediate families to include identities stemming from their ancestral origins, where they live, where they work, or what kinds of customs, standards, or values they maintain. And names or titles are often an important part of this.1 In this book, we shall explore the intersection of names with another significant element of people’s identity: religious belief. More specifically, we shall look at names and naming (onomastics) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members have sometimes been called “Mormons” or “Latter-day Saints” (LDS).2 As will become apparent, this intersection transcends deliberate naming practices and extends into doctrine, religious interpretation, apologetics, history, folklore, and other areas. It will be evident that names are related not only to issues of identity but to other matters as well. Indeed, it is remarkable to see how many aspects of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are integrated with names and naming. Before taking up this matter in greater detail, it will be necessary to contextualize our discussion briefly with some basic background about the Church. With regards to the study of names and naming, one scholar has noted: In describing the practices of a particular group of people, it is important to understand what it is that makes those people a cohesive group (if indeed they DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-1

2  Dallin D. Oaks are at all) and therefore whether it makes sense to think about them as sharing a cultural framework. So the society or community in which names are being studied is as much an object of study as the names themselves.3 Thus, even if the background explanation that follows is brief, it does provide some necessary perspective for our consideration of names and naming in the context of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and much of its information is relevant for specific matters related to the names and naming discussed in subsequent chapters.

Background Introduction to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The story of the Church begins with Joseph Smith4 and an event he experienced, which is now commonly referred to as “the first vision.” In 1820, he entered a grove of trees in upstate New York to pray about which of the many churches was true. As he reported, in answer to his prayer, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in a vision and told him to join none of the existing churches because they had all become corrupted. Later, he learned that he would be God’s chosen prophet to restore the Lord’s Church in these latter days. As part of this restoration, he was informed by an angel that he was to translate an ancient record contained on gold plates that had been buried in a hillside near his home many centuries earlier. This record contained the words of prophets of God who had lived in the Americas anciently. These writings had been abridged by a prophet named Mormon, whose son Moroni subsequently buried the record and many centuries later was the angelic messenger who appeared to Joseph and told him to translate the gold plates. Joseph did this, publishing the record as the Book of Mormon. Shortly after the publication of the Book of Mormon, Joseph organized The Church of Jesus Christ in 1830. This church was understood to be a restoration of the ancient church that the Lord had organized when He was on the earth. Joseph Smith received revelations for the instruction and guidance of the Church and its members. It was in fact in a later revelation to the prophet that the Lord revealed that His church was to be called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.5 The term “Saint” was commonly applied to the Christian believers in New Testament times,6 and the term “Latter-day Saints” serves to distinguish the modern Saints from those Saints who lived in ancient times. From its beginning, the Church grew rapidly. But subsequent persecution, as well as membership growth through missionary successes, led to the Church’s relocation from upstate New York to Ohio, Missouri, and eventually to a small Illinois settlement on the banks of the Mississippi River, which they named Nauvoo, a Hebrew word, meaning “beautiful.” This small settlement grew rapidly, soon rivaling even Chicago in size, as church members gathered “to Zion” from not only different parts of the United States but also from Great Britain, where missionary efforts had been initiated. But persecution from people in the

Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming   3 surrounding area once again increased, culminating in the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum in 1844. Soon it became apparent that the Saints had to move on again. This time their attention was directed westward under the leadership of their new prophet, Brigham Young, who, in fulfillment of a prophecy of Joseph Smith, would take them to the Rocky Mountains. The first group of Saints entered the valley of the Great Salt Lake in what is now the state of Utah in 1847. From there, Brigham Young, who for a while was also the territorial governor, sent out people to colonize not only other parts of what is now Utah but also other areas of what are now Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, California, and even Southern Canada (the collective region that is sometimes called “the Mormon Corridor” or “Mormon West”). Even now the numerical influence of the Church, while most prominent in Utah, is still felt to a lesser degree throughout the Western states of the United States. Missionary efforts continued in the late 1800s, finding some notable success in Scandinavia and Polynesia. In the 20th century, missionary work accelerated in other parts of the world, resulting now in a church membership that is larger outside North America than within it. After settling in the relative isolation of the Intermountain West, the Latter-day Saints openly practiced polygamy, an institution that was officially discontinued by the Church in 1890 but which is still associated with the Church in the minds of many people who are not its members. Perhaps some of the confusion results from the continued practice of “plural marriage” by small fundamentalist groups like the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), who have broken off from the Church but who are not sufficiently distinguished from the larger Church in media reports about those who practice polygamy. Contrary to how they are sometimes represented by others outside the faith, Latter-day Saints regard themselves as Christians. They believe in the centrality and necessity of Christ to their salvation, and they worship Him. The charge that they are not Christians often results from some distinctive doctrines and practices, including the fact that they reject the traditional Trinitarian doctrine of the Godhead. Instead, the Church teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate individuals, the Father and the Son having physical bodies of flesh and bone. Latter-day Saints believe that the Lord has provided a plan for faithful individuals to return to Him as they become like Him and ultimately live as He lives. This plan, often known as the “plan of salvation,” was set out in a council that was held before the earth was created. In order for people to return to Him, they need to make and keep covenants associated with sacred ordinances such as baptism. Some of the most sacred ordinances are performed in holy temples, which differ from the chapels, where weekly worship services are held. Temples are also the location where sacred ordinance work such as baptisms are performed by proxy on behalf of the dead who lived without an opportunity for these necessary ordinances. The LDS belief in the necessity of certain ordinances and works on the part of believers has been incorrectly perceived by others as a belief in salvation by works. Latter-day Saints, however, believe in the necessity of grace for their salvation. As the Book of Mormon teaches, people are saved by grace after all they can do (see 2 Nephi 25:23).

4  Dallin D. Oaks Latter-day Saints believe that the Lord continues to direct His restored Church through living prophets. These prophets receive inspiration and revelations to guide the Church and its members. The Church canon of scripture consists of (1) the Bible; (2) the Book of Mormon; (3) the Pearl of Great Price, a small book of miscellaneous texts, including the writings of Moses and Abraham; and (4) the Doctrine and Covenants, a book primarily consisting of revelations to the prophet Joseph Smith as well as a few of his prophet successors. It is in this latter book of scripture that members of the Church have received instructions, among other things, pertaining to a distinctive health code known as the “Word of Wisdom.” This health code prohibits the use of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. Because of the Latter-day Saint belief in continuing revelation, the canon of scripture is essentially open. The Church teaches that it is part of a modern-day restoration rather than a reformation. Such a restoration was necessary because not only were crucial doctrines, teachings, and covenants lost from the earth in a universal apostasy in the early Christian era, but priesthood authority was lost as well. The Church does not accept the idea of a “priesthood of all believers,” maintaining instead that priesthood authority is conveyed only to those who have been called of God and received the priesthood through the laying on of hands by those who possess the proper priesthood authority. Because authentic priesthood authority had been lost from the earth during a great apostasy after the early Christian era and needed to be restored by those who had previously held it, Joseph Smith was visited by resurrected angelic beings for this purpose. Peter, James, and John restored the higher, Melchizedek Priesthood, and John the Baptist restored the lower, Aaronic Priesthood. The priesthood is held now by worthy, male members of the Church. The Church is led at its highest levels by three governing bodies: the First Presidency, consisting of the President of the Church and his two counselors; the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and the First and Second Quorums of the Seventy. The members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are regarded as “prophets, seers, and revelators,” though the President of the Church is the only one commonly referred to as “the Prophet.” Individuals in these three highest levels of church governance are sometimes collectively referred to as “general authorities.” At the general or highest level of Church leadership, there are also auxiliary leaders such as the presidency of the Relief Society (the organized women’s association within the Church), of the Primary (the children’s organization), and of the Young Men and Young Women organizations. At the local level, the individual congregations known as “wards” are presided over by a bishopric, consisting of a Bishop and his two counselors. These wards in turn are organized into a larger group called a “stake,” which generally consists of about 8–12 wards and which is presided over by a stake presidency, consisting of a Stake President and his two counselors. The stake presidency is assisted by a high council, consisting of twelve priesthood holders. Each ward has auxiliary presidencies as well. Church leadership and service in the wards and stakes are carried out through a lay ministry, with each member, including even bishoprics and stake presidencies, serving without pay.

Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming   5 Content and Structural Considerations of this Book In this book, the LDS history and culture that is described is limited primarily to the United States. We are well aware of the fact that in recent years, through active missionary efforts, the Church population outside the United States and Canada has actually exceeded the numbers within the United States and Canada, but those populations outside the US and Canada have not in most cases had extended periods of time in large enough communities of Latter-day Saints in concentrated numbers to allow for some of the kinds of phenomena that we can observe in the North American LDS communities. And with the exception of Great Britain and Canada, they were also not part of the immediate or near-immediate culture of the Church’s initial founding. No doubt some distinctive localized LDS naming practices are developing in foreign countries as the Church continues to grow in those other settings. But we shall merely note that although some attention will ultimately need to be given to LDS naming patterns and issues in other Latter-day Saint communities across the world, this initial effort to address this topic will begin largely with the society and culture in which the Church began, and for the longest period of time has had the largest number of adherents, the United States. Our book is divided into two major parts. The first part has chapters treating historical and cultural dimensions of LDS naming. In this part, we begin with Jackson’s chapter on place names in the Mormon West; Henrichsen et al.’s consideration of the Scandinavian immigrant influences on personal and place names in Utah; Eliason’s discussion of some of the folkloristic elements of LDS names and naming patterns; Norton’s chapter on some of the traditional patterns in names that Latter-day Saints have given their children; Evans’ chapter that utilizes an empirical approach to examine contemporary naming among the Latter-day Saints; and Tvedtnes’ examination of code names that were used to protect the identity of early Church leaders. The second part of the book contains chapters about names and naming in relation to Church doctrine and apologetics. In this part, we have a chapter by Oaks that introduces a wide variety of onomastic issues within LDS doctrine and belief, including the latter-day restoration, covenant identity, and the plan of salvation. In the next chapter, McConkie asserts the connection between salvation and bearing the right names. Gee is the first of several authors in this part that takes us more directly into the realm of LDS apologetics (explanations that clarify, justify, or defend LDS doctrines and claims) as he examines some important methodological considerations related to etymological and attestational approaches that have been applied to Book of Mormon names and apologetics. Such studies have important implications for arguments to establish whether the Book of Mormon is an authentic record of an ancient people. As part of his discussion, he looks at some proposed Hebrew and Egyptian origins (among others) for the name Nephi, the name for one of the first major characters we learn about in the Book of Mormon. Demonstrating possible Hebrew or Egyptian origins (or even a language in the same region) would be useful, though not essential, in establishing the plausibility of the initial historical setting of the book, since Nephi (whose family leaves Jerusalem and travels to the Americas about 600 BC) says, “I make a record

6  Dallin D. Oaks in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2). In the next chapter, Bowen focuses his attention more specifically on the Hebraic origin and meaning of some names in the Book of Mormon, showing how they have interpretive significance for the text itself. Ricks discusses the role of names and naming in the ancient world, interweaving apocryphal and other historical texts in a discussion of a topic that relates to sacred LDS practices and beliefs. Some of these are associated with temple worship that Latter-day Saints choose not to discuss openly. The very nature of his indirectness with regards to current Church beliefs and practices serves to illustrate the sacred quality that some dimensions of names and naming can have for members of the Church. Ricks doesn’t clarify the extent to which ancient practices or beliefs compare to or differ from those of Latter-day Saints. Instead, his discussion presumes that people of varying backgrounds and familiarity with regards to LDS doctrine and temple practices will see greater or lesser significance to what he describes. The implicit comparison that Ricks provides between the sacred role of names anciently and their importance in current LDS temple worship can also be seen as a kind of apologetics, bolstering the Latter-day Saint claim that its system of belief and practice is a restoration of anciently held beliefs and practices, even as some differences might exist between the groups’ beliefs and practices being compared. Finally, Wilcox et al. look at Book of Mormon apologetics from two fresh angles with regards to the competing claims about its ancient historicity versus its having been written by Joseph Smith. In order to assess, even if implicitly, the claim of some outsiders that Joseph wrote the Book of Mormon rather than serving as its translator, Wilcox et al. approach the issue of its names not through conjectured etymologies or even comparisons between attested ancient names and the Book of Mormon onomasticon, but instead by considering two major onomastic foci that could be tested in distinguishing an authentic historical text versus a successful work of fiction. More specifically, they look at whether or not the text displays (1) evidence of the purported author’s personal background and associated name sounds within the text, as well as evidence of a deliberate selection of distinct names unlikely to be confused with each other, and (2) phonological patterns (or distinctive “phonoprints”) that an author would likely be unaware of yet manifest in sets of names that the author would create or select.

Recurring Themes Across the Book’s Chapters Although the chapters in this collection are written to address specific topic areas in relation to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and naming, we can also identify some larger themes and dimensions that are illuminated by the discussions in this volume. These are deserving of some attention here. Moreover, we hope to show that although LDS names and naming interact with known dimensions of names and naming in some expected and common ways, even sharing some patterns and behaviors with other religions, in other ways they display some of their own marked differences with other faith groups.

Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming   7 Identity and Distinctiveness as a People Latter-day Saints have a distinct individual as well as collective identity that is asserted and reinforced in names and naming practices that are commonly used by their fellow adherents, as well as through names and labels applied to them by those outside their religious community. That the LDS community, even aside from its doctrinal and religious beliefs, constitutes a distinct cultural group is supported by the interesting fact that Latter-day Saints are discussed as a distinct ethnic group in the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups.7 Elsewhere, Givens has commented on some of the reasons for such a view of the Latter-day Saints, providing some examples illustrating their distinctive and collective identity: Mormonism has been around for nearly two centuries. While it is still a new religious community compared to the great world faiths and even to Protestant denominations, many factors have conspired to foster its development as a community with a distinctive world view, powerful cultural cohesion, and its own forms of artistic and intellectual expression. A radical theology, emphasizing chosenness and exclusive stewardship over divine truth and authority, a history of persecution and alienation from the American mainstream, together with enormous institutional demands of religious commitment, personal sacrifice, and distinctive religious practices have welded the adherents of Mormonism into a people who so powerfully identify with one another that one writer did not hesitate to call them the only instance in American history of a people who became almost an ethnic community.8 It is not the intention of members of the Church to isolate themselves from the world. In fact, they are often highly successful in their chosen professions, sometimes even achieving notable prominence in their jobs and communities. But there are still perceptible differences in some of their lifestyle choices, standards, and beliefs that set them apart from others with whom they associate. Mauss has indicated that the Church has varied at times through its history in whether it wishes to assert the difference that its members have with the surrounding society or religions versus to emphasize their commonality with each other. He indicates that early in the 20th century the Church seemed to emphasize commonality, whereas later in the century, when the prospect of assimilation with the larger culture became a real possibility, the Church reemphasized their differences.9 In a related observation, Shipps has noted that LDS continuity to the past is maintained through boundaries established through obedience to the Word of Wisdom and the law of tithing.10 Bowman similarly sees the Word of Wisdom as a “social marker” and “boundary.”11 Often those outside the faith are anxious to assert the differences between Latter-day Saints and the surrounding culture and society. We could look at the common attacks on the doctrine and practices of Latter-day Saints as those outside the faith have sometimes been quick to define and label members of the Church. People sometimes forget that the nickname “Mormon” was given by outsiders. And in response to erroneous labels and characterizations that the Church and its

8  Dallin D. Oaks members sometimes receive from others, members of the Church must frequently assert to others that they are indeed Christians. In one significant and clarifying move in the 1980s, the name of the Book of Mormon was given a subtitle that asserts its Christian identity, thus becoming The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. In a separate issue that is more cultural than religious in nature, we can see that Latter-day Saints have displayed some distinctive patterns in the names they bestow on their children. Norton, in this volume, discusses some of the traditional, older given name patterns that some Latter-day Saints in the Western region have used in naming their children. His discussion shows that many of these names are a blending of the parents’ names or have combined prefixes and suffixes in ways that are unusual, though not unique, within American society. One of these popular patterns, for example, was for names to begin with the prefix “La-”as in a name like “LaVell.” Although some of these morphological naming practices may have waned, the impetus for fashioning distinctive names appears to have remained and manifests itself in new ways. But even as we can point to unusual names in the LDS community, Evans, also in this volume, shows that with regard to the assigning of given names, contemporary LDS naming actually has a lot in common with the naming that occurs outside the LDS community. Evans, a former president of the American Name Society, approached his research question empirically through a comparison of baby naming records from two Western states with very different religious demographics: Utah and Colorado. Evans, who incidentally is a Presbyterian in the Midwest, finds that the contemporary naming patterns among Latter-day Saints and those outside the faith are generally more alike than different when we look at the most commonly assigned names, though as we head down the list in popularity, there are some given names that are distinctively LDS. He also observes that Utah may sometimes lead the way for trends in the popularity of specific names that later become popular in the rest of the country.12 With regard to Latter-day Saint naming practices, we can see a significant difference with the outside culture in the formal aspect of bestowing a name. For most American babies, the assignment of a name becomes official primarily through someone submitting the baby’s name to the state to be recorded. Latterday Saints, of course, do this, but they also formalize the official naming process in a public ordinance involving priesthood holders and performed in front of the child’s ward congregation, where a lay priesthood holder, typically the father, bestows a name and a blessing within a month or two of the baby’s birth. Although the family has already been using this name for the child, this ceremony formalizes the name, which is subsequently entered into the records of the Church. This naming and blessing of the child is not an ordinance that is believed to be necessary for salvation, but it is nonetheless important and often accompanied by a family celebration. Thus, while the registering of a child’s name with the state indicates the infant’s membership in the larger society,13 the LDS ordinance of giving an infant a name and blessing, being conducted in front of the child’s local congregation, integrates the child into a close-knit community of believers in which he or she will form a significant part. Other customs and practices are also associated with baby blessings. Eliason, a folklorist, reviews (in this volume) some of these

Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming   9 customs and practices, as well as many other cultural and social practices, stories, and other folkloric elements associated with Latter-day Saints and naming. It might be assumed that the formal and religious aspect of naming may temper the tendency some LDS parents might have to assign unusual names to infants. Pyles, as Evans points out, hypothesizes that a possible reason for some unusual first names in parts of the US is that many Protestant churches don’t have infant baptism and thus no serious ordinance and possible intervention by a member of the clergy at the time children are named.14 But here we can observe how the LDS community may serve as a kind of distinctive outlier. Although the Church has a formal ordinance for naming and blessing children, an ordinance that is even generally performed in front of the congregation and under a bishop’s direction, some LDS parents, though certainly not the majority of them, give their babies very unusual names.15 This fact doesn’t necessarily invalidate Pyle’s hypothesis, but it should make us consider whether the assumption should be carefully qualified. To the extent that it exists, we may ask ourselves what drives the LDS pattern of distinctiveness in personal naming. Mansfield, who has done a study on LDS naming by “Utah Mormons” (an identity that she clarifies is more than just being “a Mormon living in Utah”),16 investigated why parents selected the names that they did for their children. She found that the parents commonly expressed their desire to provide their children with unique names. This was apparently more important to them than signaling their “Mormon roots”17 and didn’t appear to “reflect a conscious group identity.”18 She also notes the possibility that distinctive naming may be more common among Latter-day Saints in Utah than among Latter-day Saints living outside of the state, and this may result from a kind of “cultural homogeneity” in Utah, where demonstrating one’s uniqueness becomes more important.19 In the conclusion of her thesis, Mansfield discusses some of the sources for the distinctive Utah LDS names, including missionary experience: While outsiders hypothesize that belonging to a minority culture is the major influence in Mormon naming, my findings demonstrate otherwise. Instead, serving missions, an emphasis on family, gender expectations, and a desire to be set apart from everyone else are what drive Mormon naming.20 The distinctiveness of the Latter-day Saint community is also evident in some of the names it has given to its landscape in Utah and surrounding states, and sometimes even to its businesses and institutions. Jackson (this volume), a noted geographer and historian, shows the religious influence that the Church and its members have had on the naming of Utah’s cities and geographical features, whether they were named for contemporary religious leaders, utilize proper names from the Book of Mormon, or invoke analogies with biblical places. But here again, although some naming displays clear connections to LDS beliefs and culture, much of the naming, as Jackson shows, is similar to the patterns displayed in other parts of the country. Thus, beyond LDS-themed place names, we also see places named for early explorers, as well as names taken from the local native American inhabitants. The selection of place names has generally not been controversial. But in some cases, the selected names display the tension between the Saints’ assertion of their distinct identity

10  Dallin D. Oaks versus alternative pressures or incentives to follow less distinctively LDS naming practices. In separate chapters, Eliason and Oaks (both in this volume) briefly note how the territory under Brigham Young proposed to name itself “Deseret,” a Book of Mormon name, meaning ‘honeybee.’ But the national government objected to this name and instead made the territory follow the pattern common in other states to use a local Native American name. Thus, Utah was named for the Utes. In another example, with the name Fillmore being given to Utah’s first territorial capital, we observe what was perhaps an attempt by the Saints to ingratiate themselves with the president of the United States at the time. Distinctiveness doesn’t just play out in the boundary between Latter-day Saints and those outside the faith. Within the LDS community in the Western United States, for many years, it was sometimes possible to make reasonable guesses about others’ ancestral Western community, based on their surnames. In the early settlement of the West, Brigham Young sometimes assigned various families to leave Salt Lake City or other locales to settle new areas throughout the West. In a few cases, entire immigrant groups representing specific nationalities chose to settle in specific areas. For example, in Utah many Icelanders settled in Spanish Fork, and some Swiss settled in Midway. In the latter community, for example, we can see surnames like Kohler, Probst, and Huber21 In the case of Northern Mexico, some Latter-day Saints on their own initiative moved there and temporarily continued to practice polygamy for a little while after it had been discontinued among Latterday Saints in the United States. This area, previously known as the “Mormon colonies,” is associated with surnames like Romney and Call, which are common to that area. In one chapter later in this volume, Henrichsen et al. discuss some of the interesting aspects of names and naming among the Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians, many of whom settled in Sanpete County, Utah. Although it is certainly true that some rural areas in other parts of the country can identify kinship ties with local areas in their own general vicinity, it is remarkable that for many Latter-day Saints the knowledge of family settlements, at least until recently, could extend over a broad area stretching from settlements in Western Canada all the way down into Northern Mexico. One might, for example, hear an older Latter-day Saint upon meeting another with a surname like Call ask whether that person is related to the Calls in northern Mexico. The fact that such connections can sometimes be made by people who have just met is probably a result of a variety of factors, including the common focus on genealogy among members who are thus aware of where their ancestors lived; the earlier practice of polygamy, which often led to a prolific number of posterity sharing a surname from a single individual; and the networking of Latter-day Saints who though spread across a large geographical area nonetheless meet other Saints from widely separated communities through attendance at LDS universities and colleges, service in church missions, or other LDS activities. Special Status and Vulnerability Chua and Rubenfeld have identified three traits that they say predict success for “cultural groups in America.” Among the groups they discuss as having been

Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming   11 successful are the Latter-day Saints. The three traits that Chua and Rubenfeld identify for all the successful groups are (1) “A superiority complex,” which they identify as “a deeply internalized belief in your group’s specialness, exceptionality, or superiority”; (2) “Insecurity,” which they explain as “a species of discontent––– an anxious uncertainty about your worth or place in society, a feeling or worry that you or what you’ve done or what you have is in some fundamental way not good enough” (in this they include “a sense of being looked down on; a perception of peril”); and (3) “Impulse control,” which “refers to the ability to resist temptation, especially the temptation to give up in the face of hardship or quit instead of persevering at a difficult task.”22 It could be argued about whether Chua and Rubenfeld are correct in their assessment of the role of these three traits in the success of specific groups. But they are probably correct in identifying all three of these traits, which they call “the triple package,” as existing at least to some degree within the LDS community.23 And perhaps more significantly, the first two of these three traits can serve as an effective framework for a consideration of at least some of the dynamic of names and naming in the LDS community. Let’s begin with Chua’s and Rubenfeld’s notion of the “superiority complex.” The label of “superiority” can be misleading, because, as the authors point out, it also relates to feelings of specialness or exceptionality. Latter-day Saints do not feel superior to others, but as with the Jewish people, their doctrine does teach them that they have a special covenant relationship with God. And they self-identify as a “peculiar people” (cf., 1 Peter 2:9 and Deuteronomy 14:2). Their covenant relationship is reinforced not only through their Christian covenant to take upon them the name of Christ but also through names that connect them with the House of Israel as well as the Abrahamic covenant. For example, each individual member receives a patriarchal blessing from a specially designated and ordained patriarch who through inspiration proclaims that person’s lineage or tribe within the House of Israel. Names and lists of names also relate to distinctive LDS claims about the Church’s uniquely held priesthood authority and are an important part of performing vicarious or proxy ordinance work for Church members’ deceased ancestors who never had the opportunity to receive properly authorized priesthood ordinances such as baptisms performed for them while still in this life. As becomes evident in later chapters by Oaks and McConkie, respectively, in this volume, in the LDS view particular names are an important part of the covenants and associated ordinances necessary for salvation.24 Now we shall consider the matter of vulnerability. As previously noted, the triple package also includes a feeling of insecurity. Chua and Rubenfeld explain that successful groups can simultaneously feel “superior” (or as we will express the claim, “special”) and insecure at the same time. In fact, they note that this combination provides a tension that yields a kind of potency, giving such groups a powerful drive to succeed.25 For many Latter-day Saints, this insecurity is not so much related to self-doubt as to a mild apprehension about whether they will be respected and treated fairly in the workplace and society. Latter-day Saints are acutely aware of their minority status. And in some ways, this establishes a strong solidarity and identity among members of the Church, particularly outside of Utah. But even within the state of Utah, where Latter-day Saints still constitute a

12  Dallin D. Oaks majority, they still recognize their minority status within the larger American society.26 If Latter-day Saints are insecure about their place in society, this should not come as a surprise, given not only their history but also their common contemporary experience.27 It is in this setting of vulnerability that one should consider the chapter by Tvedtnes (in this volume) on the early use sometimes of code names for hiding the identities of Church leaders in the published revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants. This use of code names occurred during the times of great persecution in Ohio and Missouri and helped prevent enemies of the Church from knowing details that could be used to harm or destroy the individuals involved, their families, or the Church. These code names have subsequently been revised in the scriptures to reveal the real identity of the persons involved. On a separate but related matter about vulnerability, many Latter-day Saints have a continued historical awareness for some particular names of people and places associated with earlier animosity toward the members of the Church, including such names as the following: Lilburn Boggs, the governor of Missouri, who issued the infamous extermination order against the Saints; Colonel Sydney Johnston, a military commander who led an occupational force against the Saints in Utah in the 1850s (his army subsequently being known among Latter-day Saints as “Johnston’s army”); and Haun’s Mill, the site where a group of LDS men, women, and children were massacred in Missouri. These names still trigger associations for many Church members, whose ancestors or revered pioneer forebears experienced sometimes vitriolic hatred and prejudice. Among Church members, these names are not merely referential but have acquired an almost iconic meaning in themselves because of the significance they have for a shared historical memory among the community of Latter-day Saints. Robert F. Kennedy, or at least one of his speechwriters, exploited this in a speech at Church-owned Brigham Young University when Kennedy campaigned for the presidency. In a sequence of comparisons between himself and Brigham Young, he referred to his own political battle against Lyndon B. Johnson: “And now I too know how it is to take on Johnson’s army.”28 People often have an emotional connection with names, and what those ties are can vary from group to group. Latter-day Saints as a group certainly have some of these emotional responses to names, responses that those outside their community may not always understand. Of course, some names evoke a positive image, such as place names like Zion and Adam ondi-Ahman (the place where Adam, as a resurrected being, will again gather his posterity), as well as names of individuals like Thomas Kane and Alexander Doniphan (courageous friends outside the Church, who provided timely support to the Saints in a time of significant persecution). The connection between names and LDS feelings of vulnerability are also found in Latter-day Saint defenses of their scriptures and beliefs (traditionally called “apologetics”). And the Book of Mormon has been a particular target of outside critics. While members of the Church regard the Book of Mormon as not only sacred scripture but as recording actual history in the ancient Americas, critics of the book attack its historicity, especially since the gold plates from which it was translated are not available. And in this context, names have sometimes been a

Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming   13 significant part of arguments that Latter-day Saint apologists make as they argue the historicity of the book. This is so because the Book of Mormon names, as Hugh Nibley has pointed out, are “untranslated words.”29 Thus, in arguments about this book of scripture that is regarded by Latter-day Saints as translated from the writings of ancient prophets who originated in the Middle East, an examination of the characters’ names becomes important in forming or assessing certain arguments. In this regard, we have previously noted the separate contributions of Gee, Bowen, and Wilcox et al. in this volume.

Beyond Referentiality Up to this point the discussion on LDS names and naming has primarily involved matters related to how names and labels are assigned to individuals, groups, places, and so on, as well as the matters of identity or concerns associated with names and labels. The previous dimensions fall broadly under the referential aspect of naming. We shall now consider a couple of additional matters that, although related to referentiality and identity, suggest something more than this. Names, Covenants, and Progression Oaks discusses the fact that names are an important part of sacred ordinances and related covenants that Latter-day Saints make. In the case of baptism, for example, a person takes upon himself or herself the name of Christ. Given that the performance of certain ordinances is necessary for salvation, names and naming thus play a vital part in each person’s progression back to God. Related to this, McConkie argues that salvation is dependent on bearing the right names. Moreover, as individual Latter-day Saints demonstrate a commitment to the covenants they have previously made, they qualify themselves for additional ordinances with their associated covenants and names. These covenants are part of a metaphorical path of progression back to God,30 the term “covenant path” being used frequently by Church president, Russell M. Nelson.31 But within a person’s spiritual progression, even his or her own personal name, as will be noted in the later chapter by Oaks, is also significant. Names and Doctrinal Insight We shall now consider another way in which a consideration of LDS names and naming can take us well beyond issues of mere referentiality. In Western cultures and societies, although some people’s given names such as Grace and Victor share their form with common vocabulary that have identifiable meanings in the language, our modern society’s use of names does not generally attribute such meanings to the bearer (referent) of the name32 (nicknames can be a different matter in this regard). In fact, in most cases of first names like John or Adrienne, people would generally have a hard time identifying a specific meaning for those names. Whatever meanings the given names have had historically, those meanings are now lost in most cases, except to etymologists33 or to literary authors

14  Dallin D. Oaks who create or select names to convey something about the fictional characters they introduce in their narratives. As previously noted, to say that we don’t expect that people’s given names or even surnames are descriptive of them is not to say that we don’t sometimes get clues about a person from his or her name. We may learn something about people’s gender, ethnicity, religion, or even something about whoever gave them their given names (usually one or both of their parents) by looking at their names.34 Still, for most in Western cultures, people’s given or first names are generally and primarily referential in their use. But within the scriptural texts, which are an important part of many faiths held by people in Western cultures, it is a different matter. There we can see historical figures whose names are often understood also to carry semantic significance, sometimes even doctrinal significance. This is especially true of the Lord Himself. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said: In our search ‘to know … God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] hast sent’ (John 17:3), we can learn more about who Christ was, is, and will yet be by examining the names and titles given to Him than by any other method.35 In additional cases, especially in the Bible, we can see individuals and locations that bear names with identified meanings. We can also see ancient prophets whose names and their respective meanings are changed as they make a covenant with the Lord. And very significantly, in a later chapter in this book, Bowen has shown that Hebrew names, with their respective etymologies, also carry interpretive significance to the narrative and messages in the Book of Mormon text itself.36 In the chapters that follow, various patterns, principles, and examples relating onomastics to Latter-day Saint doctrines, scriptures, history, and culture will be explored. These relationships, whether involving the names that Latter-day Saints assert for themselves, the nicknames they resist, the names they bestow on others or on certain places, the significance they attach to names within their doctrine, or how names are used to argue the plausibility of certain scriptural claims, often come down to fundamental questions of identity and belief.

Notes 1 Alford, Naming and Identity. Alford considers some of the characteristics that are revealed through names in American society. See 123–68. Nazi Germany provided us with what is probably the most sinister historical example of a government using names to set apart an entire group of people according to ethnicity. In this case, the government even went so far as to require specific names to be assigned to and used by Jews so that they might more easily be identified according to a collective identity and ultimately targeted for genocide. See Nick, Personal Names, 135–37. 2 Church President Russell M. Nelson has recently requested that Church members (and others) avoid referring to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with nicknames such as “Mormon Church,” “LDS Church,” or “Church of the Latter-day Saints,” nicknames that remove the Lord’s name from His Church. See, for example, Nelson, “Correct Name.” Moreover, the Church’s official style guide asks that the terms “Mormons” and “LDS” be avoided as referring expressions for Church members,

Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming   15 though it does allow for the use of “Mormon” as an adjective in certain “historical expressions” like “Mormon Trail” (see “Style Guide”). The matter of using the full and proper name of the Church rather than a nickname had also previously been addressed by Church leaders. For example, in a General Conference of the Church some years ago, the topic was addressed by Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the Quorum of the Twelve, who discussed the significance of the Church’s name and provided some guidance on how members should refer to the Church. See Ballard, “Importance of a Name.” Even earlier, when Russell M. Nelson was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, he gave a General Conference address on this topic titled “Thus Shall My Church Be Called.” In this book, when referring to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, we will often use terms such as “Latter-day Saints,” “members of the Church,” “Church members,” or “Saints.” And we will also often use the term “LDS” or “Latter-day Saint” adjectivally to describe various nouns as in “LDS settlements,” “LDS scriptures,” or “Latter-day Saint beliefs.” Of course, if we quote or cite passages or sources that originally used the term “Mormon” or “Mormonism,” we will retain those original uses, just as we will continue to use the term “Mormon” when it is part of the proper name for something like “The Book of Mormon.” In addition, we should note here that references to “the Church” (using capitalization on “Church”) designate The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 3 Bramwell, “Personal Names,” 265. 4 Joseph Smith, the prophet and founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is sometimes referred to as “Joseph Smith Jr.,” since he has the same name as his father. But as a shorthand throughout this book, the prophet will generally be referred to without the added “Jr.” after his name. 5 See Doctrine and Covenants 115:4. For a historical discussion of the names by which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been known, officially and unofficially, see Goodwin, “History.” 6 See, for example, Ephesians 1:1 and Philippians 1:1 in the Holy Bible. 7 May, “Mormons,” 720. May refers to Thomas F. O’Dea’s earlier observation that Latterday Saints “represent the clearest example to be found in our national history of the evolution of a native and indigenously developed ethnic minority.” See also Parry, “Mormons as Ethnics.” Parry stops short of saying that Mormons represent an ethnic group, but he expresses the view that “… ethnicity is a useful concept in that it highlights and clarifies the significance of aspects of Mormon life that might otherwise evade our attention” (362). For an article that challenges the notion of Mormons as an ethnic group, cf. Mauss, “Mormons as Ethnics.” 8 Givens, People of Paradox, xiii. 9 Mauss, “Mormonism’s Third Century,” 2–3. 10 Shipps, Mormonism, 128. 11 Bowman, Mormon People, 170. 12 Evans, “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming”; Eddington has also found some evidence to support the idea that some names are popularized in Utah before spreading to the rest of the country (Eddington, “Personal Naming Practices in Utah”). 13 Alford, Naming and Identity, 125. 14 Pyles, “Bible Belt Onomastics,” especially pages 86–87, as cited in Evans, “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming”; see also Farb, Word Play, 127; Mansfield, “‘It’s Wraylynn’,” 32–33. Mansfield’s thesis integrated some material from earlier drafts of some chapters found within this book before this book was published and which she acknowledges in her thesis. Because of the preliminary nature of some of the cited work at that time, some variation between titles and certain content may have occurred in this book since the time in which she cited material from it. 15 For some examples of unusual names that have at least allegedly been given to Utah babies, see the list provided in Clark and Clark, “Cream of the Crop.” Although their site is not exclusively devoted to LDS naming, given the religious demographics of the

16  Dallin D. Oaks state, we can probably assume that the majority of these names were given by Latter-day Saint parents. 16 Mansfield, “‘It’s Wraylynn’,” 51. 17 Ibid., 53–54, 33. 18 Ibid., 68. 19 Ibid., 38, 51–54, and 67–68. 20 Ibid., 69; see also 55–56. 21 See the city’s website at http://www.city-data.com/city/Midway-Utah.html. 22 Chua and Rubenfeld, Triple Package, 8–10. 23 It is perhaps significant that in the earlier quotation from Givens in this chapter, where he talks about several important factors related to the LDS identity, his listed factors line up in some important ways with Chua’s and Rubenfeld’s three listed traits. Givens mentions a theology “emphasizing chosenness and exclusive stewardship over divine truth and authority” (similar to Chua’s and Rubenfeld’s first trait—belief in exceptionality or superiority); “a history of persecution and alienation from the American mainstream” (similar to their second listed trait—“insecurity”); and “enormous institutional demands of religious commitment, personal sacrifice, and distinctive religious practices” (similar to their third listed trait—“impulse control” or “persevering at a difficult task”). 24 See Oaks, “Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief ”; and McConkie, “Doctrine of Names.” 25 Chua and Rubenfeld, Triple Package, 10–11. 26 For example, Carter has observed that early LDS settlers in Utah were driven by a sort of insecurity to validate their LDS community in part by building homes that would make a cultural statement of refinement and respectability. See Carter, Building Zion, 103 and 105. 27 Although the era of intense persecution is past, Latter-day Saints, even today, sometimes experience prejudice from others in society in a phenomenon that seems to constitute one of the last acceptable prejudices in American society. This seems to be true, even among academics. This prejudice has been noted by non-LDS academics in at least a couple of academic venues, separated by many years. See, for example, Stark, “Rise of a New World Faith,” especially page 27; and Terry, “Acceptable Prejudice?” 28 Robert F. Kennedy [Text of his speech given at Brigham Young University on March 27, 1968], as transcribed by Robert K. Reeve (see especially page 164). The army from LDS history was actually known as “Johnston’s army,” not “Johnson’s army,” but the name was close enough, and the intended wordplay evoked laughter and applause. 29 Nibley, Prophetic Book of Mormon, 97. 30 See Oaks and Hallen, “Mormon Metaphors.” 31 See, for example, Nelson, “As We Go Forward Together,” 7. 32 But see Baltes, “On Meaning.” Baltes shows that personal names are actually sometimes used, not for referential purposes, but rather to convey semantic meaning; cf. also Andersen, Baby Boomer’s Name Game. For an example of how the non-referential uses of names are explored in the context of advertising and marketing, see Sedivy and Carlson, Sold on Language, 38–42. 33 See Alford, Naming and Identity, 145–46. Alford does point out, however, that surnames [such as Baker or Wheelwright], which entered common onomastic use later, still often display their etymological or historical meanings. 34 Alford, Naming and Identity, 123–68. 35 Holland, Witness for His Names, 12. 36 See Bowen, “Striking While the Irony is Hot.” In a separate chapter, also in this volume, Oaks shows some notable cases where the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price, scriptures brought forth by the prophet Joseph Smith, contain information that further illuminates the names or titles of some biblical characters, even as the connection between names/titles and the doctrines is not overtly drawn in these texts. See Oaks, “Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief.”

Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming   17

References Alford, Richard D. Naming and Identity: A Cross-Cultural Study of Personal Naming Practices. New Haven, CT: Hraf Press, 1988. Andersen, Christopher P. The Baby Boomer’s Name Game. New York: Putnam, 1987. Ballard, M. Russell. “The Importance of a Name.” Ensign 41, no. 11 (Nov. 2011): 79–82. Baltes, Paul. “On Meaning, Reference and Predicative Functions of Personal Names.” Unpublished master’s thesis, Purdue University, 1991. Bowen, Matthew L. “Striking While the Irony is Hot: Hebrew Onomastics and Their Function within the Book of Mormon Text.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Bowman, Matthew. The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith. New York: Random House, 2012. Bramwell, Ellen S. “Personal Names and Anthropology.” In The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming, edited by Carole Hough, 263–78. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2016. Card, Brigham Y., Herbert C. Northcott, John E. Foster, Howard Palmer, and George K. Jarvis, eds. The Mormon Presence in Canada. Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 1990. Carter, Thomas. Building Zion: The Material World of Mormon Settlement. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2015. Chua, Amy, and Jed Rubenfeld. The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America. New York: The Penguin Press, 2014. Clark, Wes, and Cari B. Clark. “The Cream of the Crop: The Clarks’ Favorite Utah Names.” Updated Aug. 28, 2018. http://utahbabynamer.blogspot.com/2017/06/thecream-of-crop.html The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Eddington, David. “Personal Naming Practices in Utah: 1960–2020.” Unpublished manuscript, 24 pages, 2022. Eliason, Eric A. “Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Evans, Cleveland K. “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Farb, Peter. Word Play: What Happens When People Talk. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974. Gee, John. “Book of Mormon Names: Beyond Etymology.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Givens, Terryl L. People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Goodwin, K. Shane. “The History of the Name of the Savior’s Church: A Collaborative and Revelatory Process.” BYU Studies Quarterly 58, no. 3 (2019): 4–41. Henrichsen, Lynn, George Bailey, Timothy Wright, and Jacob Huckaby. “Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Holland, Jeffrey R. Witness for His Names. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. Jackson, Richard H. “Place Names of the Mormon West: Religion, Heritage, and Idiosyncrasy.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Kennedy, Robert F. [Text of His Speech Given at Brigham Young University on March 27, 1968] as transcribed by Robert K. Reeve in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 3, no. 3 (Autumn 1968): 163–67. Mansfield, Jennifer R. “‘It’s Wraylynn—with a W ’: Distinctive Mormon Naming Practices.” Unpublished master’s thesis, Utah State University, 2012. Available at https:// digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2401&context=etd

18  Dallin D. Oaks Mauss, Armand L. “Mormonism’s Third Century: Coping with the Contingencies.” Lecture Delivered in Connection with the Religious Studies Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT, March 25, 2015. Available at https://doczz.net/doc/6847018/ armand-mauss-public-lecture-mormonism-s-third-century ———. “Mormons as Ethnics: Variable Historical and International Implications of an Appealing Concept.” In The Mormon Presence, edited by Card et al., 332–52. May, Dean L. “Mormons.” In Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, edited by Stephan Thernstrom, 720–31. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 1980. McConkie, Joseph Fielding. “The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Nelson, Russell M. “‘Thus Shall My Church Be Called’.” Ensign 20, no. 5 (May 1990): 16–18. ———. “As We Go Forward Together.” Ensign 48, no. 4 (April 2018a): 4–7. ———. “The Correct Name of the Church.” Ensign 48, no. 11 (Nov. 2018b): 87–90. Nibley, Hugh. The Prophetic Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch, vol. 8 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 17 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1989. Nick, I. M. Personal Names, Hitler, and the Holocaust: A Socio-Onomastic Study of Genocide and Nazi Germany. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2019. Norton, Don E. “Composite LDS Given Names.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Oaks, Dallin D. “Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Oaks, Dallin D., Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson. Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2023. Oaks, Dallin D., and Cynthia L. Hallen. “Mormon Metaphors of Restoration: Pathways to Identity and Understanding.” Science, Religion and Culture 3, no. 2 (2016): 60–81. Parry, Keith. “Mormons as Ethnics: A Canadian Perspective.” In The Mormon Presence, edited by Card et al., 353–65. Pyles, Thomas. “Bible Belt Onomastics or Some Curiosities of Anti-Pedobaptist Nomenclature.” Names 7, no. 2 (1959): 84–100. Ricks, Stephen D. “‘Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body’: Names and Naming in the Ancient World.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Sedivy, Julie, and Greg Carlson. Sold on Language: How Advertisers Talk to You and What This Says About You. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Shipps, Jan. Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition. Urbana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1985. Stark, Rodney. “The Rise of a New World Faith.” Review of Religious Research 26, no. 1 (Sept. 1984): 18–27. “Style Guide—The Name of the Church” at https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ style-guide Terry, Thomas C. “An Acceptable Prejudice?” Inside Higher Ed., May 29, 2012. Available at https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/05/29/essay-about-prejudice-academeagainst-mormons Tvedtnes, John A. “Early Latter-day Saint Code-Names.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Wilcox, Brad, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Sharon Black, and Bruce L. Brown. “Book of Mormon Names: A Collection that Defies Expectation.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al.

Part I

Cultural and Historical Perspectives

2 Place Names of the Mormon West Religion, Heritage, and Idiosyncrasy Richard H. Jackson

The names that a group applies to the land that they occupy and the landscapes which they construct provide important clues to the things that matter to them. Names given to streams, mountains or other terrain features, settlements, and other aspects of their surroundings reflect the values, beliefs, interests, and history of the group or groups occupying the land. Place names, or toponyms as they are known, reveal patterns of the ethnicity, language, and geographical origin of the occupants of each region, and are a central part of the character of a place. This is evident with toponyms in areas of the “Mormon West” (the West settled after 1847 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—nicknamed “Mormons” or abbreviated as “LDS”).1 Although reflecting some traditional American naming patterns (based on the Bible, European origins, and American experiences), toponyms in this region nonetheless display some unique combinations growing from the scriptures and idiosyncratic experiences of the Latter-day Saints. American geographers, linguists, and historians (among others) have written extensively about the naming of places and things in North America. Their work suggests that there are two distinct aspects to most toponyms: generic and specific. Specific segments of place names are tied to particular events, individuals, objects, etc. that prompt the naming of the place, while the generic part of the name tells what kind of place is being described. The term Rocky Mountains, for example, includes a specific part (rocky) that describes the character of the kind of thing (mountains) being described.2 The specific part of a place name may refer to such things as a place’s obvious physical characteristics, an early settler or folk hero, a remembered or mythical place, hyperbole, or simple optimism. New London and New France are examples of specific toponyms that indicate the hopes or propagandizing intent of those affixing the name to the place. Hopeful namings such as Paradise, Eden, and Bonanza reveal not only the namers’ perceptions, but something of their cultural background, since every culture has its own group of terms to describe ideal places (real or imagined) or ample wealth. The generic part of a toponym is that part of the place name that includes a specific cultural marker that can be used to recreate the origin and spread of the particular group involved in making the naming decisions in a particular place. The use of river versus rio as the generic portion of a place name is an obvious cultural marker of English versus Spanish origins of a place name, while use of the DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-3

22  Richard H. Jackson

Figure 2.1  Utah Place Names.

generic -ville as a common part of settlement names indicates English settlers (though the term has its origin in the French influence in England after the Norman conquest). Attempts to explain the naming processes of a specific region must include an explanation of the common names derived from the experience of the naming group, but they must also consider any idiosyncratic or unexpected appellations revealed in the panoply of place names found in an area.

Place Names of the Mormon West  23 The names on the land in the Mormon West reflect the imprint of the several cultures who occupied the region historically, the influence of early explorers who visited the region before the Latter-day Saint settlers arrived, the New England and early 19th century trans-Appalachian origin of the early Latter-day Saints, and subsequent immigrants from Europe, primarily the British Isles. The resultant names that define the places of the Mormon region can be visualized as a series of layers reflecting different groups and different times or purposes of naming.3 Sources for reconstructing the naming process are best described as abundant in the aggregate, but difficult to access. Since the LDS settlements of the Intermountain West predate its division into government administrative units, the actual recording of official names is scattered among government and non-government sources in the states and countries that comprise the Mormon West stretching from Canada’s Alberta Province to Mexico’s State of Chihuahua.4 The lack of scientific analysis of place names in the Mormon West is apparent after only limited research. While there are a variety of sources that contain lists of place names across the region, and a wealth of literature recounting and analyzing the colonization experience itself,5 few works actually examine the diffusion, adaptation, and transliteration of the names in the Mormon West. Even the seemingly simple process of examining the meanings and origins of LDS names is complicated by the diverse sources that would have to be examined to successfully list all names across the region. The following pages are an attempt to recreate the general processes involved in LDS toponymic naming, and to compare the LDS names in the Intermountain West with the naming processes and patterns of the other major groups whose influence in the region remains apparent in the complex mosaic of names found today in the Mormon West.

Native Aboriginal Names The first class of names apparent to the student of the Mormon West is comprised of those related to the original aboriginal inhabitants (“Indian”) of the region. Their presence is apparent in connection with land formations, communities, or other features that bear elements of their naming practices, albeit usually applied by later occupants. Understanding these aboriginal names in the Mormon West is difficult because they represent a variety of Native cultures. Some, such as the Fremont and Anazazi, are no longer extant, but their names have persisted among later native inhabitants. Anazazi Canyon, for example, is named for the relics of the people who are believed to have lived in the canyon before 1300 AD.6 Some of these aboriginal names in the Mormon West are rather straightforward transliterations into English of the native name, but most have been anglicized or otherwise transformed. The transliterations of the native names often result in multiple spellings of what were original Indian generic toponyms. The various non-Indian explorers and settlers were clearly not linguists or ethnographers, and when recording the local Indian name of a place applied their own insights into what the correct English or Spanish spelling should be. Since most of the individuals and groups striving to apply Indian names and terms to the land were themselves often the recipients of limited formal education, their selection of spellings for these

24  Richard H. Jackson Indian-derived toponyms is at best only an indication of the fact that the native presence was recognized as being an important part of the naming process by the European occupiers of native lands across the Mormon West.7 While these attempts to record the local names before the aboriginal inhabitants were displaced, assimilated, or marginalized are laudatory, today such place names are merely a ghostly reminder of the geographic extent of the earliest people who occupied the Mormon West. These Indian names (whatever their transliterated or mutilated English interpretations) often remain because of the later LDS occupants who applied earlier Indian names to places they visited or settled. Examples of names with an aboriginal origin are widespread across the Mormon West, with Utah (derived from the Ute Indian Tribe) being a prime example.8 Timpanogos [B2],9 Santaquin [B2], Peteeneet, Peoa, Parowan [D1], and Shivwits [D1] are examples of Native American names that have either survived in areas settled by the Latter-day Saints (Timpanogos, e.g., being based on a local, traditional name for a lake, a river, as well as an indigenous people, before being used exclusively for a “mountain”10) or have been applied by LDS settlers in recognition of the importance of native leaders. Santaquin is a variant of the name of an important central Utah Indian Chief whose name is loosely transliterated as “San Pitch.” It is most common in Utah as San Pete, as in the Sanpete Valley, Sanpete Mountains, Sanpete County, etc. Peteeneet was an Indian chief whose name is applied to a creek, while names such as Parowan and Peoa were native names borrowed by the Latter-day Saint settlers and applied to a specific place. Parowan was reportedly adapted from the local Piute tribe’s words “Paragoons” (marsh people) and “Pah-o-an” (bad water), while Peoa comes from the native term “Pe-oh-a” translated as “to marry,” which early Mormon settlers reportedly found carved on a log at the site.11 Latter-day Saint relationships with the Native Americans they encountered were generally more peaceful than those found in many other parts of the American West because of Brigham Young’s admonition to the settlers that it was “better to feed them than to fight them.” Young’s admonition was made easier to follow since most of the land initially occupied by the Mormon settlers was marginal to the main population of the Ute and Shoshoni tribes to the North or inhabited by tiny bands in isolated locales such as the Piutes or Goshutes of the Great Basin, so territorial competition was less frequent. Consequently, the layer of Native American names is very large and not particularly geographically concentrated. The number of Native American names itemized in gazetteers in states occupied by the Latter-day Saints reveals hundreds of native names. Many specific Indian place names are combined with Anglo generic place names in uneasy symbiosis. Examples such as that of Mount Timpanogos mentioned earlier are common, where a generic term makes it clear to what the specific native name is applied.12 Awapa Plateau [D2] in Piute County, Utah illustrates the Native American layer of names, with Awapa (a Piute name meaning “a water hole among the cedars”13) being the specific native name, and Plateau representing a common generic name used across the west and elsewhere to refer to a relatively level uplifted plain. Awapa Plateau exemplifies the convergence of a long historical process in some place names of the Mormon West, as the generic “plateau” is in itself borrowed and anglicized from French so long ago that it is accepted as an English term across the region.

Place Names of the Mormon West  25 It is difficult to recognize any specific geographic distribution or place type associated with the Native American names across the Mormon West. Since the later explorers and settlers encountered the native culture across the entire region, it is understandable why this is so. The remaining Indian territories within the LDS-dominated West, such as the Indian reservations themselves, are not readily distinguishable by the proliferation of native names since European or American settlers and explorers were responsible for creation of the maps upon which the names of places are officially recorded. The resulting toponymic landscape includes such place name anomalies as the Utah town of Duchesne [B3] (French origin?) in the Uinta (Ute name) Basin in Duchesne County created from Wasatch (Ute name) County in 1914, which lies in a part of the Uintah Ute Indian Reservation of eastern Utah opened for homesteading to Whites in 1904. The strange juxtaposition of French, English, and Indian specific and generic place names in one town in the heart of Indian territory in the Mormon West illustrates the difficulty of clearly illuminating the naming process in areas settled by the Latter-day Saints. Not only are there elements of a variety of cultures with regard to this one toponym, but, research reveals there is not even unanimity on the cultures that the names represent. The White town, surrounded by Indian lands, was originally named Dora, in honor of the daughter of the owner of the first store in the new community. Dora itself was a second choice adopted after the US Postal Service rejected the settlers’ request to name the community Duchesne, because it would be too easily confused with nearby Fort Duchesne on the Ute Reservation. Later the town changed its name to Theodore in honor of the US President Theodore Roosevelt, but when another town in the Uinta Basin adopted the name of Roosevelt [B3], it was felt that the proximity of the two towns honoring Roosevelt would be confusing, so it successfully adopted its original name of Duchesne. The origins of the name Duchesne are unclear. It is clear that it was named after the Duchesne River that runs through town, but the river’s naming itself seems surrounded in mystery. The common account is that it was named by a French fur trapper in the area in the 1820s in honor of Mother Treasa Duchesne, who founded the School of the Sacred Heart near St. Louis, Missouri.14 Others suggest that this account may not be accurate and provide several alternatives for the origin of the name, including a native chief of that name (the Ute term dooshane, meaning “dark canyon”), the recognition of the French geographer and historian Andre Duchesne by French trappers, reference to the French Fort Duquesne built in 1754 at today’s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or the French Catholic Father DeSmet, who influenced its name to honor Rose Du Chesne, founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart in America.15 Whatever the facts explaining the name Duchesne, its presence in the otherwise Indian-dominated land of eastern Utah illustrates the juxtaposition of Native American place names with those of other cultures across the region. On or adjacent to the Indian lands of eastern Utah alone are a panoply of names that clearly bear little or no relationship to the original occupants’ culture, a phenomenon visible across the entire Mormon West. The potpourri of cultural influence visible in the place names of the region reflects the variety of peoples who have influenced the region known as the Mormon West.

26  Richard H. Jackson

Spanish Place Names The first group of non-native peoples to visit the Mormon West were the Spanish. Attempting to develop a safe trading route from Spanish settlements in New Mexico to those in California, the Catholic Fathers Dominguez and Escalante traversed much of the area of the Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau that were later settled by the Mormon pioneers. Their explorations were followed by later Spanish trade that moved from Santa Fe to California through the early 19th century. The Spanish were the first to attempt to include the Indian names on the land. In doing so, or in naming other landscape features, they were greatly affected by not only their Spanish culture, but the Roman Catholic Church, a central part of that culture. Examples of Spanish place names include Mount Timpanogos, which the Spanish called El Sierra Blanca de los Timpanois, displaying an integration of the Indian name.16 Other Spanish place names are simple Spanish generic or specific place names. A good example of a generic name is Salina Canyon, Salina Creek, and the town of Salina [C2] in central Utah, all named after the salt deposits the Spanish found in the canyon along the Spanish Trail. Other Spanish place names in the Mormon West that reflect the Catholic influence include rivers (El Rio de San Lino, El Rio de San Nicolas—names later changed by LDS settlers), San Clemente River (now the White River), and San Arroyo Canyon [C3]. The specific Catholic name San Rafael is linked with an English generic toponym to become San Rafael River, San Rafael Gulch, San Rafael Valley, San Rafael Desert, San Rafael Knob, and San Rafael Swell (geologic anticline) [C2] in honor of the archangel Saint Rafael, whom Catholics believe is one of the four angels surrounding the throne of God.17 Other examples of the Spanish influence persist in names applied to places Latter-day Saints and others believed were associated with the Spanish explorers to the Intermountain West, such as Spanish Fork City [B2], Spanish Fork Canyon, Spanish Fork Bottoms, Spanish Fork Peak, Spanish Fork River, and the Spanish Trail. Spanish names are not confined to the area explored or traversed by the Spanish explorers or traders, however. In the later decades of the 20th century as subdivisions sprawled across the west, it became fashionable to give faceless suburbia some identifiable cachet, and this often in the form of foreign names, including Spanish ones. Overall, however, the current Mormon West can be characterized as having relatively few place names of Spanish origin.

Explorers, European Fur Trappers, and Place Names The first non-Spanish European visitors to Utah and the surrounding states that eventually became home to the Saints were fur trappers in the 1820s. While Lewis and Clark had passed through northern Idaho, fur trappers were the first to reach the heart of the region settled by the Latter-day Saints. By at least 1825, trappers had reached the Bear River of northern Utah and explored down its mouth to the Great Salt Lake [A1].18 Geographic features lying in the center of Mormon Country, Great Salt Lake and Bear River, illustrate the names applied to the LDS landscape by European trappers and explorers and later LDS settlers. Definitive

Place Names of the Mormon West  27 natural characteristics of natural features were the basis for many of the toponyms of the region given not only by trappers and explorers but by the later LDS settlers. The toponyms applied by the trappers and explorers are often so generic that it is impossible to tell their origin from the name alone. The generic Bear Lake [A2], for example, was applied to the large freshwater lake on the Utah-Idaho border by fur trappers holding their annual rendezvous there. In 1818, the leader of the Hudson’s Bay Fur Company, Donald McKenzie, referred to the lake as Black Bear Lake (adding a specific toponym to identify the type of bear). While the Black part of the name was subsequently dropped, the appellative Bear appears in numerous iterations applied by not only the trappers but by later LDS settlers. Examples include Bear River, Bear River City (a town established by Scandinavian LDS migrants in 1866),19 Bear Lake Valley, Bear Lake Range, Bear River Bay, and the late 20th century Bear Lake State Recreation Area. The various combinations of the generic terms bear, lake, and river in just this one region of northern Utah and southern Idaho illustrate how toponyms can reveal the transformation of the society of the occupants of an area: from the trappers’ laconic reference to “Black Bear” (warning? food source? furs?) to the modern LDS westerners’ penchant for leisure time and recreation-related land use revealed in the application of the name to today’s Bear Lake recreation area. An example of a trapper-applied name that is not evident from simple observation is Green River [C3]. The Shoshone Indians knew the river as the Seeds-kee-dee-Agie, or “Prairie Hen River” (named for a food source, an important issue to the Shoshone). The Spanish explorers Dominguez and Escalante named it the Rio de San Buenventura, but some accounts claim that later Spanish and Mexican traders referred to it as the Rio Verde (‘Green River’) either for its color or for the vegetation along its banks. Some early observers called it the Spanish River because of its connection with the Spanish explorers and traders, but the name Green River ultimately became the common designation among fur trappers, whose descriptions of the area appeared in newspapers in the East and were applied to the river by all subsequent visitors and settlers. In spite of previous appellations by Indian and Spanish observers, the current toponym thus traces its acceptance to the fur trappers.20 Examples of toponyms seemingly related to fur trappers and explorers may be misleading from casual observation. Beaver River, for example, in spite of its seeming origin in the fur trapping era, was actually named by Latter-day Saint settlers fifty years after the end of the fur trapping era because of the beaver colonies along the river. The name in turn was applied to the valley through which the river flowed, the town of the same name in the valley [D1], the county in which the town is located and other geographic phenomena totaling at least nineteen place names in Utah alone unrelated to the fur trappers.21 Henry’s Fork [A3] is an example of the fur trappers’ application of a personal name as a toponym, whether or not the individual being so dignified has any personal relationship to the geographic location (although fur trappers were of course not the only namers to engage in this tradition). Henry’s Fork, a tributary to the Green River, was named after the trapper Major Andrew Henry in 1822 by his partner in the industry, William Henry Ashley.22 Some important towns settled by the Latter-day Saints in

28  Richard H. Jackson Utah were named for trappers but were not named by the fur trappers. Instead, they were named by LDS settlers for individual trappers who preceded them in the area. Examples include Provo [B2] in north central Utah, named after the French fur trapper Etienne Provost (variously transliterated into English as Proveau, Provot, Provaux, etc.).23 Ogden [A2] in northern Utah was named after the fur trapper Peter Skene Ogden, in spite of the fact that he had never been in the valley where the city is located. A fort established by the trapper Miles Goodyear on the site of the city in 1844–45 was called Fort Buenventura, but when purchased by the Church in 1847, it was renamed Brownsville in honor of James Brown, who represented the Church in the purchase. Three years later, the legislature of the newly founded provisional LDS territory renamed it Ogden in honor of the fur trapper. The cities of Ogden and Provo retained their distinction of being the second and third largest communities in Utah for nearly 150 years, yet their names tell us nothing of the unique beliefs of the Saints who developed them, nor represent relic names writ by the early trappers. Government explorers are directly or indirectly responsible for naming both natural and cultural phenomena in the Mormon West. The most famous and distinctive landform in the Mormon West is the saline Great Salt Lake [A1], both the largest body of water between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean and the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere. Reported to the Spanish explorers Dominguez and Escalante by Ute Indians, the lake is shown on their map as connecting to the Pacific Ocean, a myth that persisted for decades.24 The lake was first visited by fur trappers who apparently named it the Great Salt Lake.25 The government explorer John C. Fremont visited the lake in 1843, and his account (published in 1845) firmly fixed the Great Salt Lake in the public mind, including among the Latter-day Saints, whose founder, Joseph Smith, prior to his martyrdom in 1844, had predicted that his people would move to the Great Salt Lake Basin26 (Fremont himself, however, was commemorated by Howard Stansbury, a government surveyor who explored the Great Salt Lake in 1849 and renamed what Fremont had called Disappointment Island today’s Fremont Island). By the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in 1847, the lake and its name were widely known across the western world, so much so that the LDS leaders named their first city after the lake, Great Salt Lake City. Attempts to understand the LDS naming practices should note carefully the selection of the name for what was to become the LDS “Mecca.” Reporting on their successful establishment of a community in the West, Brigham Young sent an epistle to the members of the Church in the rest of the United States and Europe in 1847 titled “Great Salt City,” formally co-opting the name of the most prominent physical feature west of the Rocky Mountains as the name of the new LDS destination. LDS names of communities established in the Midwest under the direction of the visionary founder Smith included such unique toponyms as Nauvoo, Illinois (which Smith claimed meant “a beautiful location, a place of rest”27), and Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri (because according to Smith it was the site where “Adam shall come to visit his people”28). Such toponyms were distinctively Latter-day Saint, yet in founding what Young and others believed would rapidly become the primary gathering place for the Saints, distinctively

Place Names of the Mormon West  29 recognizable LDS place names were apparently not even considered. Given the prominent place of the Prophet Joseph Smith in LDS life until his martyrdom in 1844, and the widespread acceptance among the Saints that the large and bustling city of Nauvoo was “the City of Joseph,” it is surprising that the new gathering place was not named “New Nauvoo” or “the City of Joseph.” Acceptance of the explorers’ Great Salt Lake as the genesis for the name of their new “mecca” perhaps illustrates why any claim assuming that toponyms represent the primary means of defining the Mormon West may overstate the frequency of place names that are immediately recognizable as having a Latter-day Saint origin in the region. Names provided by government explorers or named in their honor are widespread across the Mormon West. The explorer Fremont, in addition to having an island named in his honor, has his name attached to a town [C2], a river, two canyons, a pass, and a wash in Utah; a county and a mountain in Wyoming; and a county in Idaho, where LDS groups settled. Howard Stansbury, mentioned above, is honored by an island in the Great Salt Lake and a range of mountains southwest of the lake. John W. Gunnison was second-in-command on Stansbury’s exploratory party in 1849 and returned to Utah Territory while surveying a possible railroad route to the Pacific in 1853. Gunnison and six of his men were attacked and killed by Pahvant Indians near the Sevier River (named the Rio Sebero or Severo by Spanish traders in 1813, Spanish for “severe” or “violent”). The town of Gunnison [C2] was established by Latter-day Saints in 1862, who selected the name to memorialize his explorations.29 The name Gunnison has also been applied to a valley, a river crossing, a reservoir, a butte, an island in the Great Salt Lake, and two valleys in Utah.30 The widespread use of names affixed by government explorers in the Great Basin settled by the Latter-day Saints is understandable. After the Saints’ arrival in the region in 1847, nearly all of the formal exploration, surveying, and mapping of the region was carried out by government or military expeditions. LDS names are clustered along the interface between the Great Basin and the Rocky Mountains, where the Saints established their settlements. Other important government explorers commemorated by their names on the land today include Edward Beckwith, who completed Gunnison’s survey. Beckwith, unfortunately, never gained the fame of his former superior, Fremont, and his name today is found affixed to only a plateau located in eastern Utah [C3]. It is important to note that most of the government explorers did not name many features after themselves; rather, later observers did so to honor them. James H. Simpson, a surveyor for the US army sent to Utah in the 1850s, surveyed several wagon roads across the west. Two places in the Great Basin of Utah are named for him (a spring and a mountain range), but he originally named both differently, and they were later named in his honor.31 Other explorers included Joseph C. Ives and Clarence King. King is commemorated in a mountain [A3] and a lake in eastern Utah named for him; Ives is largely forgotten. One of the most famous explorers whose name is recognizable across the region was John Wesley Powell. His party explored the Virgin and Colorado Rivers and the Colorado Plateau in several expeditions from 1869 to 1879. Later cartographers named a lake [D2], a mountain, and a point in the Colorado Plateau after him. More widespread than the actual names of explorers are the multitude

30  Richard H. Jackson of names applied by these explorers and cartographers, including some places where the generic “Mormon” is added to flats, pastures, trails, peaks, etc.

Distinctive LDS Toponyms The Latter-day Saint settlers, not surprisingly, played a significant role in the naming found throughout Utah and adjacent areas where they settled.32 Places named by the LDS settlers of the Intermountain West range from landforms such as valleys, rivers, and mountains, to the host of communities which they established. Although some of the names that they applied are distinctively LDS, reflecting their own unique religious background, most of the LDS naming experience can best be described as simply a variant of the broader American naming tradition. Consequently, the names that the Saints assigned to their towns, cities, landforms, and businesses are generally based on the adoption of earlier Native American names and the names of early settlers and historical figures in addition to the names of prominent Church leaders, names related to the Saints’ own experiences, and names related to physical features of the local area. LDS Scriptural Names on the Land The most distinctive LDS place names are those associated with their religion and Church history. One of the distinctive aspects of the Latter-day Saints is the central importance of the Book of Mormon in their cosmology. The Book of Mormon is accepted by Latter-day Saints as a scriptural account of people who inhabited North and South America, had prophets that received revelation, and were visited by Jesus Christ after His resurrection. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Book of Mormon to the LDS culture. Besides being the source for a nickname given to members of the Church by others, it contributes to the self-identity accepted by Latter-day Saints. Acceptance of another book of scripture in addition to the Bible has provided evidence used by other Christians to brand Latter-day Saints as non-Christians, which in turn justified vilification and persecution of members of the Church (both in the past and at the present). Repeated persecution in the past forced the Saints from upstate New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois and finally to the Great Basin of the American West, an area containing not only the modern headquarters of the Church but also permeated by the Church’s cultural and social influence. Given the central importance of the Book of Mormon and the centrality of their religion to Latter-day Saints, it would be logical to assume that scriptural names from the Book of Mormon and Bible would dominate the landscape as surely as places with the prefix Saint- dominate Catholic Quebec. The number of scriptural names applied to the Mormon West is surprisingly small, however. Names that are clearly taken from the Book of Mormon include a number of towns and cities established by the Saints in the Great Basin that were named in honor of the great leaders and prophets discussed in the Book of Mormon. The second town established by the Latter-day Saints in the Great Basin, Bountiful, Utah [A2], illustrates the process by which a Book of Mormon-based name was

Place Names of the Mormon West  31 applied to a settlement, and also illustrates that not all Book of Mormon origins are obvious. Bountiful is a name based on a famous city described in the Book of Mormon. Like most other LDS towns, however, the town arrived at its current name only after dropping earlier designations applied initially as an ad hoc identification of a new settlement. Typically, the earliest references to new settlements were based on the name or inclination of an early prominent settler. In the case of today’s Bountiful, early names included Call’s Settlement in honor of Anson Call, a Latter-day Saint who visited the area, but it quickly became Session’s Settlement in honor of Perrigrine Sessions, whose family made up the largest group of the first settlers in 1850.33 Like many other LDS settlements, Bountiful again changed names when it became large enough for organization and recognition as a formal LDS congregation (referred to as “wards” in the Church). Organization as a ward was accompanied with the appointment by the Church leaders in Salt Lake City of one man as the leader of the congregation, known as a Bishop. John Stoker was selected as Bishop of Session’s Settlement, and the name changed to North Mill Creek Canyon Ward, then the simplified North Canyon Ward.34 Designation as a ward was for Church administrative purposes, and the ward boundaries were not necessarily conterminous with the actual settled area but could include neighboring smaller settlements. By 1854, a post office was established in North Canyon Ward’s largest community, which was called Stoker in honor of the Bishop. In 1854, the members of the ward unanimously accepted the name Bountiful as the community’s name. The reluctance of the Bishop or the settlers (or both) to name the town after the local leader is repeated in selecting the permanent name of many of the LDS towns scattered across the West. Bountiful is an unusual scripturally-based LDS name as it is not readily apparent that it has a distinctive LDS origin. More obviously Latter-day Saint in origin are names such as Lehi [B2], Nephi [B2], and Moroni [B2], famous prophets from the Book of Mormon. All of these places were established in Utah during the early LDS settlement period. Lehi was the sixth community officially incorporated by the Latter-day Saints, with the first settlers arriving in 1850. Originally named Sulphur Springs, then Dry Creek, and then Evansville, it was incorporated as Lehi at the suggestion of the LDS ward leader, Bishop David Evans. Evans is reputed to have championed Lehi as the permanent name because the Book of Mormon account of the prophet Lehi recounts his forced wandering from place to place seeking a home, an experience that applied to the LDS settlers of Lehi as well.35 Another prominent Book of Mormon prophet with a city named in his honor is Moroni, important to Latter-day Saints as the last author within the book, and the angelic visitor who revealed to Joseph Smith the location of the golden plates from which he translated the book.36 Moroni, Utah is a small agricultural community in central Utah’s Sanpete Valley. Originally named Mego and then Sanpitch (Indian personal names), it was renamed Moroni after it was organized into a Church ward in 1859.37 A few miles south of Moroni in the Sanpete Valley is the community of Manti [C2]. Settled in 1849, it was one of the first three settlements established outside of the Salt Lake Valley (the other two being Ogden and Provo, settled the same year). Brigham Young visited the settlement in 1850 and named the settlement Manti, the name of a city in the Book of Mormon. A large group of Danish

32  Richard H. Jackson immigrants were sent to Manti by Young in 1853, leading to use of the nickname “Copenhagen” by some to refer to Manti in the latter half of the 19th century. The fact that the earliest LDS settlers were from the earlier LDS settlements in the Midwest may suggest that the American reluctance to mix church and state served as an unconscious restraint on applying their religious names to the places they settled. Their reluctance to use identifiable LDS names may also be the result of a fear that they would be seen as un-American in their new western home at the same time they were trying to get the US Congress to accept them as a territory within the United States. Aside from the few places with definitive LDS scriptural names, there is another interesting small group of places that at one time had such scriptural names that were later changed to more bland identifiers. In central Utah, the town of Richfield [C2] was previously known as Omni, a minor prophet in the Book of Mormon. Settled in 1864, it was first identified as Warm Springs, but quickly became known as Omni in honor of the Book of Mormon prophet of the same name. It became Richfield after a bounteous wheat crop in 1865, a new designation possibly resulting from a tacit recognition that a place named Richfield would attract more Latter-day Saint settlers than Omni, which had no propaganda value for those already immersed in the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ. An equally defensible explanation for abandoning Omni could be the innate tension between the LDS faithful and the “backsliders” who were uncomfortable with such a clearly religious appellation. Whatever the reason, Omni and nearby Omni Point were quickly abandoned in favor of non-religiously-oriented names. Also located in central Utah is today’s community of Monroe [C2], which was originally called South Bend in 1863 for its location on the Sevier River. The name was changed to Alma in honor of a prominent Book of Mormon prophet after an Indian conflict forced the settlers to flee for a time. When they attempted to obtain a US Post Office designation as Alma in 1870, they were refused because of the already-existing use of Alma in Arkansas, Nebraska, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin, all unrelated to the Book of Mormon. Monroe was selected to honor the fifth President of the United States, illustrating either the dominance of the American experience in LDS naming or a subtle attempt to reinforce the fact that Latter-day Saints were loyal Americans at a time when they were being vilified and their patriotism questioned by the eastern press and Congress. For whatever reason, the use of LDS scriptures as a source of place names in the Mormon West is extremely rare. Where such names are used outside of Utah, as in Ammon, Idaho, it has no LDS connotation except to the Latter-day Saint faithful, who recognize Ammon as another (albeit less prominent) Book of Mormon prophet. Even a Book of Mormon term for honeybee, Deseret, which appears in the name of a Utah community, would not commonly be thought of by those outside the faith as particularly LDS if it were not, also, the name of the LDS newspaper, The Deseret News. Contemporary LDS Names Given in the West As we saw with LDS scriptural names, there are relatively few places named in honor of the dominant early church leaders like Joseph Smith, Jr. and Brigham

Place Names of the Mormon West  33 Young, contemporaries of those assigning names. The leadership hierarchy of the Church begins with the President of the Church. Next in the hierarchy is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The senior member of the apostles becomes the President of the Church upon the death of the serving president. Both the Church President and the apostles are lifetime appointments. Thus, the individuals appointed as apostles may serve for decades. The President of the Church is accepted and revered by faithful members of the Church as a living prophet. Given the importance of the early prophets Smith and Young, it is interesting that while there is a Smithfield [A2], Smith Canyon, Smith Creek, etc. in Utah, none of them was named in honor of the founder and first prophet of the Church, Joseph Smith.38 The same is true of Smith’s given name, for while there are several places named Joseph in the Mormon West, none seems to be related to the founder of the faith. Fayette, Utah [C2] was, however, named after the town in Seneca County New York, where Joseph Smith organized the Church in 1830. New Harmony, Utah [D1] is named after Harmony, Pennsylvania, where Joseph translated the Book of Mormon; Kirtland, New Mexico is named after Kirtland, Ohio, where beginning in 1831, he first gathered together the members of his new religion.39 Brigham Young, who was indisputably the dominant figure among Latter-day Saint leaders in actually settling the Mormon West, is also rarely commemorated by LDS place names. Brigham City, Utah [A2] was a small farming settlement north of Salt Lake City, which was named Box Elder when it was founded in 1850. This name was changed to Youngsville and finally renamed Brigham City in honor of Brigham Young in 1867.40 Other places in Utah with Brigham or Young in their title were named for other individuals rather than Brigham Young. The prophet leader who succeeded Young at his death, John Taylor, likewise has only one community in Utah named after him, Taylorsville. The relatively few places named in honor of important early Church leaders may be the result of values that encourage humility and service rather than self-aggrandizement, and perhaps numerous places named after an individual could be seen as an indicator of pride. Some support for this explanation for the relative paucity of Latter-day Saint leaders immortalized through place names is suggested by the fact that some leaders actually involved in establishing towns across the West often suggested alternative names for the towns other than ones memorializing themselves. The town of Mantua, Utah, for example, was variously defined by local phenomena (Little Valley) or identified by a unique agricultural product (Flaxville) or inhabitants’ ancestry (Copenhagen) or settlers’ experience (Geneva) before Lorenzo Snow (then an apostle in the Church) suggested Mantua in honor of his birthplace in Ohio.41 The names of other early Church leaders important in the establishment of early Latter-day Saint communities are more common than those of Smith and Young. Apostle Lorenzo Snow’s name is commemorated in extreme northern Utah in Snowville [A1], settled in 1871. Snow Canyon in southern Utah is named after another LDS apostle, Erastus Snow. His name is also applied to a Latter-day Saint community in Arizona, Snowflake. William J. Flake was sent to establish an LDS settlement in Arizona, succeeding in 1878. There was a difference of opinion among the settlers over naming it Flake—something in recognition of William’s centrality in the success

34  Richard H. Jackson of the endeavor, or naming it after Erastus Snow, who was in charge of the LDS settlements in southern Utah and Arizona. After visiting the community, Snow suggested that it be called Snow Flake, which became today’s Snowflake.42 Other 19th century apostles are remembered in small communities, including Woodruff [A2], named for the apostle (and later fourth President of the Church) Wilford Woodruff; and Teasdale [C2], named for the apostle George Teasdale. An unusual example of a community named in honor of a late 19th century LDS leader (apostle and later prophet) is the town established for Polynesian converts in the desert west of Salt Lake City. Named Iosepa by the Polynesians who colonized it, the name honors Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church and nephew of its founder. Joseph F. Smith had served as a missionary for four years in the Sandwich Islands (today’s Hawaii) and was beloved by the Polynesians.43 The town survived from 1889 to its abandonment in 1917 as Smith encouraged the Polynesians to return to Hawaii, where they could join other Hawaiian members at Laie, where the first temple outside the continental United States was to be constructed. Joseph F. Smith’s father, Hyrum Smith, was the brother of the prophet and Church founder Joseph Smith and was martyred along with him in 1844. Hyrum is commemorated in the town of the same name in northern Utah, which was planned to be a sister community to another nearby to be named Joseph, which never materialized. A limited number of other places are named after early apostles, including Johns Valley, honoring apostle John A. Widtsoe; Parley’s Canyon, Creek, and Park, honoring the apostle Parley P. Pratt, who was murdered by a mob in Arkansas in 1857;44 Clawson, which honors a later apostle, Rudger Clawson, who organized a ward in the pioneer community of Kingsville in 1904, at which time the community changed its name;45 Lyman, which changed its name to honor the apostle Francis M. Lyman, who suggested moving an existing community to higher ground in 1894;46 and Heber [B2], after the apostle Heber C. Kimball, whose great missionary efforts in England were honored by the English convert settlers of the town.47 One of the most unusual cases of the naming of places after major leaders is St. George, Utah [D1]. Church members do not venerate saints, and the town of St. George was one hundred percent Latter-day Saint for most of its early history. The name comes from the apostle George A. Smith, who, while not participating in the actual settlement, was responsible for assigning the families and individuals who colonized the settlement in southern Utah. The Saint generic toponym seems to be something of a tongue-in-cheek riposte at the numerous detractors of Latterday Saints found in other churches. A number of towns in the Mormon West are named for local leaders, often the first Bishop of the community. Examples include Nibley in northern Utah, named for the early leader Charles W. Nibley;48 and Abraham [C1] in Millard County, named after Abraham H. Cannon, an early local leader and settler.49 Even more settlements established by the Latter-day Saints were named after one of the earliest settlers, and only their membership in the Church makes it an LDS place name, such as Orangeville [C2], named for Orange Seely.50 Because of large families and a high proportion of surnames of English origin, we can see a resulting situation in which some towns named after early settlers could be mistakenly assumed to have

Place Names of the Mormon West  35 been named for early leaders. Grantsville, Utah [B1], for example, might be assumed to be named after the revered apostle and Church President Heber J. Grant, but is actually named after Colonel George D. Grant of the territorial militia, who came to the assistance of the settlers in dealing with hostile Indians. Even less obviously LDS in their origins are names reflecting unique Latter-day Saint doctrines. Orderville, Utah [D1], for example, was named by its settlers to indicate their commitment to live a variant of communitarian lifestyle referred to by the Saints as the “United Order.” Failed attempts by Brigham Young to convince the LDS settlers to adopt the communitarian lifestyle of the United Order was in part responsible for the substitution of cooperative ventures among the Church members as Young tried to make them self-sufficient. Most notable of names based on formal cooperative enterprises in the Mormon West is Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI). Branches of ZCMI were established in nearly every LDS settlement, and it persisted as a department store chain until its sale by the Church in the late 1990s. The use of “Cooperative” as a generic toponym is found in Co-op Springs, Co-op Creek, Co-op Flat, Co-op Sinks, etc. A number of toponyms are indirectly associated with the Church doctrine of sending men on missions to preach the faith. While not obvious, several places were named after missionary experiences of those settling a community. Loa [C2], Wayne County, Utah is named after Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii, where settler Franklin W. Young served his mission. He suggested the name because he felt the mountain adjacent to the community was similar to Mauna Loa. Leeds, Utah is named after the town in England where the first Bishop of Leeds, Utah had served his mission.51 Biblical Names The LDS pioneers were parsimonious in applying biblical names to the landscape. Examples include Ephraim [C2] in central Utah, honoring one of the sons of Joseph from the Old Testament. A proposed community of Manassa, Utah to honor Joseph’s other son never materialized, but LDS settlers in the San Juan Valley of southern Colorado did remember Manassa in a town they founded. Other examples of Biblical names include Mount Gog and Magog in the Cache Valley of northern Utah, reflecting names taken from the book of Revelation in the New Testament. Mount Nebo [B2] and Mount Pisgah [A2] near the biblical Jericho are also found in Utah, as is the city of Enoch [D1], named after an Old Testament prophet that Latter-day Saints believe was especially faithful. Zion appears in several references to places in the Mormon West, the most famous being Zion’s Canyon and Zion’s National Park [D1]. Other examples of biblical names include Paradise [A2], a small town in northern Utah, and Moab [C3], affixed to a town, valley, and canyon in southern Utah. The Jordan River [B2] draining from the freshwater of Utah Lake to the saline Great Salt Lake indicates Latter-day Saint settlers’ recognition of the geographic similarity between their topography and the biblical Jordan River connecting the freshwater of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Less obviously biblical in origin is the name of three landforms near one another in Zions National Park, Three Patriarchs, supposedly named by an early LDS

36  Richard H. Jackson pioneer in honor of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.52 Even names which seem clearly to be biblical in origin, such as Goshen, Utah [B2] may indicate the historical background of settlers rather than directly revealing the importance of the Bible in naming places. Goshen was suggested as a name by the first Latter-day Saint Bishop of the town in honor of his birthplace, Goshen, Connecticut. Names by Latter-day Saints Following American Traditions The majority of places named by Latter-day Saints involve names more closely related to other American naming traditions than to the unique belief system of the LDS settlers. Places reflecting the American background of the Latter-day Saints are found across the Mormon West, such as Washington [D1] (found as a town name, a mountain, a lake, etc.) and Lincoln (commemorated in a town name and a gulch). Other places have names associated with other national leaders (e.g., the previously mentioned city, Roosevelt) or American history (Monticello [D3]), or leaders who had been somewhat supportive of the Saints in their trials (as Millard County Utah, and its county seat, Fillmore [C1], a one-time territorial capital of Utah). Kane County, Kane Spring, Kane Spring Canyon, and Kanesville, Utah are places named in honor of Colonel Thomas L. Kane, a friend of the Latter-day Saints, who acted as a mediator between them and various branches of the US government in the mid-19th century.53 Most names across the Mormon West, however, reflect the American penchant to name a place based on some obvious characteristic of the place itself or for the individual(s) who first explored, visited, or colonized the place, or who were at least early settlers. Examples include Wales, Utah [C2], named in honor of the LDS pioneer migrants who colonized the community; Danish Flats and Swedish Knoll, reflecting the importance of Scandinavian immigrants; Alligator Lake in the Uinta Mountains (named for its shape); Beehive Point, Rabbit Valley, Bridal Veil Falls, Alkali Canyon, Castle Valley (the latter named for the shapes of the surrounding cliffs), and Amethyst Lake. In other examples, Bryce Canyon [D2] is named for Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded the area; Butterfield Canyon is named for Thomas Butterfield, who constructed the first road through the canyon; Fiddlers Canyon was named for an early settler who played for dances; and Neffs Canyon received its name from John Neff, who established a mill in the area east of Salt Lake City. Other places reflect the American tendency to select names of famous places to grace their fledgling settlements, such as Venice and Mount Olympus, Utah [B2], although there are relatively few of these names in the Mormon West.

Conclusion The LDS names scattered across the West in themselves do not provide a clear cultural marker to the religion and beliefs of the land’s occupants. The relatively few scriptural names unique to the Book of Mormon are one indicator, but examining only their geographic extent would not reveal the territorial extent of the Mormon West. Even the unique Book of Mormon names can be overlooked because of non-LDS places with identical or similar names. Lehi, Utah is one of

Place Names of the Mormon West  37 the most obvious names from the Book of Mormon, but Lehigh County, Pennsylvania is remarkably similar. Moroni, Utah named in honor of a chief figure in LDS historiography and the Book of Mormon has another namesake in Moroni, Comoros Islands east of Africa, which has no relationship to the American Moroni. More surprising still is the paucity of names of famous LDS leaders like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Most LDS naming choices are more reflective of the residents’ ethnic and national background, obvious physical characteristics of the environment, or simple recognition of early settlers or history than they are of their specific religious beliefs or experience. The tendency to avoid religion in their selection of place names can be explained several ways. First, it may represent a conscious or unconscious attempt to emphasize their similarities to other parts of the American scene, especially since the LDS settlement of the West largely coincided with a period of estrangement between Washington leaders and the Church. A second explanation is that the LDS experience of most of the settlers represented a relatively thin veneer of time compared to their immersion in the broader American culture, and thus their naming behavior was similar to other areas of America. Another explanation suggests that the very significance to the LDS psyche of their religious beliefs and the respect they had for their religious leaders caused them to hesitate to use scriptural, sacred, or other religiously prominent names for mundane places. This argument, however, is weakened by the use of some scriptural or other LDS names in naming places. Whatever the reason, it is apparent that LDS toponyms are far more apt to be like others found in the United States except in areas like New England or the American Southwest in which some place names do serve as an obvious cultural marker.

Notes 1 Given the recent emphasis from the top leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the term Mormon should be avoided in references to the Church (see, e.g., Nelson, “Correct Name of the Church”), it is perhaps appropriate here to note that the Church’s “Style Guide” clarifies that the word Mormon “is correctly used in proper names … or when used as an adjective in such historical expressions as ‘Mormon Trail’.” This allowance would presumably apply to a proper name like “Mormon West” that has traditionally been used to refer to the region that was originally settled largely through the efforts of the Mormon Pioneers. 2 For more information on generic and specific parts of place names, see Bastian, “Generic Place-Names”; Burrill, “Toponymic Generics I”; Burrill, “Toponymic Generics II”; Gulley, “British and Irish Toponyms”; Kaups, “Finnish Place Names”; Leighly, “Town Names”; Tuan, “Language and the Making of a Place”; Wright, “Study of Place-Names”; and Zelinsky, “Some Problems in the Distribution.” 3 While it is tempting to visualize these layers of names as a time series, with the names from the early aboriginal occupants being the first and those related to the latest LDS arrivals the most recent, in point of fact many of the places with aboriginal names were so named by LDS settlers. 4 The literature detailing LDS colonization efforts across the West comprises a wealth of information about LDS settlements that includes information about the names the settlers selected to identify their new homes. Unfortunately, this information is scattered across a wide landscape of publications representing a variety of disciplines. Allen et al., Studies in Mormon History, provides the first comprehensive effort to map the

38  Richard H. Jackson landscape of published materials relating to LDS history, including invaluable indexes to the works relating to LDS settlement history and related naming processes. Many of the names given to places by LDS settlers are recorded in Jenson, “Origin of Western Geographic Names,” and in Jenson, Encyclopedic History. Non-LDS sources for names provided by government explorers are available in part in Gannett, Gazetteer of Utah. A number of books have been written detailing some of the place names in Utah, the center of western LDS cultural influence, including Leigh, Five Hundred Utah Place Names; Miller, Utah History Atlas; and Van Cott, Utah Place Names. Local, county, and state histories contain valuable information about some places as well, among which the most useful in coverage is Powell, Utah History Encyclopedia. 5 One source that provides effective visual perspectives on some of the settlement of Utah and the Intermountain West, as well as the Latter-day Saint history behind it, is Plewe et al., Mapping Mormonism. 6 See Hurst, “Anasazi.” Madsen, “Fremont,” discusses a smaller group of Anasazi called the Fremont peoples. 7 See Farmer, On Zion’s Mount, 244–46, for a discussion on challenges in ascertaining the original forms of place names attributed to Native Americans. He uses the term “Indianist” to refer to “officially sanctioned U.S. place-names that include non-English words of real or purported indigenous derivation” (244). 8 The initial settlers of today’s Utah named the region they proposed as a state, “Deseret,” a Book of Mormon term that Latter-day Saints claim means ‘honeybee.’ When Congress designated the LDS settlements of the West as a territory, they applied the name Utah from the Ute Indian tribe. See Morgan, State of Deseret, 74–77 and 112–17; Jenson, Encyclopedic History, 181; Poll, “Deseret”; and Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, for a discussion of the proposed Deseret Territory and creation of the Utah Territory. 9 Here and throughout the chapter, the letter and number within brackets that accompany a given place name correspond to the map of Utah found in Figure 2.1. 10 Farmer, On Zion’s Mount, provides an involved history related to this name and its use by the local indigenous culture, a couple of Spanish priests, different mapmakers, and later Latter-day Saints. He also considers the name’s transfer of meaning and the cultural significance as the name was applied to a specific massif (later regarded locally as a mountain). See especially Chapter 7. 11 Van Cott, Utah Place Names. Van Cott’s book is the premier gazetteer of place names in Utah, and, unless otherwise indicated, will be the source for explaining the origin of place names in Utah that are not readily identified as variants of transplanted Americanabased names or those specific to LDS scripture or history. 12 Zelinsky, “Some Problems in the Distribution.” Pages 333 and 348 indicate that the prefix Mount- is of New England origin, having been transformed from the British use to refer to a hill of more or less conical shape to the New England use in labeling almost any identifiable mountain. Mount Timpanogos is definitely not cone shaped; rather, it is a sharp mountain crest of some length marking the western edge of the Rocky Mountains, where it meets the Great Basin in the form of Utah Valley. 13 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 16. 14 Fuller, “Duchesne County,” 149. 15 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 117–18. 16 Ibid., xviii. 17 Ibid., 329. 18 Billington, Westward Expansion, 454–58. 19 Peterson, “Bear Lake”; Haymond, “Bear River”; and Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 23–25. 20 Webb, “Green River.” Complicating the interpretation of place names in the areas of LDS influence and elsewhere is the multiplicity of similar generic names with different origins. In Utah, for example, Green Canyon Spring far to the west of Green River is actually named for an LDS settler who homesteaded in the canyon, while a Green Lake in southern Utah was named for a Mr. Green, who owned it, but Green Canyon, applied

Place Names of the Mormon West  39 to three different locales in Utah, refers to the green vegetation of the canyons in two instances, and to the aforementioned LDS settler of the same name in the third; see Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 166–67. 21 Bradley, “Beaver, Utah”; and Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 25–27. 22 Billington, Westward Expansion, 458–59. 23 Moffitt, Story of Provo, Utah, 11; see also Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 305; and Cannon, “Provo.” 24 Jackson, “Great Salt Lake,” 233–34. 25 See Jackson, “Great Salt Lake and Great Salt Lake City.” 26 Ibid., 138–40. 27 Leonard, “Nauvoo,” 987. 28 Berrett, “Adam-Ondi-Ahman,” 19. 29 Roberts, “Gunnison.” Due to LDS conflicts with the Federal Government during this period, some easterners maintained that the Latter-day Saints in fact massacred the Gunnison party, and naming the town was a cold-blooded attempt to deflect attention from their role. 30 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 170–71. 31 Talbot and Gowans, “Exploring the West after 1847”; and Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 342. 32 For an acknowledgement of their significant effect on naming, even from someone outside the LDS community, see Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian, 192. 33 Scott, “Bountiful.” 34 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 46–47. 35 Van Wagoner, “Lehi,” 326. The Bishop’s reluctance to accept the seeming importance implied by having a town named after him is a common phenomenon in the Mormon West, reflecting both the fact that the position as an LDS Ward Bishop is a temporary assignment generally measured in a decade or less of service and the genuine humility of those called to such positions. 36 Moroni is viewed as a central figure in LDS cosmology, and a statue of him crowns the Salt Lake and other temples of the Church. 37 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 258. 38 Ibid., 344–45. 39 Jackson, “First Gathering to Zion.” 40 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 50. 41 Ibid., 244. 42 See McClintock, Mormon Settlement in Arizona, 164; and Jenson, Encyclopedic History, 803. 43 Van Orden, “Smith, Joseph F.” 44 Porter, “Pratt, Parley Parker.” 45 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 81. 46 Ibid., 237. 47 Ibid., 181. 48 Ibid., 274. 49 Ibid., 1. 50 Ibid., 282. 51 Mariger, “Leeds,” 362. 52 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 369. 53 McAllister, “Thomas Leiper Kane.”

References Allen, James B., Ronald W. Walker, and David J. Whittaker. Studies in Mormon History, 1830–1997: An Indexed Bibliography. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2000. Arrington, Leonard J. Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-Day Saints, 1830–1900. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1958.

40  Richard H. Jackson Bastian, Robert W. “Generic Place-Names and the Northern-Midland Dialect Boundary in the Midwest.” Names 25, no. 4 (1977): 228–36. Berrett, Lamar C. “Adam-Ondi-Ahman.” In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Ludlow, 1: 19–20. Billington, Ray Allen. Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier, 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan Company, 1960. Bradley, Martha Sonntag. “Beaver, Utah.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 36–37. Bradshaw, Hazel, ed. Under Dixie Sun. St. George, UT: Washington County Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1950. Brown, S. Kent, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard H. Jackson, eds. Historical Atlas of Mormonism. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Burrill, Meredith F. “Toponymic Generics I.” Names 4, no. 3 (1956a): 129–37. ———. “Toponymic Generics II.” Names 4, no. 4 (1956b): 226–40. Cannon, Kenneth L. II. “Provo.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 447–48. Farmer, Jared. On Zion’s Mount: Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape. Cambridge, MA and London, England: Harvard UP, 2008. Fuller, Craig. “Duchesne County.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 149–50. Gannett, Henry. A Gazetteer of Utah, United States Geological Survey, Bulletin no. 166. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1900. Gulley, Harold E. “British and Irish Toponyms in the South Atlantic States.” Names 43, no. 2 (1995): 85–102. Haymond, Jay M. “Bear River.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 35. Hurst, Winston. “Anasazi.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 10–12. Jackson, Richard H. “Great Salt Lake and Great Salt Lake City: American Curiosities.” Utah Historical Quarterly 56, no. 2 (Spring 1988): 128–47. ———. “First Gathering to Zion.” In Historical Atlas, edited by Brown, Cannon, and Jackson, 34–35. ———. “Great Salt Lake.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 233–34. Jenson, Andrew. “Origin of Western Geographic Names.” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, vols. 10–13 (1919–22). ———. Encyclopedic History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Company, 1941. Kaups, Matti. “Finnish Place Names in Minnesota: A Study in Cultural Transfer.” Geographical Review 56, no. 3 (1966): 377–97. Leigh, Rufus Wood. Five Hundred Utah Place Names: Their Origin and Significance. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1961. Leighly, John B. “Town Names of Colonial New England in the West.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 68, no. 2 (1978): 233–48. Leonard, Glen M. “Nauvoo.” In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Ludlow, 3: 987–93. Ludlow, Daniel H., ed. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1992. Madsen, David B. “The Fremont.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 203–5. Mariger, Marietta M. “Leeds.” In Under Dixie Sun, edited by Bradshaw, 361–69. McAllister, David. “Thomas Leiper Kane.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 295–96. McClintock, James H. Mormon Settlement in Arizona. Phoenix: State of Arizona, 1921. Miller, David E. Utah History Atlas. Salt Lake City: Smith’s Printery, 1979. Moffitt, John Clifton. The Story of Provo, Utah. Provo, UT: Press Publishing Company, 1975. Morgan, Dale L. The State of Deseret. Logan, UT: Utah State UP and the Utah Historical Society, 1987.

Place Names of the Mormon West  41 Nelson, Russell M. “The Correct Name of the Church.” Ensign 42, no. 11 (Nov. 2018): 87–90. Peterson, F. Ross. “Bear Lake.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 34–35. Plewe, Brandon S., S. Kent Brown, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard H. Jackson, eds. Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas of Latter-day Saint History, 2nd ed. Provo, UT: BYU Press, 2014. Poll, Richard D. “Deseret.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 138–39. Porter, Larry C. “Pratt, Parley Parker.” In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Ludlow, 3: 1116–17. Powell, Allan Kent, ed. Utah History Encyclopedia. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994. Roberts, Allen. “Gunnison.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 240–41. Scott, Patricia Lyn. “Bountiful.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 49. Stegner, Wallace. Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954. “Style Guide—The Name of the Church.” Available at https://newsroom.churchofjesus christ.org/style-guide. Accessed on August 10, 2022. Talbot, Vivian Linford, and Fred R. Gowans. “Exploring the West after 1847.” In Historical Atlas, edited by Brown, Cannon, and Jackson, 94–95. Tuan, Yi-Fu. “Language and the Making of a Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach.” Annals of the American Association of Geographers 81, no. 4 (1991): 684–96. Van Cott, John W. Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1990. Van Orden, Bruce A. “Smith, Joseph F.” In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Ludlow, 3: 1349–52. Van Wagoner, Richard S. “Lehi.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 326–27. Webb, Roy. “The Green River.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 237–40. Wright, John K. “The Study of Place-Names.” Geographical Review 19, no. 1 (1929): 140–44. Zelinsky, Wilbur. “Some Problems in the Distribution of Generic Terms in the PlaceNames of the Northeastern United States.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 45, no 4 (1955): 319–49.

3 Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah Lynn Henrichsen, George Bailey, Timothy Wright, and Jacob Huckaby

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, official policy and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged the “gathering of the faithful.” In fact, Brigham Young declared in 1860 that emigration “upon the first feasible opportunity directly follows obedience to the first principles of the Gospel we have embraced.”1 As a result, thousands of converts to the Church gathered to “Zion” in Utah. During the 19th century, more immigrants came to Utah from Denmark than any other country except Great Britain.2 Not far behind the Danes were the Swedes and a good number of Norwegians. Together, by 1880, these Scandinavian immigrants made up nearly 9% of the young Utah Territory’s total population.3 In some counties, the foreign-born Scandinavians constituted up to nearly a quarter of the population, and in a few communities they were the majority.4 This influx of people who came from a foreign culture and spoke a language other than English affected Utah in many ways. This chapter will focus on the influence they had on the onomastics of Utah. In light of the demographic facts mentioned above (and explained in greater detail below), one might expect a strong Scandinavian influence on both personal names and place names in Utah. Nevertheless, while there was certainly some influence, it seems to have been disproportionately small, and thus it is often neglected, forgotten, and unstudied by those interested in Western American and Latter-day Saint naming patterns. For instance, in the chapter on “Proper Names in America” in his monumental work The American Language, H. L. Mencken writes of Scandinavian names elsewhere in America (e.g., Minnesota) but makes no mention of any Scandinavian onomastic influence in Utah.5 Likewise, modern investigators of personal names in Utah have noted the potential influence of French (“The quintessential Utah name often has a French-sounding prefix such as Le-, La-, Ne- or- Va-”6) and religious scriptures (e.g., Book of Mormon names like “Mahonri or Nephi or Moroni”7) on Utah LDS given names. Mansfield even draws parallels between Latter-day Saint and African-American naming patterns.8 Nevertheless, these authors make no mention of any Scandinavian influence on anthroponyms in Utah. Regarding Utah toponyms, the situation is similar. The introduction to the 450-page Utah Place Names mentions the influence of the native Shoshone, Ute, Paiute, Goshute, and Navajo Indians; the Spanish explorers; and “the mountain men, Mormons, and military”9 on toponyms in Utah, but it fails to make any reference to the Scandinavians and their influence. DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-4

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  43 Nevertheless, while the Scandinavian influence may not have been as large as one might expect, it was larger than some people (even some experts) may think. This chapter will explain this influence and provide examples of its various manifestations. First, it will present historical demographic data on the Scandinavian immigration and population of Utah between 1850 and 1930. It will then discuss anthroponyms (surnames, given names, and bynames) and, finally, it will examine toponyms (place names) in Utah that reflect the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian influence.10

Historical Demographic Background Information In 1850, a total of only 35 Scandinavians lived in Utah, making up a scant 0.31% of the territory’s fledgling population. In the next decade, however, a dramatic shift occurred in the Scandinavian presence in Utah. Danish immigration led the way as the number of Danes in Utah jumped from only 2 in 1850 to 1,824 in 1860, reaching a significant 4.53% of the total population of the young territory11 (see Figure 3.1). The dramatic growth in the number of Danes in Utah was primarily due to missionary work of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1849, Denmark abolished absolutism, bringing religious freedom to the Danes.12 About the same time, shortly after the first Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah, Brigham Young sent LDS missionaries to Scandinavia.13 These missionaries began their work in Denmark in 1850 and from there worked their way to the other Scandinavian nations, enjoying great success. Between 1850 and 1905, 46,000 Scandinavians converted to the Church.14 Heeding the counsel to “gather to Zion,” 25,850 of these converts migrated to Utah between 1851 and 1926. Of this total number, there were “13,910 Danes, 8,503 Swedes, and 3,437 Norwegians.”15

Figure 3.1  Utah’s Scandinavian Population, 1850–1930. Source: Jensen, “Immigration to Utah,” in Powell, Utah History Encyclopedia, 272–73. (Chart created by the authors of this chapter)

44  Lynn Henrichsen et al. In 1900, “Scandinavian stock” formed 16% of the state’s total population.16 Together with their American born children, Scandinavians in Utah numbered more than 30,000 in 1905.17 Over time, the Scandinavian immigrants and their descendants both diffused and increased in the general population. In 1950, a survey was conducted “by John F. Oleson under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric in cooperation with the committee on information and statistics of the Council of the Twelve” “to determine the number of Latter-day Saints in the stakes of Zion of Scandinavian descent, full or partial.” In response, “six hundred and eighty-one wards and branches reported. Forty-five percent of their membership was found to be, in part at least, of Scandinavian origin.”18 In the same study, the percentages of Scandinavian descendants in six Utah counties were also calculated, with the following results: Sanpete and Sevier 78.0%, Box Elder 64.8%, Cache 52.9%, Utah 50.0%, Salt Lake 45.0%, and Weber 36.7%. Immigration from Denmark to Utah was much more dramatic and occurred sooner than did immigration from the other two Scandinavian countries. As Figure 3.1 shows, in 1860, there were nearly 2,000 Danes in Utah, compared to a combined total of only 355 Norwegians and Swedes. As late as 1890, 10% of the state’s residents were either born in Denmark or had at least one parent born there.19 Consequently, there was a noticeable Danish cultural and linguistic dominance among Scandinavians in Utah. For this reason, most Anglo-American Utahns categorized all the Scandinavians as Danes. One Scandinavian immigrant to Utah in this time period wrote back to his family in Norway saying, “Jeg kan ikke opregne alle De Danske der er her som I kjender for der er saa mange gode Danske, Svenske, Norske og Bornholmere, disse kalder de alle Danske her” [I cannot count up all the Danes there are here whom you know because there are so many good Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, and people from Bornholm. All them they call Danes here].20 When the Scandinavian immigrants arrived in Utah, they usually went to one of three general areas: the centralized Salt Lake-Utah County area, the SanpeteSevier County area to the south, and the Cache-Box Elder County area to the north.21 Salt Lake County, of course, was Utah’s urban and economic center and attracted many new arrivals, as well as many residents of outlying areas. One of the reasons Scandinavian immigrants congregated to the other areas in the north and south of Utah was that they were assigned to settle in certain communities when they arrived. Brigham Young reportedly sent “half of them to help settle in Cache County on the north and the others south to the Manti settlement.”22 This practice set a pattern that later immigrants continued to follow even when they were no longer assigned to settle in specific communities. In a classic “chain migration” manner, many Scandinavian immigrants simply chose to go to areas where people of the same ethnic background lived, in order to be with family members and friends who had arrived earlier, feel comfortable, fit into society, and communicate in their native language.23 As a result of this pattern, Sanpete County’s Danish-born residents made up twenty-four percent of its population in 1870; with their children born in Utah they were undoubtedly more than one-third of the county’s population…. Also in 1870, 10.5 percent

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  45 of Box Elder County’s residents were born in Denmark, as were 7.8 percent of Cache County’s residents.24 The maps in Figures 3.2 and 3.3 indicate the Scandinavian population density (by total number of residents and by percentage of the total population) for Utah

Figure 3.2  Utah Residents Born in Denmark, Norway, or Sweden, 1890 Census, Totals by County. Source: Compiled county-level statistics for 1890 are from the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) at https://www.nhgis.org. (Map graphic above was created by the authors of this chapter)

46  Lynn Henrichsen et al.

Figure 3.3 Utah Residents Born in Denmark, Norway, or Sweden, 1890 Census, Percentages by County. Source: Compiled county-level statistics for 1890 are from the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) at https://www.nhgis.org. (Map graphic above was created by the authors of this chapter)

counties in 1890. They show the greatest numbers of Scandinavian immigrants in Salt Lake (4,327), Sanpete (2,963), Cache (2,185), Utah (1,699), and Weber (1,454) counties, and the heaviest concentrations in Sanpete (22.54%), Sevier (17.68%), Cache (14.09%), and Box Elder (12.12%) counties.25 As explained below, a few towns—like Spring City and Ephraim in Sanpete County, Elsinore in

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  47 Sevier County, Pleasant Grove in Utah County, and Mantua in Box Elder County—had even higher concentrations of Scandinavians. Generally, Danish immigrants to the United States assimilated into the dominant Anglo-American society relatively rapidly.26 In Utah, even though linguistic assimilation did not take place immediately or painlessly (for details, see our other publications on this topic27), Scandinavians generally followed this pattern of quick assimilation. In fact, the rate of linguistic assimilation was higher in Utah than it was in other states. In 1940, Haugen gathered data on the rates of mother-tongue retention by second-generation Scandinavians in various states. His data reveal that in the United States as a whole, 31% of second-generation Danes still spoke Danish, nearly 44% of second-generation Swedes still spoke Swedish, and 52% of Norwegians spoke Norwegian. In states where there were large concentrations of Scandinavians (like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa) the retention rates were even higher—at or above 60% for Norwegians. In Utah, however, only 16.7% of second-generation Norwegians spoke Norwegian, and the mother-tongue retention rate was also unusually low for Swedish (24%) and Danish (23%).28 The accelerated acculturation rate in Utah probably occurred because of the acceptance factor—conditions like “mixed nationality neighborhoods” and “greater willingness to accept and incorporate Scandinavians,”29 in contrast with social conditions in many Scandinavian communities in the Midwest where the linguistic and cultural divide was much more rigidly maintained. This relatively rapid assimilation of Scandinavian immigrants in Utah had significant implications for naming patterns in the state that counterbalanced the onomastic effects produced by the large number of Scandinavians.

Personal Names In areas of Utah where the number of Scandinavians was great, the influence on personal naming patterns was correspondingly strong. This section will describe that influence—on surnames, given names, and bynames. Surnames For many centuries, Nordic surnames followed a patronymic pattern. The patronymic surname was formed by adding the ending -son (-sen in Danish and Norwegian) to the person’s father’s given name to indicate “son of.” Less commonly, -dotter (Danish -datter) for “daughter of ” was added to female names. The traditional Scandinavian patronymic system was abandoned in the mid-19th century, about the same time as the Latter-day Saint immigration to Utah, and it was certainly not continued by immigrants once they arrived in the United States. Nevertheless, it made Scandinavian surnames distinctive and relatively easy to identify among the general populace—especially the Dano-Norwegian ones that ended in -sen. Swedish surnames ending in -son were more difficult to distinguish from English surnames, such as Robertson, that also followed a patronymic pattern. Nevertheless, those that were based on distinctively Scandinavian given names, such as Sorenson, Anderson, Hanson, and Pehrson, still stood out.

48  Lynn Henrichsen et al. The fact that the number of common Scandinavian male given names on which patronymic surnames were based was relatively small resulted in a situation wherein many people shared a few highly frequent Scandinavian patronymic surnames. Adams explains that lists from the 1870s indicate that just over 50% of the male Scandinavian immigrants bore, as their first name, Jens, Christian, Hans, Niels, Andrew, or Peter. Because of patronymics, this [limited number of male given names] also resulted in a limited number of surnames, which were suddenly frozen when the immigrant crossed the borders of the United States30. or when the patronymic system was abandoned in the mid-19th century. In Scandinavian-populated communities in Utah, this meant: The abundance of Petersons was equaled only by the similar abundance of Hansens, Andersons, Larsons, Thompsons, Jensons, Christensens, Olsens, Nielsons, and Sorensons, with a generous sprinkling of others somewhat more distinctive. We might mention the Lunds and the Breinholts, the Bjerregaards and the Otterstroms, the Rosequists, the Doriuses and the Thorpes, with a few Rasmussens, Jacobsons, Christiansons, Bertelsons, Madsens, Isaacsons, Mortensons, and Willardsons included for good measure.31 The high rate at which the Scandinavians—especially those of the second-­ generation—in Utah adopted the English language and American customs, and also the fact that Anglo-American and Scandinavian Saints in Utah shared a common religion, facilitated cross-cultural intermarriages over time. For instance, census records in Pleasant Grove, a community with many Scandinavian immigrants, show that marriages between Scandinavians and Americans were almost non-existent in 1880, but “by 1900, the percentage of ethnically mixed couples had shifted dramatically.”32 As John A. Widtsoe put it, “[the immigrants’] children married the youth of the land, without reference to racial origins…. In the course of time, Scandinavian blood flowed through the veins of thousands of Latter-day Saints born on the American side of the Atlantic.”33 When the husband in these unions was Scandinavian, the result of the cross-cultural intermarrying was even more Utahns with Scandinavian surnames. The large number of Scandinavian immigrants to Utah, the relatively small number of Scandinavian patronymic surnames, and the large number of marriages between second-generation Scandinavian men and Anglo-American women resulted in some noteworthy surname patterns. A 1938 newspaper headline, for example, trumpeted, “Anderson, not Smith, proves most common Utah name.” The article went on to explain: Contrary to general belief, Smith is NOT the most common surname in Utah. It’s Anderson. And second come not the Joneses but the Johnsons…. These interesting facts are shown in a report of birth registrations since 1905, prepared by Mrs. Eva W. Ramsey, chief of the division of vital statistics for the state board of health.34

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  49 As late as the 1970s, Jensen determined that surnames “like Olsen, Hansen, Peterson, and Jenson abound[ed]” in Utah and the surnames “Andersen and Anderson outnumber[ed] everything but Smith.”35 A review of the 2008 Qwest DEX telephone directory for South Central Utah (which includes Sanpete and Sevier counties) revealed that the same pattern exists and to a greater degree in this region even today. The surname Christensen (and its variants Christenson and Christiansen) appeared in the directory 386 times, followed closely by Andersen/-son (350 times), Neilsen/-son, Nelson, Nielsen/-son (304 times), Petersen/-son (291 times), and Johnson, which can be an Anglo or Scandinavian surname (256 times). In distant sixth place was Smith (181 times). After Smith, the final four of the top ten most popular surnames in South Central Utah were also Scandinavian: Sorensen/-son (174), Larsen/-son (161), Hansen/-son (153), and Olsen (127). Given Names As mentioned above, the number of Scandinavian given names for men was, by custom, relatively small. This pattern has been documented by scholars researching Scandinavian onomastics. Hallen analyzed three centuries (1500–1800) of given names (approximately 2,000 males and 2,000 females) in the parish records of the Swedish village of Ljustorp and found that “duplication and recycling of names was very high.” Hallen’s findings indicate that the practice of “giving the names of close relatives to newly-christened infants according to their gender and birth order” produced the result that “just sixteen different name types (eight male and eight female) accounted for three-fourths of all the given names in the community.”36 Cronberg conducted a similar study of given names in 8,700 marriages conducted in southwest Sweden between 1664 and 1815 and found that about 75% of the men and women shared the ten most common names.37 Other scholars have also commented on the extensive cross-generational name sharing in Sweden38 and Norway.39 The Scandinavian immigrants to Utah brought this pattern of using relatively few given names with them and continued to use it. Combined with the related pattern of only a small number of patronymic surnames, it often resulted in confusion as illustrated in the following popular and humorous Sanpete County folk tale: One afternoon at the end of a Sacrament Meeting the good bishop, in an amiable mood, stood up and said, “Byoder Peterson, vil you please come up to de stand and offer de closing prayer?” Twenty-three “Byoder Petersons” rose to their feet. “I mean,” explained the bishop, somewhat embarrassed, “Byoder Peter Peterson.” Seven Brother Petersons resumed their seats.40 The reporter of this folklore adds, “Whether this story is strictly true or not is beside the point. The situation was true.”41 One way of avoiding the confusion created by the wide use of a small number of given names was to use people’s second given names (or middle names) also. For instance, while there may have been many Sorens in a Scandinavian community

50  Lynn Henrichsen et al. and an equally large number of Peters, there would be a much smaller number of Soren Peters. For this reason, many Scandinavians commonly used all of their given names (e.g., Christian Valdemar Hansen, Peter Olsen Hansen, Erik Christian Henrichsen, or Carl Christian Anton Christensen). The result, however, was a rather long name, so it was also common for them to use only their initials (e.g., C.V. Hansen, P.O. Hansen, E.C. Henrichsen, and C.C.A. Christensen) as a single given name. As time passed, the cultural assimilation of the Scandinavians and their intermarriage with Anglo-Americans resulted in most children born to the Scandinavian immigrants being given English/American first names. The LDS immigrants’ strong faith in the gospel to which they were newly converted also encouraged many Bible and Book-of-Mormon-based names. This extended the already-­extant trend in Scandinavia of giving children names based on the Bible and Christian saints. Consequently, in Utah, there were relatively few Hjalmars, Leifs, Thorvalds, Astrids, Helgas, and Ingrids. Scandinavians in Utah were not unique in their abandonment of traditional Scandinavian given names. Apparently, the same naming pattern was common in other states with many Scandinavian immigrants, such as Minnesota. Mencken reports that in the early 20th century, “Nils Flaten, of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., found that of the 702 students enrolled there in 1937–38, nearly all of Norwegian ancestry, only 42 bore genuinely Norwegian given names,” even when both parents were Norwegian. “Among those with but one Norwegian parent [Norwegian given names] were lacking altogether.”42 A frequency analysis of the given names of three generations of descendants of the Danish immigrant ancestors of one of the authors of this chapter reveals a similar pattern. Although all the first-generation immigrants had distinctively Danish given names (e.g., Erik Christian, Albine Jensine, Christian Valdemar, and Bertha Kirstina), fewer than half (48%) of the given names of their children (the second generation) were Nordic or Germanic in origin,43 spelled Scandinavian style, or commonly used in Scandinavian countries (e.g., Karl, Hans, Valdemar, Edgar, Olga, Mathilda, and Amalie). The others were typical 19th century American names of English, French, Spanish, and Italian origin (e.g., Clarence, Emily, Francis, Fernando, LeRoy, and Anita), with a few Hebrew names from the Bible (e.g., Naomi and Beulah), and one from the Book of Mormon (e.g., Moroni).44 In the third generation, identifiably Scandinavian or Germanic names were even less frequent (22%), and in the fourth they had dwindled further (5%), essentially to the chance level.

Bynames Bynames, also known as epithets (from the Latin term epitheton) or more simply nicknames, are of two different types. They may be purely decorative or descriptive (epitheton ornans), or they may be necessary (epitheton necessarium). The former type can be omitted without risking confusion. The latter type, however, is necessary to distinguish among people who bear the same given names and surnames.45 As Brylla notes, “bynames can be positive, derogatory, or neutral,” and they can denote topographical locations, relationships, social functions, “physical or mental characteristics,” and “special situations, occurrences, habits and expressions.”46 Historically, the

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  51 most well-known epithets are those that have been used for royalty, such as Richard the Lion-heart or Alexander the Great. The most widely known Scandinavian bynames are probably those of Eric the Red and many medieval Danish kings: Gorm the Old (Gorm den Gamle), Harald Bluetooth (Harald Blåtand), Sweyn Forkbeard (Svend Tveskæg), and Canute the Great (Knud den Store).47 But in Scandinavia, bynames were not restricted to those of high social status. A centuries-old pattern, among even the common folk, was to give a person a second given name, or byname, “based on location or personal characteristic.”48 This traditional Scandinavian use of bynames or nicknames was continued by many Scandinavian immigrants in Utah.49 In fact, in communities where there were many Scandinavians, such names were often used to the exclusion of people’s official given names and surnames. Those who have studied these bynames have concluded that they were usually of the epitheton necessarium type because the limited number of Scandinavian given names and surnames resulted in “the ‘problem’ of overlapping names.”50 The solution to this problem of duplicate given names and surnames was “ubiquitous nicknames,”51 a practice that was “functional, if not necessary.”52 One Sanpete resident claimed, Without the nicknames we would never know who it was we were talking about. Business would have ground to a halt, not to mention what it would have done to gossip. No, the nicknames were there to stay, so much so that I never knew most of my fellow townspeople’s real names.53 A researcher wrote, “The social reality in Sanpete County was that the functional identity was in the nickname. Many were better known by their alias than by their surname, and a significant segment of the community knew them only by their nickname.”54 In Sanpete County folklore, a frequently told story illustrates this point: A stranger arrived in town and approached the “spit and whittle” gang, a group of elders occupying what was known locally as the “wise bench.” The stranger wanted to know if anyone knew Jacob Jensen, and received a negative answer. When the stranger persisted by indicating that Mr. Jensen was reported as living four blocks east of Main Street, Jake Butcher, one of the old-timers, scratched his head and said, “Hell, that’s me!”55 Besides being functional, these names were also very interesting. They have become a celebrated part of Scandinavian folklore in Sanpete County. An old resident of the town of Ephraim in heavily Scandinavian Sanpete County recounted: Enar Petersen had a wooden leg so we called him “Peggy Petersen.” Chris Darsen lost an arm in a sawmill accident. We called him “Chris One Arm.” Then there was “False Bottom Petersen.” Now don’t jump to conclusions. He received that name when he got tangled up with the inspection officials at Ellis Island. He was well-to-do and tried to smuggle some luxury goods in

52  Lynn Henrichsen et al. without paying the tariffs by placing them in a false bottom trunk. He was caught and the officials forced all the emigrants to empty their belongings on the floor. Right there on the spot Brother Petersen was christened “False Bottom.” I never did know what his real name was. Other people were named after their profession, like Flying Carpenter. Some were named for their dominant characteristic, like Grinning Billie, while Smiling Pete was named for what he lacked. Still other names reflected our own view of what was acceptable behavior in our little society. For example, our blacksmith was a big, powerful man, as blacksmiths tended to be. But he was also a very gentle man and a lover of beauty. He always kept his house in perfect repair, helped out with the chores, and grew the most beautiful flower gardens in all of Sanpete. Naturally we dubbed him “Sissy Blacksmith.” …. We had Big Pete, who weighed almost three hundred pounds, and Long Pete who stood six foot four. He liked to hang around with Little Pete, a man who hadn’t grown much, except around the middle, giving him the appearance of a walking globe. Then there was Shingle Pete, he ran the shingle mill, and Polky Pete, the town dance master, and Shakespeare Pete, whose favorite line was “Dars something rotten in Denmark” (Of course he was a Swede).56 Scholars have studied and categorized these kinds of bynames, and as Lee notes, with regard to Scandinavian cultural patterns, “nearly half these nicknames are humorous or satirical.”57 Further categorization reveals that many have to do with occupations, such as Pig Killer Thompsen, Shoemaker Christiansen, and Fiddler Christensen. Others have to do with the person’s physical characteristics, such as Big John or Little John. Yet others describe personal traits or habits: “Squeaky Bill Andersen had a high penetrating voice.” “Rich Hans in Ephraim and Ray Tight in Gunnison Valley were said to have been accorded their monikers because of penurious behavior, and Flying Hans was always in a hurry.” Place of residence or origin is another common category: for example, Teenie City Ditch, who lived near that waterway, and Hardscrabble Olsen, who lived on a farm with unfertile soil. Some names, such as False Bottom Petersen, came from a particular event or experience (see story above). Of course, in retrospect without full historical knowledge, some names, such as “Peep Hole Soren,” remain tantalizingly mysterious and must be put into a “miscellaneous” or “unknown” category.58 In an interesting twist, yet following the same pattern that has occurred throughout history, some of these bynames have become almost like surnames: Today in Sanpete County nicknames have become lineage labels. The descendants of the original recipient still bear the nicknames in many cases. They are normally patronymic, and may be used for several generations. For example, Big Chris, Jimmy Big Chris, and Little Jimmy Big Chris are the accepted terms to identify three generations of Petersens. Where a nickname was well established, as in this case, it replaced the surname as a means of identification for the children, thus, in addition to Jimmy Big Chris there was Rosa Big Chris, Hazel Big Chris, etc.59

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  53

Toponyms Historians recognize that “the study of place names offers a window to the past that reveals much about the beliefs, values, and priorities of past generations.”60 As Jackson elsewhere in this volume notes: The names that a group applies to the land that they occupy and the landscapes which they construct provide important clues to the things that matter to them. Names given to streams, mountains or other terrain features, settlements, and other aspects of their surroundings reflect the values, beliefs, interests, and history of the group or groups occupying the land. Place names, or toponyms as they are known, reveal patterns of the ethnicity, language, and geographical origin of the occupants of each region, and are a central part of the character of a place…. The names on the land in the Mormon West reflect the imprint of the several cultures who occupied the region historically.61 Nevertheless, despite the significant Scandinavian population in Utah in the late 19th century, “the influence of Danes on the development of Utah is mirrored only slightly in official place-names.”62 The reason is primarily chronological. The native Shoshone, Ute, Paiute, Goshute, and Navajo Indians were in the territory first. They had been there for centuries and had given places names that the arriving Europeans later anglicized and preserved: Pahrump, Peteetneet, Skutumpah, Koosharem, Timpanogos, Shivwits, Parowan, Paragonah, etc.63 The Spanish explorers and the French and American trappers came next, adding names such as Salina, Escalante, Ogden, and Cache.64 Then, in 1847, the English-speaking Latter-day Saint pioneers arrived in Utah—five years before the first groups of Scandinavians, and over a decade before the bulk of them began to arrive. Consequently, many Utah communities were given English (Great Salt Lake City, Marysvale, Mills Junction, Spring City, etc.), Biblical (Moab, Ephraim, Jericho, etc.), or Book of Mormon names (Lehi, Nephi, Moroni, Bountiful, etc.).65 US government surveyors, military leaders, and explorers (Fremont, Gunnison, Powell, etc.) were also honored in the names of locations and features. By virtue of the fact that they were in Utah first, all these other groups named or were reflected in the names of most of the communities and topographical features66 before the Scandinavians arrived. Also, Scandinavians generally settled into these Anglo-majority communities, and in the spirit of assimilation they accepted the existing names.67 Even when they founded new settlements, the Scandinavians generally followed established patterns and gave them English or scripture-based names. For example, in 1871, Scandinavian immigrants Lourtz Christensen and Simion Simonson started a new settlement in Sanpete County [see B2–C2 in Figure 3.4],68 but they did not give it a Scandinavian name. Rather, in the spirit of building up the new Latter-day Saint Zion (rather than preserving their old-country heritage), they named it “Jerusalem” [C2, Figure 3.4].69 In the more than 450 pages of Utah Place Names, there is not a single entry beginning with the word Scandinavian, only one that begins with Denmark (Denmark Wash), and none that begins with Sweden. And the only entry that begins with Norway (Norway Flat) [B2, Figure 3.4] is actually named after the Norway pine trees that grow there.70

54  Lynn Henrichsen et al.

Figure 3.4  Scandinavian and Other Utah Place Names.

Because many early LDS immigrants in Utah were assigned to existing settlements, they did not normally establish whole towns. Rather, they usually intermixed with the earlier, Anglo settlers. In contrast with what occurred with immigrants in other areas of the United States who lived in enclaves and tried to maintain strong ties with the old world, in LDS Utah, “pioneer settlers labored to establish a new Zion in which people would put aside ethnic and national differences to become members in a community of Saints.”71 Therefore, as a general rule, there were no “exclusively Scandinavian colonies, which would

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  55 have been contrary to the idea of the Kingdom, whose fellowship overrode ethnic distinctions.”72 There were, however, those exceptional locales where the number of Scandinavians was so large that they constituted the majority, or at least a highly influential minority. For instance, “Sanpete County’s Danish-born residents made up twenty-four percent of its population in 1870; with their children born in Utah they were undoubtedly more than one-third of the county’s population,” and “the village of Mantua [A2, Figure 3.4] in Box Elder County was predominantly Danish in its earliest years.”73 In these places, the Scandinavians formed a community of their own, or one within the existing Anglo-American community, where the use of Scandinavian languages continued and the Scandinavians’ influence on place names was more significant than it was elsewhere. Consequently, the Scandinavian influence on Utah toponyms was greatest in Sanpete County (and adjoining Sevier County) in the south and Cache County in the north, where there were densely Scandinavian-populated areas. For instance, Swedish Knoll [C2, Figure 3.4], which lies “southeast of Ephraim” [C2, Figure 3.4] in Sanpete County, was named after “Niels Anderson, a Swedish pioneer, [who] herded his sheep in this locality. Danish Knoll [C2, Figure 3.4] is nearby.”74 In neighboring Sevier County, in the mountains above the Fremont River and Johnson Valley Reservoir and near UM Creek, one can hike to Danish Meadows [C2, Figure 3.4]. In that same county, Denmark Wash [C2, Figure 3.4] “originates in the hill country, four and one-half miles northwest of Aurora….The name reflects the influence of the Scandinavian immigrants among the early settlers.”75 Mulder claims that rural communities dominantly Scandinavian invariably had a Danish Ditch, a Danish Field, a Danish Bench, and a Danish Woods, suggestive that out of language needs in the early days it was convenient to divide up the commons in this way.76 Even where the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians were most concentrated, the pre-established English town names were still used officially, but nicknames like “Little Copenhagen” or “Little Denmark” were widely used. Throughout Utah, “several communities were often called ‘Little Denmark.’”77 In Sanpete County alone, there were at least three Little Denmarks. This is not surprising in light of the demographic facts given above. Sanpete County was home to the greatest concentration of Scandinavian immigrants in Utah’s early days. Most prominent among these Little Denmarks of Sanpete County was Ephraim [C2, Figure 3.4].78 Although settled initially by Anglo-Americans, it “soon became a center of population for Scandinavian converts to Mormonism.”79 Today, demonstrating pride in its ethnic heritage, Ephraim hosts an annual Scandinavian Festival in late May and the “Little Denmark” nickname is resurrected for publicity purposes. Just a few miles north and east of Ephraim lies Spring City [C2, Figure 3.4]. After its establishment in 1852, “Sanpete’s second oldest settlement was quickly bolstered by the addition of about forty Danish families, giving it yet another name, Little Denmark.”80 The third “Little Denmark” of Sanpete is less well known. The January 8, 1853 entry in the Sanpete Stake History reported, in regard to affairs

56  Lynn Henrichsen et al. involving the Southern Paiutes, “The pipe of peace was consequently smoked and the Indians returned to their camp near ‘Little Denmark’ on Canal Creek.”81 Canal Creek drained through Canal Canyon, which originated “southeast of Spring City at the Big Horseshoe” and drained “northwest into Sanpete Valley.”82 On this waterway, the town now known as Chester [C2, Figure 3.4] was settled, and its original name was Canal Creek,83 although, as the previously mentioned Sanpete Stake History indicated, it was also known for a time as “Little Denmark.” A fourth Sanpete County town, Manti [C2, Figure 3.4], had “an early name of Copenhagen,”84 with a section of town called “Little Denmark” or “Little Scandinavia.”85 Mount Pleasant [C2, Figure 3.4] also had a “Copenhagen” district in the southwest part of town.86 In neighboring Sevier County, the town of Elsinore [C2, Figure 3.4] (discussed in detail below) “had an earlier name of ‘Little Denmark’ because many of the early settlers were immigrants of that country.”87 To the north, in Box Elder County, eight miles east of Brigham City, in the center of Little Valley, lies the hamlet of Mantua [A2, Figure 3.4].88 Mantua “was predominantly Danish in its earliest years” and “was nicknamed ‘Little Copen­ hagen’”89 or simply “Copenhagen.”90 In its early days, Pleasant Grove [B2, Figure 3.4] (Utah County) was an AngloAmerican settlement, but it later became a favored destination of many Scandinavian immigrants.91 In 1880, its population was one-third Danish.92 Although the Danes lived throughout the town, one neighborhood was named “Little Denmark.” Today, Pleasant Grove still has an officially designated “Little Denmark” neighborhood that lies between Center Street and 1100 North, and 600 West and 300 East.93 Pleasant Grove’s 400 North Street is still called “Little Denmark Street” by many residents.94 Farther north, in the Manila neighborhood, lie two streets named after a pair of early Swedish settlers: Jens Monson Lane (4430 North) and Swen Monson Lane (4000 North). Scandinavian pride still runs high in Pleasant Grove today, as the local high school’s mascot is a Viking, and the road leading to Pleasant Grove High School is named “Viking Way.” “Swede Town” (Davis County) was an early name for the municipality of North Salt Lake City, “three and one-half miles north of Salt Lake City on Alt. US-91.”95 Mulder calls it “a suburban development promoted by businessmen eager to profit from the great influx of Swedes into the capital in the 1880s.”96 Even in Salt Lake City and its surrounding valley, several different areas were called “Little Denmark.” “The first company of Scandinavians that came to Utah settled in the [Salt Lake] Second Ward, and the ward was jokingly called ‘Little Denmark.’”97 The Salt Lake Second Ward covered the area between 600 and 900 South and 300 and 600 East in downtown Salt Lake City. Niels Jensen (a Danish potter) was a counselor in the Second Ward bishopric. “He was also appointed by President Brigham Young to preside over the Scandinavian meetings, which were held in the Social Hall and in the Second Ward school house.”98 Today, about the only Scandinavian onomastic remnant that is left in this “Little Denmark” is Iverson Street, the legacy of Soren Iverson, who “came to Utah in 1854” and “paid Six Dollars and two cords of wood for two and one half acres of ground”99 where Iverson Street now runs.

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  57 In the southeast part of the Salt Lake Valley, northwest of the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, between Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon, there was also a “Danish Town” in the area “originally settled by Andrew Hansen Sr., a Danish convert … who immigrated to Utah in 1871.”100 Gayle Conger, one of his descendants, writes the following: In 1873, he moved his family to Granite (later, the area would become part of Butlerville) where he received 160 acres in Section 35, as a Homestead Grant from the United States Government. As other Danish immigrants arrived in the area, Mr. Hansen sold property to them or they obtain[ed] homestead grants. Since everyone in the area was Danish or had married someone that was Danish, the area became known as Danish Town…. It wasn’t until the mid 1940’s before someone other than a descendant of the first settlers purchased the farms in the area.101 Through this “Danish Town” there ran a dirt road that was not even graveled and oiled until 1950. A few years later, in about 1956, it was officially named “Danish Road.”102 Today, Danish Road runs south from Bengal Boulevard (7800 South) diagonally at about 3000 East, just northeast of the present-day Willow Creek Country Club. It ends at Little Cottonwood Canyon Road at about 9000 South. Just a few miles north of Danish Road is “Knudsons Corner” (the intersection of Holladay Boulevard [1715 East] and 6200 South). “The Rasmus C. Knudson family settled in this area in 1864. Members of the Knudson family [were] still living on the original property [in 1990].”103 As these examples illustrate, “Little Denmark,” “Danish Town,” “Swede Town,” “Little Copenhagen” and similar nicknames were quite common for settlements and neighborhoods, but these were not official names. Almost no Utah towns were officially named after cities in Denmark, Sweden, or Norway. An exception to this pattern was Elsinore [C2, Figure 3.4], in Sevier County, which was named after the Danish city of Helsingør (known in English by the name Elsinore). Helsingør/Elsinore, on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in the most eastern part of Denmark, just across the Øresund Strait from Sweden, is known internationally as the setting of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where the spelling “Elsinore” originated. Helsingør began as a fishermen’s village in the 1200s and became much more prominent in the first part of the 1400s, when the Danish king Eric of Pomerania established the Sound Dues (a tax or toll on passing ships, which produced substantial income for the Danish crown) in 1429 and built the castle “Krogen” to enforce the collection of the Sound Dues. That castle was enlarged in the 1580s, renamed Kronborg, and today is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and a major tourist attraction. Today Helsingør Municipality boasts a population of over 62,000.104 In contrast to its namesake, Utah’s Elsinore is a small, remote, and rural town (population 882) near Richfield in Sevier County.105 In 1874, the community was established by James C. Jensen, Jens Iver Jensen, and others.106 In the 1880s, 92% of the residents of Elsinore were Scandinavians.107 Ironically, however, the name

58  Lynn Henrichsen et al. Elsinore is reported to have been suggested by a non-Scandinavian, “Mormon Stake President Joseph A. Young because the site reminded him of Elsinore, Denmark, where he had visited.”108 Although to the best of our knowledge there were no other towns in Utah named after places in Denmark, a number of Utah towns were given Scandinavian anthroponyms. Usually these names were attributable to founding or prominent Scandinavian settlers or in some cases to the large numbers of Scandinavian inhabitants. For instance, Jensen [B3, Figure 3.4], a small agricultural community on the Green River in Uintah County, “had earlier names of Incline and Riverdale,” but “Lars Jensen settled there in 1877 and began operating a ferry on the Green River in 1885.”109 There is also a town named Jensen in Sevier County, near the Danish settlement of Elsinore. Likewise, the town of Redmond [C2, Figure 3.4] in Sevier County is unofficially known to locals as “Poulsonville” because of its Scandinavian residents with that surname. About fifteen miles north of Brigham City (and two miles north of Honeyville) in Box Elder County lies what was formerly known as Madsen [A2, Figure 3.4]. Madsen was settled in 1867 by Jens Madsen, a Danish immigrant. He got a land grant from the US government, started a large ranch, and built a house near its center, where he lived the rest of his life and where six generations of Madsens have now lived. The ranch sometimes went by the name of “Madsenville.” In about 1868, Jens Madsen bought land from a trapper that included some hot springs. Those springs are known today as Crystal Hot Springs, but for many years (until about 1900) they were known as Madsen Springs. In about 1943, Madsen was disincorporated and annexed by neighboring Honeyville township [A2, Figure 3.4]. The last official Utah state map that showed Madsen as a town was printed around 1960.110 Pehrson, Utah (also known as Pehrson Station111) [B2, Figure 3.4] appears on some maps, but it apparently was never more than a railroad siding (where a second, parallel set of auxiliary tracks exists so trains can pass one another). “It was used only as needed when shipping sheep or cattle or other freight in and out of the area.”112 Pehrson lies on the Union Pacific line between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, which was put in place in 1902–03. It is seven miles east of Vernon, a small town on Highway 36 on the west slope of the Oquirrh Mountains, twenty miles north of Eureka and forty miles south of Tooele.113 One of its early settlers was Swedish-born Eric Johan Pehrson, who immigrated to Utah in 1861 and was sent by Brigham Young to Tooele County to “work in the sugar beet factory.” Accompanied by his wife, Anna Sophia, and his younger brother, Per August, Eric Johan “moved further South near the Vernon Creek in Rush Valley where they cleared the land for their own farm….Eric Johan became a successful farmer and raised cattle, sheep, and horses.”114 To this day, a good number of Pehrson families live in nearby Vernon [B1, Figure 3.4]. One local resident explained that Pehrson “had a sign” but never had a stationhouse or any inhabitants.115 Some residents speculate that perhaps the Pehrsons of a hundred years ago worked on the grade when the railroad line was put in and the siding was named after them for that reason.116 There is also a Pehrson Peak to the east of Vernon near the siding, so perhaps it is named after the peak.117 As far as can be determined, Pehrson Peak was named after Eric Johan Pehrson.118

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  59 Other Utah towns with Scandinavian anthroponyms for names include “Axtell [C2, Figure 3.4] in Sanpete County, after Axel Einersen; Anderson [D1, Figure 3.4] in Washington County, after Peter Anderson’s orchard in 1869;…Yost [A1, Figure 3.4] in Box Elder County, after Charles Yost in 1880;…Christianson [sic] Canyon [B1, Figure 3.4] in Tooele County, for an early Swedish settler [Pete Christiansen] along Deep Creek; Borgeson Canyon, for Anders Borgeson, who built the first molasses mill in Santaquin.”119 Some Utah communities were named after historical figures or prominent Scandinavians who did not actually live in them. Widtsoe, Utah [D2, Figure 3.4], now a ghost town in Garfield County, is named after Elder John A. Widtsoe, a Norwegian, who became president of the Utah Agricultural College [now Utah State University], then of the University of Utah, and later served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.120 Before acquiring the name Widtsoe, the town was known by other names: In 1872 it was open range and James Houston … ran his cattle in this area. On April 15, 1902, the Adair family homesteaded the site and it became Adairville on ground donated by Julia Ann Adair. Then three families, including the Winder family, moved close by and in 1910 their settlement was named Winder. The postal service objected to Winder because there were already several Winders in Utah Territory, so after a short period of time, the name was followed by Houston for James Houston. In 1915 Adairville and Winder (Houston) joined and named their community Widtsoe in honor of John A. Widtsoe, a Mormon church official, president of the University of Utah, and a dry-farm expert. But this was an area too high and cold for good vegetable crops to grow. The soil was poor and unexpected floods and drought occurred, so by 1920 the settlers gave up and moved out.121 Just a few miles up the highway from Richfield lies the Utah town with the most dramatic Scandinavian anthroponym. The hamlet of Sigurd [C2, Figure 3.4], in Sevier County, “was settled in 1874 as an outgrowth of nearby Vermillion. The U.S. Post Office named the settlement Sigurd because many Danish people lived there and the name had a Danish origin.”122 In fact, Sigurd is the name of “the hero of the Norse legend the ‘Volsungasaga,’”123 an ancient Germanic/Nordic epic in which the God Odin comes in disguise to a wedding feast and thrusts a sword into the branstokkr (a tree which forms part of the structure of the timber hall), claiming that the warrior who can remove it will never fail while he wields it in battle.124 Sigurd, the Norse version of the German Siegfried, is “from the Old Norse name Sigurðr, which was derived from the elements sigr ‘victory’ and varðr ‘guardian’.”125 That is quite an impressive name for a town of only about 400 inhabitants!126 In the course of our research, we found only two 20th century instances of Utah toponyms based on Scandinavian anthroponyms. The first was Widtsoe

60  Lynn Henrichsen et al. (discussed above). The other was George Hansen Peak [B1, Figure 3.4] (Juab County), which was “named for George H. Hansen, pioneer geologist of Utah and professor of geology at Brigham Young University.”127 George Hansen was born in Richfield, Utah in 1896 to Lars Peter and Sorene Sorensen Hansen. He clearly descended from Scandinavians, but he was not a Scandinavian pioneer in the usual sense. He received his PhD in geology from George Washington University in 1927, worked as an oil geologist in Texas for a short time, and then joined the faculty at BYU, where he worked until his retirement in 1972. At BYU, he became a pillar around whom the Geology Department was built. In the course of his career, he became an acknowledged expert in “the geology of the entire Rocky Mountain region.”128 It is in that connection, apparently, that the peak in Juab County was named after him. The search for Scandinavian toponyms can sometimes result in false leads (like false cognates)—names whose origins might at first seem to be connected with the LDS Scandinavian immigrants to Utah but, in fact, are not. For instance, the town name Eskdale [C1, Figure 3.4] looks like it might be Scandinavian. The root Esk is not English and looks like it might be a Scandinavian morpheme, and dal means valley in Danish (as its linguistic relative dale does in English) and is a common suffix for Danish place names. In fact, however, the name’s origins are different from what might be expected: Eskdale (Millard [County]) is a small agricultural community in the Snake Valley west of the Conger Range. It was founded as a religious community, The Order of Aaron, by the spiritual head, Dr. M. L. Glendenning, who was of royal background and very fond of his history. The family lands were located on the River Esk in Scotland.129 Likewise, the town of Blanding [D3, Figure 3.4] might seem to have Scandinavian origins since in Danish blanding means mixture. In fact, however, Blanding comes from the maiden name of a rich woman from the eastern United States: First known as Grayson (after Nellie Grayson Lyman, wife of Joseph), the town changed its name in 1914 when a wealthy easterner, Thomas F. Bicknell, offered a thousand-volume library to any Utah town that would adopt his name. Grayson vied with Thurber (now Bicknell) for the prize; the two towns split the books and Grayson assumed Bicknell’s wife’s maiden name—Blanding.130 “Peterson” [A2, Figure 3.4], a town in Morgan County, was named after Charles Shreeve Peterson (the nearby Peterson Creek is also named for him).131 Peterson is a common Scandinavian surname. This Peterson, however, was apparently not from Scandinavia. Although he was a Utah Mormon pioneer and possibly of Scandinavian descent, he was “born to Andrew Peterson and Martha Murdock in 1818 New Jersey.”132

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  61 It would seem only natural that Lund, Utah [D1, Figure 3.4] had been named after “Utah’s most prominent Danish-American,” Anthon H. Lund: An 1862 immigrant, Lund served as a member of Utah’s territorial legislature. As counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church for twenty years, as LDS Church Historian, and as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Lund exerted a significant influence on the development of Utah and of his church.133 Nevertheless, to assume that Lund, Utah was named after Anthon H. Lund would be a mistake. The historical reality is that Lund was named for Robert C. Lund of St. George. Although not as well known in LDS circles as Anthon H. Lund, Robert C. Lund was a “Utah state legislator and local mine owner.” “Lund was also a director of the railroad,” and it was this connection that led to the town’s name, Lund, which was “a station on the branch line from the Union Pacific Railroad to Cedar City, thirty-three miles southeast.”134 Before closing, it might be worthwhile to note that in recent times (much later than the pioneer immigrant period), a few Utah locations have been given trendy, Scandinavian-oriented names. One of these is Nordic Valley [A2, Figure 3.4], a ski resort and recreational tourist destination. Also, developers seem to have picked up on the Danish/Scandinavian theme in giving other, newer streets and cul-de-sacs that branch off old Danish Road in the southeast Salt Lake Valley names like Danish Brook Circle, Denmark Drive, Danish Ridge Way, Danish Oaks Drive, Daneborg Drive, Daneborg Circle, Scandia Way, Finlandia Way, and Nordic Drive.135 A similar thing is happening in Ephraim with the development of the “Danish Fields” subdivision, which uses the phrase “Heritage with excellence” in its advertisements.136 Whether they are recent or date back to pioneer times, whether they are truly Scandinavian in origin or only seemingly so, the various toponyms discussed in this section are certainly interesting. Nevertheless, it should also be noted that all in all, even with the modern additions, the number of towns, geographical features, and other places in Utah that bear Scandinavian names is relatively small.

Conclusion The Scandinavian influence on names in Utah was not as great as one might initially expect, given the large number of Scandinavian immigrants to Utah in the latter part of the 19th century. As this chapter has explained, however, even though it was relatively small, the influence was still noteworthy and greater than other experts have indicated. While it was particularly weak in the area of toponyms, due to the relatively late arrival of the Scandinavians, their settlement patterns, and their values, the Scandinavian effect on anthroponyms—especially surnames—was strong and, in the case of the bynames of Sanpete County, quite entertaining. By no means should this Scandinavian onomastic influence be neglected, ignored, or forgotten.

62  Lynn Henrichsen et al.

Notes 1 Brigham Young to A. Lyman, C. C. Rich, N. V. Jones, Jacob Gates, and the Saints in the British Isles. 2 Jensen, “Danish Immigration,” 124. In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell. The Utah History Encyclopedia is also available online at https://www.uen.org/utah_ history_encyclopedia/i/IMMIGRATION.shtml 3 Jensen, “Immigration to Utah,” 272–73. 4 Adams, Sanpete Tales, xi. 5 Mencken, American Language, 633. 6 Clark, “What’s in a (Utah) Name?” para. 5. 7 Clark, “What’s in a (Utah) Name?” para. 4; see also Mansfield, “‘It’s WrayLynn—with a W’,” 13–15; and Karras, “Different is Good for Utah Names,” para. 17. 8 Mansfield, “‘It’s WrayLynn—with a W’,” 18–20. See also Karras, “Different is Good for Utah Names.” 9 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, xii–xiii. 10 A group of Icelandic immigrants also came to Utah between 1855 and 1860. They settled in Spanish Fork, making it “the first permanent Icelandic settlement in the United States.” See “Spanish Fork City Incorporated.” For more information on this group, see Woods, Fire on Ice. Nevertheless, because their numbers were relatively small and their influence limited to one town, they are not a focus of this paper. Woods himself admits that they represented “only a small fragment of the Scandinavian Saints who gathered during this period” (32). 11 Jensen, “Immigration to Utah,” 272–73. Jensen warns that “these statistics were compiled from US Census publications. Because changes in boundaries and jurisdictions were too numerous to explain here, the statistics should be used with caution” (273). 12 Mortensen, Danish Lutheran Church, 25. 13 Snow, One Year in Scandinavia; Zobell, Jr., “Scandinavia … Fruitful Gospel Field”; White, “Flame was Kindled.” 14 Mulder, Homeward to Zion, 102. 15 Widtsoe, “How Many Latter-day Saints?” These raw totals amount to 54%, 33%, and 13%, respectively. Mortensen, Danish Lutheran Church, 39, gives slightly different figures of 50%, 36%, and 14%, but his figures are for the period 1850–1905. 16 Mulder, Homeward to Zion, 197. 17 Mulder, Homeward to Zion, 102. 18 Widtsoe, “How Many Latter-day Saints?” 471; The 45% figure may actually be an underestimate. Widtsoe explained, “Since few units reported from known Scandinavian centers, the percent would undoubtedly have been higher if more units had reported” (471). 19 Jensen, “Danish Immigration,” 125. 20 Smith, “Vi holder Juul hver Dag i Aaret,” as cited in Schmidt, Oh, du Zion i vest, 87 (Translation here by George Bailey). 21 Armstrong, “Assimilation of Scandinavian Immigrants,” 122. 22 Scow, “People Who Made a Difference—My Mother,” 44. 23 Armstrong, “Assimilation of Scandinavian Immigrants,” 117–18. 24 Jensen, “Danish Immigration,” 125. 25 Compiled county-level statistics for 1890 are from the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) at https://www.nhgis.org. The NHGIS data are from Steven Manson, Jonathan Schroeder, David Van Riper, and Steven Ruggles. IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 13.0 [Database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2018. http://doi.org/10.18128/D050.V13.0 26 Torben Tvorup Christensen, “Becoming American,” 39; Berdichevsky, Introduction to Danish Culture, 78. 27 Henrichsen et al., “Dealing with the ‘Third Enemy’”; and Henrichsen and Bailey, “‘No More Strangers and Foreigners’.”

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  63 28 Haugen, Norwegian Language in America, 284–85. 29 Armstrong, “Assimilation of Scandinavian Immigrants,” 116. 30 Adams, Sanpete Tales, xiii. 31 Hector Lee, “Nicknames of the Ephraimites,” 13. Most of these surnames still predominate in 21st century Denmark; see “List of Most Common Surnames in Europe.” Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_ Europe 32 Armstrong, “Assimilation of Scandinavian Immigrants,” 124–25. 33 Widtsoe, “How Many Latter-day Saints?” 34 Brigham Young University Special Collections, April 1938 newspaper clipping. 35 Jensen, “Friendly Invasion.” 36 Hallen, “‘Malachi’ Given Name Pattern,” 399. The eight male names were Olof, Erik, Lars, Jonas, Nils, Per, Anders, and Johan (398), and the eight female names were Brita, Anna, Catarina, Cristina, Märta, Margareta, Ingrid, and Sara (399). 37 Cronberg, “Personnamn i Skytts härad 1664–1815.” 38 Fredriksson, Svensk Dopnamnsskick vid 1500-Talets Slut; Utterström, “Dopnamn i Stockholm 1621–1810.” 39 Alhaug, “Personnamn i Nord-Noreg.” Hallen calls attention to the information and sources related to this endnote and the two immediately preceding ones (“‘Malachi’ Given Name Pattern”). 40 Hector Lee, “Nicknames of the Ephraimites,” 13; a similar story is reported by Jensen, “Friendly Invasion,” 46; see Adams, Sanpete Tales, xiii. 41 Hector Lee, “Nicknames of the Ephraimites,” 13. 42 Mencken, American Language, 633. 43 From Old High German, Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. 44 Kolatch, Dictionary of First Names, cf., for example, 58, 105, 108, 172; “20,000+ Names From Around the World!”; and “Scandinavian Names.” 45 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an epithet is “an adjective indicating some quality or attribute which the speaker or writer regards as characteristic of the person or thing described.” Its etymology traces back to Greek, whose speakers “did not distinguish between adjectives and nouns in apposition to a name.” 46 Brylla, “Bynames and Nicknames,” 237, 242–45. 47 Lauring, History of Denmark, 261; and “Patronymic: Scandinavian Languages.” 48 “Patronymic: Scandinavian Languages.” 49 Armstrong, “Assimilation of Scandinavian Immigrants,” 126, for instance, refers to “Coffee Oscar Olson, one of the early Scandinavian immigrants to Pleasant Grove.” The use of nicknames was common among Scandinavian immigrants in other parts of the United States also. Talking about growing up in a Scandinavian-American town in the Upper Midwest, one modern author notes that “almost every one [sic] in town had a nickname.” See Art Lee, Scandinavians are Very Modest People, 99. 50 Adams, Sanpete Tales, xiii. 51 Ibid., xiii. 52 James Boyd Christensen, “Function and Fun,” 29. 53 Adams, Sanpete Tales, xvi. 54 James Boyd Christensen, “Function and Fun,” 28. 55 Ibid., 29. 56 Adams, Sanpete Tales, xiv. 57 Hector Lee, “Nicknames of the Ephraimites,” 19. 58 Ibid., 14–19; James Boyd Christensen, “Function and Fun,” 23, 25–27. 59 James Boyd Christensen, “Function and Fun,” 28. 60 Record, “Trapper,” 364. 61 Jackson, “Place Names of the Mormon West.” 62 Jensen, “Danish Immigration,” 125. 63 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, xii, 216, 287, 288, 339, 370. 64 Ibid., xiii, 61, 279.

64  Lynn Henrichsen et al. 65 Ibid., xviii, 46, 129, 165, 204, 224, 245, 251, 253, 258, 272, 351. 66 See Jackson, “Place Names of the Mormon West.” 67 In September 2022, the US Department of Interior officially changed 50 Utah toponyms. In the southeast of Utah, one of these changes, after a vote by the populace, became Hansen Springs, reflecting the continuing influence of Scandinavian immigrants in that area. None of the other names discussed in this chapter was affected by these changes. 68 Here and throughout the rest of this chapter, the letter and number within brackets that accompany a given place name correspond to the map of “Scandinavian and other Utah place names,” found in Figure 3.4. 69 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 205. 70 Ibid., 108, 277; contrast this state of affairs with the existence of many places with Scandinavian names in other states with large numbers of Scandinavian immigrants, such as Wisconsin (which has a village named Scandinavia, another called Denmark, a town named Norway, and another named West Sweden, and several places named Bergen). 71 Wilson, “Folklore of Utah’s Little Scandinavia,” 151. 72 Mulder, Homeward to Zion, 196; Jensen, “Danish Immigration.” Jensen also notes that “no exclusively Danish communities were established” (125). 73 Jensen, “Danish Immigration,” 125. 74 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 360. Both of these knolls are in the Manti-La Sal National Forest today, at the top of Ephraim Canyon and just off the Skyline Drive. 75 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 108. 76 Mulder, Homeward to Zion, 195. 77 Jensen, “Danish Immigration,” 125. 78 Peter Olsen Hansen, Autobiography, 141 [Available from the Harold B. Lee Library, Special Collections, Brigham Young University]; Whitlock, “Choice People,” 26; Fox, “Danish People among Us,” 43. 79 Hector Lee, “Nicknames of the Ephraimites,” 12. 80 Roberts, “Spring City,” 525; also Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 351. 81 Jenson, Saturday, Jan. 8, 1853. Sanpete Stake History. 82 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 64. 83 Ibid., 77. 84 Ibid., 243–44. 85 Antrei, Other 49ers, 80; personal and telephone interviews by Lynn Henrichsen with Manti residents: Diane Ogden (March 26, 2009), Nora Mickelson (June 7, 2009), Mike Kohut (June 10, 2009), and David Mackey (June 22, 2009). 86 Antrei and Roberts, History of Sanpete County, 53–54; and Antrei, Other 49ers, 80. 87 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 127. 88 Ibid., 244. 89 Jensen, “Danish Immigration,” 125; and Mulder, Homeward to Zion, 195. 90 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 244. 91 Olsen, “Mormon Scandinavian Immigrants’ Experiences,” 59; Armstrong, “Assimilation of Scandinavian Immigrants,” 123. 92 Olsen, “Mormon Scandinavian Immigrants’ Experiences,” 59. 93 “Pleasant Grove, Utah Neighborhood Map”; also, Warnock, “Residents Replace Neighbor’s Lawn,” B1. 94 Beth Radmall Olsen, interview by Lynn Henrichsen, Pleasant Grove, Utah, May 18, 2009. 95 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 360, 276. 96 Mulder, Homeward to Zion, 196. 97 Winn and Elggren, “Brief Historical Sketch,” 7; Mulder, Homeward to Zion, notes that “after 1860 the Second Ward became less the Scandinavian center, the immigrants scattering freely throughout the city, where their friends and relatives following after

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  65 were naturally attracted to them and soon gave other neighborhoods a Scandinavian complexion” (196–97). 98 Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3: 127. 99 Winn and Elggren, “Brief Historical Sketch,” 3. 100 Conger, “History of the Danish Road Area,” 1; cf. also Hales, “Danish Town.” See also Conger, “Danish Town Area.” 101 Conger, “History of the Danish Road Area,” 1–2. 102 Ibid., 2. 103 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 215. 104 Lauring, History of Denmark, 110–11; “Helsingør.” 105 “Elsinore, Utah.” 106 Jacobson, Memories of ‘Little Denmark,’ 4. 107 Ken Cregg Hansen. “‘Up the Ditch’,” 5. 108 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 127. 109 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 204; see also “History of Jensen, Utah,” available at https://onlineutah.com/jensenuintahhistory.shtml 110 Delon Madsen, telephone conversation with the author, Honeyville, Utah, December 21, 2007. 111 Utah Atlas & Gazetteer, 44. 112 Eunis T. Hansen, “Special Train Exhibit at Pehrson Station,” in People of Vernon: A Compilation of Life Stories (Vernon, Utah: Transcript-Bulletin Press, 1983), as cited by Helen Pehrson, Vernon, Utah. Telephone conversation with the author, December 26, 2007, and in subsequent correspondence. 113 “Pehrson,” formerly available through a link from “Tooele County, Utah: Cities, Towns and Places” at https://onlineutah.com/tooeletowns.shtml. The link for “Pehrson” has recently become inactive and has not been repaired or replaced. This is perhaps not surprising, given the very small size of the town. 114 Pehrson, “Local History Reading for Orebro County.” 115 Helen Pehrson, telephone conversation with the author, Vernon, Utah, December 22, 2007. 116 Aralda Jones, telephone conversation with the author, Eureka, Utah, December 21, 2007; for information on the rail line, see “Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad in Utah,” in “San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (1901–1916); Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (1916–1936),” available at https://utahrails.net/up/splasl-lasl-1901-1936.php 117 Amy Pehrson, telephone conversation with Lynn Henrichsen, Vernon, Utah, December 21, 2007. 118 Helen Pehrson, telephone conversation with Lynn Henrichsen, Vernon, Utah, December 26, 2007. 119 Mulder, Homeward to Zion, 195; Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 17, 8, 408, 78. Van Cott says that Yost was a cowboy from the Nevada Territory. Cf. also Van Cott, who spells Christiansen Canyon with an –en suffix. [An alternate explanation for the name of Axtell is that it was named after Samuel B. Axtell, governor of Utah in 1874.] 120 Hinckley, “Greatness in Men: John Andreas Widtsoe,” 7, 9. 121 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 398; cf. also “History of Widtsoe, Utah,” available at https://onlineutah.com/widtsoehistory.shtml 122 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 340; cf. also “History of Sigurd, Utah,” available at https://onlineutah.com/sigurdhistory.shtml 123 “Sigurd.” 124 Randolph, “Volsungasaga.” 125 “Sigurd.” 126 “Sigurd, Utah.” 127 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 153. 128 Afton A. Hansen, “About George H. Hansen,” 5–7. 129 Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 131; cf. also “History of Eskdale, Utah,” https://onlineutah. com/eskdalehistory.shtml

66  Lynn Henrichsen et al. McPherson, “Blanding,” 45; and Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 39. Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 293. “Charles Shreeve Peterson.” Jensen, “Danish Immigration,” 125–26. Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 237; cf. also “History of Lund, Utah,” available at https:// onlineutah.com/lundhistory.shtml 135 Danish Rd. Salt Lake City, Utah 84121. Accessed from https://maps.google.com 136 The “Danish Fields” subdivision development is located at 600 North and 400 East in Ephraim, Utah. 130 131 132 133 134

References “20,000+ Names From Around the World!” Available at http://www.20000-names.com/ index.htm. Accessed August 15, 2022. Adams, William Jenson. Sanpete Tales: Humorous Folklore from Central Utah. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1999. Alhaug, Gulbrand. “Personnamn i Nord-Noreg. Forsakingsstatus og perspektive framover” [“Given Name Formation in Northern Norwegian Speech from 1900”]. Nordlyd 11 (1986): 118–35. Antrei, A. C. The Other 49ers: A Topical History of Sanpete County, Utah 1849 to 1983. Salt Lake City: Western Epics, 1982. Antrei, Albert C. T., and Allen D. Roberts. A History of Sanpete County. Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1999. Armstrong, Misty. “The Assimilation of Scandinavian Immigrants in Pleasant Grove, Utah, 1880–1900.” Genealogical Journal 27, nos. 3–4 (1999): 116–30. Berdichevsky, Norman. An Introduction to Danish Culture. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2011. Brigham Young to A. Lyman, C. C. Rich, N. V. Jones, Jacob Gates, and the Saints in the British Isles, Aug. 2, 1860. Millennial Star, September 22, 1860, vol. 22, no. 38: 605. Brigham Young University Special Collections. April 1938 newspaper clipping in the journal of Borghild Nielsen Stromness. MSS. 181, box 3, fld. 9. Brylla, Eva. “Bynames and Nicknames.” In Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming, edited by Hough, 237–50. “Charles Shreeve Peterson.” Available at https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/charlesshreeve-peterson/375978. Accessed August 15, 2022. Christensen, James Boyd. “Function and Fun in Utah-Danish Nicknames.” Utah Historical Quarterly 39, no. 1 (Winter 1971): 23–29. Christensen, Torben Tvorup. “Becoming American—according to the Jorgensens.” The Bridge 30, no. 1 (2007): 39–52. Clark, Cari Bilyeu. “What’s in a (Utah) Name?” From The Original Utah Baby Namer, June 5, 2017. Available at http://utahbabynamer.blogspot.com/2017/06/front-page.html. Accessed August 15, 2022. Conger, Gayle. “Danish Town Area.” Unpublished manuscript, revised, 2001. ———. “History of the Danish Road Area.” Unpublished manuscript, 2006. Cronberg, Olof. “Personnamn i Skytts härad 1664–1815,” SydOrtÅrss (Sydsvenska ortnamnssällskapets årskrift), Sydsvenska ortnamnssållskapets förlag [“Personal Names in the Hundred of Skytt 1664–1815,” in the Yearbook of the South Swedish Society of Place Names], 11–18. Förlag, Sweden, 1988. “Elsinore, Utah.” Available at http://www.city-data.com/city/Elsinore-Utah.html. Accessed August 15, 2022.

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  67 Fox, Lillian H. “The Danish People among Us.” In A Danish Saga, vol. 1, A Selection of Writings about Danish People Who Came to America and Settled in Sanpete County, 41–43. Manti, UT: Messenger-Enterprise, Inc., 1997. Fredriksson, Ingwar. Svensk Dopnamnsskick vid 1500-Talets Slut [Swedish Baptismal NameGiving at the End of the Fifteenth Century]. Vanersborg Boktryckeri AB, Sweden, 1974. Hales, David. “Danish Town: A Pioneer Community in the Southeast Section of the Salt Lake Valley.” Utah State History Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 7, 2007. Hallen, Cynthia L. “The ‘Malachi’ Given Name Pattern in a Swedish Village, 1500–1800.” Names: A Journal of Onomastics 55, no. 4 (Dec. 2007): 397–406. Hansen, Afton A. “About George H. Hansen.” Brigham Young University Geology Studies 20, part 1 (Jan. 1973): 5–9. Hansen, Eunis T. “Special Train Exhibit at Pehrson Station.” In The People of Vernon. Hansen, Ken Cregg. “‘Up the Ditch’: The History of Elsinore, Utah, 1874–1977.” Unpublished master’s thesis, Utah State University, 1978. Hansen, Peter Olsen. An Autobiography of Peter Olsen Hansen, 1818–1895: Mormon Convert and Pioneer Missionary, Translator of Book of Mormon into Danish, compiled by a great granddaughter, Leland Hansen Ashby. Salt Lake City: L. H. Ashby, 1988. Haugen, Einar. The Norwegian Language in America: A Study in Bilingual Behavior, 2nd ed. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 1969. “Helsingør.” Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsingør. Accessed August 15, 2022. Henrichsen, Lynn, and George Bailey. “‘No More Strangers and Foreigners’: The Dual Focus of the LDS Church Language Program for Scandinavian Immigrants, 1850–1935.” Mormon Historical Studies 11, no. 2 (Fall 2010): 23–53. Henrichsen, Lynn, George Bailey, and Jacob Huckaby. “Dealing with the ‘Third Enemy’: English-Language Learning and Native-Language Maintenance among Danish Immigrants in Utah, 1850–1930.” Danish Culture, Past and Present: The Last Two Hundred Years. Proceedings of an international conference sponsored by The Danish American Heritage Society, Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 13–16, 2005. Also available in The Bridge 29, no. 2 (2006): 62–91. Hinckley, Bryant S. “Greatness in Men: John Andreas Widtsoe.” Improvement Era 36, no. 1 (Nov. 1932): 7–10, 32. Hough, Carole, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2016. Jackson, Richard H. “Place Names of the Mormon West: Religion, Heritage, and Idiosyncrasy.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Jacobson, Gwendolyn, ed. Memories of ‘Little Denmark’: History of Elsinore and Brooklyn, Utah. Elsinore, UT: Elsinore Literary Club and Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1962. Jensen, Richard L. “The Friendly Invasion.” Ensign 4, no. 7 (July 1974): 46–47. Also available at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1974/07/the-friendly-invasion? lang=eng ———. “Danish Immigration and Life in Utah.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 124–26. ———. “Immigration to Utah.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 270–73. Jenson, Andrew. Saturday, Jan. 8, 1853. Sanpete Stake History. Unpublished manuscript LR8046 2 (Available from the Church Archives, 15 East North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah). ———, compiler. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901–36. Karras, Christy. “Different Is Good for Utah Names.” Salt Lake Tribune, October 29, 2002. Available at https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?itype=storyID&id=100E3F4233F41B94

68  Lynn Henrichsen et al. Kolatch, Alfred J. Dictionary of First Names. New York: Perigee, 1990. Lauring, Palle. A History of Denmark. Copenhagen: Høst & Søn, 1995. Lee, Art. Scandinavians are Very Modest People: But They Have Much to Be Modest About, Then. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, 2004. Lee, Hector (in collaboration with Royal Madsen). “Nicknames of the Ephraimites.” Western Humanities Review 3, no. 1 (Jan. 1949): 12–22. “List of Most Common Surnames in Europe.” Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_most_common_surnames_in_Europe. Accessed August 15, 2022. “Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad in Utah,” in “San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (1901–1916); Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (1916–1936).” Available at https://utahrails.net/up/splasl-lasl-1901-1936.php. Accessed August 15, 2022. Mansfield, Jennifer R. “‘It’s WrayLynn—with a W’: Distinctive Mormon Naming Practices.” Masters thesis, Utah State University, 2012. Available at https://digitalcommons. usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2401&context=etd Manson, Steven, Jonathan Schroeder, David Van Riper, and Steven Ruggles. IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 13.0 [Database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2018. http://doi.org/10.18128/D050.V13.0 McPherson, Robert S. “Blanding.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 44–45. Mencken, H. L. The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States, 4th ed., edited by Raven I. McDavid, Jr. New York: Knopf, 1963. Mortensen, Enok. The Danish Lutheran Church in America: The History and Heritage of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: Board of Publication, Lutheran Church in America, 1967. Mulder, William. Homeward to Zion: The Mormon Migration from Scandinavia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000. National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS). Available at https://www.nhgis. org; data prepared by Manson et al., 2018. See also Manson et al. Oaks, Dallin D., Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson, eds. Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2023. Olsen, Beth Radmall. “Mormon Scandinavian Immigrants’ Experiences among EnglishSpeaking Settlers.” In Selected Proceedings of the Deseret Language and Linguistics Society 2000 Symposium, edited by Lynn E. Henrichsen, 59–68. Provo, UT: Deseret Language and Linguistics Society, Brigham Young University, 2003. Oxford English Dictionary. Available at https://oed.com. Accessed August 15, 2022. “Patronymic: Scandinavian Languages.” Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Patronymic#Western_Europe. Accessed August 15, 2022. Pehrson, Jacqueline D. “Local History Reading for Orebro County.” Written for Håkan Henriksson, for possible inclusion in Spår av Örebro län i Amerika, 1999. The People of Vernon: A Compilation of Life Stories. Vernon, UT: Transcript-Bulletin Press, 1983. “Pleasant Grove, Utah Neighborhood Map—Income, House Prices, Occupations, Boundaries.” Available at https://www.city-data.com/nbmaps/neigh-Pleasant-GroveUtah.html. Accessed August 15, 2022. Powell, Allan Kent, ed. Utah History Encyclopedia. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994. Randolph, Octavia. “Volsungasaga.” Available at https://www.octavia.net/volsungasaga. Accessed August 15, 2022. Record, Patricia L. “The Trapper, the Indian, and the Naming of Logan.” Utah Historical Quarterly 75, no. 4 (Fall 2007): 364–71. Roberts, Allen. “Spring City.” In Utah History Encyclopedia, edited by Powell, 525–26.

Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah  69 “Scandinavian Names.” Available at http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/scandinavian. htm. Accessed August 15, 2022. Schmidt, Jørgen W. Oh, du Zion i vest: Den danske mormon-emigration 1850–1900 [Oh, Thou Zion in the West: The Danish Mormon-Emigration 1850–1900]. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde og Bagger, 1965. Scow, Ruth D. “People Who Made a Difference—My Mother.” In A Danish Saga, vol 1. A Selection of Writings about Danish People Who Came to America and Settled in Sanpete County, 44–48. Manti, UT: Messenger-Enterprise, Inc., 1997. “Sigurd.” Available at https://www.behindthename.com/name/sigurd. Accessed August 15, 2022. “Sigurd, Utah.” Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigurd,_Utah. Accessed August 15, 2022. Smith, Hans P. “Vi holder Juul hver Dag i Aaret,” as cited in Schmidt, Oh, du Zion i vest. Snow, Erastus Fairbanks. One Year in Scandinavia: Results of the Gospel in Denmark and Sweden—Sketches and Observations on the Country and People—Remarkable Events— Late Persecutions and Present Aspect of Affairs. Liverpool, England: F. D. Richards, 1851. “Spanish Fork City Incorporated.” Available at https://www.spanishfork.org/visitors/ about/history.php. Accessed August 15, 2022. Utah Atlas & Gazetteer, 4th ed. Yarmouth, ME: DeLorme Mapping, 2002. Utterström, Gudrun. “Dopnamn i Stockholm 1621–1810” [“Christening Names in Stockholm 1621–1810”], Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Nomina Germanica: Arkiv för Germansk Namnforskning 19 (1995): 1–155. Van Cott, John W. Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1990. Warnock, Caleb. “Residents Replace Neighbor’s Lawn.” Provo Daily Herald, Sept. 14, 2007, B1. White, Nelson. “A Flame was Kindled in the Northlands.” Improvement Era 53, no. 6 (June 1950): 476–77; reprinted in Programs 16–20 of Scandinavian Centennial Jubilee 1850– 1950: Commemorating the Introduction of the Restored Gospel into Scandinavia in 1850, edited by the Scandinavian Centennial Committee. Salt Lake City: Scandinavian Centennial Committee, 1950. Whitlock, George C. “The Choice People Who Came to Settle Sanpete.” In A Danish Saga, vol. 1. A Selection of Writings about Danish People Who Came to America and Settled in Sanpete County, 26–31. Manti, UT: Messenger-Enterprise, Inc., 1997. Widtsoe, John A. “How Many Latter-day Saints are of Scandinavian Descent?” Improvement Era 53, no. 6 (June 1950): 471; reprinted in Programs 5–6 of Scandinavian Centennial Jubilee 1850–1950: Commemorating the Introduction of the Restored Gospel into Scandinavia in 1850, edited by the Scandinavian Centennial Committee. Salt Lake City: Scandinavian Centennial Committee, 1950. Wilson, William A. “Folklore of Utah’s Little Scandinavia.” Utah Historical Quarterly 47, no. 2 (Spring 1979): 148–66. Winn, Lula Ostler, and Vilate Lewis Elggren. “A Brief Historical Sketch of the Second Ward.” Unpublished manuscript, 26 pages, prepared 1927–28. (n.d.) Available in the Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah; also available in the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Woods, Fred E. Fire on Ice: The Story of Icelandic Latter-day Saints at Home and Abroad. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005. Zobell, Albert L., Jr. “Scandinavia … Fruitful Gospel Field.” Improvement Era 53, no. 6 (June 1950): 474–75, 528; reprinted in Program 7 of Scandinavian Centennial Jubilee 1850– 1950: Commemorating the Introduction of the Restored Gospel into Scandinavia in 1850, edited by the Scandinavian Centennial Committee. Salt Lake City: Scandinavian Centennial Committee, 1950.

4 Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore Eric A. Eliason

In the late 1980s, some Latter-day Saint teenagers in the United States circulated a curious set of rumors about the Irish rock supergroup U2. According to these stories, U2 laced their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, with cryptic references to their collective spiritual journey. This quest is supposedly revealed by the track “I Still Haven’t Found What I am Looking For.” What’s more, the album’s title, The Joshua Tree, suggested to young Latter-day Saints that this seemingly decent band might be considering conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The clinching proof that U2 would soon resolve the dilemma of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by joining the Church appeared in a track entitled “Where the Streets Have No Name.” To understand why The Joshua Tree caused such excitement at the time, some background on the significance of names in LDS culture needs to be examined. The possible correlation between The Joshua Tree album title and the Joshua Tree National Monument in Southern Utah piqued the curiosity of young Latter-day Saints. Many felt “Where the Streets have No Name” surely referred to Salt Lake City—Utah’s state capital and the spiritual and ecclesiastical center of the Church. Like many LDS-settled towns in the West, Salt Lake City mostly forgoes the use of street names in favor of a numbered grid system of north and south streets (e.g., an address might be found at 200 North, 581 East; or at 1750 South, 360 West). Joseph Smith first proposed the Latter-day Saint version of this city planning concept in his 1833 “Plat of Zion.” From the 1840s through 1870s, Brigham Young put this plan into widespread practice, with some adjustments, in the West.1 Even today, as LDS-settled towns in Utah and elsewhere swell with new citizens of many faiths, this street naming system continues to be used as often as not. Latter-day Saint teenagers’ fanciful interpretations of The Joshua Tree emerge from an ongoing American teenage tradition of finding cryptic meanings in popular music albums. A young adult LDS tradition of trying to identify famous almost-to-be members also comes into play.2 The belief that certain famous people are at the threshold of conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is expressed through an oral cycle of rumors which in turn express the Latter-day Saint belief in, and hope for, proselytizing success. The rumor cycle seems to hope that famous people—not necessarily U2—will help the Church come “forth out of obscurity,” as prophesied in the LDS book of scripture, the DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-5

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  71 Doctrine and Covenants.3 Through such stories, Latter-day Saint youth seem to be attempting to reconcile their attraction to mainstream popular culture with their loyalty to their Church. More recently, the U2 rumor has lost some appeal. While the Church grew from about six million to over sixteen million members,4 no Irish rock band conversions to the Church ever materialized. Latter-day Saint responses to U2’s The Joshua Tree are only one curious example of a complex system of name giving and interpreting traditions that permeate LDS culture. The Brigham Young University Folklore Archive Focused Field Project Collection includes an extensive set of ethnographies on LDS naming practices, including legends and customs with accompanying analysis.5 The archive also houses numerous individual folklore collections on stories about place names.6 These numbers increase every semester as students turn in new material under the direction of BYU folklore professors. Ideally, students turn in transcribed lore that they have experienced as part of the natural flow of LDS discourse and life. The U2 case is emblematic of the richness of many relationships between Latter-day Saint naming ways and contemporary Latter-day Saint identity. As with any cohesive cultural group interlinked by a shared set of symbols, one finds that names, labels, and titles are among the primary markers members of the Church bestow and interpret to maintain a sense of who they are as well as to lay claim to their surroundings. While some may view naming ways as a trivial topic, since the time Adam named the animals in Eden, the giving and receiving of names has been deeply woven into the very fiber of human experience.7

Naming and LDS Folklore Latter-day Saint nameways, namelore, or onomastics8 form a significant part of the larger system of LDS folklore.9 Because the term folklore has a popular meaning with a pejorative undertone, it is important to explain what academic folklorists mean when we employ the term. Folklore does not mean old-fashioned or spurious stories. “Folklore,” as folklorists use the term, is traditional, meaningful, creative expression usually passed on orally in face-to-face situations within specific cultural groups.10 The “folk,” or “folkgroup,” part of folklore can be based on criteria as diverse as ethnicity, class, region, nationality, age group, occupation, or religion. In today’s complex world, people usually participate in several such overlapping folk communities simultaneously. The “lore” part of folklore falls into several expressive categories. It can be oral such as legends, jokes, epics, names, sermons, rumors, folktales, proverbs, riddles, as well as occupational jargons. It can be customary, ranging in complexity from naming traditions, greeting and leave-taking formalities, children’s counting-out rhymes and workplace initiations on one hand, to courtship patterns, wedding and burial practices, as well as community festivals on the other. Lore can be material such as quilts, saddle engraving, folk art, gravestone markings, or even lowrider car customization and airbrushing. Usually, these genres are interrelated. For example, there are stories about customs, and folk art is often required for certain rituals. In an overarching (but sometimes more difficult to observe) category, folklorists study the systems of belief held by a particular group. This aspect of folklore is

72  Eric A. Eliason particularly significant for religious groups such as Latter-day Saints. While beliefs exist at one level in the heads of individual believers, they also manifest in concrete social reality through other kinds of lore. For example, proverbs express notions of commonsense wisdom, while marriages are enactments of the belief that certain rituals must take place for relationships to be right in the eyes of God. Folklorists are generally more interested professionally in the actual beliefs and practices of regular adherents as social phenomena than in the official doctrines promulgated by religious bodies as theological concepts. Whether something is folklore or not has much more to do with the mode of its cultural transmission and with its relationship to the particular groups in which it circulates, than it does with the veracity, content, or composition of the item itself. While the U2 example turned out to be spurious, just because something is folklore does not mean that it is not true or important. Even though mainstream media picked up on it soon after, news of Motown legend Gladys Knight’s real conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints11 spread accurately and quickly through exactly the same oral channels that transported spurious stories about U2. Conversely, just because something is true or important does not mean that it is not folklore. People’s deepest concerns, fears, hopes, aspirations, historical understandings, and beliefs are expressed through modes of folkloric transmission. When a child is born and given a name, when a couple is married and a spouse’s name is modified, or when someone dies and the place of their burial is memorialized by displaying their name—all are done according to traditional patterns of folklore. Folklorists do their work of collecting lore by ethnographic research based on long-term participant observation. The essence of good ethnography is to analyze and present cultures in such a way that the ethnographer’s description would be persuasive, enlightening, and perceived as accurate to most cultural insiders as well as informed outsiders.12 Any theoretical apparatus employed by the ethnographer to suggest meanings, functions, or structures for folklore should also meet this test. This is what I strive for in this chapter. As a Latter-day Saint by birth and conviction, and as a professional folklorist by training and avocation, I draw here on a lifetime of experience with Latter-day Saint names. There are many examples of peculiarly LDS ways of giving and interpreting names of places, people, and things that are folkloric in nature. Although LDS naming ways operate on an underlying system of informal customary rules, these rules are often not thought about consciously. This chapter attempts to ferret out rules and patterns for comparative and functional analysis. The scope of this chapter does not include an exploration of the theological significance of the names of God or the power of names in the language of official Church ordinances. Rather, its purpose is to analyze how naming traditions influence the everyday lives of ordinary members of the Church in deeply meaningful ways.

Places In 1965, the famous American cultural geographer D. W. Meinig identified “The Mormon Culture Region” as one of the most distinctive regional cultures in the

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  73 United States.13 His proposal encompassed virtually all of Utah; most of southeastern Idaho; large portions of Arizona and Nevada; and smaller portions of Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado. To map out his proposed region, Meinig relied on historical research, population demographics, and the presence of stereotypic “Mormon Country” features. These features included the already-mentioned nameless street grid system, open irrigation in towns, the tendency in rural areas for houses to be grouped in agricultural villages instead of isolated farmsteads, and the use of hay derricks and Lombardy Poplars as pervasive landscape features.14 He did not but could have also used place and business names to help map out the cultural footprint of Latter-day Saint influence on the American West.15 When driving along the traditional Latter-day Saint village main streets or through the strip malls of the suburban Wasatch Front, a person can observe tidbits of local theology and history jump out from the signs and marquees of local businesses. “Pioneer Plumbing,” “Seagull Book and Tape,” “Kolob Window Framing,” “Zion’s Bank,” and “Deseret Collision Repair” all express a particular consciousness. In this setting, the word pioneer refers to the lauded Latter-day Saint first settlers who trekked across the plains in wagons and handcarts to systematically colonize the region under the direction of Brigham Young and his successors.16 Seagull recalls the much-memorialized 1847 miracle of seagulls rescuing the pioneers by engorging themselves on crop-destroying crickets.17 Kolob refers to a planet near the abode of God, uniquely known to members of the Church from Joseph Smith’s translation of papyri written by Abraham.18 Zion in popular LDS usage refers to the scriptural concept of the perfect human society where all “dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them”19 and all are “pure in heart”20 in obedience to The Lord. Deseret deserves special explanation; it was the preferred name for the society and protean nation-state founded by Brigham Young in the Mountain West. Deseret means “honey bee”21 and came from the language of the Jaredite people mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Brigham Young hoped that his followers would emulate the example of community, cooperation, and obedience to leadership that bees display. This word reminds Latter-day Saints of a time and place where Church members tried particularly hard to realize Zion in its economic and social fullness.22 Latter-day Saints preferred the name Deseret in their quest for statehood,23 but the federal government severely circumscribed the boundaries of the state and insisted on naming the state Utah after the predominant local Indian tribe. However, the idea of Deseret resonates with members of the Church today, who still sing the popular hymn “In Our Lovely Deseret.”24 The official and ubiquitous symbol of the state is still the beehive.25 Using interpretive methods similar to those displayed in the U2 story, an oral tradition in LDS folklore snatches subtle victory from the seeming defeat evident in the forced adoption of the name “Utah.” In an item from the BYU Folklore Archive, Todd S. Mooney of Orem, Utah explains: Back when Utah applied for statehood a lot of the politicians in Washington were skeptical and suspicious about the “Mormons” governing the state.

74  Eric A. Eliason Evidently the majority of these politicians disliked Mormons, especially those responsible for granting Utah statehood. It was agreed that the territory now called Utah qualified for statehood status, but these men wanted to mock and scorn the Mormons by naming the state something ugly and unforgettable. So they decided on what they thought was an ugly name: Utah…. What they didn’t realize is that they were fulfilling a prophesy [sic]…. In Isaiah 2:1–4 … “the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains.” The word Utah when translated from the Ute language means “top of the mountains.”26 Whether or not this is a totally accurate translation of the Ute language or the only way this Biblical passage could be interpreted is irrelevant to the way such stories function in LDS society to establish the cultural, historical, and religious significance of names as well as validate the LDS experience. While the name of the state itself did not result from Latter-day Saint prerogative, many smaller victories were won with the names of towns throughout Utah. North of Salt Lake City, Brigham City’s name honors Brigham Young. The towns of Moroni in Sanpete County, Nephi in Juab County, and Lehi in Utah County (and another Lehi in Maricopa County, Arizona), all get their names from Book of Mormon prophets. The Utah towns of Manti, Zarahemla, and Bountiful are all named after cities in the Book of Mormon. Perhaps it is ironic that the three most important cities in the state have nothing specifically LDS about their names at all. Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden were named respectively after a geographic feature, a fur trapper, and an explorer.27 Many place names in “Mormon Country” often have colorful legends associated with them. While some reflect particularly LDS ideas, others are not particularly LDS except for the fact that Latter-day Saints came up with them. In the Pahvant Valley, in a small village called “Deseret” after the erstwhile state name, residents tell the following humorous alternate story, which serves as what folklorists call an etiological legend, or legend explaining the origins of something: When the first settlers came to Pahvant Valley, they selected a spot by the present Sevier River and began to unload their belongings. At this instance one of the settlers yelled, “Ders a rat.” Since that time this location has been known as Deseret.28 The village of Levan, almost exactly in the middle of the state, was named such supposedly because it is “navel” spelled backwards.29 Show Low in the LDS-settled Little Colorado River Valley of Eastern Arizona got its name from the rule used to determine the winner of a legendary card contest between two ranchers. These men decided that the valley wasn’t big enough for the both of them and they agreed that whoever drew the lowest card from a deck would sell out to the other one and move on. The main drag in Show Low is still called “Deuce of Clubs Street” today in honor of the winning card. The hot and parched area around St. George, Utah (named according to legend after either St. George of dragon slaying fame or Latter-day Saint apostle George A. Smith) has traditionally been known as Utah’s “Dixie.” This nickname was

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  75 related to its location as the southern part of Deseret and because it was founded in part as a cotton-growing colony.30 Near Morgan, Utah, on I-84, is a rock formation called “The Devil’s Slide.” The formation is composed of two parallel pieces of limestone jutting up from the earth. Several legends exist about how this landmark got its name. Jay B. Taggart tells a story about the slide, making oblique reference to the Latter-day Saint belief in a pre-earth life. Members of the Church believe that before mortal birth, humans participated in a great war in which the Lord’s plan for them prevailed, Satan’s plan was rejected, and he was cast out of heaven.31 Taggart’s story goes as follows: After the war in heaven and the Devil’s plan was rejected he was kicked out of heaven. He slid down the slide on his way to hell.32 Another account, this time from C. Jay Taggart, provides a different view of the Devil’s Slide by proposing a historical rather than a theological reason for its naming, as follows: When the Mormon pioneers were coming through Echo Canyon the way was very hard and treacherous. The pioneers came upon many formations and they named them. Devil’s Slide was named because it looked like a big slide. The pioneers put the devil part on because the canyon they were going through was terrible and treacherous like the devil.33 Horace Thackery from Morgan, Utah adds the following twist to the Devil’s Slide etiological legend cycle and introduces an ostensibly related local landmark: At the bottom of the slide is a river. The devil slides down the slide to wash his face and cool his seat. He then goes over to the Devil’s Looking Glass to comb his hair (The Devil’s Looking Glass is another rock formation across from the slide. It is a piece of rock that has been worn away by wind and water that looks similar to a window).34 Latter-day Saints believe the Devil is a literal spirit being, quite capable of appearing to and tormenting humans. The fanciful stories about geographical features, however, are more likely a reflection of the universal human appreciation for creativity, and our need to explain peculiar phenomena, than they are examples of a belief in a Satanic connection to those geological formations. LDS place names can be found “back East” as well.35 The hill from which Joseph Smith got the Golden Plates is still known by its Book of Mormon name “Cumorah” by Church members and “Gentiles” alike, and “The Sacred Grove,” where he experienced the First Vision, is a New York tourist landmark today. The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now the Community of Christ), whose movement diverged from the larger group of Latter-day Saints after the death of Joseph Smith, supports Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, about half way between Kansas City and Des Moines on I-35. Lamoni is perhaps the

76  Eric A. Eliason only place named after a Book of Mormon figure by people other than those affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, it is not the only case of those not affiliated with the main body of Latter-day Saints naming places. Followers of disaffected apostle Lyman Wight are responsible for the names of several places in central Texas in the mid-1800s, including “Mormon Road” in Westlake Hills near Austin and the ghost town of Zodiac that they settled. While the foundational and colonization period of Church history is long over, uniquely LDS geographic naming ways continue in a different form in the proliferation of LDS ecclesiastical units and missions worldwide. Latter-day Saint leaders draw out geographic boundaries for congregations (called “wards”) and larger administrative units (called “stakes” and “areas”). The names of wards and stakes usually rely on the name of the town they are in, on the name of part of the town, or on rare occasions an important person or theological concept. When cities have more than one unit, they are usually numbered such as the Austin 1st Ward and Austin 4th Ward in Austin, Texas. With growth, renaming, and boundary redrawing, ward numbers may disappear. Just because a city has a 7th Ward doesn’t mean it has a 2nd Ward, but it may have a Sunset Heights, Kolob, or Central Ward. The term “ward” originally comes from a neighborhood political boundary in New York. This usage continues in Illinois, particularly Chicago, where the word ward still refers to a political unit or neighborhood within the larger metropolitan area. The Church’s use of “ward” seems to trace back to their time in Nauvoo, Illinois.36 On a higher administrative level, Church stakes are made up of several wards, the term stake coming from a metaphor referenced in the Doctrine and Covenants (derived from Isaiah) of stakes in the great tent of Zion being stretched out to cover the whole earth.37 As the Church sends missionaries throughout the world, it organizes them into missions of typically a hundred or more missionaries each. Each mission receives the name of a major city as well as the country. A young Latter-day Saint may be called to serve in the Netherlands, Amsterdam; Chile, Santiago; or the South Africa, Durban mission. This reversal of the normal order of referring to a city first and then a country is likely related to certain utilitarian advantages in administering coordinated efforts for multiple areas of a given country within a worldwide church.

People The names Latter-day Saints call themselves often reflect their religious and cultural milieu. And while Latter-day Saints follow many of the patterns that others follow, LDS naming ways have many noteworthy features that give insight into the workings of Latter-day Saint history and belief. Family Names Looking through the phone books of some smaller Intermountain West communities can be a reminder of an area’s settlement history. The Church’s 19th century

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  77 proselytizing success in Scandinavia, for example, is evident in the many Christensens, Christiansens, Sorensens, Hansens, Haglunds, and Jensens that live in the state—especially in Sanpete County and near Brigham City.38 Extended families are important in LDS culture, and preserving the good name of the family is often regarded as an important motivator for good behavior. Latter-day Saints in the American West often play a sort of LDS name game upon making their first acquaintance with someone. Each participant recounts branches of their lineage back several generations (a skill quite common among genealogy-minded Church members) until a linking ancestor is established. A tradition of large families and the prevalence of plural marriage until the turn of the 20th century makes the number of ways in which any two random western Latter-day Saints might be related quite numerous. If the players are proficient enough, the “LDS name game” is usually successful in establishing a link in just a few generations. More recently, computer apps have made this kind of genealogical activity even more powerful for Latter-day Saints beyond just the western United States who wish to determine the degree to which they share a common ancestor. In today’s worldwide Church, which has enjoyed several decades of extraordinary growth by conversion, the likelihood and importance of a given Latter-day Saint having a certain surname has shrunk considerably. But in the American West, in areas where LDS settlement patterns have been significant, recognizably common LDS surnames are still plentiful. Changing Names Sometimes situations develop that prompt individuals to change their names. For some Latter-day Saints, these name changes have occurred under peculiar historical circumstances. For others, the name changes follow identifiable cultural patterns, some of which continue even today. For an example of an unusual historical circumstance, we may note that some Church members with the surname “Hilton” come from ancestors named “Hickman,” who changed their name to avoid association with the notorious Latter-day Saint militiaman Bill Hickman, who turned against Brigham Young and began telling tall tales of violent deeds allegedly done at the prophet’s behest.39 With the passing of time and the cooling of emotions, some Hiltons have begun to change their surname back to Hickman. In a separate instance, a student of mine told me about how both “Stevens” and “Stephens” families dwelt in his rural Utah hometown. His family claimed that their ancestors changed the spelling of their surname to distance themselves from the Stevenses, whose ancestor had committed a terrible crime many years ago. My student, with little or no embarrassment, claimed that his own research showed that it was actually a person in his own family line that had committed the crime. Some early Latter-day Saints participated in a Law of Adoption whereby people of no blood relation could be sealed to each other in a spiritual parent/child relationship that would continue into the next life for eternity.40 In some cases, grown men were sealed to each other in this kind of relationship. For a few years during

78  Eric A. Eliason the Nauvoo period, some men took on the surname of their adoptive father. For example, Thomas Bullock became Thomas Bullock Richards when sealed to apostle Willard Richards.41 However, most of these men quickly reverted to their original surnames, even though they still considered the ordinance and its resulting relationship to be valid. In 1894, Church President Wilford Woodruff discontinued the practice of sealing non-related adults into eternal parent/child bonds but preserved and reemphasized the use of this ordinance of “adoption” to perpetuate biological family relationships for eternity. He proclaimed, “let every man be adopted to his father.”42 While the ordinance remains the same, the term “sealing” is now more commonly used to refer to it than “adoption.” Polygamy, or more rightly, plural marriage, was another Latter-day Saint doctrine that produced unique LDS naming. A man’s plural wives almost invariably took on his surname. Women avoided public acknowledgment of their married name only when it would put their husbands or friends in jeopardy for persecution, as would have been the case in Nauvoo in the 1840s or during the 1880s federal anti-polygamy campaign in Utah, known as “The Raid.” Baby girls born to Latter-day Saint families are sometimes given no middle name so their maiden name can become their middle name upon marriage. Often this extends to a son’s middle name being his mother’s maiden name such as Joseph Fielding Smith, son of Mary Fielding Smith. Often LDS women will write out and prefer to be called by their full name after marriage. Nineteenth-century LDS women writers and pioneers such as Susa Young Gates, Louisa Barnes Pratt, and Ida Hunt Udall are good examples of this custom, which continues today with women such as my wife Stephanie Smith Eliason, my mother-in-law Judith Russell Smith, and her mother Lurline Ray Russell. This custom helps women to preserve historical and familial heritage even after assuming a married name. In the 19th century, if a woman’s eternal companion died, she often remarried a husband “for time only” in the temple with full Church approval. While she usually took on the second husband’s surname, she would often be loath to abandon public recognition of her eternal spouse’s surname. In certain instances, a woman might have been married “for time” to a living man on earth while being sealed by proxy for eternity to a prominent deceased Church leader whom she may have never even known while he was alive. In a very few early cases in Nauvoo, the living man to whom a woman was sealed was someone other than the living man to whom she was civilly married.43 In situations such as these, women would often acknowledge all this in their list of surnames. When women kept their given middle names, their maiden names, and the names of all the men to whom they had been married, their full names could become quite long. Examples include Helen Mar Kimball Smith Whitney, Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young, and Elvira Cowles Holmes Smith. Eliza Roxcy Snow Smith Young, who married Joseph Smith for time and eternity and Brigham Young for time only, is a prominent example of this pattern. While most Church members today remember this poet and founder of the Utah Relief Society and Young Women’s program only as Eliza R. Snow, she herself preferred her full name, or at the very least Eliza Roxcy Snow Smith, which is engraved on her headstone.44

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  79 Giving Names to Children How Latter-day Saint families go about choosing their children’s names varies considerably from family to family but follows some recognizable patterns. With the LDS penchant for large families and their focus on the importance of children and family relationships, great care is often given to this decision. The Latter-day scripture known as the Doctrine and Covenants indicates that “Every member of the church of Christ having children is to bring them unto the elders before the church, who are to lay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in his name.”45 Today, Latter-day Saints refer to this ordinance as giving a child “a name and a blessing.” Whenever possible, it is performed by the child’s father if he is an ordained Elder in good standing. This event usually happens in the ward meeting house within a few months after the child’s birth. Priesthoodholding male relatives and close friends will stand in a circle at the front of the chapel, putting their hands underneath the baby after the New Testament pattern of blessing by the laying on of hands while the father prays, pronouncing a name and giving blessings of health, counsel, and direction, as dictated by the Spirit. This event is often accompanied by a big extended family get-together and meal after Church. Some couples choose a name for their child only after much thought and prayer, with personal revelation often playing a role. The following story from the BYU Folklore Archive serves as an example: I was my folks [sic] fourth girl, their fourth child, and they were thinking of naming me Paulette. About an hour before they blessed me, my dad came up to my mom and said what do you think about [the name] Poiette? She said, “OK, that’s good.” So, he blessed me and after he blessed me someone comes up to him and says, “Oh, so you named her Boyette because you don’t have a boy yet!” My dad told me that he felt inspired to name me Poiette. In a later blessing he told me that some day I would know why he was inspired to name me Poiette.46 Sometimes couples have names lined up for their children long before conception. Others think of a few likely name candidates and wait until the baby’s arrival before deciding. It is also not uncommon for parents to leave the hospital with an unnamed baby and decide later. Some Latter-day Saints tend to regard children’s names as tentative and unofficial until the naming ordinance takes place. While in the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ the ordinance makes no difference in a child’s sure salvation, it is nonetheless so important that if a child is in danger of dying, the timing of the ordinance will likely be speeded up as in the following story about Cathryn Faylor’s father: His mother was not in good health [after the delivery]. They were busy, I think, saving her thinking the baby was not going to make it anyway because he was blue. They just hurried and gave him a name. I think it was his mother

80  Eric A. Eliason who took the name from the Bible. But I don’t know the Bible well enough to even know. I’ve never heard of Eldred in the Bible.47 In this case, Eldred not only survived but also thrived—stacking hay by the time he was 13 or 14 and drawing a grown man’s wage since he worked every bit as hard. Although married couples have usually made a decision on a baby’s name long before the baby blessing is given, some stories circulate that recount an exception to this custom. For example, there are many stories of fathers who pause for on-the-spot revelation during the blessing. One common theme in earlier LDS nameways lore involves general authorities naming children after themselves, by invitation or otherwise, when asked to bless a baby: President Brigham Young stopped in Leeds [Utah] one Saturday night to spend the night before continuing on to Salt Lake City. Since the next day was Sunday, President Young attended Church in Leeds. The family happened to be blessing their baby boy that Sunday and thought it would be an honor to have the prophet bless him. The people told President Young that his name was to be George Frederick ______, but during the blessing, Brigham Young gave the child the name of Brigham Young ______ instead.48 In another story, a pregnant woman attending the 14 April 1893 dedicatory services for the Salt Lake Temple gave birth to a child inside the temple. Joseph Fielding Smith and visiting Provo tabernacle organist Henry Evans Giles gave the child a blessing and the name of “Joseph Temple Bennett.”49 Occasional stories circulate about a father who tells his wife that she has won the debate over what to name their child, but uses the public opportunity to go ahead and name his child whatever he wants. The following story, while embarrassing when it happened, has evolved into a legendary humorous anecdote in the Dobson family. It concerns a famous NFL quarterback who played for BYU, but who was not a member of the Church and seemed to go out of his way to offend his alma mater and violate its standards: Doug’s brother, Perry, and his wife were in labor. It was December, 1981 during a BYU football game where Jim McMahon was playing really great. Perry said he wanted to name the baby after Jim McMahon, and his wife said, “I don’t think so. There is no tie in with the family. I don’t think so.” And, that was the end of their conversation. Then when he [Perry] got up to bless him … he named him Nicholas McMahon Dobson. Our eyes rolled during the prayer because we couldn’t believe it. He didn’t tell anyone he was going to do it.50 Actual cases like this are rare, but stories about them circulate widely precisely because they are so unusual and because they clearly illustrate the violations of common expectations in performing this ordinance. This story and the following

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  81 one also underscore the Latter-day Saint belief that the name given during this ordinance is official and permanent: My parents were going to name me Thomas [Thomson], a family name. But, during Sacrament meeting, the child who was blessed before me was named Thomas [Smith]. My mother leaned over to my father and said, “We can’t name him Thomas and have two Thomas’s the same age in the ward.” His father told her to quickly pick another name then. She chose Dennis, the name of one of her favorite soap opera stars.51 Usually, husbands and wives find joy in a cooperative approach toward mulling over and trying out possibilities before they name a child. Often a child will be given a “consensus name” that was neither the mother’s nor the father’s first choice. Sometimes parents will take turns alternating final say in naming a child, or the mother will name the girls and the father will name the boys, or vice versa. Usually, however, extended family members, while they may voice opinions, do not get a “vote” in the naming of children. In at least one case, a grandfather applied some very heavy persuasion when he did the following: When we had our third child, our third daughter, we couldn’t think of what to name her. While we were deciding, my father sent us a check for $5,000.00 made out to Abigail Hawkins. He said, “if you like the name, cash the check” (He had chosen the name, Abigail, partly because the baby was born during the bicentennial year, 1976, and he liked the name because of Abigail Adams).52 As to what Latter-day Saints actually name their children, with some notable exceptions, they tend to follow the patterns and trends of the various countries and communities in which they live. Research by Cleveland Evans shows deep similarities in the name popularity between Colorado and Utah baby names, indicating that there is generally little difference between LDS naming patterns and those of the larger US culture among the most popular names. But some differences exist, with Utah sometimes on the front end of certain naming trends. For example, we can note a Utah pattern with the “-den” suffix in new names such as “Kaden,” the 7th most popular Utah name in 1998, and “Brayden,” the 12th most popular Utah name in 1998, neither of which appears in the top 55 of Colorado names for that year, though these names had risen in popularity in Colorado by 2012.53 Latter-day Saints share the Protestant discomfort about naming children “Jesus” as occurs among Latin Catholics. But they are very comfortable with many biblical names, whether from the Old or New Testament. Moreover, although the Book of Mormon has never been an especially popular source for LDS naming, most Latter-day Saints in the western United States know a handful of Nephis, Moronis, and Almas (Utah Olympic track star Alma Richards is still fondly remembered). The Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon recounts the story of Jared and his prophet brother described only as “the brother of Jared.”54 These two brothers and

82  Eric A. Eliason their families left from the Tower of Babel for the New World at the time of the confusion of languages. Thousands of years later, we learn the Brother of Jared’s name in the following manner, according to early Latter-day Saint George Reynolds: While residing in Kirtland Elder Reynolds Cahoon had a son born to him. One day when President Joseph Smith was passing his door he called the Prophet in and asked him to bless and name the baby. Joseph did so and gave the boy the name of Mahonri Moriancumer. When he had finished the blessing he laid the child on the bed, and turning to Elder Cahoon he said, the name I have given your son is the name of the brother of Jared; the Lord has just shown [or revealed] it to me. Elder William F. Cahoon, who was standing near heard the Prophet make this statement to his father; and this was the first time the name of the brother of Jared was known in the Church in this dispensation.55 While the Cahoons were surely glad to have this historical treasure revealed to them, Church members have since joked that the Cahoons probably never afterward asked the Prophet to name another one of their children. “If your name were Mahonri Moriancumer, you’d go by the Brother of Jared too,” goes another common LDS quip. Nevertheless, most American Latter-day Saints have at least heard contemporary stories of two brothers, often twins, who were named after these two Book of Mormon heroes—the lucky one being Jared. In such contemporary cases, the other brother usually goes by the shortened “Mahonri” alone. While the jokes continue, the name is dignified by the Book of Mormon figure himself, as well as Mahonri Young, a nationally renowned Utah sculptor from the early and mid 20th century. One somewhat popular Book of Mormon name today is Ammon, whose namesake was a great missionary and loyal servant to the Lamanite King, Lamoni. Among Polynesian Latter-day Saints, who identify with the history of the Lamanite and Nephite peoples chronicled in the Book of Mormon, the names of righteous Lamanites such as Lamoni, Samuel, and Abish occasionally appear.56 Abish, who was converted through a vision of her father, is one of the very few females mentioned by name in the Book of Mormon. Hers is the only female name that occurs nowhere else in scripture and which is associated with an unequivocally positive Book of Mormon figure.57 The name of the prophet Mormon has remained virtually unused as a possible name. Like Lehi, Mormon is a father-figure, but perhaps the prospect of a son being called “Mormon the Mormon” is perhaps a little too much for most Latterday Saint parents. The regard for prominent Church leaders from the founding days of the Church has sometimes influenced parents’ name choices. But surprisingly, as Evans has noted, the name Joseph does not seem to be any more popular, and may even be less popular, among contemporary Latter-day Saints when compared to the general populace, though this might be changing.58 Brigham appears occasionally. Parley, from the popular 19th century apostle, missionary, and theologian

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  83 Parley P. Pratt, and to a lesser degree Orson, from his apostle brother, Orson Pratt, also show up from time to time. Heber, from the original apostle and counselor to Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and possibly from a subsequent president of the Church, Heber J. Grant, was once very popular but has waned significantly to the point that it is now considered a stereotypical “old man’s name.” Orson is also seen somewhat as an “old man’s name” among members of the Church, but has become more famous with the worldwide success of popular Latter-day Saint science fiction writer, Orson Scott Card. Names shared with notable figures from Church history also appear. The name Orrin (and likely the name, Porter) are reminiscent of Orrin Porter Rockwell, a frontier lawman and the gun-slinging bodyguard of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Rockwell remains a popular LDS folk hero to this day. According to popular tradition, Joseph Smith promised Porter Rockwell that if he never cut his hair, he would be invincible like Samson. Despite numerous gunfights and other opportunities for harm, he was never injured by enemies of the Church. According to legend, Rockwell followed this restriction except for one instance when he allowed his hair to be cut to make a wig for a sick woman who had lost hers. Rockwell kept his hair and sometimes his beard neatly braided.59 A prominent Latter-day Saint named for Rockwell was US Senator Orrin Hatch. Popular Church presidents David O. McKay (1951–70) and especially Spencer W. Kimball (1973–1985) have influenced the number of McKays and Spencers born during and after their tenures as apostles and Church presidents. Similarly, the notoriety and public visibility of former BYU president, contemporary apostle, and First Presidency member, Dallin H. Oaks helped popularize the given name Dallin, and many subsequent namings of Dallin can be traced back to him. Jeffrey R. Holland, another former BYU president and current apostle, is perhaps partly responsible for the popularity in Utah of the female given name Holland, which ranks 104th with 45 occurrences in 2021.60 He has also inspired at least one instance of LDS naming that led to unexpected results: We named our first son Jeffrey after Jeff Holland because my husband was so fond of President Holland …. But in the hospital I began to call him “Jeff son,” which turned in to Jefferson. My husband liked that name better so we changed it. When we were expecting our next child, people would say, “Oh, are you going to name him Lincoln—to go with Jefferson?” We heard it so much that we started to like the name Lincoln, so we did; we named him Lincoln.61 The family tree probably serves as a fruitful source from which to draw children’s names. Many parents honor ancestors by using their names as first or middle names for their children. Ancestors’ given and surnames serve as potential first names, making surnames-as-first-names a rather common feature of the LDS naming landscape. After the Flake and Snow families combined names to call their town Snowflake, Arizona, some interesting names like “Flake Rogers” and “Storm Flake” began to emerge in this area.

84  Eric A. Eliason Informal polling of my students seems to indicate a preference for the mother’s side of the family for naming boys and the father’s side of the family for naming girls. The mother’s maiden name is often used as a first or more often middle name for both girls and boys. In contemporary LDS culture, as in the rest of America, Old Testament names such as Joshua and Caleb continue to be popular. We can also see a penchant for making up names outside the canon of known given names.62 Rare, but not unheard of, are hyper-individualized creative names, sometimes with LDS connections. One particular set of parents gave their children distinctively marked names such as “Helaman’s Warrior,” “Mormon Beauty,” “Miracles Precious One,” “Manti Moroni,” “Raphael’s Warrior,” “Sunday’s Hosanna,” “Pawnece America,” and “Knight Train Lane”—apparently named after the 1970s NFL star Richard “Night Train” Lane, who would bowl opponents over like a train. Usually, however, LDS naming creativity falls into larger, more recognizable, and less flamboyant patterns. Many years ago, Latter-day Saint parents indulged in a fascination with pseudo-French sounding names, despite the fact that French ancestry is very rare in Utah. For men, such names included LaMar, LeRoy, LaVar, and of course the famous LaVell Edwards, long-time coach of BYU football. Among women, this trend manifested as LaRue, LaDawn, DeDawn, Linnae, and LaRissa.63 Curiously, a remarkably similar trend has emerged among African Americans so “LaMar” and “LeRoy” are equally recognizable as stereotypical Latter-day Saint and African American male names. What possible relationship there is between these two similar traditions among two groups of people usually understood to be quite culturally distinct from each other has yet to be determined. While this seemingly pseudo-French trend has receded, in the last twenty years or so, Latter-day Saint creativity has reemerged with a vengeance. This newer trend seems even more pervasive and well developed than before. Whereas the previous trend had a heavy predilection for prefixation, this newer trend has a predilection for suffixation, which seems to focus on several key possibilities and then tweaks the names with almost every possible spelling, pronunciation, and affixing variation imaginable. For example, common suffixation on boys’ names includes –son and –ton as in Bryson and Braxton. Examples of suffixation on female names are evident in the following names: Brynn, Bree-ann, Brynlee, or Brynna. Another example of creativity is visible in the diverse spelling variation in girls’ and boys’ names. This is evident in Kaitlyn, which may be rendered Caitlyn, Katelin, or Kaitlynne. Additional examples of girls’ names that can have variant spellings include: Austyn, Jalissa, Kiara, Tiara, Courtney, Jessalin, Rochelle, Bailey, Hailey, Brynna, Brianna, Kylie, Kelsey, Chelsie, Andrea (Aundreya), MacKenzie, Aurora, Ashley, Taylor, and Lauren. Boys’ names may also vary in spelling. The traditional boys’ name Caleb may be spelled Kaleb, Kaylub, Caylib, or Kalub. Additional examples of boys’ names that can have variant spellings include: Kaden, Skyler, Jaron, Stratton, Gentry, Bryson, Braxton, Austin, Tyler, Chase, and Connor. Most of this discussion of given names only applies to the Utah Latter-day Saint diaspora in the American West and those who have married into it. However, the  majority of Latter-day Saints at the turn of the 21st century have been

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  85 converts from outside the United States whose parents were not members of the Church and hence named them without reference to LDS naming traditions in the American West. It is sometimes possible to pinpoint at what stage in the child-bearing process a family joined the Church. For example, I met a Latter-day Saint family in the Netherlands whose oldest children all had conventional Dutch names such as Rud, Jaap, Jan, Wilhelm, Beatrix, and Maria. However, their two youngest children were a boy named “Alma”—which would have been seen as odd by someone who is not a member of the Church as it is a fairly common older woman’s name in Europe, in no way related to the Book of Mormon male name—and a girl named “Celestia.” This second name is a variation of “Celestial,” which is the Latter-day Saint term for the highest degree of heaven—the Celestial kingdom. The unique aspects of Utah LDS naming ways have not fully penetrated the worldwide Church, and it is possible that they never will. This may only be a matter of lagtime in cultural exportation, or it may remain a distinctive feature of the LDS Culture Region that does not much influence the rest of LDS culture; or perhaps emergent Church member populations may begin to formulate their own non-American yet very LDS naming ways. Only time will tell. One thing is certain: no matter how names are given or chosen, based on the number of stories collected in the BYU folklore archives about how people get their names, it is clear that having a personal etiological narrative about one’s own given name is something many people appreciate. One of my students named Spenser (with an “s”) points out that he was not named after the Church president but after a little neighbor boy who upon stumbling across skinny-dipping women in the forest ran away screaming. My student’s parents always told him to follow this boy’s example if he were ever in such a situation. Church Leader Names The General Authorities, or highest-level leaders, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints present a special case for LDS naming ways. For many years now, men called to serve in this capacity who are not already in the habit of using their middle initial (if they go by their first name) or their first initial (if they go by their middle name) have quickly learned to do so. For example, officially in Church publications and in over-the-pulpit announcements, “Russell Nelson” is “Russell M. Nelson” and “Russell Ballard” is “M. Russell Ballard.” The Church does not officially explain this custom anywhere, but it may be influenced by at least two factors: (1) many General Authorities in the past have come from a limited set of inter-related families and (2) many parents in these families tended to name their sons after noteworthy previous family members. These two facts made it so men sharing a similar name have occasionally come to occupy Church leadership positions over the years. Using initials helps mitigate confusion in such circumstances. Sometimes the whole of an initialized name needs to be spelled out to avoid confusion. The most famous example of this is when Church founder Joseph Smith Jr.’s nephew, Joseph Smith, became a General Authority (and later Church president) and started going by Joseph F. (Fielding) Smith. When Joseph F. Smith’s son, Joseph F. Smith, became a General Authority

86  Eric A. Eliason (and later Church president), he spelled out his initialized name to be called Joseph Fielding Smith (Adding further to this confusion, Joseph Smith Jr.’s son, Joseph Smith III, was the first president of the separate Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). A similar naming situation happened with the grandson of apostle Ezra T. Benson, Ezra Taft Benson, who became an apostle and later Church president. This pattern of initialization also applies to prominent women such as Eliza R. Snow and the first three 20th century presidents of the Relief Society: Zina D. H. Young (1888–1901), Bathsheba W. Smith (1901–1910), and Emmeline B. Wells (1910–1921). Another possible reason for initialization is that it has come to indicate a certain dignity of high office. Even in informal conversation, few, if any, Latter-day Saints would think of referring to the late President Hinckley as “Gordon Hinckley.” It was always “Gordon B. Hinckley,” if not “the prophet” or “President Hinckley.” The tradition of using initials for formal purposes was not unknown in 19th century America and still continues today among public figures and authors.64 While writing middle initials is somewhat common in formal settings outside Latter-day Saint circles, the oral use of them is almost unique to Church members. The desire for dignity may also influence many Latter-day Saint academics and writers to emulate General Authorities by using the initial(s) of their less-used given name(s) to adorn their books and articles. However, Church members generally do not include middle initials when referring orally to even the most well-known Latter-day Saint scholars and authors. This practice is most often reserved for General Authorities and is a subtle, informal marker of respect and recognition for their office.

Labels and Titles Labels The most common label that has been applied to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by those outside the Church is the term “Mormon.” The history behind the use of the term “Mormon” parallels that of the term “Christian.” Both started out as epithets used by outsiders that were eventually embraced by those to whom they were applied. However, unlike the term “Christian,” which Latter-day Saints also claim by doctrinal right, “Mormon” applied as a nickname, aside from its sometimes pejorative use by outsiders, is also disconnected from the actual divine personage whom Latter-day Saints worship. This in part explains why acceptance of the term “Mormon” by Latter-day Saints has been tenuous at times. The label of course relates to the prophetic compiler and penultimate author of the Book of Mormon, which was, and still is, one of the most distinctive and obvious markers of Latter-day Saint religious uniqueness. However, the term “Mormon” can be problematic. Many feel the term has negative or backwards connotations that detract from the importance of focusing people’s minds on the central position of Christ in the doctrine and official name of the Church. “Latter-day Saint” and the acronym “LDS” (the latter of which more often works as an adjective than a noun) have both come into more common usage by insiders and outsiders alike.

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  87 Despite the pejorative use of the term “Mormon” by many outsiders in 19th century America, it was used with a positive reference by some Native Americans. Great Basin Indians distinguished between the “Mormonees,” whom they often trusted, and the “Mericats” (Americans), whom they saw as more violent and less trustworthy. Antagonists of the Church saw this linguistic distinction as evidence of a Latter-day Saint/Indian conspiracy against legitimate federal authority. Latterday Saints saw it only as the natural result of their attempts to be more kind and fair with Native Americans than other white peoples had been.65 While most members of the Church, until recently, were not terribly unsettled by seeing the nicknames “Mormon Church” (a common 19th century convention even in official Church publications) or “LDS Church” (a common 20th century convention) in print, they did quickly tire of reading or hearing such distortions as “The Church of the Latter-day Saints” or “The Latter Day Saints’ Church.” In an important development, Church President, Russell M. Nelson, recently urged members of the Church and others to use the real name of the Church, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,”66 avoiding the nicknames like “Mormon Church” or “LDS Church.” Many Latter-day Saints have been complying with his direction and becoming more careful in their references to the Church and even other uses of the word Mormon. One of the Church’s official websites even provides a Style Guide that suggests some specific conventions on this matter for journalists or other writers to use when reporting on topics related to the Church.67 Among Church members, various labels or titles have been used to refer to the identities, perspectives, or stances of groups in relation to the Church and the LDS culture. The label “pioneer” at first only applied to those who actually traveled with Brigham Young in the advanced company to the area later known as Utah. It later began to refer to anyone who left Nauvoo before about 1850 intending to settle in that area. Later still it was applied to anyone who came to the Utah territory before the 1869 completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, which facilitated Latter-day Saint migration. As the Church has begun experiencing extensive worldwide growth, the term “pioneer” has also come to refer to new members of the Church in places where it has traditionally had little presence or to converts from nations or ethnic groups in which few Latter-day Saints have traditionally been found.68 Once very common and still-familiar sounding, the term “gentile” is today mostly used in a self-conscious, tongue-in-cheek way. Since Latter-day Saints identify so strongly with Jews, and refer to themselves as “modern Israel,” the term “gentile” was used by Latter-day Saints the same way Jews still use it—to refer to anyone but themselves, or, in other words, those outside the covenant. Some misinformed writers have deduced without fully investigating the matter that even Jews are “gentiles” in Utah. Theologically, it seems unlikely that a mainstream Latter-day Saint would ever insist that Jews are gentiles. Sociologically, it is possible that Jews were sometimes included, ironically enough, in discussions of the Latterday Saint/Gentile conflict of the 19th century. In modern LDS parlance, “gentile,” when used, most often means “anyone but Latter-day Saints and Jews.” The use of the term among members of the Church is complicated by the fact that its use

88  Eric A. Eliason differs according to the context. Some Book of Mormon passages use the term to refer to people whose national origins do not trace back to ancient Israel. By this use of the term, modern-day members of the Church recognize themselves to be gentiles. Today, instead of using the term gentile to refer to people outside the Church, Latter-day Saints frequently, at least in the past, have used the terms “non-Mormon” or “non-member.” But since people generally prefer to be called by what they are, rather than what they are not, members of the Church, who seek positive relationships with those outside their faith, will likely continue to reevaluate terms used to describe those outside the Church. This kind of reevaluation seems evident in a recent comment by American religious history scholar Jan Shipps: “When I started doing research on Mormonism [in 1960], everyone called me a Gentile.” She continues, “Then later they described me as a non-Mormon, and even later as a non-member. Now they call me the Methodist who studies Mormonism.”69 Despite her protestations to the contrary, Jan Shipps is sometimes suspected of being a “dry Mormon” by Latter-day Saints, who have used this term to refer to someone who is a believer and/or participant without yet having been baptized. Some terms relate to the perceived commitment a member has to the Church. A girl perceived to be especially conservative in dress and piously simple in attitude may be called a “Molly Mormon” with a mixture of affection and jealous condescension toward her strict adherence to cultural as well as doctrinal practices,70 the equivalent term for the male counterpart being “Peter Priesthood.” Latter-day Saints label lack of devotion as well. Full-time missionaries may call a lazy comrade a “slacker,” “coaster,” or even jokingly as an “apostate,” according to the custom in their particular mission area.71 The term “apostate” may be used jocularly in the larger LDS culture but in serious communication refers to a person who has left or been excommunicated from the Church and espouses false doctrine or otherwise fights against the Church. Whereas in the past the term was more freely used to refer to anyone who left the Church, today it is usually reserved for only the most doctrinally unorthodox, openly defiant, and overtly hostile ex-Mormons. “Ex-Mormon” has been a more emotionally tame and less pejorative term for anyone who was once a member of the Church but who currently is not. Some former members of the Church embrace this label. “Jack-Mormon” is another label with a curious semantic history. In the 19th century, a jack-Mormon was someone who was not a member of the Church but who lived or interacted among them and supported their cause. Two notable examples are “Squire” Daniel H. Wells before his conversion and Thomas L. Kane, who never converted but helped the Saints at several key moments in their history. By the end of the 20th century, the term had reversed its meaning. Today, “JackMormon” is colloquial and refers to someone who, while nominally a member who might self-identify as a Latter-day Saint, is not firmly committed to the spiritual and social life of the Church. Some less-committed Church members find the term offensive; others proudly wear the label. The US Heavyweight boxing champion from 1919 to 1926, William Harrison Dempsey, chose “Jack” Dempsey as his fighting name as a reference to his LDS heritage and his personal relationship to it.72

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  89 Other terms such as “cultural Mormon” versus “faithful Mormon” have emerged in academic writing as distinctions based on belief and worldview as much as practice. “Cultural Mormon” has been somewhat analogous to “secular Jew,” and it has been used to refer to those who may adhere to the cultural aspects of growing up or living in an LDS environment but do not attend Church or adhere to doctrinally-based practices. The term “cultural Mormon,” however, is unfortunate since it suggests that feeling an affinity with LDS culture is somehow mutually exclusive with commitment to the Church. Most Latter-day Saints who are wholehearted appreciators of their cultural and historical heritage are also believers. Only a very small minority of the religiously disaffected make it a point to remain engaged with LDS cultural and intellectual life. The terms “humanist Mormon” and “secular Mormon” have appeared from time to time but do not have much currency. Both describe a smaller set of people than “cultural Mormon.” Latter-day Saints have applied the label “anti-Mormon” to apostates and nonLDS people who make a profession or hobby out of trying to discredit the theological positions and authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many committed “anti-Mormons” try to disavow the term and fail to realize that anti-Mormonism is a social phenomenon as real and pernicious as anti-Semitism. Other terms also exist to describe or attempt to describe commitment and activity in the Church. In the mid 20th century, many Latter-day Saint men whose commitment had lapsed and who had not been advanced from the Aaronic to Melchizedek Priesthood because of WWII service call-ups or other reasons were called “Adult Aaronics” by Church leaders.73 Today, it is more common to use the term “Prospective Elder” (“Elder” being an office in the Melchizedek Priesthood). In efforts to reincorporate individuals, whether male or female, into full participation, members long used the term “inactive Mormon,” but the more euphemistic term “less-active member” has become increasingly more common. The fact that Latter-day Saints define marginality in their religion primarily in terms of action rather than piousness or faith may be a reflection of the Latter-day Saint emphasis on works in addition to faith as a necessary component of salvation. The terminology discussed so far applies largely in relation to Latter-day Saints who look to Salt Lake City, Utah for leadership. There are several smaller schismatic groups that no longer form part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for which there are different sets of names. The largest of these groups, which is headquartered in Independence, Missouri and until fairly recently was known as “the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” (RLDS), rejected Brigham Young’s leadership claim in favor of Joseph Smith III’s. That church also rejects the nickname “Mormon” altogether. But moving even further away from what the Utah headquartered Church would consider its historical roots, the “Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” has changed its official name to the “Community of Christ.” In the more contentious days of the past, RLDS members used to refer to themselves as “Josephites” and to Utah Latter-day Saints as “Brighamites” or “Twelvites” in reference to their allegiance to the Quorum of the Twelve rather than Joseph Smith’s orphaned son.74 As might be imagined, Latter-day Saints never

90  Eric A. Eliason accepted any of these terms. The usage of the “-ite” suffix is reminiscent of the Book of Mormon practice of peoples calling themselves, and each other, after a prominent early group leader such as the Nephites, Lamanites, Jacobites, Josephites, Lemuelites, Ishmaelites, and Zoramites75 (a variation that differs from the Old Testament usage which more often names people according to geographic locale such as Moabites and Canaanites). Occasionally in 19th century anti-Mormonism, “Mormonite” would appear as a demeaning term referring to the restoration movement Joseph Smith founded.76 After Joseph Smith’s death, some church members followed leaders James J. Strang, Sidney Rigdon, or Lyman Wight to become “Strangites,” “Rigdonites,” or “Wightites.” In Utah, “Morrisite” and “Godbeite” schismatics followed Joseph Morris’s claims of apocalyptic revelation or William S. Godbe’s spiritualism and attempts to introduce free-market capitalist changes into the Utah economy.77 Most of these groups died out or claim only a few hundred or few thousand followers today.78 After the Community of Christ (formerly, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), with a membership total of about 250,000,79 the second largest group of schismatics is a much subdivided “fundamentalist Mormon” movement of competing authority claims, including the officially incorporated “Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (FLDS). The FLDS and other smaller fundamentalist groups, as well as individual practitioners, total somewhere around 37,000 people throughout the West,80 with their true numbers hard to gauge since their defining religious practice, polygamy, is against the law in the US. Jan Shipps notes the challenge of getting accurate numbers on these groups: “How can you count them? They do not want to be counted.”81 The vast majority of Latter-day Saints who look to the prophet at Temple Square in Salt Lake City have sometimes been called “mainstream” Mormons in contradistinction to the marginalized fundamentalists. Even such a terminological distinction, however, is insufficient to convey the separate and distinct identity of the two groups. In fact, many mainstream Latter-day Saints bristle at both the term “fundamentalist” and “Mormon” in reference to an outside group that still allows plural marriage and which is disconnected from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Titles As for what mainstream Latter-day Saints call each other among themselves, several titular customs hold sway. Bishops are often referred to as “Bishop” plus their last name, even after their release from this service calling. Unlike the Catholic use of the term “bishopric” to mean the area of ecclesiastical jurisdiction for the bishop, the LDS term “bishopric” refers to the leadership body formed by a bishop and his two counselors, the counselors not having any special title. Above bishops, stake presidents and their counselors are all appropriately called “President” plus their last name, as are members of the First Presidency and the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Young men serving as full-time missionaries, as well as all Area Authorities and General Authorities except for the First Presidency are

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  91 most appropriately referred to as “Elder” plus their last name. Female missionaries and females in local and general leadership positions are referred to as “Sister” plus last name, though presidents of auxiliary organizations in the Church have sometimes been called “President.” While all of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve are sustained as “prophets seers and revelators,” only the Church president is ever referred to as “the Prophet.” Collectively, the General Authorities are often referred to as “the brethren.” In local Church settings, “brethren” refers to any men present such as in the common announcement, “Brethren, we need to have you stay after to put away chairs.” Between people of similar age, the terms “Brother” and “Sister” (plus their last name) are used today more often in more formal Church contexts such as announcing a speaker or calling on someone in a Sunday School class. It would be regarded as somewhat formal, but is by no means unheard of, to say something such as “excuse me, Brother” to get the attention of somebody whose name you don’t know. People of similar age who know each other rarely refer to each other as “Brother” and “Sister” during foyer chit-chat. While in the past the use of Brother among friends in horizontal age interactions was more common, today Brother and Sister are more common in vertical age interactions. Latter-day Saint children and teenagers will call adult Church members Brother or Sister plus their last name instead of Mr. or Mrs. plus last name at almost any occasion or context in or out of church. However, this practice will be altered in some social contexts. For example, an LDS teen who knows the same person as a Sunday School teacher and as a high school science teacher will likely say “Sister Jones” at church and “Miss Jones” (or “Mrs. Jones”) at school. Ironically perhaps, terms seemingly intended to emphasize socially lateral relationships are now primarily used to signify vertical relationships. In the early Church, several prominent brethren called each other, and were called by the general membership, “Brother” plus first name only, “Brother Joseph” and “Brother Brigham” being the most commonly recorded instances of this pattern. This tradition did not continue significantly past the late 1800s.

Conclusion This has not been a comprehensive analysis of all the folkloric aspects of LDS names and naming. More could be written, for example, about names of objects with special significance to Latter-day Saints, such as the Liahona, a compass that led Lehi and his family on their journey toward the Americas. Or we could note the Urim and Thummim, the sets of interpreters mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, also used by Joseph Smith to translate languages of which he had no previous knowledge, including the reformed Egyptian which when translated became the Book of Mormon. More could also be written about the names of congregational divisions: branch or ward for a single ecclesiastical jurisdiction; stake for a group of wards and/or branches; area for a group of many stakes. Those congregations worship in and meet for other occasions in buildings such as a chapel, for regular Sunday worship meetings, and a stake center (formerly stake house), used for stake meetings. Saints also use a recommend to “attend” or “go to”

92  Eric A. Eliason the temple, unlike Jews or Pentecostals who “go to temple.” This use of the definite article also occurs with other terms used with singular meanings within the culture, such as “the scriptures” (to mean the five canonical books of scripture in the Church: the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price), or the Sacrament, which refers to a single rite commemorating the Lord’s Supper, while the word ordinances generally refers to other priesthood administrations, such as baptisms or marriage sealings. While no work could keep up with the developments in, let alone catalogue the past of, the LDS tradition, the overview in this chapter has treated some key and particularly illuminating areas of the relationship of names to LDS folklore. Names and their interpretation are intricately woven deep in the fabric of LDS life. This holds true for Latter-day Saints’ most holy and sacred practices as well as their most mundane and everyday activities. While in many ways the folkloristics of LDS names is very similar to the way naming traditions work within other cultural groups, in other ways LDS names display features of distinctive Latter-day Saint beliefs, practices, and cultural history, such as Western colonization, emphasis on families, and the Book of Mormon. Special thanks is due Jennifer Jayne of the William A. Wilson Folklore Archive, who helped gather collected rumors of famous people’s LDS connections as well as other naming stories in LDS culture.

Notes 1 See Lowry Nelson, Mormon Village; and Hamilton, Nineteenth-Century Mormon Architecture, 28–31. For a recent and fascinating book that considers the cultural and religious context that formed the material aspects of LDS settlements, see Carter, Building Zion. 2 See, for example, Tingey, “Famous People and Mormonism”; and Allen, “Mormonism and Popular Culture.” Figures who commonly appear in these rumors include U2’s lead singer, Bono; Lionel Ritchie; Olympic Speed Skater Dan Jansen; Paul McCartney (who it’s said politely listened to a few missionary discussions); Kevin Costner (who shows up at LDS parties); Jimmy Stewart; Stone Roses’ lead singer Ian Brown, who allegedly went on a mission, suggesting the reason for the long gap between the band’s first and second albums (their album Second Coming and the song I am the Resurrection were particularly provocative to many LDS youth because they supposedly cryptically lauded orthodox LDS beliefs); Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin’s lead singer, whose father was supposedly an English stake president and was very disappointed Robert sold his soul to the devil); Robert Palmer (who was supposedly someone’s uncle’s missionary companion before becoming a rock star); Ronald Reagan (said to have wanted to join the Church but feared political consequences); Ricky Schroeder (who became interested in the Church during the filming of the Lonesome Dove miniseries; in this case, Ricky actually is a member of the Church); the puppeteer inside Barney the Dinosaur; Amy Grant (who is to have wanted to join as a teenager, but her parents forbade it); Billy Joel (who is to have only been prevented from joining the Church because of his then wife, Christie Brinkley); and Ernest Hemingway (who is supposed to have said that if he had his life to do over again, he would live on a ranch in Idaho Mormon country). For some unexplained reason, comedian Steve Martin is claimed to be continually showing up on television wearing a CTR (Choose the Right) ring. This has even spawned a counter rumor, just as factually elusive, that a

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  93 convert named Steve Martin, but not the Steve Martin, is the source of the confusion as to which Steve Martin joined the Church. Even Elvis has been part of this speculative fascination, supposedly showing real interest in the Church and marking up a Book of Mormon just before he died (see Stack, “Elder Elvis?”). But a follow-up investigation by Erekson pretty conclusively shows the reported claims to be untrue (see Erekson, “Elvis Has Left the Library”). 3 Doctrine and Covenants 1:30. 4 For Church membership growth, see “Growth of the Church.” 5 See Brigham Young University Folklore Archive Focused Field Project Collection, nos. 133, 315, 615, 1136, 1379, 1532, and 1690. 6 See Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, particularly their Etiological Myths and Legends Collection (5.8.1). 7 Thanks are due to my colleagues William G. Eggington, Dallin D. Oaks, and Paul Baltes for the original suggestion to write this chapter. 8 On the folkloristics of naming, see Baker, “Role of Folk Legends”; Baker, Study of Place Names; and Baker, “Namelore.” See also Nicolaisen, “Place-Name Legends”; and Nicolaisen, “Names and Narratives.” See also Duckert, “Place Nicknames”; Hand, “Onomastic Magic”; Mieder, “International Bibliography”; Richmond, “Ballad Place Names.” 9 For an introduction to LDS folklore, see Wilson, “Folklore”; Wilson, “Mormon Folklore”; and Wilson, “Folklore, a Mirror.” 10 For a general introduction to folklore studies, see Oring, Folk Groups and Folklore Genres; Toelken, Dynamics of Folklore; Georges and Jones, Folkloristics: An Introduction; Sims and Stephens, Living Folklore; McNeill, Folklore Rules; and Bronner, Folklore: The Basics. 11 Gladys Knight was baptized in August 1997. See Stack, “Mormon Convert Gladys Knight,” Salt Lake Tribune, B1; and Jones, “Gladys Knight Travels a ‘Different Road’.” See also the “Famous Mormons” website. 12 For examples of fieldwork techniques, see Lawless, Holy Women, Wholly Women; Rosaldo, Culture and Truth; Bruce Jackson, Fieldwork; Mould, Still, the Small Voice; and Gilman and Fenn, Handbook for Folklore and Ethnomusicology Fieldwork. 13 Meinig, “Mormon Culture Region.” 14 See also Lowell C. Bennion, “Meinig’s ‘Mormon Culture Region’ Revisited”; Lowell C. Bennion, “Saints of the Western States (1990)”; Francaviglia, “Mormon Landscape”; Stegner, Mormon Country; and Carter, Building Zion. 15 For background scholarship on Utah place names, see Van Cott, Utah Place Names; Richard H. Jackson, “Place Names of the Mormon West.” 16 Stegner, Gathering of Zion; Bennett, We’ll Find the Place; and Eliason, “Celebrating Zion.” 17 Hartley, “Mormons, Crickets, and Gulls.” 18 Abraham 3:2–18, especially verse 9 (in Pearl of Great Price). 19 Moses 7:18 (in Pearl of Great Price). 20 Doctrine & Covenants 101:18. 21 Ether 2:3 (in Book of Mormon). 22 On LDS cooperative enterprises, see Arrington et al., Building the City of God. 23 On the LDS struggle for statehood, see Alexander, Utah, the Right Place, 186–217. 24 Snow (Lyrics) and Root (Music), “In Our Lovely Deseret” (Hymn #307). 25 Hal Cannon, “Beehive in Utah Folk Art,” 7. 26 Fox, Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.0.2. 27 See Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 327, 305, and 280. Since 1868, for practical purposes the “Great” of the official name of “Great Salt Lake City” has been omitted. Provo, formerly “Fort Utah,” got its name from French trapper Etienne Proveau (known variously as Provost, Provot, Provaux, etc.), who first arrived in 1825. By the time LDS pioneers arrived, the area had come to be called “Proveau’s Hole” because of a skirmish involving Proveau, Indians, and several other whites. Elsewhere, in 1850, the General

94  Eric A. Eliason Assembly of Deseret changed the name of the city named “Brownsville” (after the founding Latter-day Saint settler, Captain James Brown), to “Ogden,” to honor Peter Skene Ogden, a brigade commander of the Hudson Bay Company. 28 Larsen, Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.3.3.1. 29 For Levan, see Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.10.3.1–5; and Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 225. 30 In recent years, there has been some momentum, because of historical and racial sensitivities, to put aside the Dixie nickname in southern Utah. For example, Dixie State University was renamed “Utah Tech University” in 2022, and Dixie Regional Medical Center was renamed as the “Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital” in 2021. 31 Moses 4:3; Revelation 12:7–9, 19:20, and 20:10. 32 Taggart, Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.3.4.3. 33 Taggart, Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.3.4.2. 34 Taggart, Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.3.4.1. 35 To many mountain westerners, “back East” starts at about the western edge of Kansas. 36 Alder, “Mormon Ward.” 37 See, for example, Doctrine & Covenants 68:25–26; 82:14; 101:21; 136:10; Isaiah 54:2 and 33:20. 38 See Henrichsen et al., “Scandinavian Influences.” 39 Hickman, Brigham’s Destroying Angel. 40 Irving, “Law of Adoption.” 41 Knight, Thomas Bullock Nauvoo Journal, 44–45. 42 Woodruff, “Law of Adoption,” 9. For more information on the development and historical change in the doctrine of adoption for relationships that were understood to extend beyond this life, see Stapley, “Adoptive Sealing Ritual in Mormonism.” 43 Compton, In Sacred Loneliness. 44 Derr (Eliza Roxcy Snow biographer), in discussion with the author, February 4, 2000. 45 Doctrine & Covenants 20:70. 46 Lang, Item no. 3 (1136: 16). 47 Faylor, Item no. 1 (1136: 14). 48 John Smith (pseudonym), Item no. 5 (1136: 18). 49 Jenson, “Giles, Henry Evans.” This story has become part of the LDS oral tradition of names. 50 Dobson, Item no. 8 (1136: 23). 51 Thomson, Item no. 16 (1136: 31). 52 Hawkins, Item no. 11 (1136: 26). 53 See Evans, “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming.” 54 See Ether, chapters 1–4, 6, and 12. 55 Reynolds, “Jaredites,” 282. 56 The Book of Mormon recounts that a certain Hagoth “went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship” and built other ships taking many people “into the west sea” where they “were never heard of more” (Alma 63:5–8). Many Latter-day Saints in the Pacific today claim ancestry through Hagoth’s people and thus connection to Book of Mormon peoples. 57 Alma 19:16–29. 58 Evans’ “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming” shows that “Joseph” was the 12th most popular name for boys in 1998 in Colorado and 26th in Utah. In a later year, 2012, it was the 32nd most popular name in Colorado, and 56th in Utah. By 2021, however, his data showed a reversal in the name’s relative popularity between the two states. It ranked lower in Colorado than in Utah, being in 71st and 57th places, respectively. 59 There are two good biographies on the life of Porter Rockwell. See Schindler, Orrin Porter Rockwell; and Dewey, Porter Rockwell: A Biography. 60 See data on its ranking and number of occurrences in Evans, “Contemporary Latterday Saint Naming.” 61 Fielding, Item no. 14 (1136, 29).

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  95 62 See Evans, “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming”; and Norton, “Composite LDS Given Names.” 63 See Norton, “Composite LDS Given Names.” 64 Perhaps the distinctive use of initials in General Authorities’ names may have also been influenced by the business world in which many General Authorities worked prior to their calling to serve in Church leadership. Andersen notes that initials are “sprinkled through the pages of …Who’s Who like so much gold dust.” See Andersen, Baby Boomer’s Name Game, 82. 65 See, for example, Roberts, Comprehensive History, vol. 4 (Century I), chapt. 101: 163– 64; Brooks, On the Mormon Frontier, 1: 170–73. 66 See Russell M. Nelson, “Correct Name of the Church.” 67 See “Style Guide.” 68 See Eliason, “Cultural Dynamics.” 69 Emily Cannon, “Scholar to Speak on LDS History.” 70 German scholar of religion, Christian Gellinek, pointed out to me that the term “mollig” in German has the same connotation as this usage of “molly” among Latter-day Saints. It may be that LDS missionaries returning from German-speaking countries first popularized this term. Another parallel usage and possible influence is the tradition in the United States Marine Corps of female recruits bestowing on a peer the “Molly Marine Award” for “best exemplifying esprit de corps and other military virtues.” See Da Cruz, Boot: The Inside Story, 302. 71 For more on missionary folklore and informal jargon, see Wilson, On Being Human. 72 Stickney, “‘Manassa Mauler’ to be Immortalized,” 26. 73 Shipps, Sojourner in the Promised Land, 264. 74 For examples of this usage, see Kirkham, New Witness for Christ, 2: 216. Roberts also made note of the terms “Brighamites” and “Morrisites” when quoting John H. Beadle. See Roberts, Comprehensive History, vol. 5, chapt. 123: 44 (fn): “[Beadle describes] the incident as if it were a battle between ‘Brighamites’ and ‘Morrisites’; and the sheriff’s posse is always referred to as the ‘Brighamite posse’” (See Beadle, Life in Utah, 417). 75 Jacob 1:13–14. Jacob also points out that Nephites came to use the term “Lamanite” to mean something like anyone who was not with the Nephites. This usage is similar to the way 19th century Latter-day Saints used the term “gentile.” 76 See, for example, an unsigned message from the editor (probably written at the direction of Joseph Smith by a scribe) of The Evening and the Morning Star, an official Latterday Saint publication: It is now more than four years since this church was organized in these last days, and though the conferences have always shown by their minutes, that they took no other name than the name of Christ, the church has, particularly abroad, been called ‘Mormonite.’ As the members of this church profess a belief in the truth of the book [sic] of Mormon, the world, either out of contempt and ridicule, or to distinguish us from others, have been very lavish in bestowing the title of ‘Mormonite.’ Others may call themselves by their own, or by other names, and have the privilege of wearing them without our changing them or attempting so to do; but WE do not accept the above title, nor shall we wear it as OUR name, though it may be lavished out upon US double to what it has heretofore been. (“Saints,” 317). 77 Walker, Wayward Saints; Anderson, For Christ Will Come Tomorrow. 78 See Shields, Divergent Paths of the Restoration. 79 See membership information for the Community of Christ at https://hyperleap.com/ topic/Community_of_Christ/Community_of_Christ_membership_and_field_ organization. Accessed August 16, 2022. 80 Winston, “Analysis: Fundamentalist Mormons.” On contemporary Mormon fundamentalism, see Bradley, Kidnapped from that Land; Altman and Ginat, Polygamous Families in Contemporary Society; and Janet Bennion, Women of Principle.

96  Eric A. Eliason 81 As quoted in Winston, “Analysis: Fundamentalist Mormons.” With regards to the various existing “fundamentalist” groups, the 19th century practice of using the “-ite” suffix sometimes continues to distinguish between “Musserite” (which split into “Allredite” and “Barlowite” groups), “Kingstonite,” “Collierite,” and “LeBaronite” clans of fundamentalists. Various members of each of these groups may or may not approve of these terms to refer to themselves. People generally feel more comfortable using the “-ite” suffix to refer to groups other than their own.

References Alder, Douglas D. “The Mormon Ward: Congregation or Community?” Journal of Mormon History 5 (1978): 61–78. Alexander, Thomas G. Utah, the Right Place: The Official Centennial History. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 1995. Allen, Loren. “Mormonism and Popular Culture.” Brigham Young University Folklore Archive Focused Project, no. 1434 (1997) [Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library]. Altman, Irwin, and Joseph Ginat. Polygamous Families in Contemporary Society. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996. Andersen, Christopher P. The Baby Boomer’s Name Game. New York: Putnam, 1987. Anderson, C. LeRoy. For Christ Will Come Tomorrow: The Saga of the Morrisites. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 1981. Arrington, Leonard J., Feramorz Y. Fox, and Dean L. May. Building the City of God: Community and Cooperation Among the Mormons. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976. Baker, Ronald L. “The Role of Folk Legends in Place-Name Research.” The Journal of American Folklore 85, no. 338 (Oct.–Dec., 1972): 367–73. ———. The Study of Place Names. Terre Haute, IN: Indiana Council of Teachers of English/ Hoosier Folklore Society, 1991. ———. “Namelore.” In American Folklore, edited by Brunvand, 501–02. Beadle, John H. Life in Utah. Philadelphia: National Publishing Company, 1870. Bennett, Richard E. We’ll Find the Place: The Mormon Exodus, 1846–1848. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997. Bennion, Janet. Women of Principle: Female Networking in Contemporary Mormon Polygyny. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Bennion, Lowell C. “Saints of the Western States (1990).” In Historical Atlas, edited by Brown et al., 128–29. ———. “Meinig’s ‘Mormon Culture Region’ Revisited.” Historical Geography 24, nos. 1 & 2 (1995): 22–33. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Bradley, Martha Sonntag. Kidnapped from That Land: The Government Raids on the Short Creek Polygamists. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1993. Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1 et passim [Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library], n.d. Brigham Young University Folklore Archive Focused Field Project Collection, nos. 133, 315, 615, 1136, 1379, 1532, and 1690 [Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library], n.d. Bronner, Simon J. Folklore: The Basics. London and New York: Routledge, 2017. Brooks, Juanita, ed. On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844–1861, 2 vols. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1964. Brown, S. Kent, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard H. Jackson, eds. Historical Atlas of Mormonism. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  97 Brunvand, Jan Harold, ed. American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing, 1996. Cannon, Emily. “Scholar to Speak on LDS History.” The Daily Universe, March 15, 2000, 5. Cannon, Hal. “The Beehive in Utah Folk Art.” Introduction to The Grand Beehive, 1–8. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1980. Carter, Thomas. Building Zion: The Material World of Mormon Settlement. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2015. Compton, Todd. In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997. Da Cruz, Daniel. Boot: The Inside Story of How a Few Good Men Became Today’s Marines. New York: St. Martins, 1987. Derr, Jill Mulvay. In discussion with Eric Eliason, February 4, 2000. Dewey, Richard Lloyd. Porter Rockwell: A Biography. New York: Paramount Books, 1986. Dobson, Julie, contributor. Item no. 8 in Snyder, “What’s in a Name?” 1136: 23. The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Duckert, Audrey R. “Place Nicknames.” Names 21, no. 3 (Sept. 1973): 153–60. Eliason, Eric A. “Celebrating Zion: Pioneers in Mormon Popular Historical Expression.” PhD diss., University of Texas, 1998. ———. “The Cultural Dynamics of Historical Self-Fashioning: Mormon Pioneer Nostalgia, American Culture, and the International Church.” Journal of Mormon History 28, no. 2 (Fall 2002): 139–73. Erekson, Keith A. “Elvis Has Left the Library: Identifying Forged Annotations in a Book of Mormon.” BYU Studies 57, no. 4 (2018): 51–77. Evans, Cleveland K. “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. “Famous Mormons.” Available at https://famousmormons.net Faylor, Cathryn, contributor. Item no. 1 in Snyder, “What’s in a Name?” 1136: 14. Fielding, Cecelia, contributor. Item no. 14 in Snyder, “What’s in a Name?” 1136: 29. Fox, Jonathan C., collector. Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.0.2, collected from Todd S. Mooney (1995) [Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library]. Francaviglia, Richard V. “The Mormon Landscape: Definition of an Image in the American West.” In Proceedings of the Association of American Geographers, edited by Fritz L. Kramer, 2: 59–61. 66th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, 1970. Georges, Robert A., and Michael Owen Jones. Folkloristics: An Introduction. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 1995. Gilman, Lisa, and John Fenn. Handbook for Folklore and Ethnomusicology Fieldwork. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 2019. “Growth of the Church.” Available at https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/topic/ church-growth. Accessed on Sept. 7, 2022. Hamilton, C. Mark. Nineteenth-Century Mormon Architecture and City Planning. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Hand, Wayland D. “Onomastic Magic in the Health, Sickness, and Death of Man.” Names 32, no. 1 (March 1984): 1–13. Hartley, William. “Mormons, Crickets, and Gulls: A New Look at an Old Story.” Utah Historical Quarterly 38, no. 3 (1970): 224–39. Hawkins, Carol Lee, contributor. Item no. 11 in Snyder, “What’s in a Name?” 1136: 26. Henrichsen, Lynn, George Bailey, Timothy Wright, and Jacob Huckaby. “Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al.

98  Eric A. Eliason Hickman, William A. Brigham’s Destroying Angel: Being the Life, Confession, and Startling Disclosures of the Notorious Bill Hickman, the Danite Chief of Utah, edited by John H. Beadle. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1904. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. Irving, Gordon. “The Law of Adoption: One Phase of the Development of the Mormon Concept of Salvation, 1830–1900.” BYU Studies 14, no. 3 (Spring 1974): 291–314. Jackson, Bruce. Fieldwork. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987. Jackson, Richard H. “Place Names of the Mormon West: Religion, Heritage, and Idiosyncrasy.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Jenson, Andrew. “Giles, Henry Evans.” In Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, compiled by Jenson, 2: 507. Jenson, Andrew. compiler. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901–36. Jones, Steve. “Gladys Knight Travels a ‘Different Road’.” USA Today, Dec. 10, 1998. Kirkham, Francis W. A New Witness for Christ in America: The Book of Mormon, vol. 2. Independence, Jackson County, MO: Press of Zion’s Printing and Publishing Co., 1951. Knight, Greg R., ed. Thomas Bullock Nauvoo Journal. Orem, UT: Grandin Book Co., 1994. Lang, Poiette Babbel, contributor. Item no. 3 in Snyder, “What’s in a Name?” 1136: 16. Larsen, Genevieve E., collector. Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.3.3.1, collected from Phil Eliason (1974) [Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library]. Lawless, Elaine J. Holy Women, Wholly Women: Sharing Ministries of Wholeness through Life Stories and Reciprocal Ethnography. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993. Ludlow, Daniel H., ed. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1992. McNeill, Lynne S. Folklore Rules: A Fun, Quick, and Useful Introduction to the Field of Academic Folklore Studies. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2013. Meinig, D. W. “The Mormon Culture Region: Strategies and Patterns in the Geography of the American West, 1847–1964.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 55, no. 2 (June 1965): 191–220. Mieder, Wolfgang. “International Bibliography of Explanatory Essays on Proverbs and Proverbial Expressions Containing Names.” Names 24, no. 4 (Dec. 1976): 253–304. Mould, Tom, ed. Still, the Small Voice: Narrative, Personal Revelation, and the Mormon Folk Tradition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2011. Nelson, Lowry. The Mormon Village: A Pattern and Technique of Land Settlement. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1952. Nelson, Russell M. “The Correct Name of the Church.” Ensign 48, no. 11 (2018): 87–89. Nicolaisen, W. F. H. “Place-Name Legends: An Onomastic Mythology.” Folklore 87, no. 2 (1976): 146–59. ———. “Names and Narratives.” The Journal of American Folklore 97, no. 385 (Sept. 1984): 259–72. Norton, Don E. “Composite LDS Given Names.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Oaks, Dallin D., Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson, eds. Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2023. Oring, Elliott, ed. Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: An Introduction. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 1986. The Pearl of Great Price. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Reynolds, George. “The Jaredites.” The Juvenile Instructor 27, no. 9 (May 1, 1892): 282–85.

Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore  99 Richmond, W. Edson. “Ballad Place Names.” The Journal of American Folklore 59, no. 3 (July–Sept. 1946): 263–67. Roberts, B. H. A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1976. Rosaldo, Renato. Culture and Truth: The Remaking of Social Analysis. Boston: Beacon Press, 1989. “The Saints.” The Evening and the Morning Star 2, no. 20 (May 1834): 317–19. Schindler, Harold. Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God, Son of Thunder. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1983. Shields, Steven L. Divergent Paths of the Restoration: A History of the Latter Day Saint Movement, 2nd ed. Nauvoo, IL: New Nauvoo Neighbor Press, 1975. Shipps, Jan. Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2000. Sims, Martha C., and Martine Stephens. Living Folklore: An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions, 2nd ed. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2011. Smith, John (pseudonym), contributor. Item no. 5 in Snyder, “What’s in a Name?” 1136: 18. Snow, Eliza R. (Lyrics), and George F. Root (Music). “In Our Lovely Deseret.” In Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hymn #307. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985. Snyder, Lu Ann. “‘What’s in a Name?’ Naming Stories in the Mormon Community.” Brigham Young University Folklore Archive Focused Field Project Collection, no. 1136 (1994) [Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library]. Stack, Peggy Fletcher. “Mormon Convert Gladys Knight has Entertained Presidents and Ambassadors, but Never Thought She would be in Salt Lake City … Singing for a Prophet.” The Salt Lake Tribune, B1, Nov. 1, 1998. ———. “Elder Elvis? Was the King Close to Converting to Mormon Faith.” The Salt Lake Tribune, July 14, 2001. Stapley, Jonathan A. “Adoptive Sealing Ritual in Mormonism.” Journal of Mormon History 37, no. 3 (2011): 53–117. Stegner, Wallace. Mormon Country, edited by Erskine Caldwell. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1942. ———. The Gathering of Zion: The Story of the Mormon Trail. Lincoln: The University of Nebraska Press, 1981. Stickney, W. H., Jr. “‘Manassa Mauler’ to be Immortalized with Statue in Hometown.” Houston Chronicle, July 30, 2000. “Style Guide—The Name of the Church” at https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ style-guide Taggart, Jan, collector. Brigham Young University Folklore Archive, no. 5.8.1.3.4.1 (collected from Horace Thackery—1980); 5.8.1.3.4.2 (collected from C. Jay Taggart—1980); and 5.8.1.3.4.3 (collected from Jay B. Taggart—1980) [Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library]. Thomson, Dennis L., contributor. Item no. 16 in Snyder, “What’s in a Name?” 1136: 31. Tingey, Brent. “Famous People and Mormonism.” Brigham Young University Folklore Archive Focused Project, no. 1163 (1994) [Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library]. Toelken, Barre. The Dynamics of Folklore. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 1996. Van Cott, John W. Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1990. Walker, Ronald W. Wayward Saints: The Godbeites and Brigham Young. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998.

100  Eric A. Eliason Wilson, William A. On Being Human: The Folklore of Mormon Missionaries. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 1981. ———. “Mormon Folklore: Cut from the Marrow of Everyday Experience.” BYU Studies 33, no. 3 (1993): 521–40. ———. “Folklore, a Mirror for What? Reflections of a Mormon Folklorist.” Western Folklore 54, no. 1 (1995): 13–21. ———. “Folklore.” In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Ludlow, 2: 518–20. Winston, Kimberly. “Analysis: Fundamentalist Mormons Stress Polygamy Above All.” USA Today, April 17, 2008. Woodruff, Wilford. “The Law of Adoption.” Deseret Evening News, April 14, 1894, 9.

5 Composite LDS Given Names Don E. Norton

As early as 1919, H. L. Mencken remarked on the peculiarity of given names among the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, citing common Book of Mormon names (Nephi, Lehi, Moroni, etc.) as well as “loans from afar,” as he calls them, brought to the community by immigrants and missionaries serving in foreign lands.1 He also lists some other names that I think are representative of a phenomenon I will call composite names: “Filna, WaNeta, Janell and Myldreth for girls; Legene, Rondell, La Mar and Wildis for boys, and LaVon and LaVerne for both sexes.”2 This chapter explores some traditional naming practices within the LDS community, describing a common pattern found in many LDS names given during the 20th century.3 I myself became consciously aware of the composite naming practice when in the early 1970s a student in my Usage class, Geraldine LaDue, expressed surprise when others began calling her Gerela, a combination of the parts of her first and last name.4 I set her to investigating the impulse that led people to so label her. Geraldine’s report, though preliminary, has since proved remarkably accurate in its general observations. The “name game,” as she calls it, became common by the 1880s in the area around Salt Lake City5 and has continued since throughout LDS culture, though more commonly in rural areas or small towns. In addition to a prefix-suffix pattern, LaDue identified two other practices, not unique to Latterday Saints, but nevertheless common among them. She called the first of these practices “combination”6 or blended names—parts of the names of parents or grandparents, blended to create a new name, as in the following examples she provides: Earl and Mae = Earmae Jay and Linda = Jaylynn Mary and Dee = Meridee Terry and Lee = Teralee Valerie and Roy = ValRoy Wayne and Evetta = WaNetta Flora and Linda = Florinda Joanne and Lynn = Jolyn Beverly and Ella = Bevla7 DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-6

102  Don E. Norton LaDue also identifies a Sheldon who married a woman by the name of LaWynn, whose parents were Laura and Winslow; the couple named two of their girls Shelyn and LaDawn.8 An informant reports that she barely escaped the name Donalyn, from parents Don and Evelyn. The same informant cites a family in the Church, from Kaneohe, Hawaii, whose children were all given composite names: ElRay, DeAnn, ReNell, JoLee, LeRoy, DeLyn, LaNae, and CoLet (it’s notable that although my informant has retained the children’s names in memory for decades, she does not remember the parents’ names). The other pattern is feminization, adding a feminine ending to a male (usually the father’s) name: Alanea, Boydene, Chadra, Clyda/Clydia, Davida, Earlene, Ellieta, Joalina, Utahna, etc.9 Over the years, scholars and amateurs have been fascinated by the two-part name phenomenon. Wes and Cari Clark, for example, have posted a large collection of unusual names, which they call “The Original Utah Baby Namer.”10 Within their collection are many composite names. Some years ago, several student researchers11 and I began more systematic investigations into these naming patterns. Similar to a strategy that LaDue had employed, we examined the names of Brigham Young University (BYU) staff and faculty, which yielded the names in Table 5.1. A list such as this is helpful in defining the kinds of names we were looking for.12 Some names are commonly spelled as one word, and they tend to be composed of one or two bound forms—meaning, word parts that ordinarily would not stand alone as a name, which we can, for our purposes here, call “bound morphemes.” Some two-word names (two free morphemes—word parts that can stand alone as independent names) might be added to the list, many of which could be spelled as a single word. People with these names often prefer to be called by both together: Mary Lynn, Rose Lee, Nancy Ann, Donna Kay, etc.; males often use initials: JT (Joseph Tyler), KC (Kevin Cecil), etc.

Table 5.1  Some Given Names of BYU Faculty and Staff Audrae Cardell Chyleen DeAnna Delynne DeMoyne Denan Devere Donlu Donnay Gaelyn Gaylene Genette Geralyn Irmaleda Janalee Janielle

Jearlene Jolene JoMae Kayleen Ladonna LaNae Lanyle LaRae LaRita LaVar LaVay LaVell LeGrande LuDene MaraDee Marjean Marjo

Marlae MarLaine Meldon Meshelle Monelynn Pennilee Philroy Raylene ReVell Ronalee Sheralee Terilee ValJo VerDon Vernetta Vielane

Composite LDS Given Names  103 Table 5.2  Some Composite Names from History and Literature Aldora Alvina Annabel Arlana Arnona Belinda Benroy Cordell Dena/Denna Denise Deora/Derora Dionysos Drusilla Durene Durward

Efrata Efrona Elmark ElRay/ElRey Elvira Elynn Eulalie Florabel Florella Floryn Idelle Joella La(e)titia LaRue Lavinia

Lenora/Lenore Leora Leorone Leroy/LeRoy Levona/Livona Louella/Luella Lovisa Malvina Myrtilla Renee Selwyn Tabitha Talmice Vardina

A notable feature of the BYU list is that most of the names are of staff (less likely to have advanced degrees) rather than faculty; and that the males, at least (I am personally acquainted with some of them), are older. Age and rural or small-town origins seem to be implied. In an effort to assess the distinctive nature of this composite name phenomenon within the LDS community, we consulted several books of given names (many exist). We found many that fit the pattern but sound more familiar because they correspond to names in history and literature over the centuries, as we can see in Table 5.2. Many such names are common names in foreign languages: Latin, Greek, Celtic, Scots-Irish, etc. For example, Lovisa is Swedish; Malvina is Celtic; Leorone is Hebrew; Tabitha is Aramaic; Elmark is Frisian. Lavinia, the name of one of my aunts, is Latin. LaRue is French for “the street” (I have a neighbor, born and raised in Manti, Utah, whose name is LuRae, sort of the reverse of LaRue). Although this composite name phenomenon exists beyond the Latter-day Saint community, our preliminary data, as well as our intuitions, suggested that this was a prominent feature of LDS naming patterns, which we wanted to explore further. My three research assistants and I thus looked for additional LDS name data. In her earlier work, Geraldine LaDue relied heavily on phone books as her guide to the spectrum of names she cites. Telephone books in Latter-day Saint communities were replete with such names, but this source did little to reveal whether the names were exclusively LDS in origin (a challenge with almost any publicly accessible data) or when the names were given. Moreover, in this or any other record, we had the difficulty of knowing whether names belonged to converts, whose names, given before they became members of the Church, weren’t reflective of LDS culture. We considered using other records, but they each had deficiencies for our purposes. City directories, for example, would list all family members, but were available only for large towns, which would have a smaller proportion of the distinctive composite pattern. Potentially the most valuable source would have

104  Don E. Norton been Latter-day Saint ward (congregation) records, and we did focus for several weeks on church records of a few selected communities throughout the state. We found, however, that these records were uneven in content, organization, and especially handwriting. One very valuable source turned out to be census records of the early 20th century. We looked at the census data for the following Utah communities: Smithfield, Monroe, Layton, Hurricane, Monticello-Blanding, Price, and Corinne (this latter community as a point of comparison because it was founded as a nonLDS community), as well as Salt Lake City. Besides focusing on specific communities in the state of Utah, one of my student researchers, Cami Cottrell, looked at census records in two comparable Colorado communities. We hypothesized that the Utah patterns might be characteristic of other Western agricultural, frontier communities, but this was not evident in the data she examined. The phenomenon appears to be largely, though perhaps not exclusively, Latter-day Saint. In addition to the previously mentioned records, we looked at a national database showing the most common names from Social Security Card applications. This was consulted to get a sense of not only whether the composite naming really was unique to the LDS community but also the extent to which composite names occurred nationwide in the decades in which they became common in Latter-day Saint communities. The Social Security data were classified according to birth date by decade, beginning in 1900.13 Although the data did not include locales for the various names, and Utah would have been included in the data, the data nonetheless provide a general sense about the national frequency of certain names. In these data, we identified what might qualify as composite names. For example, of those males and females born from 1900 to 1910, we found 909 Lavernes, 191 Laverns, 280 Delmars, 1889 Elnoras, 653 Idellas, and 476 Lavinas. In later decades, we found Lavernas, Ardells, Elveras, Luvenias, Elroys, Lawandas, and Vernels. Interestingly enough, the data also show that beginning in the 1970s a rising phenomenon of unusual names and spellings became voguish. Based on our limited examination of Social Security data, it does not appear that composite LDS naming is a unique phenomenon, but it is still an important and noticeable feature that has been common for many years in the LDS community. We shall now look at some of the specific types of combinations in composite naming, as well as some prefixes and suffixes that can feed into it. The pattern for generating many composite LDS names commonly consists of one of these major combinations: a prefix joined to a suffix, such as Lavee, Lamoyne, or Darla; either a prefix, suffix, or both joined to a name root, as in LuAnn, Gaylene, Vernetta, or Ladawna; or a combination of two name roots (sometimes blended), such as Marybeth or PhilRoy. The prefixes or suffixes involved in the composites may be such forms as those contained in Tables 5.3–5.5, evident from the Social Security data as well as other sources. I do not offer a list of female name suffixes. Some are similar to male suffixes (-dan, -dene, -fonn, -gene, -kay, -loy, -lynn, etc.); others are common within the larger US culture (-a, -ann(e), -ene, -da, -dee, -ell, -et(t)a, -ett(e), -ia, -la, -lynne, -lee, -mae, -rae, etc.); still others are highly idiosyncratic and thus very limited in their frequency. Nor would it be practical here to provide a list of name roots.

Composite LDS Given Names  105 Table 5.3  Male Prefixes ArAraAureBarBeBelBenBerBoyBraeBryBryceBurByCaiCalCar-

ChalChavCleConCreeDaDanDarDaxDayDe-/De’DeeDel-/DellDorDuDurE-

EdElErFonGarGayGerHalHayJ’Ja-/Ja’JayJerJoK-/K’KaKay-

L’LaLeLuLyM’MarMoyMurNaO-/O’R’RanRayReRexRo-

RoyRuSeShanShayTayTraTre-/TreyTruTyVaVarVayVerVonWyWyn-

Table 5.4  Male Suffixes -bert -cal -con -dan -dean -dee -del/-dell -den -dene -don -donis -dore -earl -farr

-fel/-fell -fonn -ford -foy -gene -jal -jayn -juan -Kay -L -lan -lance -land -layne

-leal -lee -lell -len -lon -loss -loy -lyn/-lynn -mar -max -mon -mond -mont/-monte -moyne

-nante -nar -nell -orr -rae/-ray -ralph -rell -resse -roi/-roy -royd -shawn -stan -tay -teen

-tell -thel -val/-vall -van -var -vee -vel/-velle -ven -verd/-verde -vere -verl -vern -vil/-ville -von

Table 5.5  Female Prefixes AdaAdeAlAlaAleAliAmAmaAmeAmiAnAnaAndAng-

DoDonDorDreDuDwEarEbEdElEleEliEllaElm-

KieKimKirKlisKlyKorKrisKyKymL’LaLarLauLaur-

O’OakOdOlOmOnaOndOrPamParPatPerPhilPre-

SunSyTaTahTalTamTanTarTauTavTayTeTeaTee(Continued)

106  Don E. Norton Table 5.5  (Continued) AniAnnAnnaAnneAnniArlArnArvBarBirBreBriBrinBryBurCachCalCamCandCaraCareCarlCaroCatCayCelChalChanCharChasChelCherChlorChrisChyCleCloCorCyD’DaDalDanDarDawDayDeDeaDeeDelDenDevDi-

ElzEriErlErvEvaEveFaFawFayFerFloFlorFranGaeGarGayGeGenGlenGlorHarHayHeaHerHilHonHyIaIdaIlaIleIreIvaIveKaKaeKaiKalKamKarKaraKariKarlKasKatKayKeeKelKenKerKeraKeriKi-

LavLeLeaLeeLenLevLinLoaLonLonaLorLouLovLuLuaLyn-/LynnLyrM’MacMadMaeMagMahMalMandMarMariMarkMarvMaryMauMavMayMcMelMelvMerMerriMikMinMistMonMyMyrNaNadNarNatNedNelNetNinNor-

PryQuinR’RaRaeRaiRalRamRavRayReReaReeRehReiRheRichRinRoRonRosRuRueRySalSamSanSaySeaSenSerShaShaeShalShamShanShandSharShaunShawnShaySheShelSherShiShilShirShonShySkySoStaSu-

TempTenTerThaTheoTiaTimToTonTreTresTrishTruTyU-/U’UdUlUnUtVaVadValVanVarVeVenVerVeraVernViVilVinVonVyWaWalWanWenWiWin-/Winn-/WynWyXaXiZaZanZeaZeeZelZenZerZionZolZon-

Composite LDS Given Names  107 The composite naming pattern seems quite consistent across Latter-day Saint settlements in Utah, with two exceptions, though we didn’t look closely at the data from the separate communities we targeted. First, in the larger towns (Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden), the practice waned as the decades passed, probably owing to more contact with larger naming communities outside of Utah. Second, in communities where the populations consisted largely of recent immigrants, old-country names often persisted, and the trend to use composite names took hold more slowly. Third-generation descendants of immigrants appear to have received mostly common English names. The causes behind the composite LDS names, where they do exist, is unclear. At one point, we hypothesized that the stimulus to create the composite names might have come from a foreign influence, but that does not seem to be the case, and we thus speculated that other forces initiated the phenomenon. A couple of my colleagues with background in American cultural history have called attention to an American preoccupation with French culture in the late 19th century. The large numbers of names with the prefixes Le-, La-, De-, and Du- may signal such an influence. I suspect, however, that these arose from the prefixes of common, earlier names such as LaRue, Leroy, Lavonne, Laverna, Ladonna, Lamar, Lavada, Lavern(e), Lafayette, LaNae, and Dewitt. Other common foreign language prefixes that were perhaps a minor contributing force, but not a major one, include Del(Delmer, Delmas) and El- (Elroy, Eldora, Eldon, Elbert, Elvera). Another frequently mentioned theory is that in some communities, especially Scandinavian ones, where so many residents carried the same last name (Petersen, Johnson, Sorensen, etc.), parents chose distinctive names to distinguish their children. Woodruff Thompson, formerly of the BYU English faculty, often lectured on the common practice of Sanpete County, Utah, of assigning nicknames to these immigrants; when there are 10 John Johnsons, or 15 Peter Petersens, in the town, you have to distinguish them somehow.14 Mansfield attributes a variety of causes to the distinctiveness of LDS naming.15 But she ascribes great, though not primary, importance to “a strong desire to be unique,” which she sees as particularly characteristic of the “cultural homogeneity of Latter-day Saints in Utah.”16 This desire for individual uniqueness may play out, however, within a larger cultural dynamic. The idea of setting a child apart with a distinctive name within a culture sharing a common identity, especially one that perceives itself as clearly different from surrounding cultures, perhaps provides a strong rationale for unique names. This is essentially the hypothesis LaDue advanced more than fifty years ago. The same phenomenon among a minor part of the population has occurred at times in the Bible Belt, in other areas of the South, and among African-Americans.17 A humorous example of the need for distinct names within the local community is evident in an Internet parody that circulated during a recent US census. The questionnaire, to be used in the rural South, invited the informant to identify how many residents were named Billy Bob. The persistence of composite names, though appearing to decline in the last few decades, has been impressive. That the composite names in rural communities should persist for so long may seem unusual, yet parallel patterns exist in many

108  Don E. Norton distinctive and isolated communities. In a separate, though analogous, situation, some scholars of dialects have predicted that local dialects will disappear, whereas there is good evidence that in many cases dialects are diverging and intensifying in various minority communities. The intent is to insulate and preserve traditional community values. So long as Latter-day Saint communities, especially those that are geographically remote, feel that their identities are in some way in jeopardy, they will find a way to continue to distinguish themselves. I think this accounts for the rise, spread, and persistence of the use of composite names. But composite names have not been the only expression of LDS distinctiveness in naming. A common phenomenon of recent decades is the proliferation of spelling variants of traditional names,18 for reasons that perhaps parallel the forces that gave rise to the creation of composite names more than a century ago. One registry of given female names in Utah for the year 1997 lists many variants of the traditional surname and now given name, McKenzie, including, but not limited to, the names in Table 5.6.19 For the same year (1997), spelling variants of “Cheyenne” in Utah included: Cheyanne, Sheyenne, Cheyann, Chyanne, Shiann, Shianne, Shyenne, Chyenne, and Chyann. Many other names in the 1997 registry, both male and female, display the same kind of broad range in spelling variations. Other unusual names seem to have resulted from spontaneous coinages, either not displaying an identifiable pattern or integrating only one part of a composite name pattern. In these cases, it would seem that families have stretched their imaginations to make sure that each child receives a unique moniker. LaDue cites such examples as a set of twins named Clel and Arletta; another Utah mother named her children LaFonda, Lavohone, and Venda; there’s a Utah family with children Cerreptia, Ciantha, Lamina, Cortha, Medora, and Verda. LaDue also cites Effa, Loa, Teral, Thuroa, and Trilma.20 More recently, Mansfield has also called attention to the LDS phenomenon of “theme naming,” which she identifies as “personal names within a family that all follow the same theme.” These could be, for example, names that all begin with the same letter.21 She notes that this kind of naming “is not exclusive to Mormons, though perhaps it is more striking when viewed among Mormons” because of “the higher than average family size.”22 Thus, it appears that as the composite names have declined, the impulse to be innovative and distinctive has taken on new, yet also widespread, turns, certainly in the LDS community. Table 5.6  Some Variant Spellings of McKenzie for Utah Girls Born in 1997 Makinzie McKensie McKenzy McKenzi Mikenzie Mykenzie Mackensie

Mackenzee Mackenzy Mackinze Makensie Makenzee Mackenzi Makenzy

McKenzee McKency McKinsey Meckenzy Mekenzie Mickenzie Mykenze

Composite LDS Given Names  109

Notes 1 Mencken, American Language, 632. 2 Ibid., 632. Mencken cites as his source for these latter names a Mrs. George Lucas, of Ogden, Utah. 3 For a discussion of empirical data for more recent LDS naming patterns and practices, see Evans, “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming.” 4 LaDue, “Analysis of Research,” 50. 5 Ibid., 50. 6 Ibid., 49. 7 Ibid., 49, 51. 8 Ibid., 50. LaDue mistakenly reports the spelling of this name as “LaDon.” 9 Ibid., 49–51. 10 Clark and Clark, “Original Utah Baby Namer.” 11 Jeremy Meacham, Will Shakespeare, and Cami Cottrell. 12 In my discussion of these names, I will not be considering feminized male names. 13 “Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications.” See also “Top Names of the 1900s.” 14 See Henrichsen et al., “Scandinavian Influences.” 15 Mansfield, “‘It’s Wraylynn’,” 69. In her thesis, Mansfield refers to an earlier draft of this paper. 16 Mansfield, “‘It’s Wraylynn’,” 38, 67–69. 17 See Mencken, American Language, 627–32, which has noted the African-American population’s preference for unusual names, even in the early 20th century. 18 For humorous online videos showing examples of unusual and relatively recent Utah names, including some with very distinctive spellings, see Utah Names https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=BfIehCrO4Zs and Utah Names Part 2: Boy Names https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXPrtJKPmB0&t=0s. Accessed August 19, 2022. 19 The editors have the printed copies of the dataset from July 16, 1998, showing the variants of McKenzie, but the data have since been removed from the web, presumably to protect the privacy of those people whose name is the only occurrence of a variant. 20 LaDue, “Analysis of Research,” 50. 21 Mansfield, “‘It’s Wraylynn’,” 17–18. 22 Ibid., 47–48.

References “Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications—National Data.” Available at https:// catalog.data.gov/dataset/baby-names-from-social-security-card-applications-­nationaldata. Accessed August 19, 2022. Clark, Wes, and Cari B. Clark. “The Original Utah Baby Namer,” 2017. Available at http:// utahbabynamer.blogspot.com/2017/06/front-page.html. Accessed August 19, 2022. Evans, Cleveland K. “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. Henrichsen, Lynn, George Bailey, Timothy Wright, and Jacob Huckaby. “Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms in Utah.” In Perspectives, edited by Oaks et al. LaDue, Geraldine. “An Analysis of Research Concerning Naming Patterns in the Mormon Community.” In Conference on the Language of the Mormons, 49–52. Provo, UT: Language Research Center, Brigham Young University, 1974. Mansfield, Jennifer R. “‘It’s Wraylynn—with a W’: Distinctive Mormon Naming Practices.” Unpublished master’s thesis, Utah State University, 2012. Available at https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2401&context=etd. Accessed August 19, 2022.

110  Don E. Norton Mencken, H. L. The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States, 4th ed., edited by Raven I. McDavid, Jr. New York: Knopf, 1963. Oaks, Dallin D., Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson, eds. Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2023. “Top Names of the 1900s.” Available at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/ names1900s.html. Accessed August 19, 2022.

6 Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming Cleveland K. Evans

Note: This chapter consists of three parts, each part having been written at separate times and covering different time periods.

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming. Part I (1982–98) In 1996, Wes and Cari Clark of Springfield, Virginia, began an internet website called The Utah Baby Namer.1 The Clarks claim that when they moved to the Washington, D.C. area from Utah, they noticed that they could identify many persons from an LDS Utah background by their first names. Their contention is that invented names are more common among members of the Church in Utah (and surrounding states) than they are in the rest of the United States, and that names like Odonna, Veradeane, KDell, Noy, and Hariella are distinctively LDS.2 Artax, Brighaminie, Najestica, Casualeen, and Truthanne are among the hundreds of Utah LDS names they’ve collected on their website.3 The Clarks obviously hit a nerve on the Worldwide Web, because by June 6, 2001 over 353,000 visits had been made to their site. But are the Clarks correct in their theory? Are given names in Utah more inventive than those in other parts of the country in a way that reflects the distinctive culture of the Latter-day Saints? This chapter makes a preliminary attempt to answer that question by comparing two sets of naming pattern data in the states of Utah and Colorado, collected sixteen years apart (1982–98). Though Utah names could have been compared with those in the entire rest of the United States, it was decided to compare them with Colorado to make it more likely that any differences found could be attributed to LDS culture rather than to a more general “Western” or “Rocky Mountain” culture. Colorado is the ideal comparison state, for it has the lowest percentage of Church members (2.7%) of any of the states bordering Utah (where 76.1% of the population is LDS).4 The basic data for this analysis was provided by the state health departments of Colorado and Utah, and consisted of alphabetical records of the first names given to all children in those states in 1982, 1990, and 1998. This of course only allows for conclusions about naming patterns in the late 20th century, and much of the Clarks’ thesis deals with names given many years before 1982. But it will give us a start at discovering what, if anything, was distinctive about given names in Utah in the last two decades of the 20th century. DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-7

112  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.1  Percentages of Births Accounted for by the Top Names by Year State and Year Males Colorado 1982 Utah 1982 Colorado 1990 Utah 1990 Colorado 1998 Utah 1998 Females Colorado 1982 Utah 1982 Colorado 1990 Utah 1990 Colorado 1998 Utah 1998

#1 Name

Top 10

Top 50

3.3% 2.8% 3.3% 2.5% 1.8% 2.0%

23.2% 19.9% 20.7% 17.8% 13.7% 14.1%

61.6% 58.1% 57.4% 53.1% 43.2% 44.1%

3.1% 2.6% 2.4% 2.7% 1.4% 1.6%

19.0% 16.8% 17.3% 16.3% 11.8% 13.7%

48.0% 47.9% 46.5% 44.7% 37.3% 41.6%

Percentages of Children Given the Most Common Names There are of course several different ways to answer the question of whether or not Utah names are more unusual than those in Colorado. At the most basic statistical level, one can look at the percentage of children receiving the most popular names in each state during the three examined years. These figures are shown in Table 6.1. Between 1982 and 1998, the percentage of children given the most popular names decreased in both states, paralleling national trends.5 But in comparing the two states, we have mixed evidence. In 1982 and 1990, it looks like the average male child born in Utah had a more unusual name than the average male child born in Colorado (as is the case with female children born in 1982), but by 1998 this situation had reversed, with Colorado having the smaller percentage of babies given the most popular names. Immigration and increased ethnic diversity in Colorado during the 1990s may be the reason (Note that Jose and Luis make the Top 50 list for Colorado boys born in 1998). But this still leaves the question unclear about whether or not Utah names are more unusual than Colorado ones. Differences in Names Commonly Used Another way to investigate this question is to look at the differences between the names most commonly given in the two states. Tables 6.2 through 6.7 show the most common names given to infants born in Utah during the three sample years. In examining this data, it seems that the distinctiveness of Utah names may have been exaggerated. The popular names in Utah and Colorado during the 1980s and 1990s were quite similar. In 1982, every male name among the 50 most common in either state was among the 100 most common in the other one (though Spencer, #51 in Utah, was only #161 in Colorado). There were no female names in Utah’s top 50 that were not in Colorado’s top 100, and only one (Lauren) in Colorado’s top 50 failed to reach the top 100 in Utah. The great majority of those born in either state in 1982 wouldn’t have found their names to be out of place in the other.

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  113 Table 6.2  Most Common Names of Males Born in Colorado and Utah, 1982 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Michael Christopher Matthew Joshua David Jason Daniel Brian Justin John James Ryan Robert Nicholas Joseph Jonathan Andrew Steven Sean Aaron Brandon Eric Jeffrey Adam Jeremy William Anthony Benjamin Jared Jesse Mark Travis Nathan Richard Jacob Scott Thomas Dustin Timothy Kevin Zachary Derek Paul Tyler Patrick Charles Kyle Chad Gregory Kenneth

935 905 862 673 556 547 536 519 490 489 483 467 437 435 409 385 384 372 354 352 339 329 319 310 304 294 267 251 239 239 238 232 231 225 223 220 214 208 207 204 198 196 176 165 164 162 145 139 134 127

Michael Christopher Matthew Joshua David Jason Daniel Ryan Brandon Brian Steven John Justin Robert James Jeffrey Jonathan Tyler Eric Andrew Jacob Nathan Adam Benjamin Jeremy Jared Nicholas Joseph Scott Sean Dustin Aaron Cody Mark Richard William Kevin Thomas Jesse Chad Derek Timothy Travis Casey Kyle Cory Anthony Brett Zachary Bradley

622 562 487 465 419 384 377 377 356 345 318 316 314 314 305 301 277 274 269 261 259 257 255 251 242 239 222 219 211 207 207 201 190 185 175 171 170 164 160 157 149 147 146 136 134 131 124 123 121 102 (Continued)

114  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.2  (Continued) Colorado

51 52 53 54 55

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Phillip Corey Cody Jeremiah Nathaniel

123 122 116 110 108

Spencer Jordan Paul Tyson Trevor

100 99 93 91 89

Table 6.3  Most Common Names of Males Born in Colorado and Utah, 1990 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Christopher Michael Joshua Matthew Andrew Nicholas Ryan Zachary David Kyle Tyler Justin Steven Daniel James John Jonathan Joseph Eric Jacob Anthony Brandon Cody Robert Jordan Alexander Sean Aaron Benjamin Brian Kevin William Adam Thomas Jeffrey Nathan Derek

889 828 608 594 508 503 452 441 405 397 390 375 369 365 355 347 343 333 331 329 313 309 308 301 276 275 273 269 261 247 237 235 215 209 207 194 188

Michael Joshua Matthew Tyler Christopher Zachary Jordan Jacob Nicholas David Andrew Justin Austin Steven Daniel Ryan Cody Kyle James Taylor Eric Nathan John Robert Brian Cameron Jonathan Trevor Colton Joseph Brandon Sean Benjamin Derek Anthony Jason Spencer

472 413 348 340 330 329 328 276 267 266 258 240 231 230 227 227 220 209 198 198 191 189 185 181 169 167 159 159 158 158 157 155 154 153 152 152 144 (Continued)

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  115 Table 6.3  (Continued) Colorado

38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Jesse Timothy Samuel Patrick Corey Jeremy Travis Jason Cameron Richard Jared Taylor Dylan Scott Mark Austin Dustin Charles

175 174 173 171 166 164 164 161 160 153 152 144 140 136 135 134 132 129

Thomas Aaron Jared Kevin William Jeffrey Alexander Travis Casey Tyson Samuel Skyler Adam Jesse Garrett Scott Corey Chase

143 142 141 138 132 131 128 128 125 121 118 118 117 114 112 111 109 107

Table 6.4  Most Common Names of Males Born in Colorado and Utah, 1998 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Jacob Michael Nicholas Matthew Joshua Tyler Zachary Brandon Daniel Austin Christopher Joseph Jonathan Andrew Ryan Dylan Alexander John David Anthony William Kyle Samuel James

557 509 459 411 396 394 378 377 355 349 338 337 331 330 325 318 317 293 283 275 274 258 256 244

Jacob Joshua Tyler Austin Zachary Michael Kaden Matthew Nathan Andrew Nicholas Brayden Jordan Dylan Benjamin Caleb Connor Brandon Hunter Samuel Jaden Ethan Daniel Cameron

483 399 350 341 335 296 291 291 270 266 258 256 235 226 217 200 213 208 208 204 203 201 199 197 (Continued)

116  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.4  (Continued) Colorado

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Benjamin Christian Cody Connor Justin Jose Jordan Noah Isaiah Nathan Eric Cameron Brian Devin Robert Caleb Ethan Tristan Aaron Sean Jared Thomas Steven Adam Logan Hunter Jack Isaac Dominic Luis Kevin

240 224 220 218 213 208 206 202 200 198 197 194 191 178 178 172 172 165 164 163 160 158 155 151 148 146 145 144 143 139 138

Christopher Joseph Ryan Christian Jackson Alexander Spencer Tanner Colton Jonathan William David James Cody Justin Kyle Anthony Jared Taylor Isaac Eric Mason Thomas John Noah Riley Dallin Logan Brian Trevor Parker

194 190 188 187 181 178 177 177 174 171 151 150 146 145 145 144 143 143 143 138 133 127 127 125 125 125 124 123 120 119 117

Table 6.5  Most Common Names of Females Born in Colorado and Utah, 1982 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Jennifer Sarah Jessica Amanda Nicole Katherine Stephanie Crystal Lindsay

828 779 662 510 473 397 384 374 363

Jennifer Sarah Jessica Ashley Lindsay Amanda Melissa Amber Nicole

561 428 395 351 343 312 311 295 277 (Continued)

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  117 Table 6.5  (Continued) Colorado

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Melissa Michelle Elizabeth Rebecca Christina Amy Kristen Amber Heather Rachel Jamie Kelly Erin Emily Megan Tiffany Laura Andrea Angela Ashley Kimberly Brandi Erica Lisa Danielle Alicia Shannon Julie Mary Lauren Cassandra Christy Courtney Brittany Katie April Tara Stacy Samantha Natalie Allison Candice Desiree Anna Vanessa Christine

355 326 312 305 296 292 289 288 264 262 261 261 249 238 235 221 215 210 203 197 197 182 176 170 164 148 144 138 132 131 129 128 128 126 125 121 121 118 117 115 114 114 113 111 103 102

Tiffany Emily Jamie Amy Brittany Stephanie Rachel Rebecca Heather Crystal Megan Michelle Natalie Angela Katherine Kimberly Elizabeth Kristen Andrea Heidi Katie Kristy Julie Erin Brandy Christina Stacy Alicia Brooke Lisa Kelly Allison Chelsea Candice Laura Mary Holly Lacey Danielle Tara April Melanie Carrie Shannon Jenny Courtney

277 275 254 253 253 253 251 230 229 228 210 207 207 198 190 185 171 168 150 149 147 145 138 134 132 128 128 125 125 124 122 121 119 117 108 107 106 105 100 99 96 95 91 86 84 79

118  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.6  Most Common Names of Females Born in Colorado and Utah, 1990 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Brittany Ashley Jessica Sarah Amanda Megan Caitlin Katherine Samantha Nicole Stephanie Kayla Jennifer Lauren Rachel Elizabeth Emily Chelsea Brianna Hannah Kelsey Alyssa Lindsey Rebecca Courtney Danielle Christina Amber Crystal Kelly Erica Melissa Kristen Michelle Alicia Jamie Jordan Allison Cassandra Heather Alexandra Taylor Amy Tiffany Erin Laura Jasmine Kimberly Andrea Anna

629 607 576 503 475 391 344 330 327 326 311 310 293 292 289 276 275 264 250 232 227 224 222 218 203 201 198 183 174 173 170 167 159 157 151 153 149 147 145 145 139 139 138 134 127 127 122 121 113 112

Jessica Ashley Brittany Sarah Megan Amanda Caitlin Chelsea Emily Rachel Stephanie Kelsey Melissa Courtney Nicole Samantha Whitney Jennifer Katherine Lindsey Haley Kylie Alicia Amber Elizabeth Alyssa Heather Danielle Rebecca Michelle Brianna Lauren Amy Tiffany Kimberly Kayla Jamie Christina Brooke Crystal Erica Kaylee Mackenzie Allison Katie Morgan Alexis Carly Jordan Candice

485 396 362 496 280 267 229 223 216 214 210 195 189 187 184 183 177 174 172 169 152 144 141 139 138 136 131 128 128 127 121 118 116 113 108 105 104 100 99 99 96 96 96 90 90 90 87 84 83 82 (Continued)

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  119 Table 6.6  (Continued) Colorado

51 52 53 54 55

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Kaylee Brandi Vanessa Morgan Katie

100 99 98 91 90

Cassandra Lacey Andrea Aubrey Erin

Number 82 82 81 78 78

Table 6.7  Most Common Names of Females Born in Colorado and Utah, 1998 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Emily Kaitlyn Sarah Hannah Brianna Samantha Jessica Ashley Madison Mikayla Haley Alexis Taylor Megan Katherine Elizabeth Jasmine Alyssa Kaylee Rachel Lauren Jordan Kayla Sydney Madeline Anna Emma Sierra Brittany Alexandra Abigail Rebecca Morgan Amanda Jennifer Nicole

411 366 358 354 334 329 328 327 327 318 292 263 263 257 254 237 235 236 233 230 227 221 208 201 200 193 193 186 185 178 177 174 170 167 167 163

Kaitlyn Madison Emily Sarah Hannah Makayla Ashley Megan Hailey Samantha Alexis Jessica Bailey Kaylee Mackenzie Kylee Taylor Abigail Sydney Alyssa Rachel Madeline Elizabeth Brianna Sierra Savannah McKenna Emma Courtney Lauren Brittany Morgan Rebecca Katherine Allison Riley

374 371 347 332 304 303 283 270 267 256 253 240 237 227 225 218 209 208 204 198 191 179 175 170 169 163 158 156 148 145 142 142 142 139 136 127 (Continued)

120  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.7  (Continued) Colorado

37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Allison Savannah Olivia Mackenzie Victoria Mariah Bailey Brooke Cheyenne Natalie Destiny Stephanie Courtney Julia Alicia Kylie Shelby Erica Maria

160 159 153 146 146 143 139 137 135 134 133 131 124 122 118 118 112 108 107

Carly Nicole Kelsey Shelby Kayla Anna Cassidy Olivia Amanda Brooke Aubrey Brooklyn Cheyenne Natalie Lindsey Jennifer Mary Abby Jasmine

126 126 124 119 118 115 114 114 113 112 111 108 104 102 92 87 86 82 81

There were some differences in relative frequency among these popular names, of course. In general, Utah parents do seem to have been picking up on boys’ names which had recently been created from surnames (Brandon, Dustin, Tyler, Cody, Spencer, Tyson, and, below the top 55, Cameron, Brady, Clinton, Austin, Clayton, Mitchell, Colby, etc.) more strongly than Colorado parents were, and to have been somewhat less fond of names with strong Roman Catholic and/or Irish associations like Nicholas, Anthony, Sean, and Patrick. For girls, names like Katherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Kelly, and Erin were less used in Utah, while more recent transfers from surnames or place names like Ashley, Brittany, Brooke, Chelsea, Lacey, and Aubrey were doing better in Utah. But it might be as logical to explain those differences on the lack of Roman Catholics in Utah rather than the lack of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado. The situation had changed only marginally by 1990; in that year, no names in the Colorado top 50s failed to occur in Utah’s top 100s. For boys, however, two Utah names near the bottom of the top 50 list (Tyson, #47, and Skyler, #49) were only at #234 and #140, respectively, in Colorado that year. Similarly, in the girls’ lists of 1990, Kylie (#22) and Mackenzie (#43) were only at #104 and #114, respectively, on the Colorado list. Tyson, Skyler, and Mackenzie had already been somewhat more common in Utah than Colorado in 1982. Mackenzie’s popularity in Utah is perhaps surprising considering that its use as a female given name in the United States is primarily traceable to the actress Mackenzie Phillips, who began appearing on the television program One Day at a Time.6 Ms. Phillips’ problems with drug and alcohol abuse had been well publicized by 1990, which makes it a bit curious that her first name would have had

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  121 such a great appeal for LDS parents. Among newly popular names, the trend again seems to be that revised traditional first names like Alexander, Samuel, Samantha, and Anna were slightly more common in Colorado, while newer surname transfers such as Austin, Cody, Tyler, Colton, Colby, Tanner, Parker, Cade, Mason, and Bridger for boys and Haley, Courtney, Kelsey, Madison, Whitney, Brooke, and Aubrey for girls were more common in Utah. The exception here were surnames strongly associated with Irish Catholics, such as Ryan, Kelly, and Casey, which were more common in Colorado, as were other Irish Catholic associated names like Sean, Kevin, Patrick, Gregory, Brianna, Erin, and Molly. In 1998, the first really striking differences between the Utah and Colorado lists appear. For the first time, there is a boy’s name, Kaden, which is among the top ten in Utah but not even in the top 150 in Colorado. Even more striking, the most common spelling of the name was different, with Caden being the preferred form in Colorado. In addition, Brayden and Jaden, #12 and #21, respectively, in Utah, were only #105 and #151, respectively, in Colorado. These three rhyming names had already been more common in Utah in 1990, with 97 Bradens, 34 Kadens, and 18 Jadens born in Utah that year compared to only 10 Bradens, 2 Kadens, and 1 Jaden born in the larger state of Colorado, but the boom in these names during the 1990s in Utah was unprecedented. The love shown for the sounds in these three names is perhaps also shown by the somewhat greater popularity during 1998 of Hayden in Utah (#65 there vs. #130 in Colorado), and Mason reaching #46 in Utah that year while managing only #99 in Colorado (Mason would be preferred as a boy’s name to “Mayden” for obvious reasons!). Aidan, however, was a bit more popular in Colorado than in Utah in 1998 (#111 vs. #157), perhaps because it is a name with some Irish Catholic associations. In addition to the “-ayden” triplets, Riley at #50 and Dallin at #51 in Utah did not occur in Colorado’s top 100 boys’ names. Meanwhile, Isaiah, #118 in Utah, managed to get to #33 in Colorado, probably because both Hispanic and African-American parents in Colorado were particularly fond of it. Connor, Caleb, and Cameron, three names which enjoyed a quick rise in popularity nationally during the 1990s,7 were all somewhat more popular in Utah than in Colorado, while Bryce, which in 1982 was definitely more of a Utah name, had by 1998 fallen away there and was then more common in Colorado. Among the girls’ lists in 1998, Aubrey at #47 and Brooklyn at #48 in Utah reached only #114 and #162, respectively, in Colorado, while Destiny, #47 in Colorado, was only at #110 in Utah. These differences, however, aren’t as striking as those in the boys’ list. Other girls’ names definitely more used in Utah than in Colorado in 1998 included Shaylee, Kennedy, Sadie, Mackenzie, and McKenna. The use of the prefix Mc- may be the female counterpart to Kaden, Braden, and Jaden for LDS parents. McKinley and McKaylee were three times more common in Utah as they were in Colorado in 1998, and the 43 McKells and 20 McCalls born in Utah had no namesakes at all in the other state. Aspen, just coming into use for girls in 1990, with five born in Colorado and three in Utah that year, was given to 63 Utah girls in 1998 but only 42 in Colorado, giving a particularly good example of the quicker adoption of new “place name” forms by Utah parents, since the famous ski resort named Aspen is a Colorado town.

122  Cleveland K. Evans The fondness for Kaden, Brayden, and Jaden for boys in Utah may explain why Peyton, on a national basis one of the few names to show sharp increases for infants of both sexes during the 1990s, was definitely favored for girls in Colorado but was more often given as a boy’s name in Utah in 1998. Of course, the more obvious differences between names in Utah and Colorado in 1998 shouldn’t obscure the fact that once again the huge majority of names found in one state’s top 50 were also in the other’s top 100. But one wonders if the upsurge in differences, especially as it involved the huge popularity in Utah of a particular sound pattern among boys’ names, might reflect a conscious effort on the part of LDS parents in Utah to emphasize their unique LDS culture in regard to their naming choices. Names from the Book of Mormon Giving their children names from the Book of Mormon would of course be the most obvious way for LDS parents to emphasize their unique LDS heritage. So how did these names fare between 1982–98? There are only two women mentioned by name in the Book of Mormon, Abish and Sariah. There were no girls named Abish born in Utah in any of the three years surveyed, though it’s just barely possible that the somewhat quicker acceptance of Abigail in Utah than Colorado (a name whose recent revival began in the East and then moved West) has been affected by LDS parents’ familiarity with Abish. There were 3 Sariahs born in Utah in 1982, 5 in 1990, and 29 in 1998. This might be related to a recent greater desire to emphasize LDS heritage, but it must be pointed out that with both Sarah and Mariah being extremely popular names on a national basis, Sariah would be bound to appeal to parents looking for the “different but not too different” alternative since it blends the sounds of those two names. In fact, there were 9 Sariahs born in Colorado in 1998 (after none in 1982 and four in 1990), and 6 of those were African-American or Hispanic, which may imply that the name was being independently invented by non-LDS parents there. The names given to Utah boys from the Book of Mormon, however, give more obvious evidence of a possible recent upsurge in LDS-identified names. In 1982, there were 17 Utah boys named Ammon, 8 Jaroms, 3 Almas, and 1 each of Corianton and Moroni, for a total of 30 Book of Mormon names (It’s true that Ammon is found in the Old Testament as well as the Book of Mormon, but it is much more prominent in the latter). In 1990, there were 10 Jaroms, 9 Ammons, 2 each of Alma and Nephi, and 1 each of Moroni and Mormon, for a total of 25. But in 1998, there were 29 Ammons, 14 Jaroms, 8 Moronis, 7 each of Alma and Nephi, 2 Mosiahs, and 1 each of Kumen, Lamoni, and Teancum, for a total of 70 Utah boys given distinctively Book of Mormon names. This increase is not confined to one or two names that might be thought to be rising in fashion simply because of their sound, as was perhaps the case with Sariah, but seems to reflect a general upsurge in the willingness of Utah parents to choose names from the Book of Mormon for their sons. There definitely seems to be evidence here for an increased effort on the part of Latter-day Saint parents to give their sons distinctively LDS names in the late 1990s.

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  123 Naming After Famous Church Members Of course, persons named in the Book of Mormon aren’t the only possible namesakes for children of LDS parents who want to memorialize leaders of their faith. But, perhaps surprisingly, Joseph Smith himself doesn’t seem to be among them. As can be seen in the lists of names, in all three years surveyed, Joseph has actually been more often given to infants born in Colorado than in Utah. In addition, Smith was given only once as a first name to a Utah boy born in 1998, with none appearing in either 1982 or 1990. It’s possible that modern LDS parents see naming a child after Joseph Smith as putting too much pressure on their sons to live up to an impossible ideal. In any event, this leaves Joseph still being more likely to indicate a Roman Catholic than an LDS background, even in the Rocky Mountain states. Though Joseph Smith may have relatively few modern Utah namesakes, his brother Hyrum, martyred along with him in 1844,8 has not been forgotten. There were 9 Hyrums born in Utah in 1982, 7 in 1990, and 12 in 1998. Only one of these boys (in 1998) was given the usual Old Testament spelling of the name Hiram instead of Hyrum Smith’s spelling. Meanwhile, no Hyrums of any spelling were born in Colorado in any of these three years. As for Joseph and Hyrum’s female relatives, neither Lucy, their mother’s name, nor Emma, the name of Joseph’s wife, have been more common in Utah than Colorado during this period, despite the importance of both of these women in Church history. Emma increased greatly in use throughout the United States during the 1990s, but in this period LDS parents seem to have been no more likely to participate in the revival of this name than others. Brigham Young is of course the Church historical figure who most easily comes to mind after Joseph Smith and his kin. There were 6 Brighams born in Utah in 1982, 3 in 1990, and 10 in 1998. No Brighams were born in Colorado in either 1982 or 1990, and only 2 were born there in 1998. Perhaps the slight increase in Brighams during the 1990s in both states has been influenced as much by the fashion for boys’ names beginning with Br- (compare Brent, Bryce, Brandon, etc.) as it has been by reverence for Brigham Young. Moving to those prominent in LDS history who would be less well-known to those who are not members of the Church than Smith or Young, the person with the most obvious effect on Utah names seems to be Spencer W. Kimball, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1973 to 1985. President Kimball is known as the prophet who received the revelation removing the bar to the priesthood from men of African descent. In 1982, there were 100 boys named Spencer born in Utah and only 20 in Colorado. The name has increased in use in both states since 1982, but Colorado was still well behind Utah in the number of Spencers born (102 vs. 177) in 1998. In addition, 10 Utah boys were given Kimball as a first name in 1998 versus only 2 in Colorado. The desire to commemorate Spencer W. Kimball may also have extended somewhat to his wife, Camilla, if the much greater preference for the French form Camille in Utah can be attributed to her. The Church president with the second biggest influence on Utah given names seems to be David O. McKay, the President of the Church from 1951 until 1970.

124  Cleveland K. Evans His influence is not seen in any oversupply of Davids in Utah, but in the use of McKay as a given name. In Colorado, there was 1 boy born named McKay in both 1982 and 1998 (none in 1990); in Utah, there were 10 born in 1982, 12 in 1990, and 45 in 1998. The use of McKay for boys paralleled the greater use of the spelling “McKayla” for Michaela in Utah. There were 57 McKaylas born in Utah in 1998 and only 13 in Colorado. It’s possible that the fashion for girls’ names beginning with Mc- in Utah is subtly connected to reverence for David O. McKay, though it’s just as possible to explain this in the reverse way; the increase in McKay for boys in 1998 so many years after David O. McKay’s death may be linked to its being seen as the masculine equivalent of the much more common McKayla. In other words, McKay increased in use in Utah for boys only after names that sounded like it became generally fashionable in the whole United States. Certainly, most other presidents of the Church during the 20th century don’t seem to have affected Utah naming very much. Heber J. Grant, President from 1918–1945, had the most distinctive given name of any Church President, but only about 4 Hebers are born every year in Utah, and Grant is less popular as a given name in Utah than it is in Colorado. Ezra Taft Benson was President immediately after Spencer W. Kimball, but neither Ezra nor Benson is more common in Utah than Colorado. A recent President of the Church (1995–2008) was Gordon B. Hinckley. There may be some slight evidence that a few boys were being named after him in Utah, as there were 9 Gordons born there in 1998 versus only 4 in Colorado, and also 1 Utah boy was given Hinckley as a first name, but most LDS parents in Utah seem to be rejecting the opportunity to name sons after President Hinckley, knowing that neither of his names fits in with general American fashions. There is some evidence for the names of other prominent LDS figures besides Church presidents having an influence on the names used in Utah, at least for names that fit in with modern fashions like Spencer. Nathan Eldon Tanner (1898– 1982) was a counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, and the building that houses the management school at Brigham Young University is named after him.9 It’s possible that the somewhat greater use of both Nathan and Tanner as given names in Utah is attributable to him. Tanner, however, has now become generally used as a first name throughout the United States, partly because of a character of that name on the television program Days of Our Lives.10 Howard W. Hunter became President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1988 and President of the Church in 1994. In 1982, there were 11 boys given Hunter as a first name in Colorado, and only 1 in Utah, but in 1990 there were 18 Hunters born in Utah versus 10 in Colorado. In 1998, there were 208 Hunters born in Utah and 146 in Colorado. As a given name, Hunter is becoming generally popular in the United States but seems to have an extra advantage in Utah. It’s just barely possible that the 117 Parkers born in Utah in 1998 versus the 52 in Colorado are related to Parley Parker Pratt (1807–1857), one of the members of the original Quorum of the Twelve, whose autobiography is considered a classic of Church literature.11 And the recent greater popularity of Porter in Utah (7 born in 1990 and 27 in 1998 vs. 2 in 1990 and 3 in 1998 in Colorado) may well be related to hero worship of Porter Rockwell, Brigham Young’s bodyguard who has

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  125 some of the “Western gunfighter” image among Latter-day Saints that Wyatt Earp has for Americans in general.12 But Tanner, Hunter, Porter, and Parker are examples of names that show only a relative increase in Utah with respect to their growing popularity as given names in the entire United States (Obviously surnames ending in -er have become popular choices with parents looking for new boys’ names everywhere). An example of a famous LDS woman who may be having some slight influence on Utah names is Eliza R. Snow, famous as a poet and hymn writer. Though there was little difference in the use of Eliza between Colorado and Utah in 1982 and 1990, in 1998 there were 10 Elizas born in Colorado but 34 in Utah. Perhaps Ms. Snow’s prominence in the mind of LDS parents has led them to remember and use her name as an alternative to similar recent revival fashions like Emily and Emma. There is one quite definite influence of a living famous Church leader on names in Utah, however—the popularity of Dallin as a given name in that state. This honors Dallin H. Oaks, who was President of Brigham Young University from 1971 through 1980, then a member of the Utah State Supreme Court, and since 1984 a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.13 One hundred and twenty-four boys named Dallin were born in Utah in 1998 versus only 6 in Colorado. Here is an uncommon given name that has definitely become prominent among LDS families because of a particular person. Dallin Oaks’ given name is a surname transfer; according to family members, his mother gave him the name Dallin in honor of Cyrus Dallin, a prominent LDS sculptor. In a conversation with the author in 1998, Dallin D. Oaks told the following story: while Mrs. Oaks was pregnant with her son, she attended an unveiling of a statue of a pioneer woman by the artist Cyrus Dallin. The artist was involved in a controversy, as he used a woman who was not a Church member as the model for the statue. Mrs. Oaks, who was impressed with Dallin’s art, thought the criticism he received was unfair, and she vowed to name her child after him if it was a boy.14 Obviously, many LDS parents today agree with Mrs. Oaks’ taste in naming. Of course, it helps that the sound of Dallin fits in with other recently popular boys’ names such as Darren; if Mrs. Oaks had named her son Cyrus instead of Dallin, he probably wouldn’t have as many namesakes. It will be interesting to see if the name Dallin breaks out of Utah and starts to be used by people outside the Church to name their sons in the future. A Basketball Connection A final example of Utah parents naming sons after a well-known figure in the state involves a famous person who is not a member of the Church: the basketball player John Stockton. Stockton, a member of the Utah Jazz basketball team, is the overwhelming all-time leader in assists among professional basketball players. In 1998, 25 boys were given Stockton as a first name in Utah, and none in Colorado. This is somewhat remarkable since Stockton is a Roman Catholic, a former altar boy who grew up in a neighborhood in Spokane, Washington, referred to as the Little Vatican.15

126  Cleveland K. Evans Some recent commentators, including the Clarks on their website, have linked the supposed LDS fondness for unusual created given names to the similar liking for such names among African-American parents. It may be relevant, then, that the other group of Americans who have obviously named many sons after professional basketball players are African-Americans. Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, and Jalen Rose are among those basketball players who have inspired thousands of namesakes in the African-American community during recent decades.16 Comparing Singular Names in Colorado and Utah Another way of investigating whether Utah parents are more likely than others to give their children truly unusual names is to compare the singular names used in Utah and Colorado. In other words, when Utah parents give their children names that are unique for the child’s sex and year of birth within their state, are these unique names different in character from those given in Colorado? Table 6.8 gives a selection of 50 names given to only one child of its sex born in each of the states in 1998, chosen by selecting the first such name found on evenly spaced pages of the computer printouts of all names given that year. Table 6.8  Fifty Names Given to Only One Child of its Sex Born in Colorado and Utah, 1998 Colorado Boys: Abdel, Alekso, Antoine, Avean, Bernard, Brantley, Bross, Calogeno, Chadi, Clyde, Cornelius, Dainry, Dashiell, Denver, Dominion, Echo, Ernesto, Fletcher, Gehrig, Hagen, Hubbel, Jacy, Jareth, Jeneral, Jeru, Jobie, Jubae, Kantesia, Kelsey, Kirk, Kyatt, Leevonnie, Lynn, Matt, Mikka, Narciso, Niles, Pascal, Ralph, Ricardo, Ryle, Seiver, Sladen, Syionte, Tayvier, Tiki, Treyvor, Varick, Yann, Zebediah Utah Boys: Adolfo, Aliah, Antonius, Bennie, Bragham, Brenn, Brexler, Cairo, Cashes, Chayton, Cornelio, Daiden, Darris, Dezar, Drayson, Eldren, Frankie, Gavino, Grik, Ishmael, Jair, Jaskaran, Jaxler, Jiah, Joston, Kadisen, Keb, Kennedy, Kingi, Lakkin, Lindros, Madsen, McCall, Mickey, Nahuel, Orlin, Phaelan, Ramsey, Rophis, Salen, Shaefer, Suliasi, Targhee, Tell, Tevis, Trevoi, Tyranny, Vincent-Avery, Yahay, Zedakiah Colorado Girls: Afton, Aleeza, Alowynne, Amylynn, Arizona, Atlee, Bevin, Breece, Caledonia, Carolie, Charnel, Chimene, Dainey, Dayanara, Divinity, Eliette, Ember, Garyn, Guinevere, Ilyssa, Jadi, Jazz, Jessa, Kadia, Kaleena, Kathrinia, Kaylena, Keschel, Kinsyn, Lanai, Lelia, Lynterra, Magdalene, Marialyn, Maslin, Merete, Mikella, Natelyn, Nocona, Raghad, Redemption, Saba, Saretta, Shavargus, Shilan, Storrey, Tahni, Tenia, Tomarow, Xio Utah Girls: Ahtziri, Alienor, Ambrian, Annalilia, Asia-Nicole, Basia, Breeze, Brynna, Carlin, Chai, Chyna, Daelynn, Dee, Duxiana, Emersyn, Florencia, Genesie, Helanina, Jadelyn, Jaylena, Jewel, Junelyn, Kambridge, Kathia, Kelanee, Kiavett, Kristing, Laura-Ashley, Lineti, Madai, Makeny, Maris, Marzia, McKaida, Mesa, Mivanda, Nazalyn, Pa, Ranissa, Rossy, Satori, Shanalyn, Shellsea, Sirrene, Taina, Tayson, Topanga, Veronique, Zanetta, Zzkora

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  127 Though analysis of these lists is somewhat subjective, it does not seem to this researcher that parents who give their children unique names in Utah are coming up with them in a radically different way than inventive Colorado parents do. Looking at the boys’ lists, both states of course have many unique names that upon investigation turn out to be names from non-English-speaking cultures, probably given by recent immigrants to their children. Alekso, Calogeno, Chadi, Mikka, and Narciso in Colorado and Cornelio, Jaskaran, Jiah, Suliasi, and Yahay in Utah are examples of such immigrant names. The majority of unique boys’ names on both the Colorado and Utah lists seem to be surname transfers. A combination of internet searching and the use of surname dictionaries17 found that Gehrig, Hagen, Kyatt, Seiver, Sladen, and Varick from the Colorado list and Brexton, Brenn, Dezar, Grik, Joston, Lakkin, Orlin, and Tevis from the Utah list seem to be last names turned into first names. This has been the most common way for Americans to create new names for sons for the last two hundred years, and, if anything, a slightly higher percentage of the unique boys’ names in Utah seems to be such simple surname transfers. Both the Colorado and Utah boys’ lists include unusual transfers from place names into the first name system (Avean on the Colorado list is the name of a lough in Ireland; Targhee on the Utah list is a ski resort in Wyoming). Even those names which do seem to be completely new creations by the parents (such as Leevonnie and Treyvor in Colorado and Rophis and Jaxler in Utah) don’t seem to differ much between the two states. The list of unique names for girls in both Colorado and Utah seems to be more inventive than those for boys, though again both lists include obvious immigrant names (Eliette, Merete, and Raghad in Colorado and Lineti, Marzia, and Taina in Utah) as well as unusual names which come out of Hispanic American culture (Chimene and Dayanara in Colorado, Ahtziri and Nazalyn in Utah). The girls’ lists do seem to include more names newly created from words in the English language, but the examples of these names given in Colorado in 1998 (Divinity, Redemption, Tomarow) seem to this researcher to be even more likely to arouse comment than those used in Utah (Breeze, Mesa, Satori). Unusual place names as given names (Caledonia, Nocona, Kambridge, Topanga) occur on both lists, and though the Utah list does include the use of the name of a store for upscale Swedish mattresses (Duxiana), in general it can’t be said that the Utah unique names seem less appropriate or more fantastical than those found on the Colorado list of unique names. Are Utah Baby Namer Names Distinctively LDS? A final way to investigate the distinctiveness of Utah LDS naming is to look at some of the names found on the Utah Baby Namer site itself. Table 6.9 presents a sample of names listed by the Clarks on the site in December 2000.18 The first name on every fifth page working forward in the boys’ list and on every tenth page working backward in the girls’ list were selected. These are all names chosen by the Clarks because they, or some correspondent, claim that they are distinctively Utah names. To test this claim, each name was entered into an internet search engine,19 and the resulting references were examined to see if any uses of the name among persons not living in Utah who were probably not members of the Church could be

128  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.9  A Sample of Unusual Names from the Utah Baby Namer Website, December 2000 Boys: Arville, Braun, Cage, Clelon, Cydore, Dason, DelRay, Dilson, Easten, Ferra, Gherin, Iron Rod, Jeffren, Kael, Kevrin, La’Donis, LaVerd, Levor, Markay, Morell, Nymphus, Prent, Reilei, Rouchy, Shakil, Stripling, Tever, Trekton, Valdee, Verlaine, Whilden, Zenneth Girls: Albine, Antenita, Barina, Brynna, Chamaine, ClairAnn, Dalee, Deellen, DeVona, Earlene, Faunice, GlennaLee, Jagen, Jazel, JoLene, Kalia, Kendy, Krystalynn, LaPreal, Lawn, Lona, Lynnita, Marlell, MemRee, Mondee, Nema, Oretta, RaeLee, Richelle, Saysha, Shantry, Sherrena, Summerisa, Taura, Tirsha, ValDene, Verlene, Wyoma

found. This method proved unsatisfactory for names that had the exact form of common words; there were entirely too many hits for the forms “cage” and “lawn” to make it practical to search out the uses of these words as given names in the data the search engine provided (It is possible that the boys’ name Cage is somewhat skewed toward LDS usage since there were 5 boys of this name born in Utah in 1998 and only one in Colorado). But it proved quite easy to find examples of most of the other names on the Worldwide Web by this simple method. When this method was used, it also proved easy to find examples of many of the names on the list in non-LDS contexts. Shakil, for example, is an Arabic name meaning “well-formed” or “handsome”20 and during the 1990s was fairly commonly given in the African-American community. Examples of men named Arville, Clelon, Del Ray, Valdee, and Zenneth in the South or Midwest were easily found on the Web. With its La- prefix, many Utahans might see LaVerd as being a particularly LDS name, but through the internet a LaVerd was discovered in Pennsylvania who was clearly a member of the Church of the Brethren. Several of the male names from the Utah Baby Namer site were not found as given names but were found as surnames in a non-LDS context; these included Dilson, Ferra, Levor, Rouchy, Verlaine, and Whilden. Nymphus was found as the first name of a Civil War general in North Carolina, though all of the Web references to men of this name born in the 20th century did prove to be Church members in Utah or Wyoming. Only Cydore, Prent, and Trekton seemed to be possible examples of invented names used only by “Mormon” families in the search. There are two names on the male list gathered from the Utah Baby Namer site which are almost certainly uses of words inspired by the Book of Mormon and therefore definite LDS-identified names: Iron Rod and Stripling. The rod of iron is an image for the steadfast word of God, found in 1 Nephi 11:25 in the Book of Mormon, and the phrase “Iron Rod” occurs in many contexts in the Utah LDS community, from hymns to the names of bookstores and other businesses. “Stripling” occurs in Alma 53:22 in the Book of Mormon to describe two thousand young Ammonite soldiers; though all are later wounded in battle, none dies, a miraculous result attributed to the faith of their mothers (Alma 56:47). Iron Rod and Stripling are therefore names which probably do reflect a strong faith on the part of the parents of boys given these words as names. But they are the exception on the Utah Baby Namer list, not the rule.

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  129 Results from the list of female names found on the Clarks’ site showed even less evidence of “Mormon only” names. It was easy to find scores of examples of women named Earlene, JoLene, and Richelle throughout the United States. Women or girls named ClairAnn, Dalee, Deellen, DeVona, Jazel, Kendy, Lona, Lynnita, RaeLee, Saysha, Taura, Verlene, and Wyoma who were mentioned in non-Utah and probably non-LDS contexts on the World Wide Web were also easily found on the internet. A Methodist church in Falls Church, Virginia mentioned a Sunday School teacher named Faunice on their website, and two small girls named MemRee (in that unusual spelling) were discovered in Illinois and Florida. The only female names from the Utah Baby Namer website that were found definitely in Utah or LDS contexts were Summerisa and LaPreal. There was only one instance of Summerisa discovered on the web, a young girl living in Utah, but there were several mentions of LaPreal, all involving women with clearly Utah or LDS connections. LaPreal may therefore be an example of an early 20th century special fondness for inventive girls’ names starting with La- among Church members in Utah, but more research needs to be done to clarify just how distinctive this pattern was. Conclusion to Part I What then do the results of this preliminary investigation tell us about the distinctiveness of Utah or LDS names in the late 20th century United States? The answer seems to be that LDS given names are somewhat distinctive, but not by much. The huge majority of children born in Utah during the last two decades of the 20th century have names that would fit in easily in non-LDS contexts anywhere in the United States. There are a few names that are distinctively LDS, but, except for a few very special cases like Dallin and McKell, these names remain quite rare even among Church members in Utah. Many names that are proposed as being distinctively LDS turn out to be equally common among other Americans in the South and the Midwest. This commonality, however, could have developed because many early members of the Church came from or at least spent time in the Midwest and South. Additionally, Thomas Pyles proposed that working-class White Southerners were more likely to have unusual given names because they tended to belong to churches which rejected infant baptism, so educated clergymen had no chance to influence parents in a more moderate direction when babies were named.21 It’s possible that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be seen as another case of Pyles’ theory, since the Church has no professional clergy and also does not baptize children until they are eight years old.22 But it looks like, for the most part, Church members in Utah have names which are no more distinctive or unusual than those of Baptists and Pentecostals in the South or Middle West. Why then do the Clarks and others believe that LDS names are so distinctive? Within the Rocky Mountain states, Church members may well have names which set them apart from their Roman Catholic or mainline Protestant neighbors. It also remains a possibility that distinctive names are more evenly spread across educational levels in Utah than they are in other parts of the United States. Perhaps the sort of inventive names common in both Utah and the South are more confined

130  Cleveland K. Evans to the working class among those who aren’t members of the Church, while LDS parents with college educations are as likely to give their children such names as are blue-collar Utah parents. This could account for the Clarks’ claim that they could easily pick out persons with Utah connections by their names alone after they moved to Washington, D.C. Possibly lawyers and government officials in Washington are more likely to have uncommon names if they come from an LDS background. Further research is needed to investigate this theory, however. Finally, the recent increase in differences between the lists of most common names given to children in Utah and Colorado, along with the upsurge in male names chosen from the Book of Mormon between 1990 and 1998, may herald a new distinctiveness in LDS naming. Research by Stanley Lieberson and Kelly Mikelson23 has shown that before the 1960s names given by African-American parents in the United States were very similar to those given by Whites, in spite of common stereotypes that Blacks had unusual names. In the 1960s, AfricanAmericans themselves took over this stereotype as a source of pride, and since then their names have become much more distinctive and creative than those of Whites. Perhaps a similar process is beginning to occur among Church members in Utah and surrounding states; the common belief that Latter-day Saints in Utah have “different names” is being taken over as a source of pride, and LDS parents are now proudly searching out names for their children that will exhibit their distinctive culture and religion. So, ironically, Church members may not have had “funny names” very often before the Clarks started their website, but they may now be helping to make a reality of what was formerly only a good-natured joke among LDS members themselves.

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming. Part II (for Data in 2012) Part I, which was originally written many years ago, discussed data from 1982, 1990, and 1998. In Part II, I will update my earlier discussion, using data obtained from the states of Colorado and Utah for births during 2012. Unfortunately, since the time of the earlier research, concerns about identity theft have caused both states to change their policies about releasing complete data for baby names. After several months of negotiation, data from each state for all names given to three or more infants of the same sex in 2012 were obtained. It was impossible, however, to obtain information about names with a frequency of less than three for 2012. Percentages of Children Given the Most Common Names Table 6.10 shows the percentage of children receiving the most common names in Colorado and Utah in 2012.24 Because the figures for the most common names do not include unusual spellings with an occurrence of less than three, these percentages are slightly lower than they would have been if the entire data set had been available. Still, the huge drop in the percentage of children given the top names in both states is too large to be accounted for solely by the lack of data for very uncommon spellings. The data for Colorado and Utah on this are in line with

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  131 Table 6.10  Percentages of Births Accounted for by the Top Names in 2012 State Males Colorado Utah Females Colorado Utah

#1 Name

Top 10

Top 50

1.3% 1.4%

9.6% 8.9%

32.0% 29.6%

1.5% 1.1%

9.1% 9.1%

27.3% 28.6%

national trends. The modern desire for individuality, coupled with the easy availability of information about which names are most common found on the Internet, has led to this result. However, just as in 1998, the differences between Colorado and Utah in 2012 on this measure are mixed. Colorado parents seem somewhat more likely than Utah parents to choose a relatively common name for a son, while, at least in terms of the top 50 names, Utah parents were slightly more likely to choose a name common within their state for a daughter. This data by itself still doesn’t provide good evidence for any unique pattern of naming in Utah. Differences in Names Commonly Used Tables 6.11 and 6.12 show the top 100 names given boys and girls in Colorado and Utah in 2012, with spellings being combined that the author believes are pronounced identically. Since 2012’s data do not include rare spellings used only once or twice, these lists are not completely comparable to those for earlier years. However, the top 100 rankings are probably very similar to those that would be obtained if complete data had been available. In 2012, it was still the case that an overwhelming majority of children given one of the most common names in Colorado or Utah had a name also well used in the other state. Jeremiah was the only boy’s name among the top 50 in Colorado which was not among Utah’s top 100. Lincoln, Ryker, and Crew were the only Utah top 50 names which were not in the Colorado top 100. Lincoln ranked 102nd in Colorado and 12th in Utah. There were about two and a half times more boys named Lincoln in Utah in 2012. Several surnames of other US presidents were also more common in Utah in 2012. Carter was 10th for boys in Utah, and 40th in Colorado. There were 21 Utah boys named Truman in 2012 and only 6 in Colorado. Though in both states Reagan and Kennedy are now primarily given as first names to girls instead of boys, they ranked, respectively, 56th and 86th for Utah girls and 80th and 154th in Colorado. The most striking difference here is Nixon. There were 84 boys named Nixon (or Nixxon) in Utah in 2012, ranking it 76th. There were only 6 Nixons born in Colorado. Though Nixon does fit in with the “two syllables ending in –n” sound pattern that is popular for boys across the United States, Utah parents in 2012 were much more willing to use the surname of the only president ever to resign in disgrace as a given name than other Americans.

132  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.11  Most Common Names of Males Born in Colorado and Utah, 2012 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Jackson Aiden Liam Alexander Jacob Jayden William Elijah Noah Ethan Mason Logan Isaac Caleb Caden Samuel Daniel Gabriel Michael Benjamin Landon Wyatt James Brayden Joshua Matthew David Jack Lucas Andrew Dylan Joseph Anthony Owen Christopher Connor Eli Oliver Isaiah Carter Ryan Colton Dominic John Henry Jeremiah Jonathan Luke Nicholas Angel

426 387 385 309 301 296 283 270 267 257 248 245 244 241 231 230 220 218 215 213 208 203 201 197 195 193 192 192 192 191 184 184 180 178 173 173 168 164 161 160 158 157 154 147 146 143 143 143 142 141

Jackson William Liam Mason Jacob Aiden Ethan Samuel James Carter Isaac Lincoln Kaden Luke Jack Ryker Logan Alexander Benjamin Jayden Owen Henry Oliver Wyatt Andrew Grayson Lucas Caleb Gavin Michael Carson Cooper Dylan Noah Daniel Joshua Thomas Eli Connor Miles Gabriel Matthew Austin Easton David Zachary Zander Crew Hudson Jace

389 280 269 237 227 222 216 204 186 185 183 177 176 176 173 172 167 164 161 161 158 147 144 143 141 141 141 140 137 137 135 134 133 132 129 129 127 126 125 125 123 122 121 121 117 115 114 113 113 113 (Continued)

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  133 Table 6.11  (Continued) Colorado

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Austin Grayson Julian Nathan Gavin Cooper Aaron Sebastian Christian Hunter Josiah Ian Jace Evan Adrian Levi Jordan Robert Cameron Giovanni Tyler Tristan Blake Chase Charles Thomas Miles Xavier Zachary Eric Damian Elias Hudson Asher Nathaniel Brody Xander Jesus Adam Easton Bryan Jason Jose Carson Kevin Micah Ryder Brandon Elliot Silas

141 137 137 137 131 130 128 127 126 126 126 125 125 124 122 120 119 117 115 115 115 114 112 111 110 110 109 109 107 103 102 102 98 97 97 95 91 88 86 85 84 84 84 83 83 82 80 79 79 76

Parker Landon Jonathan Asher Charles Joseph Max Corbin Hunter Kayson Nathan Tyler John Levi Ryan Brayden Ryder Sawyer Bentley Porter Elijah Cole Christian Anthony Dominic Nixon Spencer Cash Camden Blake Nicholas Aaron Cohen Colton Daxton Jordan Christopher Boston Braxton Emmett Weston Brody Cameron Beckham Collin Tanner Isaiah Maxwell Ian Angel

113 112 108 106 106 106 101 100 100 100 100 100 99 99 97 96 95 95 94 94 93 89 87 84 84 84 84 83 82 81 80 79 79 77 77 75 74 73 73 73 73 72 72 70 70 70 68 68 66 65

134  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.12  Most Common Names of Females Born in Colorado and Utah, 2012 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Sophia Emma Olivia Isabella Zoey Abigail Ava Emily Avery Lily Evelyn Riley Madelyn Madison Mia Elizabeth Addison Hailey Chloe Liliana Maya Brooklyn Harper Aaliyah Ella Natalie Charlotte Grace Arianna Aubrey Lillian Amelia Peyton Hannah Kaylee Layla Katherine Mackenzie Adalyn Katelyn Eliana Lyla Sarah Allison Anna Isabel Bailey Savannah Claire Jasmine

483 338 338 316 266 249 240 231 217 216 204 190 189 185 182 180 178 171 169 169 165 164 162 161 157 156 155 152 145 145 145 140 139 131 130 128 126 126 125 124 122 121 120 115 112 112 109 107 105 104

Olivia Sophia Lily Zoey Elizabeth Brooklyn Ava Chloe Abigail Paisley Emma Lucy Avery Emily Isabella Kaylee Addison Brynlee Hailey Claire Amelia Harper Charlotte Katelyn Madison Ruby Madelyn Ella Evelyn Ellie Mia Adelyn Hannah Peyton Sophie Nora Lyla Rylee Lillian Scarlett Samantha Maya Lydia Oakley Sarah Grace Hadley Allison Emery Savannah

279 273 247 204 191 189 186 184 179 177 176 167 166 156 148 148 143 140 138 136 135 135 134 133 133 133 132 131 131 129 129 128 125 121 121 115 109 107 102 102 100 99 98 98 98 97 93 92 92 92 (Continued )

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  135 Table 6.12  (Continued) Colorado

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Annabelle Victoria Leah Camila Kylie Lucy Samantha Scarlett Stella Alyssa Nora Ashley Gabriella Jocelyn Taylor Makayla Jordyn Alexis Brianna Charlie Ashlyn Audrey Eva Serenity Keira Sophie Piper Sydney Aria Reagan Autumn Elise Brooke Ellie Nevaeh Cadence Naomi Alexandra Amaya Elena Alexa Clara Cora McKenna Mila Reese Ruby Hazel Jade Morgan

102 101 98 96 94 94 94 93 91 90 90 87 87 87 87 86 85 84 82 81 80 80 80 80 78 78 77 77 75 75 74 74 73 73 73 72 71 70 67 67 66 64 64 64 64 64 64 62 61 61

Bailey Anna Kate Leah Aaliyah Reagan Alexis Alice Aubrey Katherine Macie Sadie Aspen Isabelle Ashlyn Makayla Eliza Layla Charlie Hallie Hazel Kylie McKenzie Reese Ariana Jane Sydney Audrey Brielle Camila Elsie Molly Aria Piper Gracie Kennedy Annabella London McKenna Presley Rebecca Natalie Victoria Ivy Allie Clara Taylor Alexa Ashley Penelope

Number 90 89 89 87 85 84 81 80 80 79 79 79 75 75 74 73 72 71 70 70 69 69 68 68 66 66 66 65 65 65 65 64 63 63 62 62 61 61 61 60 60 59 59 57 56 56 56 55 55 55

136  Cleveland K. Evans Ryker, whose original use as a given name owes something to the character Commander Riker on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,”25 was over three and a half times more common in Utah as Colorado. The similar sounding Ryder was also somewhat more common in Utah. Crew showed the biggest difference. There were only 8 boys named Crew (or Cru) born in Colorado in 2012, compared to 113 in Utah. The 52 boys given the spelling Crew in Utah accounted for 17.7% of all boys given the name in the United States in 2012. Exactly why Crew originally became a boy’s name is unknown, but it’s been used by LDS parents at least since 1996, when Crew Ainge, son of Danny Ainge, was born.26 The elder Ainge, formerly a BYU athletic star and later a professional basketball player, was President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics for many years.27 Some other boys’ names more common in Utah seem to show parents there picking up on new “pop culture” phenomena a bit quicker than Coloradans. Bentley, which boomed all over the United States in 2010 due to a baby on the television program Teen Mom, ranked 69th in Utah in 2012 and only 105th in Colorado. Soccer player David Beckham saw 70 boys given his surname as a first name in Utah and only 15 in Colorado. Utah parents also seem to pick up more quickly on new, fashionable sound patterns. The surnames Braxton and Paxton were given as first name to 73 and 61 Utah boys, respectively, but only 43 and 38 in Colorado. Daxton, a newly invented rhyming form, was used 77 times in Utah and only 10 times in Colorado. Looking at the lists of girls’ names in Table 6.12, Liliana and Eliana are the only top 50 Colorado names that are not in the Utah top 100. This undoubtedly has to do with their popularity with Hispanic parents. The US census found 20.7% of Colorado’s population was Hispanic in 2010 compared with 13.0% in Utah.28 Other names that probably rank higher in Colorado than Utah because of Hispanics include Angel, Jesus, and Jose for boys and Evelyn, Mia, Camila, Genesis, and Aylin for girls. The Italian name boys’ Giovanni is now popular with Hispanic-Americans because of Italian-Argentinian actors who are popular on Spanish language television.29 There were five girls’ names in the Utah top 50 that were not in Colorado’s top 100: Paisley, Brynlee, Oakley, Hadley, and Emery. Like the –axton names, these show Utah parents picking up more quickly on new names that fit a certain sound pattern. Data found on the Social Security Administration’s national website show all five of those names rose in popularity between 2012 and 2013.30 Indeed, a name newly popular in the last decade being more common in Utah than Colorado in 2012 seems to predict further national increases in 2013. Lucy, Amelia, Ruby, Ellie, Nora, Alice, Sadie, Hazel, and Elsie are examples of past generation names now being revived in the United States. All increased nationally between 2012 and 2013, and all ranked higher in Utah than Colorado in 2012. The only obvious counterexamples of popular “revival” names more common in Colorado in 2012 were Clara and Cora. For boys, being higher in Utah in 2012 seems to predict increased popularity for brand new names better than for revivals, though Henry, Oliver, Luke, and Emmett

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  137 are reviving names where Utah was ahead. Utah parents’ greater fondness for Lincoln, Carter, Ryker, Grayson, Hudson, Easton, Asher, Zander, and Weston also predicted national rises in 2013. There were a few more counterexamples for boys: Noah, Elijah, Colton, Gavin, Julian, and Elliott were all names where Coloradans were the fashion leaders. Perhaps the best example of Utah parents predicting national fashions was provided by Jayden, Kayden, and Brayden. As was previously discussed, in 1998 these names were definitely more popular in Utah than Colorado or the rest of the United States. All then increased substantially nationally, with Jayden and Kayden, along with Aiden, being among the top ten names in the United States as a whole since 2008.31 In 2012, on lists which combined spellings, Aiden, Jayden, Kayden, and Brayden all ranked substantially higher nationally (1st, 3rd, 7th, and 27th, respectively) than they did in Utah (6th, 20th, 13th, and 66th, respectively). Utah parents began the fashion for the names Jayden, Kayden, and Brayden, and then were also among the first to grow tired of them. Book of Mormon Names and LDS Heroes The seeming upswing in names from the Book of Mormon found in Utah in 1998 didn’t last. In 2012, there were only 17 Sariahs born in Utah. Among male names from the Book of Mormon, only Ammon (31 births) and Teancum (5 births) showed an increase over 1998’s figures, with Ammon’s probably not being significant. So, LDS parents looking for uncommon names are not usually finding them in the Book of Mormon. Jane is a traditional name much more common in Utah than Colorado in 2012 (66 born in Utah, to 12 in Colorado) which is not strongly reviving nationally. It’s possible that its use honors Jane Manning James (1822–1908). James, the daughter of a slave, was one of the first African-American converts to the Church. The story of her hardships during her trek to Utah and the later indignities she suffered because of her race have become iconic for today’s African-American Church members. Many articles about her have appeared in LDS publications, and in 1999 a monument to her was dedicated at her grave.32 James was also one of the traditional male names that ranked higher in Utah than Colorado in 2012 (9th in Utah and 23rd in Colorado). Though at this point the connection is speculative, it would be fitting if Jane Manning James’ renewed fame was affecting LDS baby names. The Uniqueness of Utah Naming in 2012 Because both Colorado and Utah would only release data for names given at least three times in 2012, there can be no analysis of completely unique names in the states for that year. To look at the question of whether Utah’s name pattern is unique compared to Colorado’s, a different strategy had to be devised. The Social Security Administration’s national baby name data includes all names given to five or more children in the entire United States in 2012. The 2012 Colorado and Utah lists were compared with the national list to find names where

138  Cleveland K. Evans over 20% of occurrences were in the particular state. Since in 2012 Colorado accounted for about 1.65% and Utah 1.33% of all births, an occurrence of over 20% should show a special fondness for the name in that state. Tables 6.13 and 6.14 include the lists of all such names for Colorado and Utah, respectively. This data, unlike that used to create the lists of top-ranked names, treats every spelling as a separate name. The tables include both the percentage of American children with the name who were born in the state that year and the total number of children who were given the name in the state in 2012. Table 6.13 shows that there were 5 boys’ names and 14 girls’ names for which 20% or more of all United States 2012 births were in Colorado. However, all but 2 of these names had only 3 occurrences in Colorado (the lowest possible number that could be detected), and the other 2 only had 4 occurrences. This list is probably best interpreted as including the few names where over 20% of the births occurred in Colorado by pure chance. They show that Colorado’s naming patterns were highly similar to those of the entire United States in 2012. Table 6.14 is strikingly different. Though the total number of births in Utah was 19% lower than in Colorado, there were 44 girls’ names and 71 boys’ names in 2012 where over 20% of all occurrences were in Utah. Furthermore, 7 of the girls’ names had 10 or more occurrences in Utah, while another 13 had over five occurrences. For boys, there were 21 names with 10 or more, and another 11 with between 6 and 9 occurrences. Here we have data which shows Utah’s naming pattern to be significantly different from national norms. Of the 44 girls’ names on this list, 17 end in the sound –lee, with another 12 ending in –ee. This recalls the ending of the 5 names which were in Utah’s 2012 top 50 but not Colorado’s top 100. Since girls’ names ending in those sounds are popular all over the United States, this shows that Utah parents’ taste in sound patterns isn’t that different from the average; however, they do seem to be quicker to adopt brand new names with this sound pattern. Table 6.13  Colorado Names over 20% of All United States Occurrences, 2012 Girls

Boys Name

Percent (%)

Number

Name

Percent (%)

Number

Hawkeye Avel Denahi Hannibal Hamish

50% 23% 23% 23% 20%

3 3 3 3 3

Cassara Tayten Araiah Annastazia Lillyauna Reiko Rhylynn Britzy Vala Analeigha Evi Ananda Tatiyanna Yuriana

66% 60% 50% 38% 33% 33% 30% 27% 25% 21% 21% 20% 20% 20%

4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  139 Table 6.14  Utah Names Over 20% of All United States Occurrences, 2012 Girls

Boys Name

Percent (%)

Number

Name

Percent (%)

Number

Packer Bronco Corver Peirce Taysom McKay Korver McRae McKade Semisi Kru MacKay Jarom Alma Bosten Drexton Hinckley Monson Nixxon Sosaia Talmage Stockton Taggart Krew Treyvin Siaosi Kimball Kache Traeger Bryker Dallin Tagg Rockwell Tayson Hyrum Aisea Cache JT Taft Krue Brigg Sione Teancum Ammon Madsen Nephi Viliami McKoy Brigham Chaos

86% 75%* 75%* 75%* 67% 61% 60% 60% 57% 57% 55% 54% 53% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 48% 47% 45% 43% 43% 42% 41% 38% 38% 36% 36% 36% 35% 35% 34% 33% 33% 33% 33% 32% 31% 31% 31% 30% 30% 30% 30% 29% 28% 27%

6 3 3 3 6 35 12 3 4 4 6 7 10 3 3 4 3 4 4 5 13 27 9 31 3 3 7 3 3 4 41 4 17 14 35 3 19 3 4 9 4 9 5 31 3 14 3 4 36 3

Devree Quincee McKell Brenlie Makell Swayzi Brightyn Kaizley Oaklee Starlee Asenath Canyon Taylie McCall Kayzlee Aspynn Kaislee Taycee McKay Oaklynn Taisley Taylee Brinklee Navy Oaklie Swayzie Adri Cozette Jennika Andelyn Oakley Lyndee Afton Andee Skylie Kaizlee Indie Brynli Jaynee Quorra Brecklynn Indi Payslie Quincey

75%* 75% 71% 60% 60% 57% 54% 46% 45% 45% 43% 43% 43% 42% 40% 38% 38% 38% 33% 33% 33% 33% 31% 31% 30% 30% 29% 29% 29% 27% 26% 25% 24% 24% 24% 23% 22% 21% 21% 21% 20% 20% 20% 20%

3 9 5 3 3 4 7 6 34 5 3 3 6 8 9 3 3 3 3 4 5 34 5 16 7 6 4 7 4 3 48 4 22 8 11 3 10 8 4 8 3 3 3 6

(Continued)

140  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.14  (Continued) Girls

Boys Name

Percent (%)

Number

Hayzen Rexton Traxton Bracken Tage Trayson Dee Howie Bodee Heber Tyton Beckam Bridger Kysen Nixon Daxon Ledger Oakland Quaid Kanyon Tuck

27% 27% 27% 26% 26% 26% 25% 25% 24% 24% 23% 22% 22% 22% 22% 21% 21% 21% 21% 20% 20%

3 4 3 6 5 6 3 3 5 14 3 15 48 11 80 11 18 4 4 9 3

Name

Percent (%)

Number

* at least 75%; the name was not found on the national list, which identifies only names given five or more times

Most of the girls’ names in Table 6.14 are recent creations, at least as feminine first names. The Utah girls’ names include McKell, Makell, and McCall, which, although much less used than they were in 1998, are still uniquely common in Utah. Asenath is the only Biblical name. Jaynee and Lyndee are modern respellings of pet forms that have been used for centuries. Afton and Cozette are from literature: Robert Burns’ 1791 poem “Flow Gently Sweet Afton” and Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables (though probably the use of Cozette and Cosette in 2012 owed more to the film version of the musical based on Hugo’s novel, released that year). Oakley and Quincey are examples of surnames formerly used primarily as given names for boys, where Utah parents are ahead on switching the name’s gender. Kayzlee and Taisley are obviously newly invented forms based on the Utah favorite Paisley. Quorra, the name of a character in the science fiction film Tron: Legacy, released in December 2010, is an example of Utah parents picking up on a purely invented name from popular culture a bit faster than other Americans. The 71 male names in Table 6.14 include a group associated with immigrants. The success of Church missionaries in Tonga and Samoa has led many natives of those Polynesian countries to immigrate to Utah.33 Semisi, Sosaia, Siaosi, Aisea, Sione, and Viliami are Tongan or Samoan forms of, respectively, James, Josiah, George, Isaiah, John, and William. That no Polynesian names showed up on the

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  141 girls’ listing probably shows that these immigrants, like many others, are more likely to give traditional names to sons than daughters. It’s no surprise that more than 20% of boys given the Book of Mormon names Alma, Jarom, Nephi, Teancum, and Ammon were born in Utah. Heber, McKay, Hinckley, Kimball, Dallin, Hyrum, Rockwell, and Brigham honor LDS heroes and leaders who were mentioned in Part I. There are other names on the list based on prominent LDS figures. The most obvious new one is Monson, which honors Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2008 until his death in early 2018. Thomas is also one of the few traditional male names overrepresented in Utah in 2012, ranking 37th there and only 76th in Colorado. Other connections to Church leaders are evident with the names Packer, Talmage, and Tagg. Boyd K. Packer was President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from February 2008, when Thomas S. Monson became President of the Church, until July 2015. Six of 7 boys named Packer in the United States in 2012 were born in Utah. The name Talmage is likely based on James E. Talmage (1862–1933), an early President of the University of Utah and a member of the Council of the Twelve, who wrote several books still read by many Church members today.34 Taggart derives from members of the Taggart family, who have been prominent in Utah since the first LDS settlers arrived, and in 2012 Taggart “Tagg” Romney, oldest son of Church member and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was frequently in the news. Just as with the girls, there are recently invented names on the boys’ list that show a fondness in Utah for certain sound patterns. Drexton, Treyvin, Bryker, Daxon, Rexton, Traxton, and Trayson are obvious examples. Cache and Kache are respellings of Cash (fairly common in 2012 in many other states) inspired by Cache County, Utah. Taysom is a name inspired by Taysom Hill (born 1990), who in 2012 during his freshman year was already a star quarterback for Brigham Young University. Tayson may be a deliberate alteration (or even mishearing) of Taysom to make it conform to the popular “two syllables ending in –n” sound pattern for boys. The appearance of the name Bronco is likely influenced by the high-profile coaching career of Bronco Mendenhall, who was the head football coach at Brigham Young University from 2005 through 2015. The use of Ledger as a male given name is undoubtedly inspired by the late actor Heath Ledger (1979–2008) rather than the common noun. This is an example of Utah parents using the name of a non-LDS celebrity. Similarly, Stockton, from basketball player John Stockton, was still a Utah favorite in 2012, with 47% of all newborn American Stocktons born in Utah that year. Utah parents still pick up on basketball players’ surnames. Boys named Korver (and Corver) were surely inspired by Kyle Korver (born 1981). Korver only played for the Utah Jazz between 2008 and 2010. In 2012 he played for the Chicago Bulls and was then traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Korver is also not LDS; his father is a pastor of a Reformed Church in America in Pella, Iowa.35 Utah parents, though, obviously found Korver to fit right in with Ledger, Packer, Ryker, Bryker, Traeger, and Bridger to be a perfect Utah baby name.

142  Cleveland K. Evans Conclusion to Part II After analyzing the 2012 data, we can conclude that the great majority of babies born in Utah are given names which would arouse no comment in the rest of the United States. Since Americans all over the country are now more likely to give their children uncommon names than they were in 1998, even some of the more creative names found in Utah probably wouldn’t seem to be out of place in the rest of the country. The data certainly do seem to indicate that Utah parents are at least somewhat more likely to search out unusual names for their children than those in Colorado are. With the highest birth rate in the nation, and the relatively high frequency of unusual names, it might be expected that Utah would have a disproportionately high influence on naming patterns in the rest of the country. Whether or not this is the case, “new” or creative names have a higher level of use in Utah than in other places, and since people are likely to notice and remember unique and unusual names, visitors to Utah from most other states (and those who see these names on social media) will get the impression that given names in Utah are “different,” and that this has something to do with Utah’s unique LDS-infused culture. At least for 2012, these impressions are largely correct.

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming. Part III (for Data in 2021) In Part III, I will once again update my earlier discussion, using data obtained from the states of Colorado and Utah for births during 2021. As with 2012, modern concerns about privacy made it impossible to obtain information about names with a frequency of less than three for 2021. The author would like to thank Cynthia M. Robison of the Office of Vital Records and Statistics at the Utah Department of Health and Kirk Bol, Manager of the Vital Statistics Program for the state of Colorado, for their help in obtaining this data. Percentages of Children Given the Most Common Names Table 6.15 shows the percentage of children receiving the most common names in Colorado and Utah in 2021.36 In the nine years between 2012 and 2021, the percentage of children given the top names in both states has once again decreased, and this is again in line with national trends. The modern desire for individuality has continued, and, if anything, it is even easier than it was a decade ago to find information about which names are most common. The diversity of modern media found on the Internet, as well as through streaming video services, video games, and other modern technology, also probably leads to a wider exposure to unusual names. In 2021, there are fewer differences between Colorado and Utah on this measure than before. Colorado parents seem to have decreased the percentage of common names at a higher rate than those in Utah, so that there is no significant difference for either daughters or sons. This data by itself once again doesn’t provide evidence for a unique pattern of naming in Utah.

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  143 Table 6.15  Percentages of Births Accounted for by the Top Names in 2021 State Males Colorado Utah Females Colorado Utah

#1 Name

Top 10

Top 50

1.1% 1.2%

8.6% 8.9%

27.7% 27.8%

1.1% 1.2%

8.0% 8.0%

25.0% 25.8%

Differences in Names Commonly Used Tables 6.16 and 6.17 show the top 100 names given boys and girls in Colorado and Utah in 2021, with spellings being combined that the author believes are pronounced identically. Once again, 2021’s data do not include rare spellings used only once or twice, but these lists are comparable to those for 2012. The lists for 2021 have been extended to rank 105 because of ties at rank 100. Once again, in 2021 the overwhelming majority of children given one of the most common names in Colorado or Utah had a name also well-used in the other state. Nolan and Dylan were the only boys’ names among the top 50 in Colorado which were not among Utah’s top 100, and Dylan just barely fit this criterion, ranking 50th in Colorado and 103rd in Utah. Beckham and Crew were the only Utah top 50 names which were not in the Colorado top 100. In 2021, the presidential surnames which were more common in Utah than Colorado in 2012 had become further examples of Utah parents being both first to pick up on and first to abandon new fashions. For boys, Lincoln rose to 43rd from 102nd in Colorado over nine years while falling from 12th to 15th in Utah. Carter dropped from 10th for boys in Utah to 32nd while rising to 35th from 40th in Colorado. For girls, Reagan went from 56th to 89th in Utah while bumping up from 80th to 78th in Colorado, and Kennedy fell from 86th to 142nd in Utah while soaring from 154th to 76th in Colorado. The exception was Nixon. Though this fell from 76th to 96th in Utah, it still hasn’t caught on in Colorado. In 2021, only 6 Colorado boys were named Nixon, the same as in 2012. Ryker rose 46% in Colorado to rank 105th while plummeting from 16th to 70th in Utah. Crew, though still substantially more common in Utah, only inched up from 48th to 46th there, while in Colorado it skyrocketed 562% to rank 143rd in 2021. Beckham, though still rare in Colorado compared to Utah, rose 93% there (from 15 to 29 births) while rising 48% in Utah (from 70 to 104 births). A boy’s name on the 2021 lists which shows Utah parents picking up on new “pop culture” phenomena sooner than Coloradans is Dean. This is interesting as a rare example of a name which revives earlier than usual, as Social Security records showed it peaked in 1961, fell swiftly after 1968, and then began to rise in use in 2006, about 40 years before most previously common names would revive. The reason seems to be Dean Winchester, a character on the television series Supernatural, who with his brother travels the United States hunting demons,

144  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.16  Most Common Names of Males Born in Colorado and Utah, 2021 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Jackson Liam Oliver Noah Henry Theodore Mateo William Benjamin Grayson James Elijah Luca Aiden Jack Owen Lucas Miles Ezekiel Ezra Sebastian Alexander Levi Asher Elias Daniel Leo Logan Samuel Wyatt Ethan Charles Julian Caden Carter Thomas John Hudson Gabriel Mason Nolan Luke Lincoln Silas Brooks David Michael Jayden Caleb Dylan Isaac Cooper

359 335 318 291 261 249 248 247 226 224 223 222 220 217 210 193 190 187 172 170 166 162 161 154 154 151 150 150 150 150 147 144 144 142 141 140 138 136 135 130 128 127 125 124 121 121 119 118 115 114 113 111

Oliver Jackson Liam Jack William Henry James Hudson Grayson Theodore Noah Owen Lucas Benjamin Lincoln Miles Luke Brooks Ezra Levi Mateo Leo Luca Samuel Maverick Aiden Milo Asher Elijah Thomas Beckham Carter Wyatt Cooper Logan Isaac Ethan Wesley Mason Daniel Beau Emmett Alexander Rowan Bennett Crew John Charles Weston Jacob David Kai

293 256 242 228 218 211 192 170 169 166 165 162 159 153 153 142 140 138 138 130 129 128 127 118 116 114 113 112 112 107 104 104 102 101 101 99 96 95 93 92 89 87 86 86 85 85 84 82 81 80 79 78 (Continued)

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  145 Table 6.16  (Continued) Colorado

53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Jacob Maverick Everett Rowan Christopher Isaiah Wesley Giovanni Jameson Axel Elliot Adrian Damian Emmett Eli Connor Kai Beau Joseph Matthew Nicholas Andrew Anthony Weston August Malachi Cameron Angel Christian Josiah Jace Declan Roman Ryan Jose Santiago Adriel Ian Leonardo Colton Dominic Joshua Landon Aaron Jonathan Calvin Carson Bennett Easton Milo Nathan Arlo Ryker

111 110 108 108 101 99 99 98 97 95 94 93 93 93 92 91 91 90 90 90 90 88 87 86 84 84 83 82 82 81 80 79 79 79 78 78 77 77 76 75 74 74 74 73 73 72 72 71 71 71 71 70 70

Sebastian Axel Ezekiel Calvin Joseph Dean Eli Easton Jace Julian Matthew Andrew Elias Cohen Kaden Finn Peter Ryker Cash Graham Roman Archer Jayden Atlas Caleb Jude River Santiago Aaron Everett Nicholas Silas Gabriel Sawyer Knox Jett Michael Rhett Charlie Carson Declan Waylon Jonathan Nixon Elliot Hayes Max Theo August Damian Dylan Maxwell Parker

Number 78 77 76 75 74 70 68 67 67 67 67 66 66 65 65 64 64 64 63 63 63 62 62 61 61 61 61 61 60 59 58 58 57 57 56 55 55 55 54 53 53 53 52 52 51 51 51 51 50 50 49 49 49

146  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.17  Most Common Names of Females Born in Colorado and Utah, 2021 Colorado

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Number

Olivia Sophia Emma Charlotte Evelyn Camila Amelia Isabella Ava Madeline Mia Riley Zoey Avery Nora Eleanor Eliana Lily Harper Scarlett Everly Layla Abigail Adalynn Luna Gianna Emily Isla Elena Elizabeth Aria Maya Ella Isabel Mila Hazel Penelope Chloe Violet Aaliyah Ellie Lucy Lyla Quinn Charlie Leilani Madison Willow Liliana Emilia Hannah Ruby

348 328 279 265 266 249 209 194 193 183 180 175 175 169 169 163 162 160 156 156 145 145 144 144 141 140 137 136 135 133 129 128 122 122 120 116 115 111 111 103 98 98 98 98 97 97 97 97 96 95 93 93

Olivia Charlotte Evelyn Emma Lily Hazel Sophia Nora Eleanor Lucy Amelia Zoey Isla Mia Ivy Oakley Isabella Ruby Ellie Everly Ava Chloe Avery Adalynn Charlie Sophie Violet Claire Lyla Scarlett Emery Emily Harper Luna Penelope Grace Madeline Mila Elena Camila Abigail Ella Remi Isabelle Navy Hannah Paisley Elizabeth Willow Aria Alice Rylee

270 203 197 185 167 163 163 160 159 155 142 142 140 128 127 122 119 118 114 112 109 109 108 107 105 101 100 99 95 95 93 93 92 92 92 91 90 89 88 87 86 85 85 84 84 83 83 82 82 81 80 80 (Continued)

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  147 Table 6.17  (Continued) Colorado

53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105

Utah

Name

Number

Name

Grace Josephine Nova Emerson Emery Lillian Sloane Addison Kaylani Leah Cora Aurora Ivy Clara Adeline Ariana Kinsley Victoria Hadley Ximena Margot Stella Hailey Kennedy Aspen Reagan Naomi Audrey Delilah Natalie Claire Paisley Alaia Juniper Piper Allison Ayla Eloise Alice Autumn Amaya Brooklyn Marley Natalia Peyton Anna Kaia Aubrey Caroline Finley Jade Mackenzie Maeve

92 92 92 89 89 89 88 87 87 86 85 84 83 81 80 80 80 80 79 78 77 77 76 76 75 75 74 73 73 73 70 70 69 69 69 68 68 67 66 65 64 64 64 64 64 63 63 62 62 62 62 61 60

Lydia Sage Jane Madison Maya Stella Aspen Millie Quinn Clara Addison Nova Eliana Layla Vivian Eliza Hadley Brooklyn Aaliyah Adelaide Aurora Piper Sloane Indie Sadie Brynlee Eden Leah Adeline Juniper Blakely Josie Cora Hallie Olive Reese Reagan Freya Stevie Hailey Autumn Elsie Maisie Sarah Savannah Gracie Anna Audrey Jade Wren Eloise Holland Katherine

Number 79 77 74 74 74 73 72 72 72 69 68 68 67 67 67 66 66 64 63 63 63 63 63 62 61 60 58 58 57 57 56 56 55 55 54 54 52 51 51 49 48 48 48 48 48 47 46 46 46 46 45 45 45

148  Cleveland K. Evans ghosts, and other dangerous supernatural beings. One of the longer-lasting American scripted television series, Supernatural, ran from 2005 until 2020. In 2021, Dean, which only ranked 146th in Colorado and 165th on Social Security’s national list, was 58th in Utah. The character was played by actor Jensen Ackles,37 and in 2021 there were 21 babies named Jensen in Utah and only 14 in Colorado, despite its larger number of births. Two other examples of “pop culture” names rising sooner in Utah than Colorado are Knox and Atlas. These are both celebrity baby names, with Knox Jolie-Pitt, born July 12, 2008 to actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt,38 and Atlas Heche Tupper, born March 7, 2009 to actors Anne Heche and James Tupper,39 having influenced their recent popularity. In 2021, Knox ranked 87th and Atlas 76th in Utah, while only managing 199th and 111th, respectively, in Colorado. With Utah’s “early adopter” history of new names in mind, it’s probable that in 2030 names like Hudson, Brooks, Maverick, Milo, Emmett, and Finn will have risen in Colorado while having started their downswing in Utah. Looking at the girls’ names in Table 6.17, Gianna, Leilani, Liliana and Emilia are in Colorado’s top 50 but not in the Utah top 100. Once again, this is probably because of the higher percentage of Hispanics in Colorado. Leilani, originally a Hawaiian name, became known in Latin America as well as the English-speaking world because of the song “Sweet Leilani.”40 Other 2021 names that probably rank higher in Colorado than Utah because of Hispanics include Mateo, Ezekiel, Sebastian, Elias, Julian, Gabriel, and Angel for boys and Camila, Eliana, Ximena, Amaya, and Natalia for girls. There were 4 girls’ names in the Utah top 50 that were not in Colorado’s top 100: Oakley, Sophie, Remi, and Navy. Oakley, 1 of 5 names fitting that criterion in 2012, rose from 44th then to 16th in 2021 for Utah girls. Its popularity is now definitely spreading beyond Utah, though. While 26% of all girls given the spelling Oakley in the United States in 2012 were born in Utah, this fell to 8% in 2021. Combined spellings of Oakley ranked 123rd nationally and 207th in Colorado in 2021.41 When the spellings Sophia and Sofia are combined, Sophia’s been the #1 girls’ name in the United States since 2011. Nationally, its percentages have recently begun to decline, with Olivia still increasing, accounting for Olivia now being #1 and Sophia #2 in Colorado—the rankings they already had in Utah in 2012. Probably, most Sophias are called Sophie in everyday life. Sophie’s success in Utah may reflect a greater tendency by LDS parents to give girls names ending in the -ee sound, helping to account for Sophia’s already having fallen to 7th place in Utah. Remi and Navy are examples of “new” names from popular culture whose sound resembles previous fashions being picked up more quickly by Utah parents. Remi, resembling names like Emery, Ruby, and Rylee, is influenced by Remi Wolf, a contestant on the American Idol singing contest in 2014,42 and Remi Cruz, a YouTube chef with over five million followers.43 Navy, sounding like Ava, Avery, and Paisley, may have been promoted by babies born to social media personalities. Former “Bachelor Contestant” and fashion blogger AshLee Frazier Williams bore a daughter named Navy in September 2018,44 while Mary Lawless Lee, founder of fashion blog “Happily Grey” with 2.6 million followers, gave birth to a Navy in

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  149 July 2019.45 However, since there were already 16 Navys born in Utah in 2012, being 31% of all American babies given the name, LDS culture may have influenced the fashion bloggers more than the other way around. The 84 Navys born in Utah in 2021 were 10% of American girls given the name that year. The 2021 lists show many girls’ names whose popularity has increased during the last decade that rank higher in Utah than Colorado. Ivy, the second fastest rising female name nationally among the top 100 in 2021,46 ranked 15th in Utah and only 65th in Colorado (Ivy ranked 68th nationwide). Other “revival names” ranking higher in Utah in 2021 included Hazel, Ruby, Violet, Lyla, Alice, Millie, Adelaide, and Olive. Josephine was one of the few revivals from the past where Colorado was definitely ahead. Among names never popular before in America, Isla, Indie, Blakely, Freya, and Aspen were being taken up more quickly in Utah. There were more counterexamples here, however, with Colorado parents definitely seizing on Nova, Luna, Aurora, Sloane, Kaylani, and Alaia sooner. Everly, one of the fastest growing female names in the United States, coming out of nowhere since 2012 to rank 22nd nationally in 2021, seems to have been equally successful everywhere, ending up at 20th in Utah and 21st in Colorado that year. Book of Mormon Names and LDS Heroes Before beginning the discussion in this section and the following one on the uniqueness of Utah naming, it must be pointed out how the total number of births in Utah has dropped since 2012. Though final figures for total births in 2021 aren’t yet available, figures for births from July 2020 through June 2021 are. There were 51,439 babies born in Utah in 2012,47 but only 45,159 in the 2020–2021 twelvemonth period,48 a drop of 12.2%. In Colorado, there were 65,188 births in 201249 and 60,675 in the July 2020 through June 2021 year, a drop of only 6.9%. Though Utah’s birth rate is still the highest in the nation,50 with such a lower total it’s obviously more difficult for rare names to reach the cutoff point of at least three births which now applies to available data. We should expect there to be fewer examples of any sort of rare name in 2021 than 2012 because of that mathematical fact. Even keeping that in mind, names from the Book of Mormon seem to have continued the fall they showed in 2012. In 2021, there were only 4 Sariahs born in Utah. There were also 4 Sariahs born in Colorado that year, again probably because that name is being used as a blend of Sarah and Mariah by parents who have no idea of its LDS connection. Among male names from the Book of Mormon, there were only 16 Ammons born in 2021. Jarom and Alma, with 3 each, just barely made the cutoff point to be included in the data. The only other male Book of Mormon name showing up in Utah in 2021 was Mosiah, with 4 occurrences. Mosiah may well have benefited from its similarity to Josiah, an Old Testament name which increased its use nationwide between 2012 and 2021. But in 2021, even more so than in 2012, LDS parents looking for uncommon names did not usually find them in the Book of Mormon.

150  Cleveland K. Evans Jane continued to be much more common in Utah than Colorado in 2021 (74 born in Utah, to 18 in Colorado). Its rank in Utah rose from 76th in 2012 to 55th in 2021. Though Jane’s revived a bit since 2012 nationally, rising from 353rd to 265th in Social Security’s nationally published list counting each spelling separately, it’s still far ahead in Utah, maintaining the possibility that Jane Manning James is affecting LDS baby names. Lucy rose from 56th in 2012 to 42nd in 2021 in Colorado. It also went from 12th to 10th in Utah. Though Lucy is continuing to slowly revive nationally, it still ranked only 68th in 2021 on a national list combining spellings pronounced the same, as this analysis does for Utah and Colorado. Though in 2012 it looked like Lucy’s popularity in Utah might just be a general case of LDS parents picking up on a revival more quickly, Lucy’s continued strength in Utah in 2021 means that the memory of Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith (1775–1858),51 can’t be discounted as an influence. Though Lydia dropped from 43rd in Utah in 2012 to 53rd in 2021, it ranked only 111th both in Colorado and nationally in 2021, having only marginally increased over those nine years. Lydia’s continued strength in Utah may be another example of an LDS heroine supporting use of a traditional name—in this case, Lydia Bailey Knight. Born Lydia Goldthwaite in 1812, she joined the Latter-day Saints after her alcoholic first husband abandoned her. She and fellow convert Newel Knight (1800–1847) fell in love, but she refused to marry him until Joseph Smith told her it was appropriate. Lydia and Newel were married November 24, 1835, in the first such ceremony performed in Ohio by Joseph Smith himself. They had seven children, with the last born posthumously after Newel died at Ponca Camp in Nebraska. Lydia and her children went on to become some of the first LDS settlers in Utah. Lydia and Newel’s relationship has been touted as a great LDS love story, with Lydia held up as a role model for LDS women.52 Many LDS parents would surely see her as an appropriate namesake for a daughter. The Uniqueness of Utah Naming in 2021 Because both Colorado and Utah still only released data for names given at least three times in 2021, the Colorado and Utah lists were again compared with the national list from the Social Security Administration to find names where over 20% of occurrences were in the particular state. In 2021, Colorado accounted for about 1.66% and Utah 1.23% of all births in the United States, so an occurrence of over 20% should again show a special fondness for the name in that state. Tables 6.18 and 6.19 include the lists of all such names for Colorado and Utah, respectively. This data, unlike that used to create the lists of top-ranked names, treats every spelling as a separate name. The tables include both the percentage of American children with the name who were born in the state that year and the total number of babies of that gender who were given the name in the state in 2021. Table 6.18 shows that there were 6 boys’ names and 13 girls’ names for which 20% or more of all US 2021 births were in Colorado, just one more for boys and one less for girls than in 2012. Though most of these probably achieved their

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  151 Table 6.18  Colorado Names over 20% of All United States Occurrences, 2021 Girls

Boys Name

Percent (%)

Number

Name

Percent (%)

Number

Mackinnon Angelito Otoniel Bergen Gunnison Miklo

60% 36% 36% 33% 33% 22%

3 5 4 4 3 7

Beni Breck Kiaya Jozi Maislyn Dareli Ilina Rosealyn Sai Solene Evi Sereia Aizlynn

50% 44% 33% 30% 27% 25% 25% 25% 23% 23% 21% 21% 20%

3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4

unique Colorado status by a change from their previous form, a few of them have specific Colorado connections that could explain this. Evi, the only name on both the 2012 and 2021 Colorado “at least 20%” lists, is probably associated with Evi Nemeth. Born in 1940, she was an engineer and professor at the University of Colorado who was the lead author on several “bibles” of computer system administration. In June 2013, after her retirement, a yacht she was sailing on in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand disappeared.53 The combination of her fame as an expert in computer systems and the mystery of her presumed loss at sea probably keeps her name known around Boulder. That 3 of the 5 boys named Mackinnon in the United States in 2021 were born in Colorado surely is connected with Nathan MacKinnon, star of the Colorado Avalanche professional hockey team.54 Gunnison is inspired by Colorado place names, including the river, county, and city named Gunnison as well as Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. In 2012, 20% of the girls named Brecklynn in the United States were born in Colorado. In 2021, 44% of the Brecks, along with 19% of the Brecklynns, 17% of the Breckens, and 12% of the Breckyns, were Colorado babies. It’s probable that the image of the ski resort Breckenridge makes names starting with “Breck” appeal more to Colorado parents. Table 6.19 shows 33 boys’ names and 20 girls’ names in 2021 had 20% or more of all occurrences in Utah. This is substantially lower than the 71 male and 44 female names that fit the criterion in 2012. Part of the reason is because the 12.2% lower total number of births in 2021, combined with the overall decline in the US birth rate, made it harder for rare names to reach the cutoff point of at least three births. It’s probable, though, that an increased search for variety in names across the United States made Utah parents more similar to national trends than they had been before. Still, the lists show Utah still substantially ahead of Colorado in the percentage of children given names that are overrepresented in the state compared with national data.

152  Cleveland K. Evans Table 6.19  Utah Names over 20% of All United States Occurrences, 2021 Girls

Boys Name

Percent (%)

Number

Name

Percent (%)

Number

Driggs Monson Mosese McKay Alma Korver Talmage Caladin Hyrum Stockton Kimball Ammon Taft Adolin Viliami Jex Siegfried Tevita Treysen Venice Covey Redd Cache Fawkes Jarom Sione Dallin Salesi Rockwell MaCrae Brigham Griffey McKoy

75%* 75%* 75%* 52% 50% 50% 47% 43% 43% 40% 38% 37% 37% 36% 35% 33% 33% 33% 33% 33% 31% 31% 30% 30% 30% 30% 27% 27% 25% 23% 21% 21% 21%

3 3 3 25 3 6 8 3 26 21 3 16 7 4 6 3 3 4 5 3 4 4 11 3 3 14 9 3 23 3 21 6 3

LaDonna Paysen Palmyra Reggie Posy Quincee Tennley Afton Swayzie Leinani Meg Swayzee Quincey Aviendha Scotty McCall Mele Wylee Alta Bentlee

80% 60% 50% 50% 38% 36% 30% 28% 28% 27% 27% 27% 26% 25% 25% 23% 23% 21% 20% 20%

4 3 3 5 3 5 3 18 5 3 4 7 6 3 4 3 3 3 7 6

* at least 75%; the name was not found on the national list (which identifies only names given five or more times)

Eighteen of the male and 5 of the female names on 2021’s list are also found on 2012’s. Most of these fall into the categories discussed before. In the category of Tongan and Samoan immigrant names, Sione and Viliami repeat from 2012 for boys, with the addition of Mosese, Tevita, and Salesi, which are Polynesian equivalents of, respectively, Moses, David, and Charles. Mele, the Tongan and Samoan form of Mary, shows up for girls. The girls’ list also includes Leinani, a Hawaiian name meaning “beautiful lei.”55 It’s interesting that the nationally popular Leilani is less common in Utah, while Leinani skews toward the state. Table 6.19 includes the Book of Mormon names Ammon and Jarom, as well as McKay, Talmage, Hyrum, Kimball, Dallin, Rockwell, and Brigham, names associated with LDS leaders discussed in previous sections. Taft, where Utah accounted for

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  153 33% of newborn boys in 2012 and 37% in 2021, is from the middle name of Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), the former US Secretary of Agriculture who was the 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 until his 1994 death.56 It’s somewhat remarkable how Stockton and Korver, the surnames of two nonLDS professional athletes, were still especially common in Utah in 2021. Covey, though, is a surname associated with an LDS celebrity, Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012), author of the bestselling self-help book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) and other books on leadership and organization.57 Covey, who was a business professor at Utah State University at the time of his death, was also the grandfather of Britain Covey (born 1997), a star of the University of Utah football team in 2021, which might also have something to do with Covey making Table 6.19 in 2021. In 2022, Britain Covey became a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles.58 As Gunnison and Breck were in Colorado, some of the Utah unique names are connected with place names. The most obvious is Cache, the alternate spelling of the boys’ name Cash inspired by Cache County. On the girls’ list, Paysen would seem to be a respelling of Payson, a fast-growing city in southwestern Utah County, while Alta is probably partly inspired by the ski resort town in southeastern Salt Lake County. Both the Breck-names in Colorado and the use of Alta in Utah of course owe much to the previous adoption of Aspen as a girls’ name. Some of the places that may have inspired Utah baby names aren’t in Utah. Though there is a small unincorporated hamlet called Venice in northwestern Sevier County, even in Utah most people would first think of the Italian city. Driggs, whose use as a baby name may be inspired by the recent adoption of Briggs for boys, might be associated with the county seat of Teton County in Idaho. More likely related to LDS culture is Afton. Though originally inspired as a place name and given name by Robert Burns’ poem, Afton’s recent special popularity in Utah may be related to the construction and opening of the Star Valley Wyoming Temple in Afton, Wyoming, in the far western part of that state. The construction of the temple, the 154th for the LDS, was announced in 2011. It was opened in 2016.59 But the place name turned given name in Table 6.19 most surely inspired by LDS history is Palmyra. Joseph Smith was living on a farm on the border between the towns of Palmyra and Manchester, New York when he received his first visions, and the first copies of the Book of Mormon were published in the village of Palmyra in 1830.60 With its similarity to the well-established given name Myra, it’s mildly surprising Palmyra hasn’t become a more common given name in LDS culture than it has been. LaDonna is perhaps the most interesting name found in Table 6.19. There were only 5 girls named Ladonna in the entire United States in 2021, and 4 were born in Utah (The Utah data capitalizes the “d,” while national data does not, because Social Security’s computer program does not allow for internal capital letters in names). LaDonna is listed as a distinctively LDS name on the Utah Baby Namer site, and it often turns up on internet sites where LDS naming is discussed, as an example of

154  Cleveland K. Evans how “even older” Latter-day Saints have distinctive names. Has LaDonna actually been especially common in Utah in the past? A check of US census records available on Ancestry.com shows there were 2,961 women with the name Ladonna or La Donna in the 1940 census, and 54 of them were born in Utah. On the one hand, since in 1940 Utah’s population was 0.42% of the total population of the United States, and 1.82% of the LaDonnas were born in Utah, this means that there were over four times as many Utah LaDonnas as would be expected by chance. On the other hand, there would have had to have been 592 LaDonnas born in Utah in 1940 for the name to make the cutoff point for our Table 6.19. And 1940 was the year when LaDonna most skewed toward Utah-born women in the census; only 1.43% of 1930s and 1.10% of 1950s LaDonnas were born in Utah. So LaDonna is another example of a name which was probably never more common among Latter-day Saints than it was among Baptists and Pentecostals. However, we are now just about at the point where LaDonna could be considered a “great-grandmother” name by the new parental generation, which is when parents searching for names usually start to think of them as being “cool and retro” rather than “stale and wrinkled.” That combined with the belief that LaDonna is an especially “Mormon” name might be leading avant-garde parents in Utah who identify strongly with LDS culture to revive it. LaDonna’s a case where a mostly inaccurate perception that it’s a “Mormon” name may well become a reality in the 21st century. The final names from Table 6.19 to be discussed are Aviendha, Caladin, and Adolin. These are names associated with the work of Brandon Sanderson, a highly prolific bestselling author of fantasy novels. Sanderson, born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1975, is an LDS member who received BA and MA degrees in English from Brigham Young University and who now lives in American Fork, Utah. He was already becoming successful as a fantasy author (his first novel, Elantris, was published in 2005) when he was hired to complete The Wheel of Time, a very popular series of fantasy novels written by Robert Jordan (1948– 2007) after Jordan’s death. Sanderson finished the last three books in this fourteen-book series from Jordan’s notes, becoming one of the most famous authors to fans of fantasy fiction in the process.61 He has had a very prominent social media presence for many years. Sanderson has since gone on to publish many other bestselling fantasies, most set in his “Cosmere” fantasy universe. Among his most popular books are those in The Stormlight Archive series, whose fifth novel is scheduled to be published in 2023. In March 2022, Sanderson made news when he solicited funds on Kickstarter to independently publish four “extra” novels he’d written during the Covid-19 pandemic, and raised over $41 million in a month, by far the most successful Kickstarter campaign up to that time.62 Sanderson did not invent the name Aviendha. She is a character in The Wheel of Time, first appearing in Robert Jordan’s 1991 novel, The Dragon Reborn,63 as a “Wise One” with the ability to channel “The One Power.” She later becomes a lover of Rand al-Thor, the protagonist of the entire series. She is featured in the three books Sanderson cowrote, especially A Memory of Light,64 where she figures prominently in The Last Battle. Because a television series based on The Wheel of

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  155 Time began showing on Amazon Prime in November 2021,65Aviendha and other names from the series may increase all over the country in 2022. Kaladin and Adolin are characters in The Stormlight Archive. The 8 boys named with the spelling Kaladin in Utah in 2021 were 10% of those given the name that year. Kaladin is a dark-eyed soldier and Adolin a light-eyed “Brightlord” in a fantasy world where the light-eyed rank above dark eyes and the planet is regularly savaged by violent storms. Both characters were introduced in the first book of the series, The Way of Kings,66 in 2010 and were still prominent in the fourth volume, 2020’s Rhythm of War.67 Both their sound similarity to names like Hudson, Calvin, etc. and Sanderson’s prominence as an LDS celebrity in the fantasy field may contribute to the success of Kaladin, Caladin, and Adolin in Utah. Conclusion to Part III To briefly sum up, it was still of course true that the great majority of babies born in Utah in 2021 were given names which would arouse no comment in the rest of the United States. Between 2012 and 2021, the desire of Americans all over the country to give their children uncommon names had continued to increase. This may be part of the reason why Utah naming in 2021 showed fewer unusual names that were more common there in comparison to the rest of the country than had been the case nine years before. The data, though, still indicate Utah parents are somewhat more likely to search out unusual names for their children than parents in Colorado, and that Utah still holds its status as a place where many “new” creative names for children first become fashionable. Although the rest of the United States may be catching up, in 2021, Utah was still a bit “different” in the names given to its children, and this of course still has something to do with Utah’s unique LDS-infused culture.

Notes 1 Clark and Clark, “Original Utah Baby Namer,” 2017. The word “original” was a later change to the website’s name. 2 Clark, “What’s in a (Utah) Name?” updated 2018. 3 Clark and Clark, “Cream of the Crop,” updated August 28, 2018. 4 Deseret News 1999–2000 Church Almanac, 184, 244. These statistics reflect membership at the end of 1997. Of course, not all Utah names are received from LDS parents. 5 Evans, “Century of Given Names in the U.S.A.”; see also Lieberson, Matter of Taste. 6 Evans, “From Lisa to Jaleesa”; see also “Mackenzie.” 7 Evans, “Century of Given Names in the U.S.A.” 8 Bitton, Historical Dictionary of Mormonism, 216. Bitton is also the source for the years of service indicated for most of the prominent Church leaders in this first section. 9 Bitton, Historical Dictionary of Mormonism, 237–39. 10 Trantino, Beautiful Baby Names, 117. 11 Bitton, Historical Dictionary of Mormonism, 182–83. 12 See Dewey, Porter Rockwell. 13 Bitton, Historical Dictionary of Mormonism, 163–64. 14 Dallin D. Oaks, Personal conversation, 1998. 15 Taylor, “Keep it Simple.” 16 See Evans, Unusual and Most Popular Baby Names.

156  Cleveland K. Evans 17 i.e. Hanks and Hodges, Dictionary of Surnames. 18 Clark and Clark, “Cream of the Crop.” The Clarks’ web material has been updated periodically and no longer displays exactly the same content that was originally available in 2000, before changing its listed names to limit itself to the “cream of the crop.” 19 At the time of my original research in 2000, I used Alta Vista. 20 Hanks and Hodges, Dictionary of First Names, 432. 21 Pyles, “Bible Belt Onomastics,” 86–87. 22 Bitton, Historical Dictionary of Mormonism, 57, 34. It should be noted, however, that LDS infants are formally given their names in a religious ordinance (though not necessary for salvation) performed in front of their local ward congregation. 23 Lieberson and Mikelson, “Distinctive African American Names.” 24 As of January 2012, Colorado still had the lowest percentage of LDS population for any state bordering Utah, with about 2.8% of the population being LDS, compared to about 68% in Utah (see Deseret News 2013 Church News Almanac, 340, 398). 25 Evans, Great Big Book of Baby Names. 26 Payne, “Hoophall Classic 2014.” 27 “NBA Notebook.” 28 Ennis et al., “Hispanic Population: 2010,” 6. 29 Evans, Great Big Book of Baby Names. 30 “Change in Name Popularity.” 31 Evans, “Whaddya Noah?” 32 Mueller, “Playing Jane”; see also Young, “Pioneer Day with Soul—Part 2.” It might be argued that another reason for the popularity of the name Jane in Utah could be connected to the fondness many women have for Jane Austen’s famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. In addition to Jane being the author’s given name, it is also the name of a prominent character in the novel. And in 2005 a major movie version of the novel appeared nationally in US theaters, preceding a rise that we see between the 2012 Utah data and the 2021 data reported later in this article. Moreover, two years earlier than the 2005 movie, a modernized movie version, apparently geared toward young LDS adults (titled Pride and Prejudice: A Latter-day Comedy) appeared in Utah theaters and elsewhere. Of course, when it comes to the popularity of a name, possible explanations don’t necessarily have to be mutually exclusive. More than one possible cause can contribute to a particular effect. But one problem with proposing Pride and Prejudice as a source of the name Jane’s popularity in Utah is that the explanation doesn’t seem to correspond with the relative popularity of the name for the central character, Elizabeth, whose name, as will be evident in some data later in this article, declined significantly in popularity in Utah between the data collected in 2012 and 2021, during the same time period in which the popularity of the name Jane increased. A modest decline in the popularity of the name Lydia, another prominent character in the novel, also occurred during the same time period. 33 Davidson, “One of Every Four Tongans.” 34 James P. Harris, Essential James E. Talmage. 35 “Third Church” [See the Listed Staff]. 36 As of August 8, 2022, the Church website reports that the proportion of the population of Utah that are Latter-day Saints is 66.07 %, while the proportion of Latter-day Saints in Colorado is 2.58%. See https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-andstatistics/state/utah and https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/ state/colorado. Colorado still has the lowest percentage of Latter-day Saints in any state bordering Utah. 37 Giannini, Supernatural. 38 Kennedy and Boehm, “Jolie-Pitts Welcome a Son & Daughter.” 39 “Anne Heche, James Tupper Welcome Son Atlas.” 40 Evans, Great Big Book of Baby Names. 41 Data referencing lists of combined spellings in Part III were privately prepared by the author from 2021 raw data available from the Social Security Administration. See “Popular Baby Names.”

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  157 42 Latesha Harris, “Remi Wolf ’s Rule-Breaking Pop.” 43 Cruz, “Hey, I’m Remi.” 44 Aiello and Rosenbloom, “Bachelor’s AshLee Frazier Gives Birth.” 45 Lee, “Welcome Home Navy James, personal.” 46 Evans, “Liam, Olivia Top US Baby Name Lists in 2021.” 47 “Utah’s Vital Statistics: Births and Deaths 2012.” 48 Stebbins, “How Utah’s Birth Rate Compares to the Nation’s.” 49 “Colorado Births and Deaths 2012.” 50 Stebbins, “How Utah’s Birth Rate Compares to the Nation’s.” 51 Church of Jesus Christ, “Lucy Mack Smith.” 52 Hartley, “Newel and Lydia Bailey Knight’s Kirtland Love Story.” 53 “Evi Nemeth.” 54 “Nathan MacKinnon #29.” 55 Root, Hawaiian Names—English Names. 56 Church of Jesus Christ, “Ezra Taft Benson.” 57 “Stephen Covey.” 58 Call, “Former Utah Star.” 59 Hepworth, “Look Inside.” 60 “History [of] Palmyra.” 61 “About Brandon.” 62 Cadden, “Fantasy Author.” 63 Jordan, Dragon Reborn. 64 Jordan and Sanderson, Memory of Light. 65 Ratcliffe, “Everything We Know.” 66 Sanderson, Way of Kings. 67 Sanderson, Rhythm of War.

References “About Brandon.” Brandonsanderson.com. Available at https://www.brandonsanderson.com/ about-brandon. Accessed August 7, 2022. Aiello, McKenna and Alli Rosenbloom. “The Bachelor’s AshLee Frazier Gives Birth To Baby Girl Navy.” E!News, September 12, 2018. Available at https://www.eonline.com/ amp/news/967449/the-bachelor-s-ashlee-frazier-gives-birth-to-babygirlnavy? fbclid=IwAR3u5ldid5EJGI9e9qfJJcckMaWP3a2uEsL_zuCK0pyeL6f4hIJn3LucLss. Accessed August 7, 2022. “Anne Heche, James Tupper Welcome Son Atlas.” People.com, March 11, 2009. Available at https://people.com/parents/anne-heche-james-tupper-welcome-son-atlas. Accessed August 7, 2022. Bitton, Davis. Historical Dictionary of Mormonism. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1994. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Cadden, Mary. “Fantasy Author Raises Record-Setting $41 Million on Kickstarter for Secret Books.” USA Today, April 2, 2022. Available at https://www.usatoday.com/story/ entertainment/books/2022/04/01/brandon-sanderson-kickstarter-41-million-newbooks/7243531001/ Call, Jeff. “Former Utah Star Britain Covey Eager to Make His Mark with the Philadelphia Eagles.” Deseret News, July 28, 2022. Available at https://www.deseret.com/2022/ 7/28/23273446/utah-utes-football-britain-covey-rookie-mini-camp-nfl-philadelphia-eagleszach-wilson-vai-sikahema. Accessed August 7, 2022. “Change in Name Popularity.” Available at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/rankchange. html

158  Cleveland K. Evans The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Ezra Taft Benson.” Available at https:// history.churchofjesuschrist.org/landing/prophets-of-the-restoration/ezra-taft-benson? lang=eng. Accessed August 7, 2022a. ———. “Lucy Mack Smith.” Available at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ history/topics/lucy-mack-smith?lang=eng. Accessed August 7, 2022b. Clark, Cari B. “What’s in a (Utah) Name?” Updated 2018. Available at http://utahbabynamer. blogspot.com/2017/06/front-page.html Clark, Wes, and Cari B. Clark. “The Original Utah Baby Namer,” 2017. Available at http://utahbabynamer.blogspot.com/2017/06/front-page.html ———. “The Cream of the Crop: The Clarks’ Favorite Utah Names.” Updated August 28, 2018. http://utahbabynamer.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-cream-of-crop.html “Colorado Births and Deaths 2012.” Retrieved from https://www.cohealthdata.dphe.state. co.us/chd/Resources/vs/2012/Colorado.pdf. Accessed on August 7, 2022. Cruz, Remi. “Hey, I’m Remi.” Retrieved from “Cooking With Remi.” Available at https://www.cookingwithremi.com. Accessed August 7, 2022. Davidson, Lee. “One of Every Four Tongans in U.S. Calls Utah Home.” The Salt Lake Tribune, September 12, 2011. Available at https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id= 52551592&itype=CMSID Deseret News 1999–2000 Church Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1998. Deseret News 2013 Church News Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 2012. Dewey, Richard Lloyd. Porter Rockwell: A Biography. New York: Paramount Books, 1986. Ennis, Sharon R., Merarys Rios-Vargas, and Nora G. Albert. “The Hispanic Population: 2010.” 2010 Census Briefs, pp. 1–16. United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, May 2011. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/library/publications/ 2011/dec/c2010br-04.html Evans, Cleveland K. Unusual and Most Popular Baby Names. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, 1994. ———. “From Lisa to Jaleesa.” TV Guide, June 21–27, 1997: 30–33. ———. “A Century of Given Names in the U. S. A.” Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Name Society, Chicago, Illinois. December 27, 1999. ———. The Great Big Book of Baby Names. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, Ltd., 2006. ———. “Whaddya Noah? ‘Jackson’ Actually the More Popular Name in 2013.” Omaha World-Herald, May 27, 2014. ———. “Liam, Olivia Top US Baby Name Lists in 2021.” Omaha World-Herald, May 21, 2022. Retrieved from https://omaha.com/lifestyles/cleveland-evans-liam-olivia-top-­ usbaby-name-lists-in-2021/article_7d9b6ff8-d6dc-11ec-b93c-a72313e5cfb7.html. Accessed August 7, 2022. “Evi Nemeth.” NCWIT.org. Available at https://ncwit.org/profile/evi-nemeth. Accessed on August 7, 2022. Giannini, Erin. Supernatural: A History of Television’s Unearthly Road Trip. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021. Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1988. ———. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1990. Harris, James P., ed. The Essential James E Talmage. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997. Harris, Latesha. “Remi Wolf ’s Rule-Breaking Pop Pushes Her Closer to Superstar Status.” NPR, October 14, 2021. Available at https://www.npr.org/2021/10/14/1044460280/remiwolfs-rule-breaking-pop-pushes-hercloser-to-superstar-status. Retrieved August 7, 2022. Hartley, William G. “Newel and Lydia Bailey Knight’s Kirtland Love Story and Historic Wedding.” BYU Studies Quarterly 39: 4 (2000), 6–22.

Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming  159 Hepworth, Natalia. “Look Inside: An Up-Close Glimpse of Wyoming’s First LDS Temple.” East Idaho News, September 20, 2016. Available at https://www.eastidahonews.com/ 2016/09/look-inside-close-look-inside-wyomings-first-lds-temple. Accessed August 7, 2022. “History [of] Palmyra.” Retrieved from “Understanding Mormonism.” Available at https:// www.understandingmormonism.org/history_palmyra. Accessed August 7, 2022. Jordan, Robert. The Dragon Reborn. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1991. Jordan, Robert, and Brandon Sanderson. A Memory of Light. New York: Tor Fantasy, 2013. Kennedy, Dana, and Kristin Boehm. “The Jolie-Pitts Welcome a Son & Daughter.” People. com, July 13, 2008. Available at https://people.com/parents/the-jolie-pitts-welcome-ason-daughter. Accessed August 7, 2022. Lee, Mary Lawless. “Welcome Home Navy James, personal.” Happily Grey.com, July 16, 2019. Available at https://www.happilygrey.com/welcome-home-navy-james. Accessed August 7, 2022. Lieberson, Stanley. A Matter of Taste: How Names, Fashions, and Culture Change. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 2000. Lieberson, Stanley, and Kelly S. Mikelson. “Distinctive African American Names: An Experimental, Historical, and Linguistic Analysis of Innovation.” American Sociological Review 60, no. 6 (December 1995): 928–46. “Mackenzie.” In “Babycenter.” Available at http://babycenter.com/baby-names/details/ mackenzie-5255. Accessed August 20, 2022. Mueller, Max Perry. “Playing Jane: The History of a Pioneer Black Mormon Woman is Alive Today.” Harvard Divinity Bulletin 39, nos. 1–2 (Winter/Spring 2011): 513–61. “Nathan MacKinnon #29.” NHL.com. Available at https://www.nhl.com/player/­ nathanmackinnon-8477492. Accessed on August 7, 2022. “NBA Notebook: Danny Ainge Hired as CEO of Utah Jazz.” Available at https:// pressherald.com/2021/12/15/nba-notebook-danny-ainge-hired-as-ceo-of-utah-jazz. Accessed August 20, 2022. Payne, Terrence. “Hoophall Classic 2014: Crew Ainge, Son of Boston Celtics Executive Danny Ainge, will Go on a Mormon Mission before Playing College Basketball.” MassLive, January 19, 2014. Available at https://www.masslive.com/hoophallclassic/ index.ssf/2014/01/hoophall_classic_2014_crew_ain.html “Popular Baby Names.” Available at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/limits.html. Accessed August 7, 2022. Pyles, Thomas. “Bible Belt Onomastics or Some Curiosities of Anti-Pedobaptist Nomenclature.” Names 7, no. 2 (1959): 84–100. Ratcliffe, Amy. “Everything We Know about the Wheel of Time.” Nerdist, November 3, 2021. Available at https://nerdist.com/article/wheel-of-time-tv-series-everything-weknow. Accessed August 7, 2022. Root, Eileen M. Hawaiian Names—English Names. Kailua, HI: Press Pacifica, 1987. Sanderson, Brandon. The Way of Kings. New York: Tor, 2010. ———. Rhythm of War. New York: Tor, 2020. Stebbins, Samuel. “How Utah’s Birth Rate Compares to the Nation’s.” The Center Square, January 19, 2022. Available at https://www.thecentersquare.com/utah/how-utah-sbirthrate-compares-to-the-nation/article_ba5f1114-adce-5ec9-a5de-6b670b0cd415. html. Accessed August 7, 2022. “Stephen Covey.” New World Encyclopedia. Available at https://www.newworld­encyclopedia. org/entry/Stephen_Covey. Accessed August 7, 2022. Taylor, Phil. “Keep it Simple.” Sports Illustrated 90, no. 19 (May 10, 1999): 44–53. “Third Church” (n.d.) [See the Listed Staff]. https://trcpella.com/about/staff

160  Cleveland K. Evans Trantino, Charlee. Beautiful Baby Names from Your Favorite Soap Operas. New York: Kensington, 1996. “Utah’s Vital Statistics: Births and Deaths 2012.” Available at https://vitalrecords.health. utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Births-and-Deaths-2012-Utah-Vital-Statistics.pdf. Accessed August 7, 2022. Young, Margaret Blair. “Pioneer Day with Soul—Part 2: Jane Manning James.” By Common Consent, July 24, 2012. Available at https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/07/24/ pioneer-day-with-soul-part-2-jane-manning-james

7 Early Latter-day Saint Code-Names John A. Tvedtnes

By the summer of 1831, most of the Latter-day Saints had gathered to the town of Kirtland in the northern part of the state of Ohio. On June 7 of that year, Joseph Smith dictated a revelation declaring that the place of assembly would be in the state of Missouri (Doctrine and Covenants [hereafter “D&C”] 52:2–3). A portion of the text reads, “if ye are faithful ye shall assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land of Missouri, which is the land of your inheritance, which is now the land of your enemies” (D&C 52:42). The use of the term “enemies” anticipated that there would be opposition to the Saints settling in and around Independence, Missouri, which they considered their promised land and renamed Zion. Joseph and others journeyed to the place to dedicate it in July 1831. On the twentieth of that month, Joseph dictated a revelation that began: Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments, in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints. Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion. And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and a spot for the temple is lying westward, upon a lot which is not far from the courthouse. Wherefore, it is wisdom that the land should be purchased by the saints, and also every tract lying westward, even unto the line running directly between Jew [Amerindians] and Gentile [non-Indians]; And also every tract bordering by the prairies, inasmuch as my disciples are enabled to buy lands. Behold, this is wisdom, that they may obtain it for an everlasting inheritance. (D&C 57:1–5) But peaceful settlement was not to be. The local inhabitants distrusted their new neighbors and their cooperative economic ventures. They also feared that the newcomers would want to abolish slavery in the state. That fear intensified when the LDS monthly newspaper, the Evening and Morning Star, published an article on “Free People of Color” in its July 1833 issue. Enraged by the false assertion that the DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-8

162  John A. Tvedtnes article called upon free American blacks to immigrate to Missouri, mobs formed and destroyed the press at Independence and attacked outlying LDS settlements. By the next summer, most Latter-day Saints had been driven from Jackson County and began settling elsewhere in Missouri. At the time the press was destroyed, it was being used to produce a collection of Joseph Smith’s revelations entitled Book of Commandments. Thereafter, it was deemed important to not allow important church documents to fall into the hands of the Missouri mobs. On June 22, 1834, Joseph Smith recorded a revelation declaring, And let all my people who dwell in the regions round about be very faithful, and prayerful, and humble before me, and reveal not the things which I have revealed unto them, until it is wisdom in me that they should be revealed. (D&C 105:23) Joseph took precautions to conceal the identity of the individuals to whom instructions were given in the revelations, lest they come to harm at the hands of the Missourians. Code-names were assigned to Church leaders in Ohio and Missouri when the revelations were published in the Doctrine and Covenants (an updated version of the Book of Commandments) in 1835. In later years, after the necessity of concealing the identities of these men had passed, the code-names continued to appear in various editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, with the real names of people and places (as determined from manuscript copies) in parentheses. By the 1981 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, code-names were in most cases replaced with the actual names. By 1983, the identity of the remaining names had been determined, and these appear in subsequent editions of the book.1 Here, we shall discuss the code-names, the identities of the persons, and, where possible, the origin of the names assigned to them. Joseph Smith was called by three different code-names. The name Gazelam2 derives from Gazelem, the name of a prophesied servant of the Lord mentioned in the Book of Mormon (Alma 37:23). Enoch3 is the name of the antediluvian patriarch who was taken by God from the earth (Genesis 5:21–24; Hebrews 11:5). Joseph Smith considered him the architect of the city Zion, in which his people lived and shared all things, and after which Joseph intended to pattern the modern Zion in Missouri. Early in his ministry, Joseph revealed an account of Enoch that is included in the Pearl of Great Price (Moses 6:26–7:69; for further references to Enoch, see D&C 38:4; 45:11–15). The third code-name used by Joseph Smith is Baurak Ale,4 a transliteration of the Hebrew words meaning “God blesses.” By the time this name came into use, Joseph and other Church leaders in Kirtland were studying Hebrew. Significantly, in one of the passages using this name (D&C 105:27), another Hebrew term, Baneemy (evidently intended to represent Hebrew banay, “my sons”) was used to denote the leading elders of the Church.5 Joseph’s first counselor, Sidney Rigdon, was assigned the code-name Pelagoram,6 which may be an expansion of the Old Testament name Peleg (Genesis 10:25; 11:16–19). The second counselor, Frederick G. Williams, was called Shederlaomach,7

Early Latter-day Saint Code-Names  163 perhaps a variant form of Chedorlaomer, the name of a biblical king defeated in battle by Abraham (Genesis 14). Ahashdah was the name given to Newel K. Whitney, the Church’s Bishop in Kirtland.8 Edward Partridge, Bishop in Zion (Missouri) was denominated Alam.9 Two of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon were also protected by code-names. Oliver Cowdery was called Olihah,10 while Martin Harris was called Mahemson.11 Olihah may be related to Olimlah, the name of an Egyptian slave identified by Joseph Smith in connection with the Book of Abraham, in the Pearl of Great Price, which he translated (Abraham Facsimile 3, Figure 6). Or, it may derive from Orihah, a Book of Mormon name found in association with Mahah (Ether 6:14), which may be the origin of Mahemson.12 Several other persons were given code-names. John Johnson, at whose home Joseph Smith took refuge from the mobs, was called Zombre,13 a name whose origin I have not been able to determine. Several of the code-names used in Doctrine and Covenants 82:11 were identified in subsequent editions that followed the 1835 edition. These include names previously noted in this article such as Ahashdah (Newel K. Whitney), Pelagoram (Sidney Rigdon), Gazelam (Joseph Smith), Olihah (Oliver Cowdery), and Mahemson (Martin Harris). Other code-names found in the same verse were not identified until the 1981 edition, including Mahalaleel (now identified as the bishop’s agent, Algernon Sidney Gilbert), Horah (now identified as Church historian John Whitmer), and Shalemanasseh (now identified as Church printer William Wines Phelps). Mahalaleel is the name of one of the biblical patriarchs (Genesis 5:12–17). Horah may derive from mount Hor, mentioned eleven times in the Old Testament.14 Shalemanasseh seems to be a conflation of the name of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser (2 Kings 17:3; 18:9), also called Shalman (Hosea 10:14), and Manasseh, the Israelite tribe of the Bible from which the Nephites and Lamanites descended, according to the Book of Mormon (Alma 10:3). One of Joseph Smith’s revelations contains a warning for the Bishop in Kirtland: “Let my servant Newel K. Whitney be ashamed of the Nicolaitane band and of all their secret abominations” (D&C 117:11). It is unclear who the “Nicolaitane band” were, whether a church or some sort of secret society, but the name clearly derives from the Nicolaitans of Revelation 2:6, 15, some sort of early Christian heresy. In his attempt to deny the Church’s enemies information that might help them to thwart its work, Joseph Smith also took precautions in identifying cities and places. New York, for example, was denominated Cainhannoch,15 evidently compounded from the name of Cain in the Bible (Genesis 4) and the Hebrew form (Hannoch) of his son Enoch (Genesis 4:17). Kirtland was called by the name Shinehah.16 The term seems to derive from the Hebrew shanah, “year,” for it appears in the Book of Abraham as the name of the sun (by which the year is defined) (Abraham 3:13). It also appears in D&C 117:8, in the compound name Olaha Shinehah, said to be the plains near “the mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman” in northern Missouri. The element shine is also employed in D&C 104 in words denoting the church’s printing enterprise—a precaution that was well advised when that revelation was written in April 1834, just nine months after mobs had destroyed the printing

164  John A. Tvedtnes establishment in Independence. That section uses shinelah as a verb (“print”),17 shinelane as a gerund (“printing”),18 and the metathesized form Laneshine-house as a noun (“printing office”).19 The same section uses code-names for other businesses. Thus, Tahhanes denotes the tannery,20 Ozondah the mercantile establishment,21 and Shule the ashery.22 While I have been unable to determine whether Ozondah was inspired by the scriptures, it seems that Tahhanes comes from the name of the Egyptian city known as Tahapanes in Jeremiah 2:16, while Shule is the name of a Jaredite king in the Book of Mormon (Ether 7:7–27). The security provided by these code-names was short-lived. By the winter of 1838/39, LDS properties in Missouri had been confiscated or destroyed by mobs, and the Latter-day Saints who had not been killed and who had not left the Church because of persecution were making their way across the frozen Mississippi River to safety in Illinois. The fears that had prompted Joseph Smith to use codenames for Church leaders and properties had been realized.

Notes 1 Whittaker, “Substituted Names,” see especially 109–12; Harper, “Names, Code,” 436. 2 D&C 78:9; 82:11; 104:26, 43, 45–46. 3 D&C 78:1, 9. This name was also used in the heading to the pre-1981 editions of sections 92, 96, and 104. 4 D&C 103:21–22, 35; 105:16, 27. 5 The published version identifies the term as “mine elders.” In another example of the use of Hebrew, Joseph later denominated the Latter-day Saint settlement at Commerce, Illinois, as Nauvoo, a Hebrew word meaning “beautiful.” 6 D&C 78:9; 82:11; 104:20, 22. 7 D&C 92:1–2; 104:27, 29. Joseph Smith used the name Shederlaomach in a letter that he sent to the “Brethren in Zion” on April 21, 1833, which accompanied a copy of the revelation that became D&C 92. See Smith, History of The Church, 1: 340. The prophet also used the name in another letter of June 4 (Smith, History of the Church, 1: 365). 8 D&C 78:9; 82:11; 96:2; 104:39–41. The name also appears in a letter written by the First Presidency to W. W. Phelps and other leaders in Missouri under the date of June 25, 1833 (Smith, History of the Church, 1: 363). 9 Alam was not identified in the pre-1981 editions of D&C 82:11, where he appears with Ahashdah (Bishop Whitney), but later printings use the name Edward Partridge. The name Alam also appears alongside that of Ahashdah in the First Presidency letter of June 25, 1833 and is identified with Partridge (see Smith, History of the Church, 1: 363). Editors’ Note: Several scholars, even one as late as 2021, differ from Tvedtnes in the identities they assign to four code-names, Alam, Horah, Mahalaleel, and Shalemanasseh. Orson Pratt, an early Church leader, who was in charge of printing various editions of the D&C, says in a letter to Brigham Young that he can recollect the identity for most of the code-names, but not these four [see Whittaker, “Substituted Names”]. The absence of identifiers for these four code-names in 82:11 of the 1876 edition of the D&C (the first that lists individuals’ code-names with their identifiers) has led some scholars to incorrectly assume that when two adjacent code-names appear there with an identifier occurring only after the second of the two, the code-names refer to the same individual. The 1876 verse reads: Alam and Ahashdah [Newel K. Whitney], Mahalaleel and Pelagoram [Sidney Rigdon] and my servant Gazelam [Joseph Smith], and Horah and Olihah [Oliver Cowdery], and Shalemanasseh and Mahemson [Martin Harris].

Early Latter-day Saint Code-Names  165 In this verse, no individual has more than one code-name. The four missing identifiers are restored later from a document written by W.W. Phelps (one of the identities being Phelps himself). The Phelps document also verifies Pratt’s recollection of the other names (see Whittaker, “Substituted Names”). The identities that Tvedtnes has provided for the four names in question appear to be correct and are consistent with the list of identified names in 82:11 of the current D&C. 10 D&C 82:11; 104:28–29, 34. 11 D&C 82:11; 104:24, 26. 12 Orihah and Mahah in the Book of Mormon were brothers, so it is fitting that the two witnesses of the Book of Mormon should be given their names. 13 D&C 96:6; 104:24, 34. In D&C 96:6–7, he is said to be a descendant of Seth, later identified as (biblical) Joseph. Why Joseph Smith felt it necessary to conceal the name of one Bible character using the name of another is unclear. The name Zombre also appears in the History of the Church (Smith, History of the Church, 1: 353), which notes his ordination pursuant to the instructions in D&C 96:6–9. It also appears in the First Presidency letter of June 25, 1833 (Smith, History of the Church, 1: 363). 14 See biblical references in Numbers 20:22–23, 25, 27; 33:37–39, 41; 34:7–8; Deuteronomy 32:50. 15 D&C 104:81. 16 D&C 82:12–13; 104:21, 40, 48. See also the introduction to D&C 96 in the pre-1981 editions. 17 D&C 104:58. 18 D&C 104:63. 19 D&C 104:28–29. 20 D&C 104:20. 21 D&C 104:39–41. 22 D&C 104:39.

References The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981 [Various other editions prior to 1981 are also relevant in this article]. Harper, Steven C. “Names, Code.” In Doctrine and Covenants Reference Companion, edited by Dennis L. Largey, 435–36. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 2012. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. The Pearl of Great Price. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Smith, Joseph. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Period I, 2nd revised edition, 6 vols, with an introduction and notes by B.H. Roberts. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1980. Whittaker, David J. “Substituted Names in the Published Revelations of Joseph Smith.” Brigham Young University Studies 23, no 1 (Winter 1983): 103–12.

Part II

Doctrinal and Scriptural Perspectives

8 Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief Dallin D. Oaks

Every name has a history or story, a thread which in turn is often interwoven with other names and stories. In the case of names associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have an especially complex fabric comprised of many various dimensions or threads. These threads yield a particularly elaborate and complex tapestry, whose close examination and study often provide significant insights. In what follows, I shall show that onomastic study, that is, the study of names and naming, relates to a broad scope of distinctive Latter-day Saint (LDS) beliefs, perceptions, and religious practices. And although many of the onomastic connections that I shall discuss are not identified or promoted within official Church doctrine, I hope to show the relevance and importance of onomastic issues to a complete consideration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Names and the LDS Belief in a Latter-day Restoration Latter-day Saints believe that the Lord’s church was lost from the earth anciently through a universal apostasy and restored in the latter days. Jan Shipps explains that the Mormon conviction that they were directly connected to both Old and New Testament restoration promises, plus the fact that these claims are internally consistent, proved to be a motive force powerful enough to bring a new religious tradition into being.1 The key doctrinal notion of a latter-day restoration is embodied in the Church’s name. Many people are still unaware that what is commonly called the “Mormon” church is in fact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This name is crucial to Latter-day Saints not only because it was given to them by the Lord Himself through the prophet Joseph Smith,2 but because the name conveys information that distinguishes the Church in important ways. The title Latter-day Saints in the name of the Church reflects the important doctrinal view that the Church represents a literal restoration of the Lord’s ancient church which had been lost from the earth. The members of the Church in the meridian of times were known as Saints, a title which occurs throughout Paul’s New Testament epistles.3 To

DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-10

170  Dallin D. Oaks distinguish the members (or Saints) at the time of Christ from the Saints in our day, the term Latter-day Saints is used. Some outside the Church have mistakenly assumed that the use of the title Saints reflects a sort of presumptuous piousness. But to a member of the Church, the term Saint is being used very differently from the way it might be, for example, in the Catholic church. Even more importantly, the title of the Church carries the name of Jesus Christ. The significance of this fact to Church members is evident in the instructions given by the Lord Himself to the ancient inhabitants on the American continent, as recorded in the Book of Mormon: And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. (3 Nephi 27:8) Thus, the official name of the Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, follows the Lord’s instructions by taking on His name rather than the name of one of His ancient prophets, as the nickname Mormon might otherwise imply. The terms Latter-day Saint or LDS have been used in abbreviated nicknames for the Church. But like the term Mormon, they are recognized to be informal or unofficial nicknames, since they also omit the Lord’s name from His church. In a recent news conference, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, asked that people not use expressions such as “Mormon Church” or “LDS Church” to refer to the Church. Moreover, the Church’s most recent Style Guide asks that the term “Mormonism” no longer be used.4 Vital to the restoration of the Church was the restitution of proper priesthood authority and priesthood keys that had been lost anciently at the death of the apostles in the meridian of time. Within this restoration, names figure prominently as they help to signify the continuity in the transmission of authority from the ancient past to the modern day. Church doctrine rejects the notion of “a priesthood of all believers.” Instead, it teaches that priesthood powers and authorities are transmitted from one authorized priesthood holder to another. This type of transmission is exemplified in the Doctrine and Covenants, which contains revelations given to the prophet Joseph Smith and his prophet successors in modern times. Section 107 provides a priesthood lineage from Adam to Noah, where the listed names in this account are the same as those in the biblical genealogy since the priesthood was transmitted through the genealogical lineages. But the pattern of relationship in the two lineages of names is different as many of the various descendants of Adam received the priesthood not from their own father but directly from their ancestor Adam himself. As Church doctrine teaches, the priesthood authority was restored to the earth in modern times through visitations to the prophet Joseph Smith by the resurrected personages of Peter, James, and John, who restored the Melchizedek priesthood, and John the Baptist, who restored the Aaronic priesthood. And in the same

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  171 way that section 107 documents a priesthood lineage from Adam to Noah, many Melchizedek priesthood holders today can provide a detailed list of names outlining their own line of authority. In a church that was restored in 1830, it is striking how short a modern priesthood line of authority can be. With just a handful of priesthood ordinations, the line is traced back to Joseph Smith, who received the priesthood from Peter, James, and John, who received it from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Other important keys and authorities were also restored as part of the restitution of all things. Again, these keys had to be restored by those who held them. Thus, the Doctrine and Covenants does not merely report on the return of such keys to the prophet Joseph Smith but also includes the names of those important figures from the past who were associated with important commissions anciently and whose very names help to solidify the link between the ancient commission and the modern restoration. One example deserves special mention. The final chapter of the Old Testament concludes with the following prophecy by Malachi about the eventual return of Elijah: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.5 (Malachi 4:5–6) The Doctrine and Covenants brings this prophecy full circle as it records the return of Elijah (as well as others) in latter-days to the temple in Kirtland, Ohio on April 3, 1836. Elijah’s return coincided with the Jewish Passover season, in which a seat is typically set for his return at the Feast of the Passover.6 Joseph Smith reports what Elijah said at his arrival: Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come— To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse— Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. (Doctrine and Covenants 110:14–16) As a result of the keys delivered by Elijah, Latter-day Saints have initiated ordinance work such as proxy baptisms on behalf of those who have already died without an opportunity to perform the necessary ordinance work on their own behalf. These ordinances of salvation are performed in temples set aside for sacred ordinance work. Central to the fulfillment of proxy work on behalf of the dead is the accumulation of names of those who have died. The Church has thus accumulated the most extensive genealogical repository of names that exists in the world.

172  Dallin D. Oaks These names are provided to temples where the ordinance work is performed. The Church’s collection of names has also been made publicly available not only in a library near Church headquarters in Salt Lake City but also on a publicly available website. And as a precautionary measure, the original microform records are stored deep within a huge mountain vault, which is designed to withstand even serious created or natural disasters in the valley below. Of course, members of the Church believe that any of the dead for whom such proxy work is performed have the right of choice to accept or reject the ordinances. But members of the Church believe that many of the departed dead anxiously await the performance of temple ordinance work on their behalf. Elijah’s return also restored priesthood sealing powers that make eternal marriage possible and thus eternal family ties. But the notion of an eternal family goes well beyond the immediate family or close generations. Members of the Church are encouraged not only to identify the names and perform genealogical and temple work for their extended ancestry but also to keep journals of their own lives and to assemble and collect personal histories of themselves and their ancestors that can be passed down through the generations to their posterity. All of this indicates that the admonition of Elijah is taken very seriously by members of the Church. Thus, in a very real way the hearts of the children have turned to their fathers and the fathers toward their children as Elijah instructed on his return. The Doctrine and Covenants shows that in addition to Elijah, Moses and Elias also appeared in the Kirtland Temple and returned important keys and authorities. President Dallin H. Oaks explains that these visits by angelic messengers to the Kirtland Temple to convey priesthood keys to the prophet Joseph Smith shortly after the temple’s dedication were connected with the prophet’s earlier dedicatory prayer and the Lord’s subsequent reassurance that “my name shall be here.” As President Oaks shows, the Lord’s promise to put His name there is reminiscent of His promise when He accepted Solomon’s Temple, saying that He would “put my name there” and seems to refer to “an endowment of authority or power.”7 The scriptural prohibition against taking the name of God in vain can be interpreted as evidence of the importance of proper priesthood authority. President Oaks explains that one meaning of the scriptural injunction against taking the name of God in vain relates to doing something without proper priesthood authority. He quotes several verses from the Doctrine and Covenants, two of which I provide below: Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips— For behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority.8 (As cited in Oaks; the boldface is his) As it is commonly defined within the Church, the priesthood is the authority to act in God’s name. Latter-day Saints believe that because of the restoration of the priesthood authority, it is once again legitimately possible to act in the name of God.

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  173 The modern-day restitution of all things also involved the restoration of ancient scriptural knowledge. And just as names help establish a continuity between ancient authority and its modern restoration, so also names help establish a link between ancient prophecies or scriptural knowledge and their modern fulfillment and restoration. This is particularly true with the Book of Mormon, which represents an inspired translation of a record kept by prophets who lived in the Americas anciently and whose people had originally migrated from Jerusalem around 600 BC. The Book of Mormon explains that its people were a branch of the House of Israel descended through Israel’s son Joseph (the same Joseph who was sold into Egypt). In this respect, the name Joseph along with Judah constitutes the names of two branches of the House of Israel which would keep ancient records that would ultimately comprise the scriptural canon. And it is in the association of the Book of Mormon with the name Joseph that a powerful continuity is established between the modern-day restoration and Old Testament prophecy, specifically a prophecy by Ezekiel: The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. (Ezekiel 37:15–17) Latter-day Saints see the Book of Mormon and the Bible as the sticks of Joseph and Judah, respectively, and their own use of both books of scripture together as fulfillment of this ancient biblical prophecy.9 The LDS scriptures, including the Bible, contain the names of a number of ancient prophetic writings which are no longer available.10 In this respect then, named references to specific books bear witness to the fact that the current canon of scripture in the Bible is incomplete. From an LDS perspective, the recognition that the biblical record is incomplete is mitigated by a firm faith that the Lord continues to reveal important knowledge in His own time and according to His will. This dynamic provides for an open canon of scripture. Modern revelation has been essential in the restoration of ancient covenants that the Lord made with his people, and the notion of covenants and the perception of the LDS community as a covenant community is intimately connected with names.

Names and the Covenant Relationship At different points in their lives, Latter-day Saints are involved in ceremonies or ordinances in which they make sacred covenants with God. These covenants, which constitute a two-way promise between God and people, are an important part of a Latter-day Saint’s identity and worship, and as Thomasson has pointed out,

174  Dallin D. Oaks some important “rites of passage” within the Church involve not only the making of covenants, but the bestowal or acquisition of names. For example, he explains that at baptism Latter-day Saints take upon themselves the name of Christ.11 Taking upon oneself the name of Christ is in fact a requirement of those wishing to follow the Lord. The Book of Mormon contains the following instructions to those who would follow Christ: And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.12 And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. (Mosiah 5:7–8) The importance of ordinances and their associated covenants and names are underscored when we realize that ordinances such as baptism are necessary for salvation. But even as members of the Church at baptism acquire an identity as Christians, they also acquire an identity as part of the Abrahamic covenant and the House of Israel. This identification with Abraham and the House of Israel is apparent in a variety of ways, but it is especially apparent in the names associated with patriarchal blessings that members of the Church receive.13 Patriarchal blessings are usually given to youth in the Church, particularly during their teenage years, and are reminiscent of the blessing Israel gave his 12 sons anciently (cf. Genesis 49). In the Church, a patriarchal blessing is bestowed by a specially called and designated patriarch who lays his hands on the head of a member and is inspired to pronounce that person’s lineage in the House of Israel, a lineage that is traced through one of the 12 sons of Israel, and thus back through Abraham. The blessing also contains promises and words of instruction that the patriarch feels inspired to say. Such blessings are regarded as personal scripture for that individual. The matter of lineage, however, is not to be interpreted necessarily as the literal blood or genealogical lineage of the person but rather the lineage through which that person receives his or her blessings. For the purposes of the covenant, whether a person is a literal or adopted part of the House of Israel through their membership in the Church doesn’t matter.14 Most members of the Church, at least until recently, have been pronounced as members of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who were the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel (Jacob).15 This lineage thus links each member of the Church in a very personal way with the special covenant relationship that the House of Israel has had with the Lord. Old Testament names such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), Joseph, and Judah then are not mere Old Testament trivia items, but they form a vital part of a Latter-day Saint’s self-identity.

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  175 The self-identity of Church members as a “peculiar people” who have a covenant relationship with God is not, however, an identity that seeks exclusivity. Because of the doctrine of adoption by which converts to the Church are adopted into the House of Israel if they aren’t literal descendants, and the Church’s aggressive missionary effort, the covenant people status is available to all who would make the covenants associated with baptism into the faith (see 3 Nephi 21:22). The fact that so many members of the Church trace their lineage through Joseph, the son of Israel, whether through Joseph’s son Ephraim or Manasseh, is doctrinally significant because of important associations with this name. We have previously seen that the Book of Mormon represents the stick of Joseph. But the name Joseph has even deeper significance within the religion as one considers what the Book of Mormon says about this name and the latter-day prophet who would bear it. The ancient American prophet Nephi, whose family had brought the writings of the earlier Hebrew prophets out of Jerusalem with them, reports on a prophecy made by the ancient Joseph who was sold into Egypt. In this prophecy, Joseph, the son of Israel, said this about the latter-day prophet: And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation. (2 Nephi 3:15) The ancient Book of Mormon prophecy thus speaks of a latter-day prophet named Joseph, whose father would also be named Joseph. The fact that Joseph Smith bore his father’s name is significant, especially since the latter-day prophet Joseph was not even the oldest son. The scriptural passage shows that Joseph of Egypt saw parallels between himself and Joseph Smith. Joseph Fielding McConkie, who points out the similarities between the two individuals’ lives, explains that the earlier Joseph appears to have been a symbolic type of the later Joseph.16 Indeed, the similarities between the two have also been noted by different LDS scholars.17 And McConkie points out that the name also has etymological significance because of how it relates to Joseph Smith’s mission, since he was responsible for initiating the gathering of Israel in the latter days. McConkie explains: The etymology of the name Joseph is usually given as “the Lord addeth” or “increaser.” Though appropriate, such renderings have veiled a richer meaning associated with it. At the point at which our ancient progenitor Rachel named her son Joseph, the Hebrew text reads Asaph, meaning “he who gathers,” “he who causes to return,” or perhaps most appropriately “God gathereth” (Genesis 30:24). Thus the great prophet of the Restoration bears the name that most appropriately testifies of his divine calling.18 The latter-day missionary work that Joseph Smith initiated represented a spiritual and, in some cases, a physical gathering of Israel. Members joining the Church

176  Dallin D. Oaks initially gathered to Zion in America, but later Church pronouncements have made it clear that local ecclesiastical units could constitute a Zion. As has been mentioned, this gathering has until now mostly involved gathering the tribe of Joseph, but according to McConkie, the Old Testament records a prophecy by Moses about the tribe of Joseph (Deuteronomy 33:17), indicating that they would be involved in helping to gather Israel.19 In light of this, it is interesting that one of the earliest events in the restoration of the Church was the previously mentioned visitation of Moses to the Kirtland Temple where he “committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:11). Not long after this visitation in 1836, a modern apostle, Orson Hyde, traveled to Palestine and dedicated it for the return of the Jews. Many Church members see the dramatic subsequent migration of Jewish settlers back to Palestine as a fulfillment of ancient prophecy, assisted along in modern days through the Lord’s authorized servants. Even if one were to consider Joseph Smith’s mission with the more commonly ascribed meaning of Joseph as “increaser,” the aforementioned significance of the name still seems to apply, since Israel is increased by those who are gathered. The Book of Mormon quotes the prophet Isaiah prominently. In one passage from Isaiah, which uses the metaphor of a tent, we see a prophecy about a future growth among the House of Israel: “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes” (3 Nephi 22:2; see also Isaiah 54:2). In the Church today, this scriptural metaphor continues to be used. As the Church has grown, its members have been spiritually gathered into “stakes.” This is in accordance with a modern revelation contained within the Doctrine and Covenants. In reference to the “gathering of my saints” it says: “and then I have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes, for the curtains or the strength of Zion” (see Doctrine and Covenants 101:20–21). The religious and covenantal significance of the name Joseph is thus evident in the events and doctrines of the restored Church. Besides being the name of the prophet of the restoration, a restoration which would fulfill long-awaited promises to the House of Israel, it is a name associated not only with the latter-day covenant people who trace their lineage through Joseph, the son of Israel, but also a name associated with their mission of gathering Israel.20 And as noted earlier, it is also a name that is associated with the ancient book of scripture that the prophet Joseph Smith brought forth, the Book of Mormon, which Latter-day Saints regard as a fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy of a stick of Joseph that would be combined with the stick of Judah. This stick of Joseph would be instrumental in restoring lost covenants to Israel. As a latter-day book of scripture, the Doctrine and Covenants bears a name that witnesses the continued importance of the covenant making between God and His children. This volume of scripture also explains and clarifies important doctrines, including those associated with covenants such as baptism, eternal marriage, and receiving the priesthood.

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  177

Names and LDS Heritage The epic and heroic nature of Latter-day Saint history is intricately connected with their own view of themselves as a special covenant people. The similarity between Latter-day Saint history and some aspects of Jewish history is at times striking and has been remarked on by many people. And as the history of the Church has unfolded, naming has both shaped and reflected the Saints’ view of themselves as the Lord’s covenant people. Following the severe persecutions in Missouri and Illinois, the Saints eventually settled in the deserts of the Rocky Mountain West. It didn’t take long within these new surroundings for the Saints gathering to Zion to notice the similarity between their history and new location and the history and relocation of the children of Israel. Hadn’t the Saints after all been led to a promised land by a modern prophet Brigham Young, who, like Moses, had delivered them out of a type of bondage and persecution to a new Zion? Jan Shipps, who recounts some similarities between the two groups in their respective journeys also explains that “this LDS exodus led directly to the building up of a latter-day Zion in the tops of the mountains, a kingdom with a religious leader at its political helm and a temple at its center.”21 The topography of the Saints’ destination also contributed to their view of themselves as a latter-day Israel. In their new valley surroundings, they found a great salt sea, fed by a large freshwater lake in the same way that the Dead Sea is fed by the Sea of Galilee. Given this similarity, it was no surprise that the river connecting the two in Utah was named the Jordan River. Shortly after the Saints’ arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, Ensign Peak, which overlooks the valley, also received its name. In a history published by the Church, we can find the following description about that event and the significance of the name: Two days after the first company’s arrival, Brigham Young and several of the Twelve climbed a round bluff on the mountainside that President Young had seen in vision before leaving Nauvoo. They looked out over the valley’s vast expanse and prophesied that all nations of the world would be welcome in this place and that here the Saints would enjoy prosperity and peace. They named the hill Ensign Peak after the scripture in Isaiah that promised, “He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel” (Isaiah 11:12). 22 Given the religious perspective and background of the Saints, it is not surprising that they gave some of their towns and cities biblical or Book of Mormon names. Besides the Jordan River, which has been noted, there are such biblical names as Ephraim, Moab, Goshen, and Nebo. The Book of Mormon is represented by such names as Nephi, Lehi, Moroni, and Manti. One interesting connection between a modern geographical name and a doctrine associated with it has occurred with the name of the state in which the Church has its headquarters. The Saints originally wanted to name their new state Deseret, a Book of Mormon word meaning “honeybee” and representing industriousness. But support for this name dwindled,23 and the state eventually followed

178  Dallin D. Oaks the practice of many other new states as it was named for a local Native American word.24 Ironically enough, although the scripturally-based name “Deseret” was abandoned in favor of the more secular “Utah,” the new name resulted in a scriptural association of even greater significance for some Saints, for it is widely believed that in the language of the local Native Americans, Utah means “on the tops of the mountains.”25 By this interpretation, the name Utah thus serves to reinforce what the Saints already believed about their mountain location being a fulfillment of Isaiah’s ancient biblical prophecy, which was also found in the Book of Mormon: And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (Isaiah 2:2) Zion had been established in the tops of the mountains in the latter days. And the fact that the name adopted by the citizens of what was then a largely LDS state was interpreted to mean “on the tops of the mountains” merely served to reinforce a scripture that Latter-day Saints were already very familiar with.26

The Importance of Personal Names While covenant-making within the Church frequently involves the bestowal or acquisition of a name, in some ways even an individual’s own given name is sacred. Naming patterns by which members of the Church name their own children may closely parallel the culture at large, but there are some differences.27 For one thing, the naming of a new child is important enough that his or her name is bestowed in one of the Sunday worship meetings in front of the entire ward (congregation). That event alone might suggest to parents that they should not bestow a name frivolously.28 Personal names also figure prominently in the performance of religious ordinances. While ordinances are performed in the name of Jesus Christ, they often begin with the name of the individual for whom the ordinance is being performed. And as Elder Jeffrey R. Holland notes, the Church uses each individual’s personal name “on all the official records of the Church to document that person’s progress through the saving ordinances of the Church [and] on the pedigree charts and family trees that link the human family.”29 Moreover, personal names are also essential in the proxy ordinance work on behalf of the dead, which relies on identifying the names of those who have already died. The importance of an individual’s given name is also evident in scriptures, ancient and modern, which show that God Himself has used such names when addressing His children. Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve has shown that when the Savior called his chief apostle in ancient times, and His modern prophet, Joseph Smith, both of these individuals were addressed by their own given names.30 Although LDS naming patterns often follow the kinds of names found in the culture at large, some parents are very deliberate in choosing names at least in part

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  179 because of their associations with an important religious figure from the present or past. In some cases, these figures have names that are unique or important to the LDS tradition. Thus, one can occasionally run into members of the Church who are named Alma (as a man’s name), Moroni, Helaman, or Hyrum. The Book of Mormon contains a precedent for naming children after righteous figures from the past: Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them. (Helaman 5:6–7)31

Names and the Doctrine of the Plan One of the distinctive doctrinal contributions that has come from the scriptures that Joseph Smith brought forth relates to a gospel “plan” that was set up by God. Robert J. Matthews explains that the notion of a “plan of salvation that has existed in the mind of God from before the creation of the world” is “a special contribution of latter-day revelation.”32 Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet show that this plan is called by a number of names in the Book of Mormon such as the ‘merciful plan of the great Creator’ (2 Nephi 9:6), ‘the plan of our God’ (2 Nephi 9:13), the ‘eternal plan of deliverance’ (2 Nephi 11:5), ‘the plan of redemption’ (Alma 12:25), the ‘plan of happiness’ (Alma 42:8), the ‘plan of mercy’ (Alma 42:15), and, of course, the phrase ‘plan of salvation’ (Jarom 1:2, Alma 24:14; Alma 42:5).33 Given the importance of the plan in the Church teachings about our mortal existence and the purpose of life, it is fitting that some of the key participants in the plan have names that relate to important aspects of the plan. In fact, in this section, it will be instructive to consider how doctrines revealed by the prophet Joseph Smith also reveal significant meanings to some biblical names and titles. As might be expected, scriptural records provide a number of names for the Savior.34 But we shall consider other key figures as well, and rather than try to examine the doctrinal significance of all of these names, we shall look at just a few of these names that relate to distinctive Church doctrines, particularly in relation to the plan of salvation. First, it will be necessary to summarize very briefly the basic nature of the plan.

180  Dallin D. Oaks LDS scriptures teach that even before the creation of this earth, God the Father had prepared a plan by which all of His spirit children could learn and progress, becoming like Him and eventually returning to dwell in His presence. This plan would require that His children have the power or agency to make choices. It would also require that they experience a mortal existence, including physical death, and that they be separated from the presence of God (spiritual death) in order to learn, to be tested, and to prove themselves. In this regard, the fall of Adam, which brought both kinds of death, was a necessary part of the plan.35 Most important of all, however, the plan would require a Savior who would make an atonement whereby individuals would eventually be resurrected to immortality (redemption from physical death) and, conditioned upon their repentance, be cleansed from the sins that they would inevitably commit as they learned to responsibly exercise their agency, becoming worthy to dwell once again within the presence of God (redemption from spiritual death). The goal of the Lord’s “work” or “plan” is succinctly declared in a scriptural passage from the book of Moses (in the LDS scriptural book, the Pearl of Great Price): “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). In this verse, eternal life is not a redundant synonym for immortality also found in the verse. They have in fact a very different meaning. This is evident from a further passage which reveals Eternal as a name for God: “Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also” (Moses 7:35). Latter-day Saints scrupulously maintain a distinction between the terms immortality and eternal life. While immortality refers to life without physical death, eternal life refers to an exalted state in the presence of God. Thus, Church doctrine teaches that God’s work and glory consist in helping us overcome both physical and spiritual death. The use of eternal as a name rather than a mere adjective relates to another LDS view about the ultimate state of individuals after judgment. Unlike some Christian denominations that see a binary possibility after the final judgment, Church doctrine teaches about several degrees of glory that await those who have lived here on earth. In explaining how the word “eternal” could cause confusion when used between those who are members of the Church and those who are not, Thomasson refers to how it is used in the Doctrine and Covenants.36 Consider, for example, one passage: For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—Eternal punishment is God’s punishment. Endless punishment is God’s punishment. (Doctrine and Covenants 19:10–12) Thus, “eternal” or “endless” punishment does not mean that the punishment lasts forever, but that it is a punishment from God. All will be judged, and nearly all will enter a degree of glory corresponding with their obedience in this life and the kind of person they have become. In the case of the more righteous, their reward will be “eternal life,” which is exaltation to the highest degree of glory.

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  181 One title for Christ that relates to an important doctrine associated with the plan is “Son of Man.” At least in some cases, the LDS use of this title “Son of Man,” for the Savior, is not applied because of his physical birth through a human lineage. Rather, the title is often applied because of His identity as the son of Man of Holiness. “Man of Holiness” is a title for God the Father, a title which is identified in LDS scripture. Consider, for example, a passage in the Book of Moses: for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time. (Moses 6:57) The titles Man of Holiness and Son of Man hint at the essence of the plan of salvation37: Human beings, who are created in the image of God, may grow and progress to become like God. Their physical bodies, once they become glorified and perfected through the resurrection, do not constitute a limiting factor, but will instead make them more like not only the Son, but the Father as well, who has a physical body of flesh and bone (see Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). In fact, the LDS scriptures teach that it is not until our spirit is “inseparably connected” to our body that we can experience a “fulness of joy” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:33 and 138:17). The view of a God with a body puts LDS belief at odds with most contemporary Christian religions. But it is akin to a commonly held belief among many early Christians.38 The doctrine of progression also seems embodied within LDS interpretations of some of the other names or titles for Jesus Christ. The New Testament refers to Christ as the “Firstborn.” As with other Christians, Latter-day Saints teach that Christ was the first to be resurrected, thereby becoming the “firstborn” into immortality. But to Latter-day Saints, this title has an additional significance. This additional significance is found in the doctrine of a pre-earthly life. Church doctrine teaches that God the Father created each of us spiritually before He created us physically. In this spiritual creation, Christ was the firstborn in the spirit.39 The distinctiveness of this doctrine is not found only in the fact that Christ was begotten of the Father both in the flesh and in the spirit, but also that God the Father and Jesus Christ are physically separate and distinct individuals. An understanding of the doctrine of Christ as one of the Father’s spirit sons also helps explain why Latter-day Saints sometimes refer to Him as our “Elder Brother.”40 Moreover, He is our exemplar, whose life embodied the traits of a perfect being and showed us how to progress within this life. Indeed, the Doctrine and Covenants seems to indicate that the title “Son of God” relates to His progression: “And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first” (93:13–14; boldface mine). Later in the same section, the Savior makes clear for us the significance of His own progression: I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in

182  Dallin D. Oaks my name, and in due time receive of his fulness. For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace. (93:19–20) The recognition of Christ as a spirit Son of God does not diminish His divine role. Though operating under the direction of the Father, He is nonetheless a member of the Godhead and created this earth. His creative role as well as His redemptive role on our behalf, which makes spiritual rebirth possible, prompted some Book of Mormon prophets to refer to Him as both the Father and the Son. And because He speaks and acts only according to the will of His Father, having His authority and power, and only saying and doing that which His Father would, LDS doctrine teaches that He can by “divine investiture of authority” even speak as if He were the Father.41 Furthermore, LDS doctrine teaches that He is the Jehovah of the Old Testament, though this is not in the same sense that most contemporary Christians regard God the Father and Jesus Christ as separate manifestations of the same person, since LDS doctrine teaches that the Father and the Son are actually separate and distinct personages. Jesus Christ’s identity as Jehovah is well established in latter-day scripture. Elder Neal A. Maxwell calls attention to the onomastic significance in the way that the name Jehovah and the words “I Am” [a name for Jehovah that is identified in Exodus 3:13–14] occur together in a passage from the Doctrine and Covenants that testifies of Christ. He quotes from Joseph Smith’s vision of the Lord’s appearance in the Kirtland Temple: His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father (Doctrine and Covenants 110:3–4).42 Church doctrine teaches that as the Father’s plan for His children was presented in the pre-earthly councils, it encountered opposition from some of his rebellious spirit children. This opposition in fact occasioned the “war in heaven” mentioned in Revelation 12 in the Bible. With regard to this event, LDS scripture provides further details which invest the names of two key figures in the struggle, Satan and Michael, with additional semantic significance. The biblical account of the war in heaven is given below: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  183 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:7–10; emphasis mine) There is enough in these verses to account for the adversary having the Hebrew name Satan, which could be rendered “accuser.”43 The passage indicates that Satan accused people before God day and night. What the passage doesn’t explain is what he accused people of. But LDS scriptures provide additional information that may render further significance to the name and which clarifies the nature of the pre-earthly conflict. In the book of Moses, we read: That Satan …is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down. (Moses 4:1–3) The Father’s plan, which would allow people the agency to make choices and would provide them with a Savior to atone for the sins that they would make as they learned to appropriately exercise that agency, would involve some risk since there would be souls who would choose not to follow the will of God. Satan proposed an alternative plan in which he promised that all would be saved. As Larry E. Dahl points out, Satan’s plan may have superficially appeared to be more humane and desirable, but its removal of everyone’s agency would have “deep implications.”44 Dahl also quotes Joseph Smith’s characterization of the nature of the conflict in that pre-earthly council: The contention in heaven was—Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he could save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who put up their heads for him.45 We don’t know what the name “accuser” might be referring to, but one could logically infer at least a very good possibility based on LDS doctrine and scripture. Because the Father’s plan, despite the atonement and universal opportunity for salvation, still involved an element of risk associated with the free exercise of

184  Dallin D. Oaks people’s agency, Satan could have easily misrepresented the supporters of that plan, including the Savior Himself, as being uncaring and negligent. In actual fact, the plan which the Savior championed, with its preservation of agency and with His voluntary atonement for people’s sins, was the only one that could enable anyone to grow, progress, and find ultimate happiness. It is in this larger context of the Father’s plan for His children’s growth, development, and happiness, and His provision of a Savior to help them overcome their sins, mistakes, and troubles, that we can see even greater significance to John 3:16, which mentions how God so loved the world, that he sent His son. Satan led a third part of the hosts of heaven in battle against God’s plan. He and his followers were ultimately cast out of heaven. In this respect then his name as Perdition as well as the name sons of perdition for those who followed him seems especially appropriate since the etymology of Perdition refers to something that is lost, as the devil and his hosts surely were. But LDS doctrine and scripture provide additional information about Satan’s rhetoric in that event and consequently indicate a significant irony in connection with his name, for it is within LDS scripture that we learn that Satan had promised that not one soul would be “lost” (see Moses 4:1–3 quoted above). Yet as his followers were cast out of heaven, they became known as sons of perdition, thereby possessing a name or title that refers to their lost state and his. Although LDS doctrine does not discuss these names as ironic, its scriptures provide the additional information that make such an interpretation possible. This irony between Satan’s professed future plans and what actually happened parallels a separate but similar irony that is outlined by the prophet Isaiah: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.46 (Isaiah 14:12–15) As we saw in the passage from the book of Revelation, quoted above, a major opponent to Satan was Michael, the archangel. The name Michael may be translated as one “who is like God.”47 This is certainly appropriate, as Arthur A. Bailey shows, for someone who was “the captain of the Lord’s hosts in battle against the devil and his forces.”48 But Church doctrine adds additional pieces to the account, pieces which seem to attach even greater significance to the name Michael. Michael not only assisted the Lord in creating the earth, but, as Bailey points out, he “occupied a position of authority next to Jesus Christ.”49 Latter-day revelation also teaches about Michael’s identity here on earth. He was in fact Adam, the first man and the progenitor of the human race, who has a continued importance in the Lord’s plan for His children on this earth.50 As the pre-earthly foe of Satan, as a participant in the creation of the earth we would inhabit, and as the progenitor of our physical bodies, he very appropriately bears a name that means “who is like God.”

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  185 Before concluding this section on names in relation to the plan of salvation it would be instructive to consider one more observation about “the name of Jesus Christ” in relation to the plan. President Oaks has explained that references to the “name of Christ” can sometimes be used to refer to the Lord’s plan: “His oft-stated promises to give us whatever we ask in His name can be understood not just as referring to prayers offered in His name, but to prayers whose content focuses on furthering His work or His plan” (italics his).51 This interpretation of the name of Christ is important and relates to one of the great controversies among Christians, for, as President Oaks indicates later, it concerns the relationship between grace and works. He notes that although faith in Jesus Christ is a primary principle of the gospel, we should consider why various scriptures “refer to believing in or having faith in ‘the name of Jesus Christ’ rather than in Jesus Christ.” He explains: The totality of the scriptures and the teachings of modern prophets show that we are saved by Jesus Christ through the name of Jesus Christ, which means through the work and the plan of salvation mediated by Jesus Christ, most notably His resurrection and His atonement for our sins on the conditions He has prescribed. It seems likely that a primary reason for the numerous important scriptural references to the name of our Savior instead of just to the Savior Himself is to emphasize the requirement of our doing something beyond merely believing in Christ. If the scriptural references to “the name of the Lord” or “His name” or “my name” are no more than a reference to the Lord Himself, then it would be easier to maintain that we are saved simply by belief in the Lord Himself. But if these frequent references to “name” mean believing in (and acting upon) something in addition to the Lord Himself, then these additional words are persuasive evidence that salvation requires something more than mere belief in Christ [Italics his].52

Names and the Book of Mormon53 In 1985, the Church added a subtitle to the Book of Mormon’s name. The book thus officially became The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This change more accurately reflects not only the content of the Book of Mormon but also its significance. Elder Holland explains that the term testament, in addition to its relationship with the meaning of “witness” (Latin testis means ‘witness’), is also synonymous in a religious sense with covenant.54 Within the Book of Mormon, we learn much about not only the Lord but also His covenants with the House of Israel. In fact, the title page of the book proclaims that one of the purposes of the book is to help “the remnant of the House of Israel” to “know the covenants of the Lord.” Thus, it is fitting that the Doctrine and Covenants contains a revelation given to Joseph Smith which refers to the Book of Mormon as the “new covenant.”55 As a witness of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon is replete with teachings and declarations of His divine mission, showing that salvation would be impossible without His atoning sacrifice for sin. But even limiting ourselves to an onomastic

186  Dallin D. Oaks consideration, the emphasis on Christ in the book is still apparent in the variety of titles and names used to refer to Him. Susan Easton Black reports that the Book of Mormon contains 101 different names (or titles) for Jesus Christ. She explains: Each of the 101 names signified to the prophets a different attribute or characteristic of him and was used appropriately to convey their recognition of who he is and what his mission represents. As a result, his profound character, his singular mission, and his divine relationship to us are most clearly revealed.56 This observation about the connection between the Lord’s names (and titles) and what they teach us about Him is consistent with latter-day revelation to Joseph Smith in which the modern 12 apostles are called as “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:23). This would, as President Oaks indicates, include making them special witnesses of not only His priesthood authority, and His gospel plan (including His atonement), but also His divine attributes and essence. An understanding of Him is essential, for we are to become as He is, ultimately achieving exaltation.57 When considering the Book of Mormon’s witness of Christ, we can also look at some of the book’s unexpected structural and stylistic elements. In at least one passage of the Book of Mormon, the name of Jesus Christ is highlighted through an elaborate chiastic structure of the text. Chiasmus is a literary device that structures ideas and repeats them through an inverse mirror-like ordering. Yehuda T. Radday argues that in the Hebrew Bible “biblical authors and/or editors placed the main idea, the thesis, or the turning point of each literary unit, at its center.”58 John W. Welch, who has written about comparable chiastic structures in the Book of Mormon, shows that there is an especially elaborate chiastic pattern in Alma chapter 36.59 In this chapter, the prophet Alma describes his path to repentance and the forgiveness he received, and, as Welch shows, at the center of his chiastically structured account is the name and title “Jesus Christ, Son of God.”60 Welch explains: “By this, the structure of the chapter powerfully communicates Alma’s personal experience, for the central turning point of his conversion came precisely when he called upon the name of Jesus Christ and asked for mercy.” Thus, Welch explains: “Just as this was the turning point of Alma’s life, he makes it the center of this magnificent composition.”61 The Book of Mormon identifies Christ as the giver of the Mosaic law, the Jehovah of the Old Testament.62 In this regard, it is intriguing to consider whether there is an intentional onomastic wordplay on the title “I am” (cf. Exodus 3:14) in a directive He gave the inhabitants of the Americas when he visited them: “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27). The Book of Mormon further declares that “all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him [Christ]” (2 Nephi 11:4).63 Perhaps no better illustration of this assertion can be found than in the Book of Mormon itself, which contains a number of typological symbols of Christ. In this regard, for example, we might note the Book of Mormon’s discussion in Alma 33:19–22 that makes an overt typological

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  187 connection between the biblical brazen serpent story in Numbers 21:9 and Christ. In another example, we note that even as Christians recognize the prophetic function of the law of Moses in prefiguring the later earthly life and mission of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon’s identification of Christ as the Jehovah of the Old Testament opens up significant typological meaning with regard to redemption, for it suggests that Jehovah’s role as the Redeemer of Israel prefigures His very own later atonement. And it shows that Jesus Christ was already at work in Old Testament times in guiding and redeeming His people. Jennifer Clark Lane points out that “Book of Mormon writers take Old Testament redemption typology and the concept of adoptive redemption and make it explicitly spiritual and Christian.”64 Lane discusses similarities between the ancient Israelite ideas about a redeemer and the view of redemption that Book of Mormon prophets taught about Christ. She shows that Jehovah’s relationship with a covenant people that He redeems from bondage is paralleled with Christ’s redemption of His people (those who take on His name) from spiritual bondage.65 Alma chapter 36 brings these ideas together in an elaborate chiastic structure with the name of Jesus Christ at the center. Among the many typological symbols in the Book of Mormon that foreshadow the life and ministry of Christ, one of the most interesting involves a discussion of the Old Testament prophet Melchizedek, whose name means “King of Right­ eousness” and whose title, “King of Salem” involves an onomastic wordplay. Both the Bible and Book of Mormon mention that he was the King of Salem66 (in Hebrew, “Salem” is closely associated with the word for ‘peace’), an appropriate title for the Lord. But in this regard, the Book of Mormon adds information that gives greater significance to his title and enhances the typological connection, for it shows, as Elder Holland points out, that Melchizedek “reigned under his father,” “preached repentance,” and “established peace,” thereby being called “the prince of peace.”67 The Book of Mormon’s use of the title “Prince of Peace” (rather than “King of peace” as he is referred to in the Bible), coupled with the information the book gives about his reigning under his father,68 establishes an even stronger typological connection to Christ as it echoes the Messianic title “Prince of Peace” provided by Isaiah (Isaiah 9:6). Furthermore, we can see that Melchizedek’s title as “Prince of Peace” is not merely appropriate because of the name of the city in which he ruled but because of a genuine peace that he brought about (as noted in the Book of Mormon) through his preaching repentance to the people. In a revelation to Joseph Smith recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, we learn that “Melchizedek was such a great high priest” (107:2) that the priesthood was called by his name. The revelation explains: Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood. (Doctrine and Covenants 107:3–4) Beyond the Book of Mormon’s structural and typological use of names in witnessing of Christ, there are further significant dimensions stemming from names in this

188  Dallin D. Oaks religious record. At this point, we shall now consider some Book of Mormon names and how they have provided some scholars a basis for defending or promoting claims about the historicity of the book. Most LDS scholars base their belief in the Book of Mormon on spiritual rather than intellectual factors. But some LDS scholars are nonetheless interested in examining the book in line with the tools of their various disciplines, even as they acknowledge that such study wouldn’t necessarily be able to “prove” the veracity of the Book of Mormon.69 Because the book is understood to be a translation published in 1830 from original gold plates that are no longer available, much of the linguistic evidence that could be useful to scholars making comparisons between the English translation and the Book of Mormon’s source language(s) is mostly inaccessible. Hugh Nibley, however, points out that names within the Book of Mormon constitute a substantial set of “untranslated words.”70 Thus names have figured prominently in literature by apologists arguing the authenticity and historicity of the Book of Mormon. The second verse of the Book of Mormon records the words of Lehi’s son Nephi, the first prophet writer of the book, as saying, “Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2). Thus, in looking at names, Hebrew and Egyptian would be very important. But the world of Nephi at the time he and others left Jerusalem and set up a new civilization in the Americas would also make some other languages relevant in considering the possible sources for Book of Mormon names. In an article dealing with a possible methodology for approaching the study of naming in the Book of Mormon, Hoskisson, who has worked on a Book of Mormon onomasticon, explains: When considering possible language Vorlagen for the Book of Mormon, Hebrew of the biblical period is the first choice. Nearly equal in consideration to Hebrew is Egyptian, followed by the other Semitic languages in use at or before the time of Lehi, including Akkadian, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Moabite, and Ammonite.71 Nibley and others have provided a number of examples in which Book of Mormon names appear to be corroborated by authentic names in the near Eastern cultural setting where the Book of Mormon history begins, names which, significantly enough, are not to be found in the Bible, but seem to be corroborated through other historical sources. Although the examples may not be compelling to those scholars who don’t already believe in the Book of Mormon, to those who already believe in the text, the numerous examples discussed by LDS apologists are quite intriguing. One example will suffice to show how names can play a role in this type of debate. Dan C. Peterson has discussed what Nibley earlier noted about the name Alma in the Book of Mormon.72 Peterson explains that critics of the book have ridiculed the book’s use of Alma, not only because it is used in the book as a man’s name but also because the critics have maintained an exclusively Latin rather than Hebrew origin to the name. Peterson continues:

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  189 However, during the archaeological season of 1960–61, while he was excavating in the Judean caves on the western shore of the Dead Sea near En-Gedi, the eminent Israeli scholar Yigael Yadin found an interesting document from the early second century AD that not only destroys the objection of the critics, but furnishes striking support for the Book of Mormon. During the second Jewish revolt against Rome, the leader of that revolt, Shimeon Bar-Kokhba (or Bar-Kosiba), had nationalized some of the real estate around the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. Professor Yadin discovered a land deed bearing the names of four people who had leased nationalized property under Bar-Kokhba and wanted to set down with more precision the perimeters of each of their holdings. One of those four was “Alma, son of Yehudah.” What this find means is that, although Joseph Smith, if he had known the word Alma at all, would have known it as a Latinate woman’s name, recently unearthed evidence that he could never have encountered demonstrates Alma to be an authentically ancient Semitic masculine personal name, just as the Book of Mormon presents it.73 Other names have also been authenticated. Tvedtnes, Gee, and Roper have more recently shown that a variety of names found in the Book of Mormon and for which no comparable names exist in the Bible, are attested in ancient Middle Eastern sources.74 Nibley has also observed significant parallels between some Book of Mormon names and earlier Egyptian names and history.75 The importance of the apologetic work that has occurred over the last several decades has been largely ignored outside the LDS community, but that may be changing. In one issue of an evangelical journal, two authors of an article call attention to LDS apologetic literature and express dismay that evangelicals have not made a better effort to oppose it. They explain that “[t]he evangelical world needs to wake up and respond to contemporary LDS scholarship. If not, we will needlessly lose the battle without ever knowing it.”76 Further attention to LDS apologetic literature was given in part of a book from Oxford University Press about the Book of Mormon, this time by an LDS author. In that book, some attention was even given to the significance of names within LDS apologetic literature.77 Besides their occasional use in Book of Mormon apologetics, names within the text also often seem to have etymologies that carry interpretive significance for the text itself. For example, Hoskisson discusses the fact that Jershon is the toponym for a land given by the Nephites to a group of Lamanites as an inheritance; based on the usual correspondence in the King James Version of j for the Hebrew phoneme /y/, Book of Mormon Jershon could correspond to the Hebrew root yrš meaning ‘to inherit,’ thus providing an appropriate play on words in Alma 27:22: ‘and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance.’78 Bowen, who has published extensively about the interpretive significance of Hebrew names in the Book of Mormon, has noted a unified thematic

190  Dallin D. Oaks development in the way that the Hebrew names Zarahemla and Jershon are used within the narrative of the Book of Mormon.79 Beyond the ascribed Hebrew origin of some Book of Mormon names, another intriguing type of onomastic pattern may be evident in its prophecy of the European discovery of America. While Christopher Columbus isn’t mentioned by name in the Book of Mormon, the book’s description of his being guided by the Holy Ghost and opening up the promised land to the gentiles who would bring the word of Christ to the descendants of the Book of Mormon people who had lost the truth80 may well point directly to his name. The name Christopher, as Arnold K. Garr points out, means “Christ-bearer” and may relate to the Christian missionary work that his discovery initiated, while the name Columbus means “dove,” an appropriate symbol for one who claimed to have had the influence of the Spirit of God directing him in his discovery81 and for whom the Book of Mormon bears such witness also. Thomasson has looked at metonymy in the Book of Mormon, noting, for example, that the name Nephi, which was the name of the first Nephite king, came to be used for subsequent kings. In his discussion he quotes a passage in the Book of Mormon: Wherefore, the people were desirous to retain in remembrance his name. And whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reigns of the kings; and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever name they would. (Jacob 1:11)82 Thomasson explains that metonymy may be used in the Book of Mormon “as a technique of editorial condensation and commentary.”83 He gives a number of examples, including the case of Isabel. Isabel was a harlot who seduced Corianton while he was supposed to be assisting his prophet father in missionary work. Thomasson presents the opinion of some LDS scholars that Isabel might be “metonymically linked with the Old Testament Jezebel who led Israel into idolatry or whoring after false gods, as the harlot Isabel does Corianton and those he should teach.”84 Nibley further points out that Isabel was “the name of the Patroness of Harlots in the religion of the Phoenicians.”85 Other possible examples of metonymy from the Book of Mormon might include Mulek, a Book of Mormon king (see Hebrew melek, ‘king’)86; Mosiah (compare the Hebrew môšiaʽ), the name of a Book of Mormon king whose actions closely match the salvational role associated with a môšiaʽ as shown in biblical passages such as Deuteronomy 22:2787; and Samuel the Lamanite, a prophet whose mission related to getting the people to believe on the Lord’s name (see the etymology of Samuel—which can be interpreted as “Name of God,”88 with regard to Helaman 14:12–13). Just how far metonymy or other namebased word plays should be applied in the interpretation of the book is not clear, but there are some striking possibilities within the text, and they aren’t limited to parallels between the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament. Of course, the importance of the Book of Mormon is not as a literary text for analysis but rather its powerful witness and testimony of the Savior, as well as His

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  191 doctrine, atonement, and latter-day work. But to individuals interested in linguistic issues, the names within the Book of Mormon text present some fascinating possibilities.

Conclusion Harold Bloom, the Yale cultural critic, noted that “the Mormons, like the Jews before them, are a religion that became a people.”89 Some scholars in fact consider Latter-day Saints an ethnic group,90 despite the fact that Church members are racially heterogeneous. One of the most powerful factors distinguishing groups of people can be language. That members of diverse faiths, even those speaking the same language, would have some differences in their language usage is not so unusual. But an awareness of the nature and specific characteristics of these differences can be instructive and yield insights into the belief system in a way that other approaches might not do. This seems to be true of names in LDS doctrine and belief.

Notes







1 Shipps, “Reality of the Restoration,” 183. 2 See Doctrine and Covenants 115:4. 3 See, for example, Philippians 1:1 and Colossians 1:1. 4 President Nelson’s official statement to the press was given on August 16, 2018. This statement was followed not long afterward by a longer address given on the topic at a General Conference of the Church, held in October 2018. A copy of this address is published as “The Correct Name of the Church” and is available in the Church’s official magazine, the Ensign (now the Liahona) 48, no. 11 (Nov. 2018): 87–90. The Church has prepared a style guide for the use of the media and others who write about the Church. This appears as “Style Guide—The Name of the Church” at https://­ newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide. For more information on this topic, see footnote #2 in Dallin D. Oaks, “Introduction.” 5 The biblical quotations in this chapter will come from the King James Version. For the purposes of this chapter, this practice is especially appropriate since the biblical discussions here are not included to settle disputed passages but rather to place them in the LDS doctrinal context. The King James Version is the translation officially used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in the English-speaking world (see The Holy Bible in the References section). 6 Ricks, “Appearance of Elijah and Moses.” Ricks shows that Elijah’s appearance occurred during the week of Passover and thus during the “Passover season,” though it did not occur precisely during the Passover meal. 7 Dallin H. Oaks, His Holy Name, 14–15. At the time his book was written, Elder Oaks was a member of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one of the senior governing bodies of the Church. In this chapter, he will be referred to with his current ecclesiastical title, “President,” which he has by virtue of his position as a counselor in the First Presidency and as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This will also serve to distinguish him from the author of this chapter, who shares his name. 8 Ibid., 13, 18. The quoted text is from the Doctrine and Covenants 63:61–62. 9 Shipps, “Reality of the Restoration,” 187–88. In this regard, Shipps also points out a couple of Book of Mormon passages that connect Ezekiel’s prophecy to the Book of Mormon. Throughout her article, she also discusses various relationships between ancient prophecy and LDS doctrine about a restoration.

192  Dallin D. Oaks 10 See, for example, 1 Chronicles 29:29 in the Bible; and Jacob 5:1 or 1 Nephi 19:10 in the Book of Mormon; and Section 107:57 from the Doctrine and Covenants. 11 Thomasson, “What’s in a Name?” 4–6. 12 This passage from the Book of Mormon also helps to clarify an LDS concept that has confused some outside observers. The Church teaches that God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate and distinct personages. Yet in some passages, the Book of Mormon refers to Christ as the Father. Some outside critics have argued that this represents an inconsistency within Church doctrine. But as the quoted Book of Mormon passage makes clear, Christ can legitimately be spoken of as the Father of our salvation. We are born again through His atonement, becoming in one sense His sons and daughters. There are other ways also in which Christ can be called our Father. For an explanation, one might look at an official statement issued by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve in 1916 titled “The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Twelve.” A copy of this has been reprinted more recently as Appendix C in a book by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve. See his book, Christ and the New Covenant, 359–69. 13 For a brief discussion of the Abrahamic covenant in the context of names and naming, see Joseph Fielding McConkie, “Doctrine of Names.” For a general discussion of the Abrahamic covenant, see “Abrahamic Covenant” (on the Church’s website). 14 For a discussion of varying LDS views historically on the nature and significance of literal versus adoptive membership in declared lineages of patriarchal blessings, see Andersen, “Practice and Meaning of Declaring Lineage.” What is described here in my chapter in relation to the unimportance in distinguishing between literal vs adopted lineage for individuals seems to me to be the current, widely held understanding among Church members. 15 Israel is also known scripturally as Jacob, who was the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham. He received his name, Israel, from God (see Genesis 35:10). 16 Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, 36–43. McConkie sees Joseph of Israel as a type of both the Lord Jesus Christ (30–36) as well as Joseph Smith (and the tribe of Joseph in the latter-days). 17 Besides McConkie’s discussion, see also Madsen and Black, “Joseph and Joseph.” See also Maxwell, But for a Small Moment, 106–7. 18 Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, 193. For another detailed discussion of the name Joseph and its etymological relevance to scriptural interpretation in the Bible and Book of Mormon, see Bowen, “‘And the Meek Also shall Increase’.” 19 Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, 193. 20 One LDS scholar even sees a possible significance to the surname as well as the given name of the prophet Joseph Smith. After explaining that Joseph can mean “may God add sons,” he suggests: A ‘smith’ is someone who forges or fashions or beats something out of raw material. So, if you are God, and you want to establish a kingdom out of raw material, and then add sons to it—How do you describe that? ‘Joseph Smith’. From Parker, “True Doctrine Understood.” Parker’s comments are based on some ideas previously expressed by Robert Norman. 21 Shipps, Mormonism, 59–60. 22 Our Heritage, 81. 23 For a discussion showing how the name “Utah” replaced “Deseret,” see Morgan, State of Deseret, 74–77, 112–17. 24 “Utah,” in Compton’s Encyclopedia and Fact Index, 25: 215. This article indicates that the name Utah came “from a Ute Indian word ‘eutaw,’ meaning ‘in the tops of the mountains’.” But this suggested provenance is not uncontroversial. See the next note. 25 There is some disagreement about the origin of the state name Utah and what it has meant. See Nuessel, Study of Names, 57. Nuessel lists an origin (“American Indian”) and meaning (“on the tops of the mountains”) that is consistent with what is

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  193 mentioned in Compton’s Encyclopedia (see previous note). But Arave provides a discussion suggesting that the origin and meaning of the term is not at all clear. See Arave, “Utah: The Riddle.” Farmer, On Zion’s Mount, 259, explains that “the word derives from ‘Yuta,’ a Hispanicized version of a native word—possibly Western Apache for ‘one that is higher up’.” In relation to the Utes, he also notes that “a nineteenth-century authority defined ‘Yutas’ as ‘they who live on mountains’.”; cf. also Eddington, Utahisms, 70. 26 The suggested connection between the name Utah and Isaiah’s prophecy is not official doctrine of the Church, but the notion has been referred to in a Church-produced film titled The Mountain of the Lord. It should be noted, however, that many members of the Church see this scriptural passage in Isaiah as having more than one possible fulfillment. And of course, the perceived connection between the Saints’ topographical setting and the biblical passage in Isaiah still remains significant, independent of the etymological origin of the name Utah. 27 See Evans, “Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming”; and Norton, “Composite LDS Given Names.” See also Eliason, “Nameways,” part of which addresses the religious, formalized process of bestowing a name. 28 See the discussion of this issue in Dallin D. Oaks, “Introduction.” 29 Holland, Witness for His Names, 11. 30 Maxwell, But for a Small Moment, 131–32. Elder Maxwell also refers to an observation by Truman Madsen in relation to one of Joseph Smith’s requests while he was incarcerated in Carthage Jail shortly before his martyrdom. Joseph had asked one of his companions in the jail to sing the hymn “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief,” which is a hymn about the Savior. As Madsen points out, this hymn contains the line, “He spake, and my poor name he named.” 31 In this passage, one of the sons being spoken to is named Nephi. Matthew Bowen believes that the discussion in this passage with its use of “good” in two different places involves a wordplay on Nephi’s name, which Bowen (citing Gee, “A Note on the Name Nephi” and Gee, “Four Suggestions”) argues is “a derivation from Egyptian nfr (later pronounced neh-fee, nay-fee, or nou-fee)” and which Bowen says can mean ‘good,’ ‘goodly,’ ‘fine,’ or ‘fair.’ Bowen also sees further significance in other passages in the Book of Mormon that mention the name Nephi and contain the word good or a related form like goodly. See Bowen, “‘He is a Good Man’.” 32 Matthews, “Fall of Man,” 39. 33 McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary, 1: 12. 34 See Holland, Witness for His Names, for a list and discussion of various names and titles for the Savior, Jesus Christ. 35 LDS doctrine views the fall of Adam differently from most Christians. Latter-day Saints typically refer to Adam’s partaking of the fruit as a “transgression” rather than a “sin,” since it was a necessary part of the plan of salvation. For a discussion of this, see the printed version of a general conference address by President Dallin H. Oaks, “‘The Great Plan of Happiness’.” 36 Thomasson, “Teaching Across Dispensations,” 249. See also his endnote 34 on p. 271. 37 Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, 191. McConkie draws the connection between the name “Man of Holiness” and the doctrine of God’s status as “an exalted, glorified man, in whose image his children have been literally created.” 38 For a discussion of the belief among some early Christians in the corporeal nature of God, see Paulsen, “Early Christian Belief.” This article prompted a response, which Paulsen in turn also responded to. Therefore, see also Paffenroth, “Notes and Observations”; and Paulsen, “Reply to Kim Paffenroth’s Comment.” 39 Elder Bruce R. McConkie briefly mentions both meanings of “Firstborn” in his book Mormon Doctrine, 281. Another discussion of the significance and meaning of “Firstborn” is found in an unpublished manuscript of a presentation by Skinner: “Premortal Godhood of Christ.”

194  Dallin D. Oaks 40 The 1916 official doctrinal statement titled “The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Twelve” discusses how Christ was the firstborn of the spirits and then affirms: There is no impropriety, therefore, in speaking of Jesus Christ as the Elder Brother of the rest of human kind. That He is by spiritual birth Brother to the rest of us is indicated in Hebrews: ‘Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people’ (Hebrews 2:17). Let it not be forgotten, however, that He is essentially greater than any and all others, by reason (1) of His seniority as the oldest or firstborn; (2) of His unique status in the flesh as the offspring of a mortal mother and of an immortal, or resurrected and glorified, Father; (3) of His selection and foreordination as the one and only Redeemer and Savior of the race; and (4) of His transcendent sinlessness. (cited in Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 369) 41 The doctrine of Divine Investiture is described in the First Presidency statement, cited in Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 366–69. For other discussions of this doctrine, see Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 130; Dallin H. Oaks, His Holy Name, 16–17; and Skinner, “Premortal Godhood of Christ,” 12–15. 42 Maxwell, If Thou Endure It Well, 106. 43 Odelain and Séguineau, Dictionary of Proper Names, 329. Odelain and Séguineau show that the name Satan could also be glossed as “adversary.” See also Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, 192. McConkie briefly refers to the relationship between the name’s meaning of “adversary” and the biblical passage in Revelation 12, where Satan is referred to as the “accuser of our brethren.” 44 Dahl, “Adam in the Premortal Life,” 5. 45 Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 357, as cited in Dahl, “Adam in the Premortal Life,” 5. 46 Whether this passage refers to Satan or to the King of Babylon (as many biblical readers suggest) or perhaps even to both, it remains a good example of an ironic contrast between what an individual claimed and what ultimately occurred. 47 Bailey, “Adam,” 1: 16. It should be acknowledged, however, that Michael may be translated as the question “Who is like God?” See Odelain and Séguineau, Dictionary of Proper Names, 264. 48 Bailey, “Adam,” 1: 16. Bailey also discusses several titles by which Michael (Adam) is known and explains that these “various titles relate to particular phases of his mission.” 49 Ibid., 1: 15. 50 Ibid., 1: 16. Bailey discusses Adam’s role in relation to priesthood keys and administration as well as his future role prior to “the second coming of Christ” and at “the end of the Millennium.” 51 Dallin H. Oaks, His Holy Name, 40. 52 Ibid., 73–74. 53 For those unacquainted with the Book of Mormon, I include the following brief description of its origins: Joseph Smith was visited by an angel named Moroni, who informed him of a religious record kept by ancient prophets who had lived in the Americas but whose ancestors had originally migrated to this continent from Jerusalem around 600 BC, shortly before the Babylonian captivity. This record, which also recounts Christ’s visit to the Americas, had ultimately been abridged by an ancient prophet named Mormon and had been inscribed on gold plates and hidden in a hillside to come forth in the latter days. Through the power of God, Joseph Smith was able to translate the ancient record and publish it in 1830 as The Book of Mormon. This book is used by Latter-day Saints in addition to the Bible and is regarded as a second witness, from another part of the world, for the divine mission of Jesus Christ and for His teachings. 54 Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 7–8.

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  195 55 See Doctrine and Covenants 84:57. 56 Black, Finding Christ, 5. Moreover, in his “Introduction,” Dallin D. Oaks noted Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s significant observation: In our search ‘to know… God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] hast sent’ (John 17:3), we can learn more about who Christ was, is, and will yet be by examining the names and titles given to Him than by any other method. See Holland, Witness for His Names, 12. 57 Dallin H. Oaks, His Holy Name, 70–72. In that same book, see also his chapter 5 (“Name as Essence or Exaltation”). 58 Radday, “Chiasmus in Hebrew Biblical Narrative.” See especially p. 51. 59 Welch, “Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon.” See, in particular, 205–207. See also Welch, “Masterpiece: Alma 36.” 60 Welch, “Masterpiece: Alma 36,” 118. 61 Ibid., 118. Parry, Preserved in Translation, explains that there are over 300 examples of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon (2). Even if it were to be argued that some of these may not be a result of a deliberate literary design, others, like the elaborate structure in Alma 36, defy a dismissive explanation as an unintentional occurrence. In fact, Edwards and Edwards, who apply a statistical approach toward examining the issue of chiastic structures in the Book of Mormon occurring intentionally (not through chance or through a subconscious development), have concluded that the complex occurrence in Alma 36 shows “strong evidence of intentionality that survives close inspection.” See Edwards and Edwards, “Truth or Cherry Picking,” 315. 62 See, for example, 3 Nephi 15:4–5. 63 See Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 135, which uses this scripture to introduce a chapter titled “Types and Shadows: All Things Are the Typifying of Christ.” 64 Lane, “Lord Will Redeem.” See especially p. 45. 65 Lane, “Lord Will Redeem.” 66 Hebrews 7:1; Alma 13:17. 67 Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 175. Elder Holland’s discussion is based on Alma chapter 13. 68 One scholar of the Book of Mormon, however, cautions readers in their interpretation of the book’s reference to how Melchizedek reigned “under his father.” Ludlow says: The statement that Melchizedek reigned ‘under his father’ should not necessarily be interpreted to mean that he reigned at the same time his father was king or even while his father was living. The term ‘under his father’ evidently is a Hebrew idiom meaning that he ‘takes the place of his father’ or ‘reigns in his father’s stead.’ See Ludlow, Companion to Your Study, 205. A similar observation is made by Tvedtnes, “Hebrew Background,” 90–91. This observation by Ludlow and Tvedtnes, however, even if correctly applied to this particular Book of Mormon context, does not change the fact that the Book of Mormon uses the actual title “prince of peace” in relation to Melchizedek and provides other information related to the appropriateness of the title, showing that Melchizedek preached repentance, which brought peace into the land. 69 Although members of the Church are generally cautious to found their beliefs about the Book of Mormon on a spiritual witness, a number of them have also taken an interest in some of the research published by what was formerly known as “FARMS” (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies) but later became part of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute. Although these organizations have had a friendly relationship with the Church, their publications are not officially endorsed by the Church. An indication of some of the interest in Book of Mormon apologetics is evident in the publication of an article by Daniel C. Peterson titled “Mounting Evidence for the Book of Mormon,” which appeared in the Church’s magazine, the Ensign. See volume 30, no. 1 (Jan. 2000): 18–24.

196  Dallin D. Oaks His article refers to a few examples I have discussed in this chapter, including the example of chiasmus. For a recent overview of Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon, see Parry, Preserved in Translation. 70 Nibley, Prophetic Book of Mormon, 97. 71 Hoskisson, “Introduction to the Relevance,” 2: 131. 72 Nibley, Prophetic Book of Mormon, 281–82. 73 Peterson, “Is the Book of Mormon True?” In a separate article, Hoskisson approaches the name from a linguistic standpoint, considering possible etymologies behind the name. See Hoskisson, “Alma as a Hebrew Name.” 74 Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested.” 75 Nibley, Prophetic Book of Mormon, 101. See also Nibley, Approach to the Book of Mormon, 282–88; and Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, 25–31. 76 Mosser and Owen, “Mormon Scholarship,” 204. In a follow-up publication, Beckwith et al. produced an edited volume, The New Mormon Challenge, which responds to some arguments made by LDS apologists. 77 Givens, By the Hand of Mormon. See for example, 119–20, 140–41, and 144. Within his discussion, Givens refers to Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested.” 78 Hoskisson, “Book of Mormon Names,” 187. 79 In his work, Bowen not only sees toponymic word plays occurring individually with the names Jershon and Zarahemla, the latter being glossed by Tvedtnes as “seed of compassion” (see Tvedtnes, “I Have a Question” and “What’s in a Name?”), but also shows how these word plays work together within the narrative of the text itself. See Bowen, “‘They were Moved with Compassion’”; and Bowen, “Striking While the Irony is Hot.” 80 See 1 Nephi, chapter 13. 81 See Garr, Christopher Columbus, 8–10, 56. In his discussion, Garr explains that Columbus’s son Ferdinand recognized the meanings “Christbearer” and “dove” in his father’s names and even believed that his father’s names had been bestowed through the influence of God. But of course the religious interpretation Ferdinand ascribes to the meaning of those names does not match perfectly what is proposed here. See also Hinckley, Christopher Columbus, 21. 82 Thomasson, “What’s in a Name?” 13. Thomasson actually shows that this kind of practice occurred among more than one Book of Mormon people. 83 Ibid., 14. 84 Ibid., 15. Once again, in comparing the names Isabel and Jezebel, we should keep in mind the possible correspondences between “j” and the /y/ and /i/ sounds because of common patterns of transliteration. 85 Nibley, Prophetic Book of Mormon, 542. 86 For information related to this name and its possible origins, as well as discussions that contextualize it within the Book of Mormon, see Sorenson, “‘Mulekites’”; and Wright, “Mulek.” In more recent scholarship, Skousen (The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text), as noted by Bowen (“Striking While the Irony is Hot”), has pointed out that based on the Book of Mormon’s manuscript history, the name Mulek in Mosiah 25:2 should likely have been rendered as Muloch. 87 See Welch, “What was a ‘Mosiah’?” This article bases its discussion of a môšiaʽ on elements that are identified in an earlier article by Sawyer, titled “What Was a Mošiaʽ?” Adding to the apologetic significance of this name is the observation that Welch makes as he says that the word môšiaʽ “was not transliterated into the English by the King James translators, and thus the Hebrew would not have been known to Joseph Smith. It was, however, known and used as a personal name in the Book of Mormon, as well as by people in the Jewish colony at Elephantine in the fifth century B.C.” (Welch, “What was a ‘Mosiah’?” 105). 88 “Samuel” in Odelain and Séguineau, Dictionary of Proper Names, 327. See also Bowen, “‘If Ye Believe on His Name’.” 89 Bloom, American Religion, 83. 90 See May, “Mormons.” For more on this topic, see Dallin D. Oaks, “Introduction.”

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  197

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198  Dallin D. Oaks Givens, Terryl L. By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002. Hinckley, Clark B. Christopher Columbus: “A Man Among the Gentiles.” Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2014. Holland, Jeffrey R. Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997. ———. Witness for His Names. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. Hoskisson, Paul Y. “An Introduction to the Relevance of and a Methodology for a Study of the Proper Names of the Book of Mormon.” In By Study, edited by Lundquist and Ricks, 2: 126–35. ———. “Book of Mormon Names.” In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Ludlow, 1: 186–87. ———. “Alma as a Hebrew Name.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7, no. 1 (1998): 72–73. Lane, Jennifer Clark. “The Lord Will Redeem His People: Adoptive Covenant and Redemption in the Old Testament and Book of Mormon.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2, no. 2 (Fall 1993): 39–62. Ludlow, Daniel H. A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976. ———, ed. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1992. Lundquist, John M., and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, 2 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990. Madsen, Ann N., and Susan W. Easton Black. “Joseph and Joseph: ‘He Shall Be Like Unto Me’ (2 Nephi 3:15).” In The Old Testament and the Latter-Day Saints, 125–40. Salt Lake City: Randall Book Company, 1986. Matthews, Robert J. “The Fall of Man.” In The Man Adam, edited by McConkie and Millet, 37–64. Maxwell, Neal A. But for a Small Moment. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1986. ———. If Thou Endure It Well. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996. May, Dean L. “Mormons.” In Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, edited by Stephan Thernstrom, 720–31. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 1980. McConkie, Bruce R. Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966. McConkie, Joseph Fielding. Gospel Symbolism. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1985. ———. “The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.” In Perspectives, edited by Dallin D. Oaks et al. McConkie, Joseph Fielding, and Robert L. Millet. Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1987. ———, eds. The Man Adam. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1990. Morgan, Dale L. The State of Deseret. Logan, UT: Utah State UP and the Utah Historical Society, 1987. Mosser, Carl, and Paul Owen. “Mormon Scholarship, Apologetics, and Evangelical Neglect: Losing the Battle and Not Knowing It?” Trinity Journal 19, no. 2 (1998): 179–205. Nelson, Russell M. “The Correct Name of the Church.” Ensign 48, no. 11 (Nov. 2018): 87–90. Nibley, Hugh. An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 3rd ed., edited by John W. Welch, vol. 6 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 17 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988a.

Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief  199 ———. Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites/There Were Jaredites, edited by John W. Welch, with Darrell L. Matthews and Stephen R. Callister, vol. 5 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 17 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988b. ———. The Prophetic Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch, vol. 8 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 17 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1989. Norton, Don E. “Composite LDS Given Names.” In Perspectives, edited by Dallin D. Oaks et al. Nuessel, Frank. The Study of Names: A Guide to the Principles and Topics. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992. Oaks, Dallin D. “Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief.” In Perspectives, edited by Dallin D. Oaks et al. Oaks, Dallin D., Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson, eds. Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2023. Oaks, Dallin H. “‘The Great Plan of Happiness’.” Ensign 23, no 11 (Nov. 1993): 72–75. ———. His Holy Name. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1998. Odelain, O., and R. Séguineau. Dictionary of Proper Names and Places in the Bible, trans. and adapted by Matthew J. O’Connell. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1981. Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1996. Paffenroth, Kim. “Notes and Observations—Paulsen on Augustine: An Incorporeal or Nonanthropomorphic God?” Harvard Theological Review 86, no. 2 (1993): 233–35. Parker, Todd B. “True Doctrine Understood Changes Attitude and Behavior.” Transcript of a presentation given at BYU Education Week, Provo, UT, August 16, 1999. Parry, Donald W. Preserved in Translation: Hebrew and Other Ancient Literary Forms in the Book of Mormon. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University (in cooperation with Deseret Book), 2020. Paulsen, David L. “Early Christian Belief in a Corporeal Deity: Origen and Augustine as Reluctant Witnesses.” Harvard Theological Review 83, no. 2 (1990): 105–16. ———. “Reply to Kim Paffenroth’s Comment.” Harvard Theological Review 86, no. 2 (1993): 235–39. The Pearl of Great Price. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Peterson, Daniel C. “Is the Book of Mormon True? Notes on the Debate.” In Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, edited by Noel B. Reynolds, 145–46. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1997. ———. “Mounting Evidence for the Book of Mormon.” Ensign 30, no. 1 (Jan. 2000): 18–24. Radday, Yehuda T. “Chiasmus in Hebrew Biblical Narrative.” In Chiasmus in Antiquity, edited by Welch, 50–117. Ricks, Stephen D. “The Appearance of Elijah and Moses in the Kirtland Temple and the Jewish Passover.” Brigham Young University Studies 23, no. 4 (Fall 1983): 483–86. Sawyer, John. “What Was a Mošiaʻ?” Vetus Testamentum 15 (1965): 475–86. Shipps, Jan. Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition. Urbana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1985. ———. “The Reality of the Restoration and the Restoration Ideal in the Mormon Tradition.” In The American Quest for the Primitive Church, edited by Richard T. Hughes, 181–95. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998. Skinner, Andrew C. “The Premortal Godhood of Christ: A Restoration Perspective.” Paper presented at the BYU Religious Studies Center and Continuing Education Symposium, Provo, UT (January 8, 2000).

200  Dallin D. Oaks Skousen, Royal, ed. The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 2009. Smith, Joseph. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976. Sorenson, John L. “The ‘Mulekites’.” Brigham Young University Studies 30, no. 3 (Summer 1990): 6–22. Sorenson, John L., and Melvin J. Thorne, eds. Rediscovering the Book of Mormon: Insights You May Have Missed Before. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991. “Style Guide—The Name of the Church” at https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ style-guide. Thomasson, Gordon C. “Teaching Across Dispensations: A Comparative Religion Perspective on the Challenges of Being a Worldwide Church.” In Mormonism: A Faith for All Cultures, edited by F. LaMond Tullis, 236–75. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1978. ———. “What’s in a Name? Book of Mormon Language, Names, and [Metonymic] Naming.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3, no. 1 (Spring 1994): 1–27. Tvedtnes, John A. “I Have a Question: ‘Since the Book of Mormon is Largely the Record of a Hebrew People, is the Writing Characteristic of the Hebrew Language?’” Ensign 16, no. 10 (Oct. 1986): 64–66. ———. “The Hebrew Background of the Book of Mormon.” In Rediscovering, edited by Sorenson and Thorne, 77–91. ———. “What’s in a Name?: A Look at the Book of Mormon Onomasticon.” FARMS Review of Books 8, no 2 (1996): 34–42. Tvedtnes, John A., John Gee, and Matthew Roper. “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 40–51, 78–79. “Utah.” In Compton’s Encyclopedia and Fact Index, 26 vols, 25: 215. Chicago: F. E. Compton Company, 1975. Welch, John W., ed. Chiasmus in Antiquity: Structures, Analyses, Exegesis. Hildesheim: Gerstenberg, 1981; reprinted in 1998 by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies Research Press (now the Neal A. Maxwell Institute). Provo, UT. ———. “Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon.” In Chiasmus in Antiquity, edited by Welch, 198–210. ———. “A Masterpiece: Alma 36.” In Rediscovering, edited by Sorenson and Thorne, 114–31. ———, ed. Reexploring the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992. ———. “What was a ‘Mosiah’?” In Reexploring, edited by Welch, 105–7. Welch, John W., and Donald W. Parry, eds. Chiasmus: The State of the Art. Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2020. Welch, John W., and Melvin J. Thorne, eds. Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1999. Wright, H. Curtis. “Mulek.” In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Ludlow, 2: 969–70.

9 The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ Joseph Fielding McConkie1

Within the doctrinal framework of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, names are symbols—divinely ordained teaching devices—that mirror the order of heaven and mark the path of our return to the heavenly family of which we were once a part. Indeed, the Church, which professes to be the restoration of the faith of the peoples of the Bible, holds that salvation can only be found in bearing the name of Christ and becoming a part of the covenant family. Thus, the system and plan of salvation involves assuming new names as members of the Church advance from one grace to a greater grace.

Taking Upon Oneself the Name of Christ The concept that to be saved in the kingdom of God one must take upon himself or herself the name of Christ is one of the primary threads that weaves its way through the Book of Mormon from beginning to end. Calling on his people, who like sheep had wandered from the fold and lost themselves in iniquity, the ancient American prophet Alma said: The good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd. And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this? (Alma 5:38–39; italics added) Nephi, one of the earliest prophets in the Book of Mormon, spoke to his followers in this language: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-11

202  Joseph Fielding McConkie then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel. (2 Nephi 31:13; italics added) In baptism, a person covenants to take upon himself or herself the name of Jesus Christ. After baptism, the baptismal covenant is regularly renewed by partaking of the sacrament or communion as it is more generally known in the historical Christian world. Book of Mormon prophets held the name of Christ to be a key by which the gates of heaven were to be opened. Again, we turn to Nephi to illustrate the point. He said: But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul. (2 Nephi 32:9; italics added) Not long after the Church was organized, Joseph Smith sought and received a revelation directing the manner by which its meetings should be conducted. In that revelation the Lord said, “And again, I say unto you, all things must be done in the name of Christ, whatsoever you do in the Spirit” (Doctrine & Covenants 46:31). Another prominent character in the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin, taught his people saying: And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. (Mosiah 3:17; italics added) King Benjamin further explained: There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. (Mosiah 5:8; italics added) In the Book of Mormon account of Christ’s visit to the Americas, after His death and resurrection, the Savior, following the pattern He established in the Old World, chose twelve apostles to be special witnesses of His name and to head His Church in the New World. When the newly called Twelve asked Him by what name the Church should be called, He asked: Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name?

The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ  203 Then He added: For by this name shall ye be called at the last day; And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day. Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake. And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. (3 Nephi 27:5–8) In the final chapter of the Book of Mormon, Moroni, the book’s last contributor, speaking to those of a future day when the book should come forth, said: And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:4–5; italics added) Thus, the Book of Mormon, which was to be the theological foundation upon which the Church was organized, from beginning to end heralded the doctrine that the path to salvation requires taking upon ourselves the name of Christ. Taking upon oneself the name of Christ culminates in the temples of the Church. For example, before a Latter-day Saint couple can be married in a temple—for time and eternity—they must first receive what is called the temple endowment. The phrase “to endow” comes from the Greek enduein, which means to be “clothed” or “invested” (see footnote to Luke 24:49, LDS edition of the Bible). This ceremony is designed to mark the path by which we return to the presence of our divine Father. The endowment embraces a ritual washing and anointing, which more fully develops the covenant relationship begun at baptism, where those being baptized covenant to take upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ. In the anointing, one symbolically assumes the name of Christ: the Hebrew word mashach “anoint,” as rendered in the Hebrew Bible, is rendered “Christ” in the Greek translation (the Septuagint). This aligns with what we learn in the Book of Revelation, where those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will have His name written in their foreheads (see Revelation 22:4; 3:7–13; 7:2–8; 14:1–5).

The Name of the Church The Church was formally organized April 6, 1830, eleven days after the Book of Mormon came off the press. At that time, it identified itself as “the Church of

204  Joseph Fielding McConkie Christ” (D&C 20:1). A later revelation identified that the name by which the Church should officially be known was “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (D&C 115:4–5). Thus, as the name suggests, the Church belongs to Christ, with its members assuming the name “Saints,” following the pattern of both the Old and the New Testaments.2 As is still the case, one became a member of the Church through the ordinance of baptism. In another early revelation, the Lord designated eight years of age as the minimum age for baptism (see D&C 68:25, 27). This is an age in which one is expected to be sufficiently accountable to distinguish between right and wrong and of sufficient age to desire to take upon himself or herself the name of Christ, a new name for that individual. Interestingly enough, it was when the Church arrived at its eighth year, that the Lord designated that it too should receive its new name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The name Mormon is simply a derisive nickname originally given to the Church by outsiders because its members believe that the Book of Mormon, like the Old and New Testaments, is scripture. Joseph Smith said that the name Mormon literally means “more good.”3 Mormon was one of the ancient American prophets who wrote in the book that now bears his name. He played a key role in editing and compiling the book, and it was his son, Moroni, who appeared to Joseph Smith as a resurrected being to tell him about the content of the book and to direct him to the gold plates upon which the book was written.

The Name Joseph Smith The name of the prophet Joseph Smith is so closely associated with the Church and gospel he restored that some issues surrounding his name merit additional consideration in a study of Latter-day Saint names and naming. Joseph was visited by a heavenly messenger who called Joseph by name and introduced himself as Moroni (“Joseph Smith—History,” 1:33). This messenger proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled, that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the Gospel in all its fullness to be preached in power, unto all nations that a people might be prepared for the Millennial reign. I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this glorious dispensation.4 Moroni then told the youthful prophet that his “name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people” (“Joseph Smith—History,” 1:33). This promise of Moroni relative to Joseph’s name constituted a rather bold prediction considering that Joseph was a seventeen-year-old boy living in an obscure little township in upstate New York. Joseph Smith had received no more than three years of schooling in a one-roomed schoolhouse down the lane from

The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ  205 the log home in which he was raised. Time has proven the promise relative to his name to be true: near-countless books and articles have been written to defame him while congregations in over 160 countries honor him as a prophet of God. In a subsequent revelation, the Lord told Joseph Smith, “This generation shall have my word through you” (D&C 5:10). As Israel was governed anciently by the Law of Moses, so it would be governed in the last days by the law given through his modern counterpart, Joseph Smith. Latter-day Saints believe that Joseph Smith, like Moses, was called to be God’s covenant spokesman. As no one could march with Israel anciently without acknowledging Moses as their leader, so no one can fully unite with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints without acceptance of Joseph Smith as a prophet, seer, and revelator (see D&C 21). The prophecy about how Joseph’s name would be regarded was reaffirmed some years later while Joseph Smith was being illegally incarcerated in a dungeon in the state of Missouri. Joseph recorded that the Lord spoke these words to him: The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee; while the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand. (D&C 122:1–2) For a Latter-day Saint, the message of salvation cannot be disassociated with the name Joseph Smith any more than the Law of Moses can be disassociated with the man whose name it bears. The Book of Mormon contains a prophecy attributed to Joseph, son of the Patriarch Jacob (Israel), wherein he prophesies of a descendant of his who is destined to stand at the head of the gathering of Israel in the last days and who would bear his name. “His name shall be called after me,” the ancient Joseph said, and continued: and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation. (2 Nephi 3:15) In this context, the etymology of the name Joseph is of special interest. Usually rendered “the Lord addeth” or “increaser” from the Hebrew word yasap, a richer meaning is also associated with it. At the birth of her son Joseph, Rachel proclaimed, “God hath taken away my reproach” (Genesis 30:23–24). The Hebrew word ’asap, “taken away,” carries not only the meaning “take away” but also “gather.”5 Significantly enough, the idea of gathering is prominently associated with ancient Joseph. And just as he gathered the family of Israel together that they might have grain to eat, so his latter-day counterpart was to gather Israel to the bread of life or doctrines of salvation that they might know of the covenants God had made with their fathers.

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The Gathering The whole concept of the latter-day gathering of Israel, as revealed to Joseph Smith, centered in the promise that Jacob’s posterity would return to their God and once more take his [Christ’s] name upon them. I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.… For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.… Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name. (Isaiah 43:1–7; italics added) In the title page of the Book of Mormon, Moroni sets forth the two basic doctrinal threads that bind the book together: first, that those who bear the name Israel—the descendants of Abraham—are to come to a knowledge of the covenant God made with their ancient father and, second, that they come to the knowledge of their Redeemer. Only then are they to return to the lands of their fathers. It is held by the prophets of the Book of Mormon that the latter-day gathering must be first spiritual and then temporal. The scattered remnants of Israel must first return to the covenants and faith of their ancient fathers. Only after they have taken upon themselves the name of the God of Abraham will they have rightful claim to their ancient lands of inheritance (cf. 2 Nephi 9:1–2). Joseph Smith explained: The time has at last arrived when the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has set his hand again the second time to recover the remnants of his people, which have been left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea, and with them to bring in the fulness of the Gentiles, and establish that covenant with them, which was promised when their sins should be taken away. See Isaiah xi; Romans xi:25, 26 and 27, and also Jeremiah xxxi:31, 32 and 33. This covenant has never been established with the house of Israel, nor with the house of Judah, for it requires two parties to make a covenant, and those two parties must be agreed, or no covenant can be made.6 This is the doctrine that binds the restored Church of Jesus Christ so closely to the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible. As early as 1831, the year after the Church was organized, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation that stated in part: Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins— from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them. (D&C 132:30)

The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ  207 This text announces that Joseph Smith is a descendant of Abraham and reaffirms the importance of the promises God made to the ancient Patriarch concerning his seed, and as seen in the above passage from Isaiah, this covenant relationship requires that the descendants of Abraham take upon themselves the name of the God of Abraham.

Salvation as a Family Affair For the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to realize the promises extended through their lineage, they must recognize their own place in the family line. During his initial visit to Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni quoted and explained more than forty texts from the Hebrew Bible7; chief among them was the promise of Malachi that Elijah the prophet would return before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Elijah was to come, Malachi said, to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:5–6). Were Elijah to fail to come, the Lord said he would “smite the earth with a curse” (verse  6). Moroni rendered the text somewhat differently than Malachi had recorded it. He stated it thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord… And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming. (“Joseph Smith—History,” 1:38–39) The fathers to whom reference is made in the preceding text are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The special promises given to them, as it would yet be revealed to Joseph Smith, reached far beyond an inheritance in the Promised Land to embrace the continuation of their family throughout the endless eternities. This, in fact, explains the appearance of Moroni. He was a descendant of Abraham and thus a rightful heir of those promises. It was his intent to extend the knowledge of those promises to his posterity through the Book of Mormon. This record contained a spiritual history of God’s dealings with his progenitors, who were descendants of the Patriarch Joseph through both Ephraim and Manasseh.8 The storyline of the Book of Mormon centers in the history of “two distinct races of people” who lived in ancient America. Joseph Smith explained: The first were called Jaredites, and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country.9

208  Joseph Fielding McConkie The Book of Mormon contains an account of the visit of Christ to these descendants of Abraham in the New World shortly after His death and resurrection in the Old World. During that visit, He said to them, “Ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel”; to which He added: and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant. (3 Nephi 20:25–26)

Names, The Abrahamic Covenant, and the Eternal Nature of Families Our most perfect rendering of God’s covenant with Abraham is from Joseph Smith’s 1842 publication of the Book of Abraham, the text coming from an ancient papyrus found in the catacombs of Egypt. It reads as follows: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abraham 2:9–11; italics added) The Abrahamic covenant, the same covenant that God renewed with Isaac and Jacob, integrates other names onto those who embrace the covenant. These names include those of the various tribes of Israel, those associated with roles and duties, and those associated with salvation itself. The greatest promises that the God of heaven gives to a righteous man, after he has obtained the assurance of his own salvation, is that his family will enjoy that same blessing. Indeed, as previously noted, salvation is a family affair. The prototypical example is Abraham, who is promised endless seed, and that it will be his seed in future days who will be honored with the call of heaven to hold the Priesthood. Missionaries who go out to declare the gospel (that is, to gather Israel) must be a descendant of Abraham. Today all Latter-day Saint missionaries have received a blessing from an ordained patriarch who has declared their Abrahamic lineage by revelation, also generally indicating their lineage from one of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the event that someone should choose to embrace the faith and

The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ  209 be baptized who is not a blood descendant of Abraham, they will be adopted into Abraham’s family.10 This rendering of the Abrahamic covenant is closely associated with the ordinances of the temple. For instance, Latter-day Saints are married in the temple where, by the authority restored from Abraham and Elijah, they are sealed as man and wife for time and eternity. In this ritual, we could symbolically view the man as Abraham, and his wife as Sarah. Abraham had formerly been known as “Abram” (a name meaning “exalted father”), and when the Lord established His covenant with him, He gave him the new name, Abraham, which means “father of many nations” and gave Sarai a new name, Sarah, which means “queen” and “mother of nations” (cf. Genesis 17:5–6, 15–16 and the Bible Dictionary in the Holy Bible [LDS edition], 601, 769). The belief that marriage is eternal gives the family the center place in the theology of the Latter-day Saints. This principle, it is believed, traces back to father Adam. In the scriptural account, we see that the Lord gave Adam the privilege of naming “every living creature” (see Genesis 2:19–20). Moreover, we find that after the creation of the woman, it was Adam, who, at God’s behest, gave her the name Eve (see Genesis 3:20). But she would also bear his name. In the Joseph Smith Translation we read: And a genealogy was kept of the children of God. And this was the book of the generations of Adam, saying, In the day that God created man, (in the likeness of God made he him,) in the image of his own body, male and female created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam.11 (JST Genesis 6:9) The man Adam would protect and provide for her so that she might become the source of life and a nurturer to others. In their respective roles, they would love and honor each other. The Apostle Paul, likely quoting an ancient text, said, “Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God” (1 Corinthians 11: 11–12). Although the scriptures do not give us an account of the marriage of Adam and Eve, they do, however, refer to Adam and Eve as husband and wife while they lived in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6, 8, 16–17, 21). Paul’s words are realized, not only by the marriage, but also by the man and woman bearing the same name: Adam, meaning ‘many’; Eve, meaning ‘mother of all living,’ which also means ‘many.’12 The eternal union of a man and a woman, symbolized by their shared name, is necessary for the highest degree of salvation. Names form an important part in the practice of members of the Church who perform proxy ordinances in temples for their kindred dead so that those who accept the gospel when it is preached to them in the world of spirits may receive all of the blessings bestowed through the keeping of the covenants that are an integral part of temple ordinances. In performing these ordinances, the proxy assumes the name of the person on whose behalf he or she is acting, men representing men and women those of their gender. Chief among these ordinances is

210  Joseph Fielding McConkie that of marriage which, of course, is essential to the continuation of the family unit. It is this principle that binds Latter-day Saints so tightly to Abraham and the promises given by God to him relative to his seed.

Priesthood and the Name of God The ordinances of the Gospel are administered through the exercise of the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods. While Joseph Smith was dictating the translation of the Book of Mormon to Oliver Cowdery, who was acting as his scribe, they became acquainted with the story of Christ’s visit to the Americas, in which Christ commanded those who received Him in the New World to signify in the waters of baptism that they had done so. This directive caused Joseph and Oliver to wonder if they might be expected to do the same. They retired to a secluded spot near the banks of the Susquehanna River to inquire of the Lord regarding the matter. Here on this day, May 15, 1829, John the Baptist appeared to them to restore the Aaronic Priesthood, which he did in the name of the Messiah, and then had them baptize each other. He told them that he was acting under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who would shortly appear to them for the purpose of restoring the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, which appearance occurred about two weeks later. The restoration of these two priesthoods has provided the Church with the necessary authority to act in God’s name. Priesthood, in fact (whether Aaronic or Melchizedek), is defined in Church teachings as the power and authority to act in the name of God. Priesthood authority is of necessity inseparably connected with the principle of revelation. One could hardly profess to have the authority to speak for God if God were not speaking to them. Oliver stated the matter thus: It was as easy to be seen that amid the great strife and noise concerning religion, none had authority from God to administer the ordinances of the Gospel. For the question might be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny revelations, when His testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy, and His religion based, built, and sustained by immediate revelations, in all ages of the world when He has had a people on earth? (Pearl of Great Price, p. 59) These Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods are vital in the work of the Church. Every worthy young man in the Church is, at about the age of twelve, invited to receive the “Priesthood of Aaron” or the “Aaronic Priesthood” as it is generally called. The Aaronic Priesthood is charged with attending to the temporal affairs of the Church. A revelation given to Joseph Smith states: The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments. (D&C 107:20)

The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ  211 The experience and training received in this order of the priesthood are designed, in large measure, to prepare those who hold it to receive the Melchizedek, or higher Priesthood, which they can receive at the age of eighteen. In a revelation about the Melchizedek Priesthood, we get a greater understanding of the doctrine of names. The Melchizedek, or higher priesthood, is charged with the responsibility of attending to the spiritual affairs of the Church. As to why the higher priesthood bears the name Melchizedek, we are told it is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest: Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood. (D&C 107:3–4) Those who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood are identified with a name that represents the union of two Hebrew words, Melch meaning “king,” and Zedek, meaning “righteousness.” Thus, the name means “King of Righteousness” (Hebrews 7:2) and conveys to all who bear it the idea that although it is their destiny to rule and reign as a king, they can do so only in righteousness. Thus, their “scepter,” a revelation given to Joseph Smith states, is to be “an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth,” and their dominion “an everlasting dominion… without compulsory means” (D&C 121:46). To hold the priesthood is to possess the right to act in the first person for the God of heaven within an assigned stewardship. It is, in the most perfect sense, the right to bear His name and to speak on His behalf. For instance, in the Book of Abraham, where we learn that God’s covenant with the ancient patriarch centered in his holding the priesthood, the Lord says: I will lead thee by my hand, and I will take thee, to put upon thee my name, even the Priesthood of thy father, and my power shall be over thee. As it was with Noah so shall it be with thee; but through thy ministry my name shall be known in the earth forever, for I am thy God. (Abraham 1:18–19; italics added) “In all ages of the world,” Joseph Smith commented, whenever the Lord has given a dispensation of the priesthood to any man by actual revelation, or any set of men, this power [the right to speak in the first person for Him] has always been given. Hence, whatsoever those men did in authority, in the name of the Lord, and did it truly and faithfully, and kept a proper and faithful record of the same, it became a law on earth and in heaven. (D&C 128:9) Of this authority, the ancient prophet Moroni said that in the name of Deity they could

212  Joseph Fielding McConkie remove mountains; and in his name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them, neither wild beasts nor poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word. (Mormon 8:24) Similarly, we are told that Melchizedek and other high priests having been ordained and, having taken the name of the Lord upon them, had power to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command. (JST Genesis 14:27–31) A commonly noted example of exercising the Priesthood, which we can see in the scriptures, is in the healing of others. Although all Melchizedek Priesthood holders have the authority to give priesthood blessings to help heal people, the scriptures provide dramatic examples of the apostles functioning with priesthood authority to act in the first person for the Lord as they healed others. Peter’s healing of the lame man who begged at the temple constitutes a perfect example of this principle. Speaking to the lame man, Peter said: “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Although the miracle was performed in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power associated with that name, Peter’s language clearly portrays the idea that the power and authority of the exalted name rested within himself. Peter did not implore the heavens in behalf of his impotent supplicant; rather he spoke by way of command—“In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Such was the pattern of the meridian apostles, and so great was the faith that they evoked in the populace that we read that the sick and afflicted were brought into the streets and laid on beds and couches, “that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them” (Acts 5:15). After Peter and John had been threatened by the voice of the Sanhedrin, they were later freed to return to the assembly of the Saints. Peter acknowledged the power of God, praying that by stretching forth their hands they would be able in the name of Jesus to heal and do all manner of signs and wonders (see Acts 4:13–30). Such is the manner in which true disciples endowed with the requisite power become the extension of their Master. Thus we read that “God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” When certain exorcists sought to use the name of Jesus Christ to cast out a devil, “the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” and then attacked those who had attempted to cast him out using a false priesthood. So we are told that among the people in that region “the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified” (Acts 19:11–17).

The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ  213

Special Witnesses of the Name of Christ In February 1835, the office of apostle, the highest office within the Melchizedek Priesthood, was instituted again, for the first time since the days of the New Testament. Twelve apostles were called, each symbolically representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel, with the collective body representing the promise that the day would yet come when the twelve tribes would be gathered and Zion redeemed. An apostle is “one who knows of the divinity of the Savior by personal revelation and who is appointed to bear testimony to the world of what the Lord has revealed to him.”13 The singular charge given to the Twelve was that they be “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world” (D&C 107:23), a stewardship and scope which exceeds that of the lay body of priesthood holders in the Church. “The Twelve are not simply to proclaim that Jesus is the Christ—as critically needed as that witness is today.”14 It is one thing to stand as a witness of Christ in the sense that we attest to all men that he is the Son of God and that he was crucified for the sins of the world. But it adds a new dimension to this testimony to say we [they] stand as witnesses of the name of Christ.15 As indicated earlier, the phrase “the name of Christ” can refer to priesthood authority. This added dimension includes the responsibility of the Twelve to set the Church in order, to testify of the Lord’s priesthood, his power, his holy order, and the system of government and laws and ordinances he has instituted. Little by way of obligation and commitment is associated with [only] professing to believe in Christ and to [simply] testify that salvation is found in him. Testifying of his name embraces discipline, order, and the sacrifice of all things.16 This suggests that “salvation grows out of faithful participation in the covenant community,”17 where members are bound together by priesthood ordinances through the power of his name. It thus “becomes the role of the Twelve to travel throughout the world,”18 testifying that God’s Church has been restored, “placing in order the various branches of the Church, giving direction to the priesthood, teaching the principles of salvation, and showing how all that is associated with the same combines to testify of Christ” (see also D&C 107:33, 35).19 In establishing discipline and order in the Church, modern apostles (like those of old) hold special priesthood keys that have been restored in our day to oversee the Lord’s work here on earth. These keys, which symbolically represent the authority by which things are opened or shut and bound or loosed, can be defined as the right to preside and direct or govern the priesthood. Even as the various priesthood holders in the Church have the authority to act in the name of God, they cannot perform priesthood ordinances without the authorization of someone who holds the necessary priesthood keys. “All ordinances must be done under the

214  Joseph Fielding McConkie direction of those who have been given the keys or presidency over them.”20 The importance of this cannot be overstated with regard to the order and exactness that must prevail in the way the Church and its ordinances are administered. When someone becomes a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, all the keys of the kingdom are conferred upon him: The keys or directing power, the right of presidency, are essential in maintaining that order that must and should characterize the work of him who is eternal, unchanging, and without variance. [Additionally,] the keys of the Church, meaning the keys of the kingdom (see D&C 42:69), are sacred rights to open the door to knowledge and understanding (see D&C 128:11,14) and thereby empower the Saints of the Most High to officiate in the name of him whose Church this is.21 These keys that were lost were restored by the prophets who previously held them, linking us with ancient covenants and the names associated with them.

Names and the Priesthood Keys Restored by Moses, Abraham, and Elijah On April 3, 1836, a week after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by Moses, Abraham, and Elijah. Each of these ancient prophets laid their hands on the heads of these two men and gave them specific power and authority (priesthood keys) to act in the sacred office these ancient prophets held when they ministered on the earth. Moses restored “the keys of the gathering of Israel” and “the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north” (D&C 110:11). Abraham (or a messenger from the dispensation of Abraham)22 restored the special promise made to him and his posterity. Elijah brought the authority by which all gospel ordinances are ratified or sealed in order that they might be binding in the world to come. The blessings available from the restoration of these keys require that a person identify themselves with the names embedded in the ancient covenants and with those of Abraham, Isaac, Israel, and Christ Himself. As already noted, Malachi said that if Elijah failed to come, the earth would be “cursed,” while Moroni rendered the phrase “utterly wasted” (Malachi 4:6; Joseph Smith—History 1:39). That is to say, if families are not bound together from generation to generation, the whole purpose for which God created the earth comes to naught. Thus, in Latter-day Saint theology, salvation is in a name or in being sealed by name to one’s family, which must eventually reach back to father Abraham and from Abraham to Adam (see Abraham 2:9–11; D&C 107:40–56).

Conclusion The beliefs of the Latter-day Saint people are deeply rooted in Bible traditions, particularly those of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. To be a part of the family of faith, meaning the family of Abraham, is a central part of the Church’s

The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ  215 theology. The doctrine of names plays an important part in this tradition, in which members of the Church become part of the families of the great prophets and patriarchs of ancient times, and thus are connected to names inseparable from sacred covenants and the obligations associated with them. Sacred names are associated with covenants that members must make to return to the presence of their Divine Father. Names, indeed, become key words that unlock the gates of heaven. Chief among these is the name of Christ Himself.

Notes 1 Editor’s Note: The author, Joseph Fielding McConkie, passed away before we were able to finalize his revisions to the chapter, so some content from previous publications of his were included in this chapter. We thank his family members for their support and assistance with this, particularly his son, Joseph Fielding McConkie, Jr. The author had also wanted to thank Katie Newbold for her assistance. 2 See Deuteronomy 33:1–3; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2; Jude 1:3. 3 Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 299–300. 4 Smith, History of The Church, 4: 537. 5 Brown et al., Hebrew and English Lexicon, 62. 6 Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 14. 7 Only five of these passages are noted in the “Joseph Smith—History,” within the Pearl of Great Price (see verses 36–41). We learn of the others from Oliver Cowdery, who had long conversations with Joseph about his experience and recorded them in articles written in the Messenger and Advocate. See Cowdery, “Letter VIII,” 197–99, for one example of these reports from Cowdery. 8 The Book of Mormon is believed by Latter-day Saints to be the stick of Joseph spoken of in Ezekiel 37:15–28. 9 Smith, History of the Church, 4: 537–38; also, Smith, “Church History,” 707. 10 See “Abraham, Covenant of ” in the Bible Dictionary of the LDS edition of The Holy Bible. 11 The Joseph Smith Translation, or JST, is a corrected rendering of the biblical text, prepared through inspiration and revelation rather than through a comparison with languages in earlier source documents. Latter-day Saints continue to use the King James Version of the Bible, though they occasionally consult the JST for doctrinal clarification or further insights. Unlike many JST passages that are found within the footnotes or appendix of the LDS edition of the Bible, this particular passage must be consulted within a separate source. See, for example, Smith, Joseph Smith Translation, compiled by Lutes and Lutes. 12 These name meanings of “many” are derived from scriptural designations rather than etymologies. See Moses 1:34 and 4:26. 13 Bruce R. McConkie, “Apostles,” 46. 14 Millet and McConkie, In His Holy Name, 46. 15 Ibid., 46. 16 McConkie and Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, 792. 17 Ibid., 792. 18 Ibid., 792. 19 Ibid., 792. 20 Ibid., 650. 21 McConkie and Millet, Joseph Smith: The Choice Seer, 163. 22 Joseph Smith’s account of this event states that “Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham” (D&C 110:12). The name Elias is used in a number of revelations received by Joseph Smith as a name title rather than a proper

216  Joseph Fielding McConkie name. The best of Mormon scholars have assumed that in this text it must be used in this way, having reference either to Abraham or Melchizedek. In my judgment, it refers to Abraham.

References The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, based on the lexicon of William Gesenius and trans. Edward Robinson. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1952. Cowdery, Oliver. “Letter VIII.” Messenger and Advocate 2, no. 1 (Oct. 1835): 195–202. Available at https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/7162. Accessed August 23, 2022. The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. “Joseph Smith—History.” In Pearl of Great Price. McConkie, Bruce R. “Apostles.” In Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 46–47. ———. Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966. McConkie, Joseph Fielding, and Robert L. Millet. Joseph Smith: The Choice Seer. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996. McConkie, Joseph Fielding, and Craig J. Ostler. Revelations of the Restoration. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000. Millet, Robert L., and Joseph Fielding McConkie. In His Holy Name. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988. The Pearl of Great Price. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Smith, Joseph. “Church History.” Times and Seasons 3 (March 1, 1842): 706–10. Available at https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/9801/rec/4. Accessed August 23, 2022. ———. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938. ———. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., with an intro. and notes by B. H. Roberts, period I, vol. 4, 2nd edition revised. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1949/1976. ———. Joseph Smith Translation, compiled by Kenneth Lutes and Lyndell Lutes. Orem, UT: Lutes International, 2006.

10 Book of Mormon Names Beyond Etymology John Gee

Since the middle of the last century, the study of names has been an important aspect of Book of Mormon scholarship. Research into the names in the Book of Mormon has produced two debates: one between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and detractors, and one internal to members of the Church. The former debate has focused on the authenticity of the names in the Book of Mormon, while the latter, internal debate has generally focused on the etymology of the names.

Overview of the Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a sacred scripture to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a record of the dealings of God with a people who left Jerusalem before the destruction of the city in 587 BC and migrated to the New World, where they settled and established a civilization among the other inhabitants of the area. Some interactions with other inhabitants are recorded, but most of the record concentrates on a single lineage. The record takes its name from the prophet, general, statesman, and historian, Mormon, who compiled and abridged the records of his lineage approximately a millennium after his ancestors left Jerusalem. Because the Book of Mormon is inextricably linked to the story of its coming forth to an unlearned farmer through angels and visions, some find the story simply incredible.1 Given that the validity of certain religious propositions rests on the historicity of the Book of Mormon, controversy centers on whether the Book of Mormon is an authentic ancient document. Since names can serve as a cultural indicator, the names of individuals mentioned in the Book of Mormon have been used as an indicator of its authenticity.

Trends in Book of Mormon Names Issues relating to a Book of Mormon onomasticon were actually first raised by critics of the Book of Mormon. Since most of these critics take the position that the Book of Mormon is anything but authentic, or even divinely inspired, they are

DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-12

218  John Gee forced to argue that the names are simply invented and thus search for English etymologies and psychological or historical explanations for the names.2 Other critics believe Book of Mormon names are merely strings of letters and have proposed algorithms that are supposed to produce all Book of Mormon names.3 Unfortunately, when the algorithms can produce a host of modern names, including the names of some of the authors who promote this system, as well as authentic ancient names,4 the proposal becomes less than convincing.

Apologetic Approaches Serious study of the Book of Mormon onomasticon can be said to have started with the work of Hugh Nibley. Nibley compared the names in the Book of Mormon with various Egyptian and Semitic names in an attempt to show that the Book of Mormon was an ancient document.5 In discussing the names, Nibley proposed etymologies for names, and he included hypothetical etymologies as well. More recent work has proposed progressively tighter methodological controls for the work on the Book of Mormon onomasticon. In 1990, Paul Hoskisson noted that (1) the etymologies proposed should make sense and account for the elements in the Book of Mormon names, (2) transliterations used should be assumed to follow the same rules as used by the King James translators since many of the translation conventions of the Book of Mormon follow those of the King James Bible (although it is known that the Book of Mormon was translated into Early Modern English, a form of English that includes not only King James English but some earlier forms of the language as well6), and (3) more care should be used with regard to the languages proposed for the etymologies of Book of Mormon names:7 When considering possible language Vorlagen for the Book of Mormon, Hebrew of the Biblical period is the first choice. Nearly equal in consideration to Hebrew is Egyptian, followed by the other Semitic languages in use at or before the time of Lehi, including Akkadian, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Moabite, and Ammonite. Semitic languages first attested after the time of Lehi, such as Classical Arabic, the later Aramaic dialects, and Ethiopic dialects, are not as relevant as the earlier languages, but may be used with extreme caution. Other non-Semitic languages with which the Hebrews could have had contact before Lehi’s departure, such as Hittite, Greek, Hurrian, and Sumerian, should be a last resort.8

Etymological Approach Most studies of Book of Mormon names propose etymologies and discuss the supposed significance of the proposed meanings in relation to the Book of Mormon.9 One impediment is that we must deal with Book of Mormon names in transliterated form, which may not coincide with the original script, and almost certainly partially disguises the phonemic inventory and definitely obscures the

Book of Mormon Names  219 etymology of the name. A similar situation confronts those who deal with Egyptian names in Greek script. For example, the Egyptian name written etymologically as ns-pꜣj=w-tꜣ.wj is written phonetically in Greek as Spotous,10 while the name written etymologically as ἰr.t-ḥr-r.r=w comes out in Greek transcription as Inaros,11 and ḏdḥr becomes Teos.12 These examples show that transcriptions into another language, which tend to be phonetic, often bear only the vaguest resemblance to etymology. The etymological approach also raises the issue of metonymy, the assigning of another name to an individual later in life for acts or traits that appeared in their life. The Book of Mormon raises the issue of metonymy, at least in the case of early Nephite kings: Now Nephi began to be old, and he saw that he must soon die; wherefore, he anointed a man to be a king and a ruler over his people now, according to the reigns of the kings. The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great protector for them, having wielded the sword of Laban in their defence, and having labored in all his days for their welfare— Wherefore, the people were desirous to retain in remembrance his name. And whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reigns of the kings; and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever name they would. ( Jacob 1: 9–11) If such a practice was also found among the Lamanites, it might explain why at least a couple of their kings bear the name of Laman (Mosiah 9:10–13; 24:3). The scriptural passage that mentions the use of metonymy also admits the use of other names given around the time of birth, and later Nephite kings such as Mosiah, Benjamin, Noah, Limhi, and Zeniff are referred to by their birth names rather than their metonymic “Nephi.” Such considerations mean that as a general assumption, the etymology of a name is normally not seen as being necessarily appropriate for their deeds in life. Thus, the appropriateness of the proposed meanings of Book of Mormon names for individuals as metonymy is at least debatable, because names tend to be assigned to individuals early in their lives by parents and the traits for which they were known later in life derive from their choices, not from some onomastic predetermination. Therefore, when the proposed meaning of an individual’s name matches some character trait of the individuals, the match generally must be presumed to be coincidental.13 Distinct from the proposed metonymy is the approach of Matthew Bowen that the authors of the Book of Mormon used wordplay on an individual’s given name in describing the individual in the Book of Mormon,14 a connection that has been obscured by the translation into English. The etymological approach has certain advantages. The etymological approach to Book of Mormon names might provide clues as to the proper pronunciation15 which otherwise is left to an ad hoc tradition.16 Etymology also seems to play a role in some wordplays in the Book of Mormon where the etymological meaning of

220  John Gee the name is played off in a statement about the individual, comparable to the etymological play on the meanings of names in the book of Genesis (e.g., 1 Nephi 1:1; Enos 1:1; Helaman 5:6–7).17

Attestational Approach The approach through attestations rather than etymology has certain advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that whether or not the name has an etymology, it can still be shown to be an authentic proper name.18 As Tvedtnes notes: A viable etymology lends evidence for the authenticity of the name. But some Book of Mormon names have defied establishing a meaning. Among these are Abish, Himni, and Hagoth, all of which are now attested from Hebrew inscriptions found in Israel. The attestation of a name in such an inscription provides stronger evidence than does a viable ancient Near Eastern (especially Hebrew and Egyptian) etymology.19 One article taking this approach found that the Book of Mormon names Abish, Aha, Alma, Ammonihah, Chemish, Hagoth, Himni, Isabel, Jarom, Josh, Luram, Mathoni, Mathonihah, Muloki, Sam, and Sariah are all attested names from epigraphic inscriptions from ancient Israel.20 The attestation of Book of Mormon names in pre-exilic Israel certainly lends support to the claim that it is a record of a people that came from that area and around that time frame, but it also reveals certain things about later Nephite society in the first century BC. For example, it shows a tendency to reuse personal names from earlier records. An intriguing example of this is the Book of Mormon name of a chief captain Gidgiddoni (3 Nephi 3:18) and the later military leader Gidgiddonah (Mormon 6:13), who may have been named for the earlier one. The name is attested in Neo-Assyrian records as Gidgiddānu, spelled variously—gíd-gíd-da-nu, gíd-gíd-a-nu, gíd-gi-da-a-nu, gíd-gi-da-a-ni, and gíd-gíd-dà-ni—although the exact meaning of the name is unknown.21 The sound shift of the long ā in Akkadian (of which Neo-Assyrian is a dialect) to an o in Hebrew is standard, as is the variation of the vowel in the Akkadian case ending on the end of the name. At least seven different individuals of this name appear in Neo-Assyrian records, including a tailor, a carpenter, and a charioteer.22 Someone by this name is likely to have been mentioned in the brass plates carried from Jerusalem by Lehi’s family, allowing for the name to have been preserved over six centuries later. Care must be taken that the name proposed actually is attested in the source in question. One proposal, for example, claimed attestation for the Book of Mormon name, Sariah, in Elephantine papyri,23 but the name was actually in a lacuna and had been restored. Although legitimate objections have been raised about finding a name in a lacuna,24 in the case of Sariah, those objections are now moot, since the name has been shown to be attested from other sources.25 In principle, “restorations cannot provide absolute proof but rather at best a suggestion.”26

Book of Mormon Names  221

Deciding Between Alternatives The challenge comes when one must decide between two or more alternatives proposed for a name. Only recently has this issue begun to be addressed.27 Generally, the difference is between two proposed etymologies to a name rather than two attestations for a name. An illustrative example of the process of deciding between proposed alternatives may be found in the name Nephi, the first author of, and indeed the first individual mentioned in the text of the Book of Mormon. There are several other Nephis in the Book of Mormon, at least one of whom is explicitly named for his ancestor of the same name (Helaman 5:6). Thirteen etymologies have been proposed for the name Nephi: Nephi < Egyptian nfr “good”28 Nephi < Egyptian nfw “captain”29 Nephi < Egyptian nfy “wind”30 Nephi < Akkadian napᾱḫu “to be kindled”31 Nephi < Hebrew npy32 Nephi < Hebrew np‛33 Nephi < Hebrew n‛p34 Nephi < Hebrew n-v-p35 [the v stands for a vowel] Nephi < Hebrew n’p36 Nephi < Hebrew np’37 Nephi < Hebrew nbi38 Nephi < Ugaritic npy “to expel, drive away”39 Nephi < Ugaritic np‛ “to flourish”40 Of the proposed etymologies, two (Egyptian nfy and Akkadian napᾱḫu) can be laid to rest as they are so far unattested and never used as personal names in their respective cultures.41 All the Hebrew etymologies above can be discarded as these “possible consonantal roots” don’t “appear in Hebrew in any form that can be applied to the name Nephi.”42 Deciding between the other alternatives is more difficult as each of the remaining suggestions has its strengths and weaknesses. While both nfw and nfr are attested names in Egypt, nfw is not used as a name in the time period contemporary with the beginning of the Book of Mormon, when Nephi was born in the Old World.43 On the other hand, reconstructions of the vowels in the Egyptian words favors nfw over nfr as the descendant words in Coptic are neef and noufi, respectively.44 Hoskisson seems to favor Ugaritic etymologies, even though not attested for over five hundred years before the birth of Nephi, as more “plausible” than Egyptian etymologies. This is at least partly because “not being an Egyptologist, [he is] not in a position to evaluate the Egyptian suggestions.”45 Hoskisson dismisses one scholar’s attested Egyptian name possibility, because the scholar “offered no etymology.”46 Of the Ugaritic etymologies, only one, npy, might appear as a personal name in later South Arabian inscriptions as nfy,47 but the etymology of the South Arabian word is not certain, and the root is not attested in ancient Epigraphic Qatabanian.48

222  John Gee From the etymological standpoint, the name Nephi might come from a variety of sources, but from an attestational standpoint, only Egyptian and South Arabic attest the name. Since these sources actually attest the name, they are to be preferred to hypothetical etymologies. Where the etymology is perhaps established is through two passages in the Book of Mormon that seem to involve wordplay with the name Nephi and the Egyptian etymology “good.”49

Naming Practices in the Book of Mormon More attention needs to be paid to the naming practices in the Book of Mormon itself. Lands in the Book of Mormon, at least among the Nephites, are often named after the first person who occupied the land: Now it was the custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands, and their cities, and their villages, yea, even all their small villages, after the name of him who first possessed them; and thus it was with the land of Ammonihah. (Alma 8:7) Thus, geographical names can preserve historical information. This information is often corroborated elsewhere in the Book of Mormon. For example, several cities were built as part of a line of fortification. The name of one of them, Lehi (Alma 50:15), is the same as a military leader involved in the Nephite defenses at the time (Alma 43:35–53; 49:16–17; 52:27–36; 61:15–21; 62:3, 13, 32–37; Helaman 1:28); it may be that he founded that city. The name of a neighboring land in the line of fortification is Morianton (Alma 50:25–26), and it comes as little surprise that “the people of Morianton … were led by a man whose name was Morianton” (Alma 50:28). One city, Gideon, is settled by refugees ostensibly under King Limhi, but the name seems to be taken from “Gideon… who was an instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage” (Alma 1:8; cf. Mosiah 22:3–9). One individual in the Book of Mormon, Helaman, gives his sons the names of his forefathers who left the land of Jerusalem, telling them: Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them. (Helaman 5:6–7) Mormon, the military leader who compiled the Book of Mormon, seems to have named his own son and successor after a previous general whom Mormon describes this way: a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

Book of Mormon Names  223 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ.… Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. (Alma 48:11–13, 17) The practice, attested in the Book of Mormon, of naming children after illustrious ancestors or individuals as incentive to live a better life has been adopted by some members of the Church, but specific conclusions about particular individuals requires a knowledge of family history in order to discover why the name has been chosen.

Future Work Work on the Book of Mormon onomasticon, which was necessary for a greater understanding of the origin and significance of Book of Mormon names, had been held up partially because during the translation of the Book of Mormon, names seem to have been spelled out, and several names appear to have been mistranscribed in the printed editions, thus making a critical text that contains all of the variant spellings a desideratum for further study on Book of Mormon names. With the publication of a critical text to the Book of Mormon,50 the study of its onomasticon became even more informed.51 Some of the variant spellings may now be taken into account, and more work can be done with finding attestations of Book of Mormon names. The attestations shed light on the etymologies, which can be given more careful and systematic treatment than in the past, including the historical influences behind the names. Indeed, the most important work on the onomasticon involves what it reveals about history.

Notes 1 Givens addresses this in By the Hand of Mormon. 2 Prince, “Psychological Tests.” 3 Ashment, “‘Record in the Language’,” 346–50. 4 Gee, “La Trahison des Clercs,” 102–6. 5 Nibley, “‘Howlers’ in the Book of Mormon”; Nibley, [Review of] “Bar-Kochba”; Nibley, “Lachish Letters”; Nibley, Prophetic Book of Mormon, 535; Nibley, “Bar-Kochba and Book of Mormon Backgrounds.” 6 Carmack, “A Look at Some ‘Nonstandard’ Book of Mormon Grammar”; Carmack, “What Command Syntax Tells Us”; Carmack, “Implications of Past-Tense Syntax”; Carmack, “Why the Oxford English Dictionary”; Carmack, “More Part of the Book of Mormon”; Carmack, “Joseph Smith Read the Words”; Carmack, “Case of the {-th} Plural”; Carmack, “Case of Plural Was”; Carmack, “How Joseph Smith’s Grammar Differed”; Carmack, “Barlow on Book of Mormon Language”; and Carmack, “Is the Book of Mormon a Pseudo-Archaic Text?”

224  John Gee 7 Hoskisson, “Introduction to the Relevance,” 130–31. 8 Ibid., 131. 9 See, for example, Nibley, “‘Howlers’ in the Book of Mormon”; Nibley, [Review of] “Bar-Kochba”; Nibley, “Lachish Letters”; Nibley, Prophetic Book of Mormon, 535; Nibley, “Bar-Kochba and Book of Mormon Backgrounds”; Hoskisson, “Introduction to the Relevance,” 126; Hoskisson, “Lehi and Sariah”; Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi”; Chadwick, “Sariah in the Elephantine Papyri”; Chadwick, “The Names Lehi and Sariah”; Pike, “Response to Paul Hoskisson’s ‘Lehi and Sariah’”; and Tvedtnes, “Lehi and Sariah Comments.” 10 Lüddeckens et al., Demotisches Namenbuch, Band I, Lieferung 9, 672–73. 11 Lüddeckens et al., Demotisches Namenbuch, Band I, Lieferung 2, 72–73. 12 Lüddeckens et al., Demotisches Namenbuch, Band I, Lieferung 17, 1368–69. 13 cf. Pike, “Response to Paul Hoskisson’s ‘Lehi and Sariah’”; Hoskisson, “Response to the Comments.” 14 Bowen, “‘Most Desirable Above All Things’”; Bowen, “Father Is a Man”; Bowen and Olavarria, “Place of Crushing”; Bowen, “‘He is a Good Man’”; Bowen, “Nephi’s Good Inclusio”; Bowen, “‘They Were Moved with Compassion’”; Bowen, “Onomastic Wordplay”; Bowen, “‘My People are Willing’”; Bowen, “‘See That Ye Are Not Lifted Up’”; Bowen, “Alma—Young Man, Hidden Prophet”; Bowen, “‘O Ye Fair Ones’— Revisited”; Bowen, “‘This Son Shall Comfort Us’”; and Bowen, “‘If Ye Will Hearken’.” 15 cf. Gee, “Note on the Name Nephi”; and Gee, “La Trahison des Clercs.” 16 cf. Gee, “Note on the Name Nephi”; Gee, “La Trahison des Clercs”; Woodger, “How the Guide to English Pronunciation”; and Huchel, “Deseret Alphabet.” 17 cf. Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence.” 18 For example, Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested”; and Nibley, [Review of] “Bar-Kochba.” 19 Tvedtness, “Lehi and Sariah Comments.” 20 Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested.” Another attestation of Abish is JA 430, line 3, in Yardeni, Jeselsohn Collection, 442. 21 Radner, Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, vol. 1, part II: B–G, 422–23. 22 Ibid., 422–23. 23 Chadwick, “Sariah in the Elephantine Papyri.” 24 Hoskisson, “Response to the Comments.” 25 Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested,” 42–43. For a more recent discussion of the attested evidence for this name, see Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names, 295–97. 26 Hoskisson, “Response to the Comments,” 38. 27 Gee, “Four Suggestions”; Hoskisson, “Lehi and Sariah”; Hoskisson, “Response to the Comments”; Chadwick, “The Names Lehi and Sariah”; Pike, “Response to Paul Hoskisson’s ‘Lehi and Sariah’”; Tvedtnes, “Lehi and Sariah Comments”; and Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi.” 28 Gee, “Note on the Name Nephi”; Gee, “Four Suggestions”; Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence”; Bowen, “Nephi’s Good Inclusio”; and Bowen, “‘O Ye Fair Ones’ —Revisited.” 29 Gee, “Four Suggestions.” 30 Gee, “Four Suggestions”; Tvedtnes, Review of New Approaches, 39. 31 Gee, “Four Suggestions.” 32 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 64. 33 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 64. 34 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 64. 35 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 64. 36 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 64. 37 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 64. 38 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 65. 39 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 65.

Book of Mormon Names  225 40 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 65. 41 Gee, “Four Suggestions.” 42 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 64. 43 Gee, “Four Suggestions.” 44 Gee, “Four Suggestions.” 45 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 64–65, 83 n. 5. 46 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 65. 47 Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi,” 65. 48 Ricks, Lexicon of Inscriptional Qatabanian, 108–10. 49 Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence.” 50 Skousen, Original Manuscript, vol. 1; Skousen, Printer’s Manuscript. 51 See https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/onoma/index.php/ for the Book of Mormon Onomasticon online; see also Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names.

References Ashment, Edward H. “‘A Record in the Language of my Father’: Evidence of Ancient Egyptian and Hebrew in the Book of Mormon.” In New Approaches, edited by Metcalfe, 329–93. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Book of Mormon Onomasticon. (n.d.) https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/onoma/index.php Bowen, Matthew L. “Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi’s Name.” Insights 22, no. 11 (2002): 2. ———. “Father Is a Man: The Remarkable Mention of the Name Abish in Alma 19:16 and Its Narrative Context.” Interpreter 14 (2015a): 77–93. ———. “‘Most Desirable Above All Things’: Onomastic Play on Mary and Mormon in the Book of Mormon.” Interpreter 13 (2015b): 27–61. ———. “Alma—Young Man, Hidden Prophet.” Interpreter 19 (2016a): 343–53. ———. “‘He is a Good Man’: The Fulfillment of Helaman 5:6–7 in Helaman 8:7 and 11:18–19.” Interpreter 17 (2016b): 165–70. ———. “‘My People are Willing’: The Mention of Aminadab in the Narrative Context of Helaman 5–6.” Interpreter 19 (2016c): 83–107. ———. “Nephi’s Good Inclusio.” Interpreter 17 (2016d): 181–95. ———. “Onomastic Wordplay on Joseph and Benjamin and Gezera Shawa in the Book of Mormon.” Interpreter 18 (2016e): 255–73. ———. “‘O Ye Fair Ones’—Revisited.” Interpreter 20 (2016f): 315–44. ———. “‘See That Ye Are Not Lifted Up’: The Name Zoram and Its Paronomastic Pejoration.” Interpreter 19 (2016g): 109–43. ———. “‘They Were Moved with Compassion’ (Alma 27:4; 53:13): Toponymic Wordplay on Zarahemla and Jershon.” Interpreter 18 (2016h): 233–53. ———. “‘If Ye Will Hearken’: Lehi’s Rhetorical Wordplay on Ishmael in 2 Nephi 1:28–29 and Its Implications.” Interpreter 25 (2017a): 157–89. ———. “‘This Son Shall Comfort Us’: An Onomastic Tale of Two Noahs.” Interpreter 23 (2017b): 263–98. Bowen, Matthew L., and Pedro Olavarria. “Place of Crushing: The Literary Function of Heshlon in Ether 13:25–31.” Interpreter 14 (2015): 227–39. Carmack, Stanford. “A Look at Some ‘Nonstandard’ Book of Mormon Grammar.” Interpreter 11 (2014): 209–62. ———. “The Implications of Past-Tense Syntax in the Book of Mormon.” Interpreter 14 (2015a): 119–86.

226  John Gee ———. “What Command Syntax Tells Us about Book of Mormon Authorship.” Interpreter 13 (2015b): 175–217. ———. “Why the Oxford English Dictionary (and not Webster’s 1828).” Interpreter 15 (2015c): 65–77. ———. “The Case of Plural Was in the Earliest Text.” Interpreter 18 (2016a): 109–37. ———. “The Case of the {-th} Plural in the Earliest Text.” Interpreter 18 (2016b): 79–108. ———. “Joseph Smith Read the Words.” Interpreter 18 (2016c): 41–64. ———. “The More Part of the Book of Mormon is Early Modern English.” Interpreter 18 (2016d): 33–40. ———. “Barlow on Book of Mormon Language: An Examination of Some Strained Grammar.” Interpreter 27 (2017a): 185–96. ———. “How Joseph Smith’s Grammar Differed from Book of Mormon Grammar: Evidence from the 1832 History.” Interpreter 25 (2017b): 239–59. ———. “Is the Book of Mormon a Pseudo-Archaic Text?” Interpreter 28 (2018): 177–232. Chadwick, Jeffrey R. “Sariah in the Elephantine Papyri.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2, no. 2 (Fall 1993): 196–200; reprinted in Pressing Forward, edited by Welch and Thorne, 6–10. ———. “The Names Lehi and Sariah—Language and Meaning.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 32–34, 77. Gee, John. “A Note on the Name Nephi.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1, no. 1 (1992): 189–91. ———. “La Trahison des Clercs: On the Language and Translation of the Book of Mormon.” Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 6, no. 1 (1994): 51–120. ———. “Four Suggestions on the Origin of the Name Nephi.” In Pressing Forward, edited by Welch and Thorne, 1–5. Givens, Terryl L. By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. Hoskisson, Paul Y. “An Introduction to the Relevance of and a Methodology for a Study of the Proper Names of the Book of Mormon.” In By Study, edited by Lundquist and Ricks, 2: 126–35. ———. “Lehi and Sariah.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000a): 30–31, 77. ———. “Response to the Comments.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000b): 38–39, 77–78. ———. “What’s in a Name? Nephi.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 2 (2000c): 64–65, 83. Huchel, Frederick M. “The Deseret Alphabet as an Aid in Pronouncing Book of Mormon Names.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 58–59, 79. Lüddeckens, Erich et al. Demotisches Namenbuch. Band I, Lieferung 2. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert, 1981. ———. Demotisches Namenbuch. Band I, Lieferung 9. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert, 1989. ———. Demotisches Namenbuch. Band I, Lieferung 17. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert, 2000. Lundquist, John M., and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, 2 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990. Metcalfe, Brent Lee, ed. New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1993.

Book of Mormon Names  227 Nibley, Hugh. “‘Howlers’ in the Book of Mormon.” Millennial Star 125 (Feb. 1963): 28–34. ———. [Review of] “Bar-Kochba” by Yigael Yadin. Brigham Young University Studies 14, no. 1 (Autumn 1973): 115–26. ———. “The Lachish Letters: Documents from Lehi’s Day.” Ensign 11, no. 12 (Dec. 1981): 48–54. ———. “Bar-Kochba and Book of Mormon Backgrounds.” In Nibley, The Prophetic Book of Mormon, 274–88. ———. The Prophetic Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch, vol. 8 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 17 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1989. Pike, Dana M. “Response to Paul Hoskisson’s ‘Lehi and Sariah’.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 35–36, 77. Prince, Walter Franklin. “Psychological Tests for the Authorship of the Book of Mormon.” American Journal of Psychology 28, no. 3 (July 1917): 373–89. Radner, Karen, ed. The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, vol. 1, part II: B–G. Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 1999. Ricks, Stephen D. Lexicon of Inscriptional Qatabanian. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1989. Ricks, Stephen D., Paul Y. Hoskisson, Robert F. Smith, and John Gee, eds. Dictionary of Proper Names & Foreign Words in the Book of Mormon. Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation, in cooperation with Eborn Books, 2022. Skousen, Royal, ed. The Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon: Typographical Facsimile of the Extant Text, vol. 1. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2001a. ———, ed. The Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon: Typographical Facsimile of the Entire Text in Two Parts (Part One and Part Two), 2 vols. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2001b. Tvedtnes, John A. Review of New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, ed. Brent Lee Metcalfe. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1993. Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 6, no. 1 (1994): 8–50. ———. “Lehi and Sariah Comments.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 37, 77. Tvedtnes, John A., John Gee, and Matthew Roper. “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 40–51, 78–79. Welch, John W., and Melvin J. Thorne, eds. Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1999. Woodger, Mary Jane. “How the Guide to English Pronunciation of Book of Mormon Names Came About.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 52–57, 79. Yardeni, Ada. The Jeselsohn Collection of Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea. Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi Press, 2016.

11 Striking While the Irony Is Hot Hebrew Onomastics and Their Function within the Book of Mormon Text Matthew L. Bowen

The beginning of the Book of Mormon narrative introduces us to family members in the Lehite-Ishmaelite party that fled Jerusalem. Most of their names are easily identified as Hebrew or broadly Semitic: Lehi (‘belonging to the living one,’1 or less likely, ‘jaw, cheek’2), Sariah (‘Yahweh is prince’),3 Lemuel (‘belonging to El’),4 Ishmael (‘may El hear’),5 Zoram (possibly ‘This one is exalted’ or ‘[He is] poured forth’).6 Similarly, Lehi’s sons born in the Arabian wilderness were both given Semitic/biblical patriarchal names: Jacob (‘may he [the god] protect’)7 and Joseph (‘may he [the god] add’).8 At the end of Lamanite-Nephite history, Mormon (the narrator, editor, or author of everything in the Book of Mormon between the book of Omni and Mormon 8) reports several Semitic/Hebrew names among the generals of the fallen Nephite armies: Gidgiddonah,9 Gilgal, Shem, and Josh.10 In short, Hebrew names constitute an important part of the Nephite onomasticon from the beginning to the end. In some instances, authorial understanding of the meanings of Semitic and Hebrew names is directly reflected in the Book of Mormon text, and even appears to influence or shape it. This chapter will examine the etymology and meanings— scientific and ascribed—of some of the biblical and extrabiblical Hebrew names attested in the Book of Mormon and, in particular, instances in which names and meanings appear to shape or influence aspects of its text. This chapter will discuss outstanding examples involving the Semitic/Hebrew names Enos, Jacob, Benjamin, Alma, Shilom, Noah, Abish, Mosiah, Ammon, Zarahemla, Jershon, Zoram (together with Rameumptom and Onidah), and Jared. Examples involving Joseph, Amlici, Amalickiah, and the name-title Rabbanah will receive cursory attention.

A Note on Language, the Onomasticon, and Methodology Writing near the end of Nephite history, Moroni mentions that he, his father Mormon, and their predecessors wrote their record in “characters”—that is, a writing system—termed by them “the reformed Egyptian” (Mormon 9:32). Writing at the beginning of Nephite history, Nephi says that he made his record “in the language of my father [Lehi], which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2). But Lehi and Nephi’s everyday-­ spoken language would have been Hebrew, and Moroni mentions that if the DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-13

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  229 prophetic recordkeepers’ recording medium (metal plates) had been “sufficiently large,” they would have “written in Hebrew” (Mormon 9:33). The Nephite language in its origins was Hebrew and remained so to some degree despite inevitable diachronic change. Without a Vorlage (a prior version of a text, in this case the metal plates) to examine, reasonable reconstructions of what Book of Mormon writers originally thought and wrote must be based in the languages and writing systems they said they used: Hebrew and Egyptian. Accordingly, the etymological roots and forms provided herein are not drawn from an actual Hebrew manuscript for the Book of Mormon, but they represent conjectures about the etymologies of words and ideas translated into an English text from a Vorlage written in an Egyptian writing system. I have represented these reconstructed words and ideas in classical biblical Hebrew, which would have been closely akin to the spoken language of Lehi and Nephi. This writing system gave expression to Hebrew thought (“the learning of the Jews”) and was even adapted according to Nephite speech as it changed (Mormon 9:32–33). The best Latter-day Saint scholarship on Book of Mormon names has approached this topic through identifying ancient attested forms in Hebrew and Egyptian. Regarding the use of language in determining the meaning of Book of Mormon names, Paul Y. Hoskisson writes: When considering possible language Vorlagen for the Book of Mormon, Hebrew of the biblical period is the first choice. Nearly equal in consideration to Hebrew is Egyptian, followed by the other Semitic languages in use at or before the time of Lehi, including Akkadian, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Moabite, and Ammonite.11 I concur with and follow Hoskisson’s observation throughout this study. The presence of Hebrew and Egyptian names within the Book of Mormon is suggestive of, or at least compatible with, Latter-day Saint claims about the nature and origin of this scriptural text, which are based on the claims of the Book of Mormon itself. While the present study will primarily focus on Hebrew names, my focus will go in a different direction than many previous approaches. My approach here will be to demonstrate the powerful interpretive possibilities of the Book of Mormon text by considering the etymologies of Hebrew names in relation to the narrative and teachings within the Book of Mormon, especially in the immediate context of where these names are introduced or prominently recur. Lastly, the reader should be made aware that ancient (pre-Masoretic) written Hebrew lacks vowels. The forms and reconstructions provided herein hew to the Masoretic voweling of Classical Biblical Hebrew for the reasons mentioned earlier.

A “Wrestle… Before God”: Jacob and Enos Enos, the son of Jacob, and the third writer on Nephi’s small plates models the introduction to his autobiography on that of Nephi, his uncle. Similar to Nephi’s autobiographical wordplay on his Egyptian name, the Hebrew etymology of Enos’ name creates an onomastic wordplay that ascribes the propriety of his given name to the character and quality of his parentage:

230  Matthew L. Bowen

Comparison 11.1: Quality of Parentage 1 Nephi 1:1

I Nephi [Eg. nfr12 = ‘good,’ ‘goodly’13] having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father14

Enos 1:1

I Enos [Heb. ʾĕnôš = ‘man’] knowing my father that he was a just man, for he taught me in his language

Perhaps even more impressive than the imitative language and parallel onomastic rhetoric, however, is how Enos’ name and its meaning (‘man’),15 along with his father Jacob’s name, figures into an autobiographical adaptation of an important biblical scene involving Jacob the patriarch. Years ago, John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper identified clear textual affinities between the biblical Jacob’s experience at Peniel, the broader story of Jacob and Esau, and the autobiography of the Book of Mormon’s Enos, the son of Jacob.16 In a subsequent study, I went further in positing that Enos’ use of the term “wrestle” constitutes a paronomasia (or pun)17 on the name Jacob,18 the name of his own father, in a device drawn from Genesis 32. Enos’ paronomasia has the patriarch Jacob’s “wrestle” at Peniel in view: “And Jacob [yaʿăqōb] was left alone; and there wrestled [wayyēʾābēq] a man [ʾîš] with him until the breaking of the day” (Genesis 32:24 [Masoretic Text 25]). Enos’ Jacob-like “wrestle” (cf. Heb. wayyēʾābēq/bĕhēʾābĕqô,19 Genesis 32:24–25 [MT 25–26]) was prompted by the reminiscence of the words of his father Jacob.20 The “man” whom Enos (‘man’) wrestles “before God” (Enos 1:2) (Hebrew lipnê ʾēl/ ʾĕlōhîm; cf. Peniel [pĕnîʾēl]) is himself—his own fallen nature. Enos’ literary adaptation not only revolves around the yaʿăqōb-wayyēʾābēq pun (echoing his father’s name as identical with the patriarch’s name) and ʾîš as a homonymic and synonymic cousin of ʾĕnôš, but it also comprehends Hebrew ʾănāšîm (‘men’) the plural form shared by both: “And he [the “man”] said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power [śārîtā; or better, thou hast struggled] with God [ʾĕlōhîm] and with men [ʾănāšîm], and hast prevailed” (Genesis 32:28). Enos’ subsequent allusions to “struggling” with God and the Lamanites as “brethren” (Enos 1:10–11, 14) also seem to have this etiology for the name Israel in view as a re-expression of the name Jacob in terms of wayyēʾābēq (‘and he wrestled’). Biblical Hebrew narrative associates the name Jacob (yaʿăqōb) with grabbing the “heel” (baʿăqēb, Genesis 25:26) when “struggl[ing] together” (wayyitrōṣĕṣû) with his brother in the womb and “supplanted” (wayyaʿqĕbēnî, Genesis 27:36) his brother, before the later paronomastic association with “wrestling” and “embracing.” Etymologically, however, the name Jacob denotes “May he [i.e., the deity] protect,”21 a meaning possibly reflected in the words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, when he twice describes his brother as a “protector” (2 Nephi 6:2; Jacob 1:10).22 Jacob’s protection by Yahweh and Nephi fulfilled a parental hope (see 2 Nephi 2:3).

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  231

Sons and Daughters at the Right Hand of God: Benjamin The penultimate Nephite king, living many generations after Nephi, bore the Hebrew name Benjamin. Mosiah 1–6, the portion of the book of Mosiah that deals with the reign of Benjamin, revolves around the topic of sonship and daughterhood and concludes with an emphasis on divine sonship and daughterhood.23 The personal and gentilic24 name Benjamin is of Semitic/Hebrew origin and denotes ‘son of (the) right hand’25 (bin/bēn, ‘son’ + yāmîn, ‘right hand’). Mormon patterns the biography that begins the book of Mosiah after earlier autobiographical introductions from Nephi’s small plates:

Comparison 11.2: Teaching of the Children Mosiah 1:1–4 And now there was no more contention in all the land of Zarahemla… so that king Benjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days. And it came to pass that he had three sons [cf. Heb. bānîm], and he called their names Mosiah and Helorum and Helaman. And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become men [cf. Heb. ʾanšê] of understanding [Heb. bînâ]… And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons [Heb. bānāy], I would that ye should remember that were it not for… these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God. For it were not possible that our father Lehi could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children [bānāw], except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians, therefore he could read these engravings and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.

1 Nephi 1:1–2; Enos 1:1 I Nephi having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father. And… having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. (1 Nephi 1:1–2) Behold, it came to pass that I Enos [ʾĕnôš] knowing my father that he was a just man, for he taught me in his language and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Enos 1:1)

John Tvedtnes has noted that the description of Benjamin’s teaching of his sons “seems to be patterned after Lehi’s teaching of his son Nephi.”26 He further

232  Matthew L. Bowen remarks, “This is one of many other examples of how Nephite writers relied on earlier records as they recorded their history.”27 As in the case of Enos’ autobiographical introduction, Mormon’s description of Benjamin teaching his sons is clearly textually dependent on Nephi’s autobiographical introduction. This textual dependency appears to run deeper than lexical and phraseological borrowings. Mormon transposes the autobiographical paronomastic contours of the proper name juxtaposed with its meaning (Nephi [nfr] = ‘goodly,’ ‘goodness’; Enos = ‘man’) into a biographical juxtaposition of Benjamin (‘son-of-the-right-hand’) with “sons” (Heb. bānîm). The Benjamin-sons interplay is also reinforced by the word “understanding” (Hebrew bînâ). The climactic final portion of King Benjamin’s sermon (Mosiah 2–5) in Mosiah 5 concludes with a transparent wordplay on both elements in the name Benjamin, this time by Benjamin himself. This sermon, which also marks his son Mosiah II’s accession to the throne, also culminates in the making of a covenant between God and Benjamin’s people. This portion of King Benjamin’s speech unquestionably alludes to Psalm 2:7, an important royal enthronement psalm, which seems to have constituted an important part of the coronation liturgy for the Davidic kings of Judah, and echoes Psalm 110, another important enthronement psalm:

Comparison 11.3: Sons and Daughters of God Mosiah 5:7–9 Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 110:1 And now because of the covenant which Thou art my Son [bĕnî]; this day ye have made, ye shall be called the have I begotten thee [yĕlidtîkā]. children of Christ, his sons [bānāw] and (Psalm 2:7) The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou his daughters; for behold, this day at my right hand [lîmînî], until I he hath spiritually begotten you, for make thine enemies thy footstool. ye say that your hearts are changed (Psalm 110:1) through faith on his name; therefore ye are born of him and have become his sons [bānāw] and his daughters [ûbĕnōtāw]. And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free; there is no other name given whereby salvation cometh. Therefore I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  233 Rather than confining his application of the enthronement liturgy of Psalm 2:7 and 110:1 to his own son and heir Mosiah II on the occasion of the latter’s coronation, King Benjamin democratizes it, consistent with his practice elsewhere in the speech.28 In other words, by taking upon themselves “the name of Christ” (cf. the anointed one of Psalm 2:2), Benjamin’s people each become the royal and divinely reborn ben of Psalm 2:7, to be coronated and enthroned at the yāmîn of God if they remain true to the covenant throughout their lives.

Alma: God’s “Young Man” in Hiding The masculine name29 Alma was the name borne by the prophetic founder of a religious community and movement that impacted Nephite society for the remainder of its history. It was also borne by his more well-known son. Hugh Nibley first suggested that Alma as a Semitic/Hebrew name means, ‘young man.’30 The final “a” in Alma probably represents a hypocoristic31 theophoric aleph (ʾ), in which case the name means ‘God’s young man’—i.e., God’s servant. The correlation of Alma to independent external attestations at Ebla was first made by Terrence L. Szink.32 The Ugaritic Epic of Kirta applies the epithet ǵlm il, ‘El’s young man’ to Kirta (Keret or Kirtu).33 The introduction of Alma as a figure and name into the Book of Mormon text is immediately juxtaposed with a description of Alma the Elder34 as a “young man”—i.e., as an ʿelem—in Mosiah 17:2.35 Thus, this narrative biographical introduction exactly matches the proposed (and the far-and-away most likely) meaning of the name. A comparison of the biographical introduction of Alma in Mosiah 17:2 with autobiographical descriptions in 1 Nephi 1:1 suggests not only intentional onomastic wordplay on Alma that turns on its relationship to Hebrew ʿelem (‘young man’) but also Mormon’s attempt to link Alma with his ancestor Nephi by evoking the latter’s autobiography:

Comparison 11.4: Young Man Mosiah 17:2 But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi, and he was a young man. And he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi had testified against them.

1 Nephi 1:1; 2:16 I Nephi having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father. … yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God (1 Nephi 1:1) And it came to pass that I Nephi being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore I cried unto the Lord. And behold, he did visit me and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father (1 Nephi 2:16)

234  Matthew L. Bowen Following Alma’s biographical introduction, Mormon places tremendous emphasis on Alma’s “hidden” activities, raising the possibility of a paronomastic treatment of Alma’s name in terms of the Hebrew root ʿ-l-m (‘conceal’)36 and its synonyms (see, e.g., Mosiah 17:4; 18:1, 3, 5). According to Mormon, Alma wrote down the prophet Abinadi’s exchange with King Noah and his priests and Abinadi’s prophetic words, while “hid[ing] himself ” and “being concealed” from Noah’s henchmen (Mosiah 17:3–4). Mormon records that Alma “went about privately” (Mosiah 18:1) and “taught [them] privately” (Mosiah 18:3). Indeed, Alma “did hide himself ” (Mosiah 18:5) while performing baptisms, organizing a community at the waters of Mormon. The frequency with which Mormon dwells on this theme suggests that Mormon allowed the aural similarity between Alma and ʿ-l-m to guide the shaping of his presentation of Alma’s life.

Shilom: Peace and Its Absence in Zeniff's Autobiography Part of the land near to where the Nephite state was first founded, near its first capital (the city of Nephi or, later, Lehi-Nephi), was called Shilom. In the brief autobiographical account of his reign (comprising Mosiah 9–10), Zeniff uses the toponym Shilom, best explained as a derivation from the Semitic/Hebrew root š-l-m (‘whole,’ ‘complete’),37 whence also the noun šālôm (‘peace’), as an ironic means of emphasizing the mercurial and tenuous “peace” between his people and the Lamanites.38 A key to understanding everything that transpires between the two peoples during Zeniff’s reign and afterward is the initial peace treaty or “covenant” of peace (cf. Heb. bĕrît šālôm) concluded between the Lamanites and Zeniff’s people. Near the beginning of his record Zeniff records: And it came to pass that I went again with four of my men into the city in unto the [Lamanite] king that I might know of the disposition of the king and that I might know if I might go in with my people and possess the land in peace [Heb. šālôm]. And I went in unto the king and he covenanted with me that I might possess the land of Lehi-Nephi and the land of Shilom. (Mosiah 9:5–6) The Zeniffites’ initial “peace” in the lands of Lehi-Nephi and Shilom lasts twelve years. The Lamanites’ evident desire to “bring [Zeniff’s people] into bondage” suggests that they saw the covenant/treaty as hierarchical and the Zeniffite kingdom as a vassal state (see Mosiah 9:10–12). Zeniff then states that “wars and contentions” began between his people and the Lamanites “on the south of the land of Shilom” (Mosiah 9:13–14) with the expectation that the implied audience of his text will appreciate the irony in Shilom as connoting “peace” and the breaking of the covenant/treaty that had initially enabled Zeniff’s people to “possess the land in peace.” Under Zeniff’s military leadership, the Lamanites were beaten back and “driven… out” of the Zeniffite lands, including Shilom (see Mosiah 9:16–19). Zeniff then states, “we again began to possess the land in peace [Heb. šālôm]” (Mosiah 10:1). Zeniff adds here that this second peace was reinforced by military preparedness (10:2). Peace then prevailed for an entire generation: “we did have continual peace [šālôm] in the land for the space of twenty and two years”

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  235 (Mosiah 10:5). With the death of the Lamanite king, and the accession of his son, the Lamanites again “began to prepare for war” (Mosiah 10:6). For Zeniff, it is a point of irony that full-scale war between the Zeniffites and the Lamanites breaks out again when the latter attack “upon the north of the land of Shilom” (Mosiah 10:8). Zeniff himself in his old age leads his people again “to battle” (Mosiah 10:10), with the result that they “did drive them again out of [their] land; and … slew them with a great slaughter” (Mosiah 10:20). Although his people again “began to tend their flocks and to till their ground” (Mosiah 10:21), he does not again use the word “peace.” Indeed, Zeniff’s final prayer, “may the Lord bless my people!” (Mosiah 10:22), conveys the recognition that the plight of his people will be anything but peaceful after his reign.

Noah: Rest and the Absence of Rest as the Inversion of a Biblical Onomastic Trope Leaving his wholesale inclusion of Zeniff’s autobiography, Mormon presents Noah, the son and royal successor of Zeniff (the first king in the reclaimed lands of Nephi and Shilom), as a narrative and onomastic inversion of the biblical figure of the same name. The Genesis flood narrative etiologizes the name of the patriarch Noah (nōaḥ) in terms of “comfort” (yĕnaḥămēnû) from labor and toil (Genesis 5:29) and the theme of divine “rest” (the name nōaḥ is a homophone of the Hebrew verb nûaḥ).39 Although both narratives draw attention to their respective Noahs as winemakers (Genesis 9:20–21; Mosiah 11:15), King Noah offers only selective “rest” and “comfort,” in particular to his priests: “Yea, and thus were they supported in their laziness and in their idolatry and in their whoredoms by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people. Thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity” (Mosiah 11:6). Mormon pointedly emphasizes that Noah gave his priests “rest” in his temple-palace: And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold. And he caused a breastwork to be built before them that they might rest [cf. Heb. wayyinnāḥem] their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people. (Mosiah 11:11)

“(The Divine) Father Is Man”: Abish as a Hebrew ʾăbî-name in the Narrative Context of Theophany Women and servants are rarely named in the Book of Mormon. The Lamanite woman Abish was both. As Brant Gardner writes, “the preservation of her name is even more remarkable; not only [because she was] a woman, but she was a servant. Both factors would virtually guarantee her anonymity.”40 This datum alone suggests that Mormon’s mention of her name has some narrative calculation. The narrative context appears to confirm as much.41 Analyzed as a Hebrew name, Abish most plausibly denotes ‘Father is a man.’42 As with most Semitic Hebrew ʾab-names, the ʾāb element can ambiguously denote

236  Matthew L. Bowen the ‘divine Father’ (i.e., God) or the earthly father of the name-bearer (see, e.g., Abimelech [‘Father-is-king’] as the son of Gideon the proto-king in Judges 8–9; Abner [‘Father-is-light’] as the son of Ner, ‘light’43). Mormon introduces the name Abish into his narrative thusly: And it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord in their might even until they had all fallen to the earth, save it were one of the Lamanitish women [cf. Heb. nāšîm] whose name was Abish [‘Father-is-a-Man’], she having been converted unto the Lord for many years on account of a remarkable vision of her father [cf. Heb. ʾăbîhâ]. (Alma 19:16) The mention of Abish, her name, and “the remarkable vision of her father” occur within a narrative context in which the divine birth of Yahweh in the flesh as a man (i.e., ʾîš) from a woman (ʾiššâ) in order to redeem humanity (ʾādām) is also given special emphasis: And it came to pass that he [Lamoni] arose according to the words of Ammon. And as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman and said: Blessed be the name of God! And blessed art thou! For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer, and he shall come forth and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. (Alma 19:12–13)

Mosiah: Yahweh is Savior Two late Nephite kings bore the name Mosiah. John W. Welch first suggested a connection between the Book of Mormon name Mosiah and the Hebrew nominalized substantive participle môšîaʿ (‘savior’).44 Mosiah also evidently includes the theophoric -yhw element, thus: ‘Yahweh is Savior’ or ‘Yahweh is Deliverer.’45 The môšîaʿ element was likely spelled defectively, *mōšiʿ, thus mōšiʿyāhû (mšʿyhw). Benjamin relates an angelic prophecy to his people during an address which, as noted previously, also marks the accession of his son, Mosiah II, to the throne: “And moreover I say unto you that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior [Heb. môšîaʿ] shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people” (Mosiah 3:20). Mosiah’s name helps the rhetorical impact of this statement land with greater force: The knowledge of a môšîaʿ would one day spread throughout the entire world. Mosiah himself would not be that môšîaʿ, but this môšîaʿ would be the very expression of Mosiah’s name: ‘Yahweh is Savior’—Yahweh would be that môšîaʿ. An illustrative example of this concept occurs in Isaiah 49:25–26, an important Isaianic text also in the Book of Mormon46: “And I will save thy children/sons … I the Lord am thy Saviour [wĕʾet-bānayik ʾānōkî ʾôšîaʿ … ʾănî yhwh môšîʿēk].” The Lord’s promise to Mosiah regarding his son Ammon, who with others wished to serve a religious mission to the Lamanites, stands on similar footing:

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  237 And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe [cf. Heb. yaʾămînû] on their words; and they shall have eternal life. And I will deliver [cf. Heb. ʾôšîaʿ] thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites. (Mosiah 28:7) The divine promise also appears to echo the name Ammon and the important role he would fulfill in his proselyting activities among the Lamanites. A similar onomastic wordplay re-echoes throughout the narrative that deals with his exploits and highlights his faithfulness, which we now come to at length.

Ammon the Faithful Mosiah II, the final Nephite king, had four sons, the most dynamic of whom was named Ammon. Ammon, as a Semitic/Hebrew name, denotes either ‘faithful’47 or ‘little uncle,’48 depending on its spelling (ʾmwn or ʿmwn). Either way, one can hear ʾmn-derived concepts of ʾēmûn/ʾāmûn (‘faithful,’ ‘trustworthy’), ʾēmun/ʾĕmûnâ (‘faithfulness,’ ‘trustworthiness’), latent in the name’s phonology. The content of Mormon’s narrative associates Ammon and his name with “faithfulness” and being “faithful” at multiple points.49 For example, the Lamanite king, Lamoni, is “astonished exceedingly” upon “learn[ing] of the faithfulness [cf. Heb. ʾĕmûnat] of Ammon in preserving his flocks and also of his great power in contending against those who sought to slay him” (Alma 18:2). This episode also contains a compelling intertextual allusion to the Saul-David cycle where the latter’s “faithfulness” is emphasized:

Comparison 11.5: Faithful Servants Alma 18:10 1 Samuel 22:14 Now when king Lamoni heard that Then Ahimelech answered the king, Ammon was preparing his horses and and said, And who is so faithful his chariots, he was more astonished [neʾĕmān] among all thy servants because of the faithfulness of [cf. as David, which is the king’s son in Heb. ʾĕmûnat] Ammon, saying: Surely law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is there has not been any servant honourable in thine house? among all my servants that has been so faithful [cf. Heb. neʾĕmān] as this man, for even he doth remember all my commandments to execute them.

Mormon’s inclusion of this statement favorably compares Ammon to David (with whom he shares a number of other biographical parallels).50 Ammon’s converts, who were thereafter “distinguished” by the name “the people of Ammon” were, according to Mormon’s retrospective description, “distinguished for their zeal towards God and also towards men, for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things. And they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end” (Alma 27:26–27). The “people of Ammon” were thus the ‘faithful people’ or ‘people of faithfulness,’ a point

238  Matthew L. Bowen Mormon took pains to re-emphasize in describing that generation (see especially Alma 23:5–6; 24:19) and their descendants (see his inclusion of Helaman’s letter and its description of their sons, Alma 57:19–21, 27; 58:11, 40; Helaman 15:6–11).

Seed of Compassion: Zarahemla and Its Abrahamic Covenant Significance The name Zarahemla belonged to a descendant of David through Zedekiah and an eponymous city to which many Nephites, led by Mosiah I (a late Nephite king), migrated en masse. Latter-day Saint Hebraists broadly agree that Zarahemla constitutes a Hebrew name denoting ‘seed of compassion,’ ‘seed of sparing’ (zeraʿ, ‘seed’ + ḥemlâ, ‘compassion’).51 Pedro Olavarria and David Bokovoy suggest the influence of the meaning of Zarahemla on the wording of Zeniff’s autobiographical account of an initial, failed Nephite expedition to reclaim ancestral lands in the land of Nephi.52 Fighting broke out in the expedition party, and most of its members were killed, leading Zeniff to report: “and we returned—those of us that were spared—to the land of Zarahemla to relate that tale to their wives and their children” (Mosiah 9:2).53 For Zeniff, the name Zarahemla highlighted a return of the “spared” to the city named ‘seed-of-sparing’ as a moment of bitter irony. The collocation “they were moved with compassion” occurs only twice in the Book of Mormon (or even in broader Latter-day Saint scripture)—in Alma 27:4 and 53:13, and it does so in a way that suggests the interrelationship of the two passages in which they occur. Zarahemla constitutes the key geographic and toponymic focus of both passages:

Comparison 11.6: Moved with Compassion Alma 27:4–5 Alma 53:10–13 Now when Ammon and his brethren And now behold, I have somewhat to say concerning saw this work of destruction among the people of Ammon, which in the beginning those who they so dearly beloved were Lamanites; but by Ammon and his brethren— and among those who had so dearly or rather by the power and word of God—they had beloved them—for they were treated been converted unto the Lord. And they had been as though they were angels sent from brought down into the land of Zarahemla and God to save them from an everlasting had ever since been protected by the Nephites. And destruction—therefore when because of their oath they had been kept from Ammon and his brethren saw this taking up arms against their brethren, for they had great work of destruction, they taken an oath that they never would shed blood were moved with compassion, more. And according to their oath they would have and they said unto the king: Let us perished—yea, they would have suffered themselves gather together this people of the to have fallen into the hands of their brethren—had Lord, and let us go down to the land it not been for the pity and the exceeding love of Zarahemla [seed-of-compassion] which Ammon and his brethren had had for them. to our brethren the Nephites and And for this cause they were brought down into flee out of the hands of our enemies, the land of Zarahemla, and they ever had been that we be not destroyed. protected by the Nephites. But it came to pass that when they saw the danger and the many afflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bare for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defense of their country.

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  239 Zarahemla, as borne by at least one Mulochite54 ruler descended from King David and King Zedekiah of Judah through Muloch,55 might have some reference to the miraculous deliverance of Muloch, the son of Zedekiah, and those who fled the final Babylonian sacking of Jerusalem (see Omni 1:15; Mosiah 25:2). The name seems to have become a symbol of divine deliverance and mercy for generations of displaced Nephites who took refuge there (see Omni 1:13–14; Mosiah 22:13–14; 24:24–25). Mormon’s narrative plays on the name Zarahemla in terms of the “compassion” that moved Ammon and the other sons of Mosiah to petition their fellow Nephites to admit the endangered Lamanite converts into their lands. One generation later, when the Nephites face an existential threat, Mormon recalls the earlier event using the same language and wordplay. This time, the Lamanite converts reciprocate the “compassion” shown them when they were resettled in Nephite lands (Jershon), sending their sons into battle. Helaman, in a letter to Moroni the general, describes how these sons were miraculously “spared” (Alma 57:26).

Place of Inheritance: Jershon and Its Abrahamic Covenant Significance The land of Jershon was Nephite controlled land near the land of Zarahemla. The name Jershon readily recommends itself as a Hebrew appellative toponym, ‘place of inheritance’ (yrš, ‘inherit,’ ‘possess’ + ôn, ‘place of ’[the letter ‘j’ is a common English transliteration of the ‘y’ sound in Hebrew names]).56 Latter-day Saint scholars like Robert F. Smith and John W. Welch long ago57 recognized the significance of the introduction and repetition of this name in a narrative passage describing the Nephites’ resettlement of converted Lamanite refugees in the land Jershon as an “inheritance”: “And this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance” (Alma 27:22); “And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren that they may inherit the land Jershon” (Alma 27:24); “they went down into the land of Jershon and took possession of the land of Jershon” (Alma 27:26). A few years afterward when the poor, reconverted Zoramites were forced out of the land of Antionum, the converted Lamanites, in their turn, helped the Zoramite refugees resettle themselves in Jershon as an “inheritance”: the people of Ammon, which were in Jershon.… they did receive all the poor of the Zoramites that came over unto them. And they did nourish them and did clothe them and did give unto them lands for their inheritance. And they did administer unto them according to their wants. (Alma 35:8–9) And as many [Zoramites] as were brought to repentance were driven out of their land; but they have lands for their inheritance in the land of Jershon. And they have taken up arms to defend themselves and their wives and their children and their lands. (Alma 35:14)

240  Matthew L. Bowen As in the foregoing case of Zarahemla, the fact that Mormon makes this onomastic juxtaposition more than once in episodes occurring years apart suggests narratorial intentionality. Moreover, the resettlement of Lamanite converts and reconverted Zoramites in Jershon seems to have symbolized their reintegration into the Abrahamic covenant with its promises of landed “inheritance.”

Lifted Up in Pride and Humbled in Poverty: The Narrative Juxtaposition of Zoram, Zoramites, and the Rameumptom Vis-à-Vis the Poor at Onidah Many of the Classical Biblical Hebrew words for ‘pride’ were terms that denoted elevation.58 Among these, Hebrew rām (‘high,’ ‘lifted up’) constitutes a plausible etymological or midrashic component of the terms Zoramites (gentilic derivation of Zoram) and the closely associated cultic platform, Rameumptom. If the personal name Zoram can be analyzed as ‘the one who is exalted’ or ‘the one who is lifted up’ (zô/zû + rām), the gentilic derivative Zoramites can be implicitly understood as ‘those who are exalted’ or ‘those who are lifted up.’59 Mormon’s characterization of this factional religious community certainly points in this interpretive direction. The architecture of the cultic structure Rameumptom ritualized pride. The function of this structure was to “lift up” or “exalt” the individual above all those present: “For they had a place built up in the center of their synagogue, a place of standing which was high [cf. Heb. rām] above the head; and the top thereof would only admit one person” (Alma 31:13). Mormon states that “[Alma] saw that their hearts were set upon gold and upon silver and upon all manner of fine goods. Yea, and he also saw that their hearts were lifted unto great boasting in their pride” (Alma 31:24–25). Mormon glosses Rameumptom as “holy stand” (Alma 32:21), which may also imply his association of Zoramite “holiness” with elevation (cf. Heb. mārôm as the divine realm ‘on high’). He juxtaposes the rote Zoramite Rameumptom prayer, which includes pronouncements such as “thou hast elected us to be thy holy children,” and “thou hast elected us that we shall be saved” (Alma 31:15–18) with Alma’s humble prayer. Mormon negatively evaluates the Zoramites for not only failing “to keep the commandments of God and his statutes according to the law of Moses” (Alma 31:9), but for specific violations against Deuteronomy itself. For example, Deuteronomy records that Moses specifically warned ancient Israel against having their “heart[s]… lifted up” in consequence of becoming wealthy and thus forgetting the Lord: “And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up [wĕrām], and thou forget the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 8:13–14; see also 17:20; Hosea 13:6; Ezekiel 31:10). Alma instructs his son Shiblon, who had, with Alma’s son Corianton and others, accompanied him on the mission to the Zoramites, to avoid Zoramite-like conduct:

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  241 See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom nor of your much strength…. Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men and to be praised for their wisdom. (Alma 38:11, 13) Corianton had fallen into such behavior “among the people of the Zoramites,” including “go[ing] on unto boasting in [his] strength and [his] wisdom” (Alma 39:2). In Alma 32, the narrative emphasis shifts from the pride enshrined in the Zoramite cultic architecture and praxis to the humility and affliction of the poorer Zoramites who responded affirmatively to Alma’s message. Conspicuous within this cluster of terminology is the mention of the hill Onidah as the site of Alma’s preaching (see Alma 32:4). On analogy with the Hebrew personal names Abida (‘he knows my father’) and Shemida (‘he knows my name’), Paul Y. Hoskisson has proposed that Onidah could mean ‘he knows (my) affliction.’60 In Hebrew, the compound ʿonyî expressed the idea ‘mine affliction,’61 and ‘he knoweth’ (or ‘he knows’) was expressed with the Hebrew verb yādaʿ. Here again, Mormon’s mention of Onidah as a toponym in Alma 32:4 seems to have been elicited by the narrative context itself. The immediate context is Alma’s teaching those described as “the poorer class of people,” “poor,” “poor as to things of the world,” “poor in heart,” “despised of all men because of their poverty,” cast out “because of [their] exceeding poverty,” “[those whose] afflictions had truly humbled them,” and “lowly in heart” (Alma 32:2–8). Hebrew words from the root ʿ-n-y constitute antonyms of r-w-m and its cognates like rām. The Hebrew adjective ʿānî describes “in a sociological sense” one who is “without (sufficient property) and therefore dependent on others” and “in a general sense” one who is “poor, wretched, in a needy condition”62 or “poor, afflicted, humble.”63 The “poor” as a class in ancient Israel were frequently described in the Hebrew Bible as the ʿănāwîm/ʿăniyyîm, the ʾebyônîm, and the dallîm. Such terms amply apply to the Zoramite poor in this narrative. In brief, the episode in Alma 32, with the “poor” whose “afflictions had truly humbled them,” gathered around Alma at the hill Onidah, creates a striking juxtaposition with the Zoramite elites mounting the “high” Rameumptom.

Descending to Destruction: Jared and Jaredites in the Cainitic Traditions In the Book of Mormon, the name Jared had reference to a founder and colonizer whose descendants were known as Jaredites and who were predecessors of the Nephites and Lamanites. Just as Mormon pejoratively treats the name and cult of the Zoramites in terms of Hebrew rām, Mormon and his son Moroni do something similar to the Nephites’ predecessors, the Jaredites, in terms of the Semitic/ Hebrew root y-r-d, ‘go down, descend’; causative: ‘bring down.’64 Brant Gardner has argued that Mormon wishes to highlight the direct genetic relationship between the Jaredite secret societies that destroyed their nation and those that

242  Matthew L. Bowen infected (and eventually overcame) the Nephite nation.65 In removing any possible charge against Alma and his son Helaman that the dissemination of the secret practices of these societies stemmed from them, Mormon uses language that emphasizes their cultural sources: “Now behold, it is these secret oaths and covenants which Alma commanded his son should not go forth unto the world lest they should be a means of bringing down [cf. Heb. lĕhôrîd] the people unto destruction” (Helaman 6:25). The verb “bringing down” plausibly represents a causative infinitival form of Hebrew yārad (lĕhôrîd) echoing the name Jared and its gentilic form Jaredites. In illustrating how the Nephites succumbed to this “Jaredite” influence, Mormon’s diction echoes the name Jared and its gentilic derivative, Jaredites: And it came to pass, on the other hand, that the Nephites did build them up and support them, beginning at the more wicked part of them, until they had overspread all the land of the Nephites and had seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down [cf. Heb. yārĕdû/yordû] to believe in their works and partake of their spoils and to join with them in their secret murders and combinations. (Helaman 6:38) Mormon witnessed firsthand what role the “Jareditic” Gaddianton robbers played in the destruction of his own people (see, e.g., Helaman 2:12–14; Mormon 2:27–28). Moroni, the son of Mormon, who fulfilled his father’s intent to provide “all people” a record of the Jaredites and their demise (Mosiah 28:19), makes a similar onomastic allusion: And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God, that ye may repent and not continue in your iniquities until the fullness be come, that ye may not bring down [cf. Heb. tôrîdû] the fullness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land hath hitherto done. (Ether 2:11) In the light of their own experiences, Mormon and Moroni both saw an urgent need to warn future generations against following the downward path of the Jaredites—the way to destruction followed by the Jaredites and Nephites.

Other Examples: Joseph, Amlici/Amalickiah, and Rabbanah Nephi’s characterization of his older brothers’ jealous anger and hatred clearly draws on Genesis 37:5, 8, 20: And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more [wayyôsipû ʿôd śĕnōʾ ʾōtô]…. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion [rule]

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  243 over us? And they hated him yet the more [wayyôsipû ʿôd śĕnōʾ ʾōtô] for his dreams, and for his words…. Come now therefore, and let us slay him. In doing so, Nephi makes a clear onomastic reference to the name Joseph and its meaning66: But behold, their anger did increase [cf. Heb. yāsap or hôsîp] against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life. Yea, they did murmur against me, saying: Our younger brother thinketh to rule over us, and we have had much trial because of him. Wherefore now let us slay him, that we may not be afflicted more [cf. Heb. wĕlōʾ nôsîp] because of his words. (2 Nephi 5:2–3) The name Joseph derives from Semitic/Hebrew yāsap (meaning ‘May [the god] add/increase/do more’; see Genesis 30:23–24). Nephi’s awareness of the meaning of his ancestor67 Joseph’s name and the biblical wordplay on Joseph in terms of the idiom wayyôsipû ʿôd shapes his autobiography. It afforded Nephi an evocative literary means of identifying himself and his story more closely with his ancestor and his ancestor’s experiences. Similarly, Mormon uses the names Amlici and Amalickiah to shape his antimonarchic account of two insurrectionists who endeavor to become king (cf. Heb. mālak; melek). His account can call to mind the similarity of those names with Hebrew m-l-k terminology in Alma 2:2, 7–10; 46:4–5; 47:1–35; 49:10, 25; 52:3; 54:16; 55:5).68 Relatedly, the glossed meaning for the Lamanite name-title Rabbanah, ‘powerful or great king’ (Alma 18:13) in the Lamanite conversion narratives, is consistent with the meaning of Semitic/Hebrew verbal root r-b-b to signify ‘many,’ ‘much,’ ‘great.’69

Conclusion The examples cited in this chapter suggest that Hebrew names in the Book of Mormon are not mere linguistic ornaments. In some cases, Hebrew names and their meanings—ascribed and etymological—constituted essential threads in the fabric of autobiographies, biographies, speeches, and narratives contained within the Book of Mormon. Names juxtaposed with their meanings in autobiographical, biographical, and narrative introductions emphasized important and often ironic details of the lives of those who bore those names and the places in which key events occurred. Indeed, many of the Hebrew names in the Book of Mormon and their meanings, when considered within the contexts of their introductions into the text, their prominent recurrence, or as part of the narrative subtext, offer powerful interpretive possibilities for the messages and teachings the Book of Mormon authors wished to convey.

244  Matthew L. Bowen The Hebrew onomastic wordplay discussed here can be summarized thus:

Comparison 11.7: Summary of Scriptural Onomastic Wordplay in this Chapter Name Enos (‘man’), the son of Jacob Benjamin (‘son of the right hand’) Alma (‘young man’) Shilom (‘peace’) Noah (‘rest’) Abish (‘father is a man’) Zarahemla (‘seed of compassion,’ ‘seed of sparing’) Jershon (‘place of inheritance’) Zoram, Rameumptom, and Onidah Mosiah (‘Yahweh is Savior/Deliverer’) Ammon (‘faithful’)

Jared (‘he [the god] has come down’)/ Jaredites (‘those who go down’)

Amlici/Amalickiah Joseph Rabbanah

Textual Interplay or Allusions ‘man’ (ʾîš/ʾĕnôš/ʾănāšîm); ‘wrestle’ (wayyēʾābēq) ‘my sons’ (bānāy); ‘his sons and his daughters’ (bānāw ûbĕnōtāw); ‘right hand’ (yāmîn) ‘young man’ (ʿelem); ‘hidden’ (ʿlm) ‘peace’ (šālôm) vis-à-vis ‘war,’ ‘battle’ (milhāmâ) ‘labor exceedingly to support iniquity’; ‘rest’ (*wayyinnāḥem) ‘women’ (nāšîm); ‘her father’ (ʾăbîhâ) ‘spared’; ‘they were moved with compassion’ (ḥml) ‘inheritance’ (yĕruššâ or môrāšâ); ‘inherit’ (yāraš) ‘high’ (rām); ‘humble,’ ‘affliction’ (ʿănāwîm/ ʿăniyyîm; ʿŏnî/ʿōnî/ʿônî; ʿonyî) ‘Savior’ (môšîaʿ); ‘I will deliver’ (ʾôšîaʿ) ‘faithfulness’ (ʾĕmûnâ), ‘faithful’ (neʾĕmān); ‘believe’ (ʾ-m-n) ‘bringing down the people to destruction’; ‘they had come down to believe in their works’; ‘that ye may not bring down the fullness of the wrath of God’ (y-r-d) become king (mālak, melek) ‘their anger did increase’ (yāsap; cf. wayyôsipû) ‘powerful or great king’ (r-b-b)

Scriptural Citation Enos 1:1–2 (Genesis 32:24–25) Mosiah 1:1–10, 15; 5:7–9 Mosiah 17:2, 4; 18:1–5 Mosiah 9:5–6, 13–14; 10:1–2, 5 Mosiah 11:6, 11 Alma 19:16 (see also 19:12–13) Mosiah 9:2; Alma 27:4–5; 53:11–13 Alma 27:22–24; 35:8–9, 14 Alma 31:12–13, 21, 25; 32:2–8 Mosiah 3:20; 28:7; Alma 17:35 Alma 18:2, 10, etc.

Helaman 6:25, 38; Ether 2:11

Alma 2:2, 7–10; chapters 46–47; etc.; 2 Nephi 5:2–3; Alma 18:13

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  245 Approached as religious and cultural markers, Hebrew names and their meanings become a window into a better understanding of the Book of Mormon text and its intricacies.

Notes 1 See Hoskisson et al., eds., Book of Mormon Onomasticon, s.v. “Lehi.” 2 Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 525. See also Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names, 199–201. 3 Chadwick, “Names Lehi and Sariah,” 34. 4 Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 532. 5 Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 447. 6 See Bowen, “‘See That Ye Are Not Lifted Up’.” For additional possibilities, see Hoskisson et al., Book of Mormon Onomasticon, s.v. “Zoram.” 7 Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen, 177–78, 197; Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 422, 872. 8 Cf. Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen, 212; Speiser, Genesis, 230–33; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names, 175. 9 Probably a variant of Gidgiddoni. On Gidgiddoni as the oblique form of Assyrian Gidgiddanu, see Gee, “Right on Target: Gidgiddoni.” 10 Perhaps a defectively spelled form of Joash—e.g., yʾš as in 2 Chronicles 24:1 or as a hypocoristic form of Josiah (yʾšyhw). The form yʾš is also attested as an extrabiblical inscription. See Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested,” 49. 11 Hoskisson, “Introduction to the Relevance,” 131. 12 On the name Nephi as the Egyptian name nfr, see Gee, “Note on the Name Nephi”; Gee, “Four Suggestions.” 13 On “goodly” and “goodness” in 1 Nephi 1:1 as a conscious play on the meaning of Nephi, see Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence”; Bowen, “Nephi’s Good Inclusio.” 14 The Book of Mormon citations in this work will generally follow Skousen, The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text. The scriptural boldface throughout has been added. 15 Cf. Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 70. 16 Tvedtnes and Roper, “Jacob and Enos.” 17 I use “paronomasia” here in the sense of a wordplay or pun involving similar-sounding but etymologically unrelated words. 18 Bowen, “‘And There Wrestled a Man’.” 19 Or, bĕhēʾobqô. 20 See Enos 1:3 (Skousen): “Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forest, and I remembered the words which I had often heard my father speaking concerning eternal life and the joy of the saints; and the words of my father sunk deep into my heart.” 21 Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen, 177–78, 197; cf. Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 422. 22 Bowen, “Jacob’s Protector.” 23 See Bowen, “Becoming Sons and Daughters.” 24 Gentilic nouns or adjectives are those which are applied to nationalities, ethnicities, or groups of people. 25 Brown et al., Hebrew and English Lexicon, 122. 26 Tvedtnes, “Note on Benjamin and Lehi.” 27 Ibid. 28 Welch, “Democratizing Forces.” 29 This Semitic name is not to be confused with the Latin term and feminine name Alma (‘nurturing,’ ‘nourishing’). 30 Nibley, Approach to the Book of Mormon, 76; see also Hoskisson, “Alma as a Hebrew Name.”

246  Matthew L. Bowen 31 A hypocoristic name (or a hypocoristicon) is a name which has been shortened, often as a pet name or a name expressing endearment or familiarity. In this case, the aleph (ʾ) represents a divine name like ʾēl which has been further shortened. The same phenomenon occurs in the name Ezra (ʿezrāʾ, ‘God is help’ or ‘Yahweh is help’). 32 Szink, “New Light”; see also Szink, “Personal Name.” 33 Kirta is called “young man of El” in KTU/CAT (Dietrich, Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit / Dietrich et al., Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts) 1.14, col. I, lines 40–41; col. II, lines 8–9 and ʿbd il (‘servant of El’), KTU/CAT 1.14, col. II, lines 49, 51. See, e.g., the parallel text in Greenstein, trans., “Kirta,” 13–14, 18. KTU/CAT 1.14, col. III, line 49, juxtaposes the terms g ĺ m and ʿbd, suggesting a possible semantic relationship. Cf. Hoskisson, “Alma as a Hebrew Name,” 73. 34 This first Alma will have a son, also named Alma, who becomes an even more prominent figure in the Book of Mormon. 35 Bowen, “‘And He Was a Young Man’.” 36 Brown et al., Hebrew and English Lexicon, 761; see also Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 834. 37 Hoskisson et al., Book of Mormon Onomasticon, s.v. “Shilom.” 38 Bowen, “‘Possess the Land in Peace’.” 39 The Lord “regrets” (wayyinnāḥem, niḥamtî) his having created humanity (Genesis 6:6–7). Note the ark coming to “rest” (wattānaḥ, Genesis 8:4), the dove’s attempting to find “rest” (mānôaḥ, Genesis 8:9), and the “sweet savour” (rēaḥ hannîḥōaḥ) of the sacrifice that appeased the Lord after the flood (Genesis 8:21). See Kikawada, “Noah and the Ark,” 1123–24. See also Garsiel, Biblical Names, 203–4. 40 Gardner, Second Witness, 303. 41 Bowen, “Father Is a Man.” 42 Hoskisson et al., Book of Mormon Onomasticon, s.v. “Abish.” 43 The Deuteronomistic historian’s delight in the Abner-(‘son of ’) Ner name-pairing is evident in its frequent repetition. See 1 Samuel 14:50–51; 26:5, 14; 2 Samuel 2:8, 12; 3:23, 25, 28, 37; 1 Kings 2:5, 32. 44 Welch, “What Was a Mosiah?” 45 Hoskisson et al., Book of Mormon Onomasticon, s.v. “Mosiah.” 46 See 1 Nephi 21:25–26; 2 Nephi 6:17–18. 47 Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen, 228; Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 62. 48 Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 843. 49 Bowen, “Not Partaking of the Fruit,” 248–53. 50 Bowen, “Faithfulness of Ammon.” 51 Tvedtnes, “I Have a Question,” 65. 52 Olavarria and Bokovoy, “Zarahemla: Revisiting the ‘Seed of Compassion’.” 53 Ibid. 54 I follow Skousen (The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text) in rendering Mulek as Muloch, as the more accurate transliteration of the underlying name consistent with the spelling in the Printer’s Manuscript at Mosiah 25:2. Correspondingly, I render Mulekites as Mulochites. 55 See, e.g., Omni 1:14, 18; Mosiah 25:2; Helaman 6:10; 8:21. 56 Ricks and Tvedtnes, “Hebrew Origin,” 257–58. 57 Robert F. Smith, unpublished manuscript. In a personal communication (October 2015), he stated that he first noticed the correlation of Jershon and “inheritance” in the late 1960s. Paul Y. Hoskisson (personal communication, August 2015) suggests that John W. Welch “came up with his ideas while learning Hebrew in L[os] A[ngeles].” 58 See, e.g., Hebrew gāʾâ and its cognates—gēʾâ, gēʾeh, gaʾăwâ, gāʾôn, gēʾût (see Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 168–69); gabāh and its cognates—gābēah, gābōah, gōbāh, gabĕhût (see Koehler and Baumgartner, 170–71); and rûm with its cognates (see Koehler and Baumgartner, 1202–1206) and its bi-forms (see rāmâ, Koehler and Baumgartner, 1240; r-m-m, Koehler and Baumgartner, 1244–45).

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  247 59 See Bowen, “‘See That Ye Are Not Lifted Up’.” 60 Hoskisson et al., Book of Mormon Onomasticon, s.v. “Onidah.” 61 See, e.g., Genesis 31:42; 2 Samuel 16:12 (Qere—“[what is] read”); Job 10:15; Psalm 25:18; Psalm 119:50, 92, 153; Lamentations 3:19; Jonah 2:2. 62 Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 856. 63 Brown et al., Hebrew and English Lexicon, 776. 64 Bowen, “Coming Down.” 65 See Gardner, “Mormon the Writer,” 480–81. 66 Garsiel, Biblical Names, 173. 67 See 1 Nephi 5:14–16; 6:1–2. 68 Bowen, “Faithfulness of Ammon,” 69, 80 notes 19–20. 69 Bowen, “Father Is a Man,” 90.

References The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Bowen, Matthew L. “Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi’s Name.” Insights: A Window on the Ancient World 22, no. 11 (2002): 2. ———. “‘And He Was a Young Man’: The Literary Preservation of Alma’s Autobiographical Wordplay.” Insights: A Window on the Ancient World 30, no. 4 (2010): 2–4. ———. “Not Partaking of the Fruit: Its Generational Consequences and Its Remedy.” In The Things Which My Father Saw: Approaches to Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Vision (2011 Sperry Symposium), edited by Daniel L. Belnap, Gaye Strathearn, and Stanley A. Johnson, 240–63. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2011. ———. “Becoming Sons and Daughters at God’s Right Hand: King Benjamin’s Rhetorical Wordplay on His Own Name.” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 21, no. 2 (2012): 2–13. ———. “‘And There Wrestled a Man with Him’ (Genesis 32:24): Enos’s Adaptations of the Onomastic Wordplay of Genesis.” Interpreter 10 (2014a): 151–59. ———. “The Faithfulness of Ammon.” Religious Educator 15, no. 2 (2014b): 65–89. ———. “Father is a Man: The Remarkable Mention of the Name Abish in Alma 19:16 and its Narrative Context.” Interpreter 14 (2015): 77–93. ———. “Nephi’s Good Inclusio.” Interpreter 17 (2016a): 181–95. ———. “‘See That Ye Are Not Lifted Up’: The Name Zoram and Its Paronomastic Pejoration.” Interpreter 19 (2016b): 109–43. ———. “Jacob’s Protector.” Interpreter 27 (2017): 229–55. ———. “‘Possess the Land in Peace’: Zeniff’s Ironic Wordplay on Shilom.” Interpreter 28 (2018): 115–20. ———. “Coming Down and Bringing Down: Pejorative Onomastic Allusions to the Jaredites in Helaman 6:25, 6:38, and Ether 2:11.” Interpreter 42 (2021): 397–410. Brown, Francis, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996. Chadwick, Jeffrey R. “The Names Lehi and Sariah—Language and Meaning.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 32–34, 77. Dietrich, Manfried. Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit: einschlieꞵlich der keilalphabetischen Texte auꞵerhalb Ugarits. Kevelaer, Germany: Butzon & Bercker, 1976. Dietrich, Manfried, Oswald Loretz, and Joaquin Sanmartin. The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts: From Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places. Münster, Germany: Ugarit-Verlag, 1995.

248  Matthew L. Bowen Gardner, Brant A. Second Witness: Analytical and Textual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 4: Alma. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007. ———. “Mormon the Writer: Turning History into Story.” In Give Ear to My Words: Text and Context of Alma 36–42 (48th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium), edited by Kerry M. Hull, Nicholas J. Frederick, and Hank R. Smith, 473–98. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2019. Garsiel, Moshe. Biblical Names: A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and Puns, translated by Phyllis Hackett. Ramat Gan, Israel: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1991. Gee, John. “A Note on the Name Nephi.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1, no. 1 (1992): 189–91. ———. “Four Suggestions on the Origin of the Name Nephi.” In Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne, 1–5. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2009. ———. “Right on Target: Gidgiddoni,” Ether’s Cave (blog). Available at http://etherscave. blogspot.com/2015/06/right-on-target-gidgiddoni.html. Accessed September 4, 2022. Greenstein, Edward L., trans. “Kirta.” In Ugaritic Narrative Poetry, edited by Simon Parker. SBL Writings from the Ancient World series, 9–48. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. Hoskisson, Paul Y. “An Introduction to the Relevance of and a Methodology for a Study of the Proper Names of the Book of Mormon.” In By Study and Also By Faith, vol. 2, edited by John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks, 126–35. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990. ———. “Alma as a Hebrew Name.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7, no. 1 (1998): 72–73. Hoskisson, Paul Y., et al., eds. Book of Mormon Onomasticon. Online: https://onoma.lib.byu. edu/index.php/Main_Page “Abish.” n.d. Online: https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php/ABISH. “Lehi.” n.d. Online: https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php/LEHI. “Mosiah.” n.d. Online: https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php/MOSIAH. “Onidah.” n.d. Online: https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php/ONIDAH. “Shilom.” n.d. Online: https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php/SHILOM. “Zoram.” n.d. Online: https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php/ZORAM. Kikawada, Isaac M. “Noah and the Ark.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Volume 4: K – N, edited by David Noel Freeman et al., 1123–31. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Koehler, Ludwig, and Walter Baumgartner. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2001. Nibley, Hugh W. An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 3rd ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988. Noth, Martin. Die israelitischen Personennamen im Rahmen der Gemeinsemitischen Namengebung. BWANT 3/10. Stuttgart: W. Kolhammer, 1928. Olavarria, Pedro, and David E. Bokovoy. “Zarahemla: Revisiting the ‘Seed of Compassion’.” Insights: A Window on the Ancient World 30, no. 5 (2010): 2–3. Ricks, Stephen D., Paul Y. Hoskisson, Robert F. Smith, and John Gee, eds. Dictionary of Proper Names & Foreign Words in the Book of Mormon. Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation, in cooperation with Eborn Books, 2022. Ricks, Stephen D., and John A. Tvedtnes. “The Hebrew Origin of Some Book of Mormon Place Names.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6, no. 2 (1997): 255–59. Skousen, Royal, ed. The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009.

Striking While the Irony Is Hot  249 Speiser, Ephraim A. Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes. New York: Doubleday, 1964. Szink, Terrence L. “New Light: Further Evidence of a Semitic Alma.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8, no. 1 (1999): 70. ———. “The Personal Name ‘Alma’ at Ebla.” Religious Educator 1, no. 1 (2000): 53–56. Tvedtnes, John A. “I Have a Question: Since the Book of Mormon is Largely the Record of a Hebrew People, is the Writing Characteristic of the Hebrew Language?” Ensign 16, no. 10 (1986): 64–66. ———. “A Note on Benjamin and Lehi.” Insights: A Window on the Ancient World 11, no. 22 (2002): 3. Tvedtnes, John A., John Gee, and Matthew Roper. “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 40–51, 78–79. Tvedtnes, John A., and Matthew Roper. “Jacob and Enos: Wrestling before God.” Insights: A Window on the Ancient World 21, no. 5 (2001): 2. Welch, John W. “What Was a Mosiah?” In Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, edited by John W. Welch, 105–7. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992. ———. “Democratizing Forces in King Benjamin’s Speech.” In Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne, 110–26. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1999.

12 “Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body” Names and Naming in the Ancient World1 Stephen D. Ricks

In a statement from a justly famous letter to John Wentworth of the Chicago Democrat, Joseph Smith wrote that the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints harks back fully 2,000 years to the ancient Christian church: “We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church.” But it was not just the organization of the Church that was ancient: the doctrines, practices, beliefs, and ceremonies—even the ceremonies and associated practices performed in the most sacred places in the faith of the Latter-day Saints—followed an ancient pattern. Names and naming can also be understood to follow an ancient pattern that goes back to the time of Adam and was manifested all over the ancient world. Latter-day Saints can thus look to the ancient world for some insights into the importance of names and naming.

The Importance of Names In the cultures of the ancient Near East, existence was thought to be dependent upon a “name,” a word that identified a person or thing. The name of someone (or something) was believed to be not a mere abstraction, but a real entity, “the audible and spoken image of the person, which was taken to be his spiritual essence.”2 Origen, for example, viewed the name as the designation of the individual’s essence. The religious importance of naming and the practices of renaming and of giving secret or hidden names are richly attested, not only in the sources produced by peoples of the ancient Near East, particularly Israel and Egypt, but also in chronologically and geographically neighboring societies in the ancient world.3

Naming and Existence The close connection between naming and existence emerges from many ancient Near Eastern creation texts, where the creation of each element of the world was dependent upon the gods naming the thing that was to be created. The Enuma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, describes the period before the creation as a time when “the heaven had not been named, Firm ground below had not been called by name … When no gods whatever had been brought into being, Uncalled DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-14

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  251 by name, their destinies undetermined.”4 In ancient Egypt, what linguists refer to as performatives5 were frequently used in creation accounts. According to Alexandre Piankoff: The god Re creates the heavens and its hosts merely by pronouncing some words whose sound alone evokes the names of things—and these things then appear at his bidding…. As its name is pronounced, so the thing comes into being. For the name is a reality, the thing itself.6 As in the phrase, “Let there be light,” it is the name or phrase that is uttered that causes it to be. The primeval condition is described in the Amon Ritual of Berlin Papyrus 3055 as the time when “the name of anything was not named.”7 In the text of the Shabako Stone, an early—possibly very early—Egyptian religious document, the notion of creation is expressed by the phrase r mt rn n iht nbt, “it is the mouth that pronounced the name of everything.”8 If naming creates something, it also distinguishes that thing, since the name is that feature which reflects individuality.9 A man needed a name to be considered complete, since he was believed to be “constituted of body, soul and name.”10 The name of a child or adult (or of an animal or thing) could be given to him, either by man or by God. The Hebrew Scriptures provide numerous instances of naming by God and man. Naming by man is first mentioned in Genesis 2:19: And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. This act, according to Allan Jenkins, “demonstrates [man’s] pre-eminence in the created order by virtue of the power entrusted to him by his creator.”11 It is interesting to note that in the Old Testament the responsibility of naming a child frequently seems to have devolved upon women as well as men, despite the patriarchal nature of the society. Thus, Leah and Rachel gave names to Jacob’s sons (Genesis 29:32–35; 30:6, 8, 11, 13, 18, 20, 24; 35:18).12 Similarly, the judges Samson and Samuel were named by their mothers (Judges 13:24; 1 Samuel 1:20), and Ruth and Boaz’s son was named by Naomi’s neighbor women (Ruth 4:17). Names given by God or angels from God are often mentioned in the Bible and in noncanonical Jewish writings. In 1 Enoch, it is reported of Noah that he received his name in a pronouncement from God given through Enoch.13 Abraham’s concubine Hagar was told by an angel that the name of her son would be Ishmael (Genesis 16:11). Perhaps the most memorable angelic namings are those of John the Baptist and Jesus, where the angel Gabriel announced both their forthcoming births and their names (Luke 1:11–13, 19, 26–31).14 In Egypt, too, there are reports of naming by divine beings. The Coffin Texts report that Shu, the son of the Egyptian creator god, received authority and intellectual capacity to “go around the circle of total being, giving everything its

252  Stephen D. Ricks name.”15 Piankoff records that “when King Amenhotep III was being conceived, Amon appeared to the queen, who said: ‘How gracious (ḥotep) is thy heart towards me!’” To this Amon replied, “‘Amon-is gracious (Amon-ḥotep) is the name of this child—these are the words which came forth from thy mouth.’” A similar event occurred at the birth of Queen Hatshepsut. Her mother addressed Amon: “‘How magnificent (shepses) it is to see thy front (ḥat)! Thou hast embraced my Majesty with thy light.’” The god then named the child in the following fashion: “‘Hatshepsut-whom-Amon-embraces (Henemet-Amon) is the name of this daughter of thine, which I put into thy womb, (according to thy words) which came out of thy mouth.’” Piankoff further notes that the Berlin Westcar Papyrus tells of Re sending goddesses to the birth of the first three kings of the fifth dynasty in order to assist in the birth and naming of the children.16 That the existence and essence of an individual depends upon his or her name17 is a theme particularly evident in the Egyptian Pyramid Texts, reflected in the Egyptians’ almost obsessive concern with the perpetual existence of the name. Osiris the king, for example, is referred to as one who “will not die, nor will his name perish.”18 It is further recorded in the Pyramid Texts, “O King, succeed to your throne at the head of living, for it is the dread of you which is on their hearts. May your name live upon earth, may your name endure upon earth, for you shall not perish, nor shall you be destroyed for ever and ever.”19 On the other hand, to blot out a man’s name was in effect to destroy the man himself (cf. Mosiah 5:11–12 in the Book of Mormon). Historical evidence for this belief can be seen in the acts of Thutmosis III against the name and memory of his mother and co-regent, Hatshepsut. Following her death, Thutmosis defaced her monuments, removed her name from royal inscriptions, effaced her portraits, and otherwise did all in his power to destroy her name and to remove her memory from the historical recollection of the Egyptians.20 The grave religious implications of Thutmosis’ actions can be fully appreciated only when it is borne in mind that “The blotting out of the name of an individual was synonymous with his destruction. Without a name no man could be identified in the judgment, and as a man only came into being upon this earth when his name had been pronounced, so the future life could only be attained after the gods of the world beyond the grave had become acquainted with it and had uttered it.”21

Renaming In many parts of the ancient world, there are accounts of people receiving new names in place of their former names. This act of renaming often occurred at a time of transition in the life of the one renamed and frequently carried with it special privileges and honors for the one receiving the new name. The person who gave the new name was usually in a position of authority and could exercise power and dominion over the individual named.22 Dependence was sometimes, but not invariably, implied in renaming since, as Otto Eissfeldt has observed, renaming can also indicate “a kind of adoption into the household which is equivalent to conferring on them a high honour.”23 This adoption would carry with it the idea of responsibility as well as inheritance.

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  253 Abram and his name change is usually the first to come to mind in the Old Testament. The act of changing Abram’s name to Abraham begins with the introduction of God: “I am the Almighty God…. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee” (Genesis 17:1, 5). The new name given to Abraham was intimately connected with the covenant he received from God.24 On the other hand, the name change of Sarai differs from that of Abraham. It is recorded that “God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be” (Genesis 17:15). God changed the name of Sarah, but Abraham was given the responsibility to initiate that change. The new Sarah was thus ready to receive God’s blessing: “I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her” (Genesis 17:16). Joseph of Egypt was renamed Zaphnath-paaneah by the king of Egypt (Genesis 41:45), who placed him in a position of authority and gave him special privileges as well as freedoms.25 Eliakim and Mattaniah were respectively renamed Jehoiakim, by Pharaoh Nechoh, and Zedekiah, by the king of Babylon (2 Kings 23:34, 24:17). Daniel was renamed Belteshazzar, and the three heroes of the fiery furnace— Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—were first known, respectively, by their Hebrew names Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Daniel 1:6–7). There are numerous instances in Greek mythology of youths being renamed, often by their tutors: Achilles’ son Pyrrhos was renamed Neoptolemos by his tutor Phoenix; Jason received his name from his tutor Cheiron; Achilles himself was named Ligyron before he was renamed Achilles by Cheiron; Paris’ name was Alexandros when he was a neaniskos (‘young man’); and Heracles was originally called Alcaeus, Alcides, or Neilos.26 The renaming of Jacob is unique because of the series of questions and answers that accompanied it: And he [the angel] said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he [Jacob] said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (Genesis 32:26–28) Jacob then asked the name of the man with whom he had wrestled (or embraced, as the Hebrew hithabbeq may also be understood), to which the man replied, “Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there” (Genesis 32:29). Jacob then named the place where these things occurred “Peniel” (‘face of God’) for he had entered into the presence of God and lived (Genesis 32:30). A similar account in the Hebrew scripture, 3 Enoch, involves the question/answer motif, as well as the names given to Enoch by God.27 In this work, Rabbi Ishmael begins by questioning Enoch about his name: “What is your name?” Enoch responds by listing the seventy names he has received from God. Enoch is then asked why he has these names, to which he responds that he has received these names because “He [the Holy One] assigned me for a prince and a ruler among the ministering angels.”28

254  Stephen D. Ricks In Genesis 35:9–15, God appears to Jacob in order to reaffirm what had already taken place: And God appeared unto Jacob again … and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty. (Genesis 35:9–11) As was also the case with Abraham, God is introduced as the one who has the authority to change the name and to bestow the blessing: Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. (Genesis 35:11–12) Jacob then sets up a stone, anoints it, and names the place of this sacred event Bethel (the ‘House of God’).29 The name change or the receipt of a new name marks a turning point in the life of the initiate: he or she is “re-created,” so to speak, and becomes a new person.30 Samuel G. F. Brandon, in describing the rite of baptism, notes that “emergence from the ‘waters of death,’ the re-clothing, and the reception of a new name … re-presented the resurrection of Christ … so that the baptised person should also be raised to a new and glorious life.”31 This name change was the “determination to cut oneself off from one’s worldly identification and one’s former way of life.”32 New names were frequently conferred upon individuals at the time of their enthronement. The king of Egypt assumed at the time of his accession a titulary that consisted of five “great names” (rn wr).33 Similarly, Sumerian, Hittite, and Iranian kings were all given new names at the time of their coronation or accession.34 In the Book of Mormon, all kings in early Nephite society were to be called “Nephi,” giving honor both to the original Nephi and to the new king (Jacob 1:11). One of the best-known public examples of a name change in the modern Western world is that which occurs at the time the Roman Catholic pontiff takes office. The pope not only receives (by taking on or choosing) a new name but also, as part of the enthronement ceremony, dons the new robes of his office and calling.35 The receipt of a throne name is, of course, a regular feature of modern as well as ancient and medieval, royal accession rites.36

New and Hidden Names The giving or possessing of a second name, to be kept hidden from others, is regularly found in antiquity among both mortals and divinities (and, occasionally, among objects, too). One Egyptian designation for a god was Amon-renef, ‘He-whose-name-is-hidden.’37 The myth of Re [Ra] and Isis, attested from a 20th dynasty papyrus, shows the importance of the “hidden name of the god” as well as the ignorance, even among the other gods, of the “true” name of Re. According to this myth, Isis desired to

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  255 learn the hidden name of Re so that she might gain some of the power that he possessed. Since Re had become old, he frequently drooled. Isis took some of Re’s saliva that had fallen to the ground, kneaded it with earth, and formed a serpent in the shape of a pear. Subsequently, the serpent bit him, causing him to cry out in pain as the “flame of life” began to depart from him.38 Isis offered to alleviate Re’s suffering through magic (an art at which she was particularly adept) if he would agree to reveal to her his secret name. At first, he attempted to satisfy her by a repetition of names that were already well known to her. Isis refused to provide him any relief until Re, tormented and in the depths of despair, revealed his secret name to her.39 In Vedic India, besides the name for general use (vyavaharikam nama) that was given on the tenth day, a secret name (guhyam nama) known only to the parents and, occasionally, to a trusted tutor, was given to the child immediately after the child’s birth.40 In Greek magical texts, spirits and demons are often described as having “hidden names” (krupta onomata, onomata aphthengkta).41 Intertestamental literature and other writings of ancient Judaism and early Christianity refer to the idea of a hidden name. In 1 Enoch, the fallen angel Kasb’el (Beqa) requests that Michael disclose to him his secret name so that he would memorize this secret name of his, so that he would call it up in an oath in order that they shall tremble before it and the oath. He (then) revealed these to the children of the people, (and) all the hidden things and this power of this oath, for it is power and strength itself.42 In rabbinic literature, the four-letter, twelve-letter, forty-two-letter, and seventy-two-letter “Hidden Name[s] of god” (šem ha-meporaš) are frequently mentioned, although the tetragrammaton (YHWH) was not spoken, not because it was unknown, but for pious reasons.43 The motif of the hidden name of God is also evident in Christian scripture, particularly in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 2:17, those who overcome are promised that they will be given “the hidden manna” as well as a “white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” (see also Revelation 19:12; Isaiah 62:2, 65:15).44 This is of particular interest since, as Hugh Nibley has pointed out, according to the Book of Breathings, the “Osirian dead” received the name “Stone of Righteousness,” and since “the use of such a tangible seal as a means of identification and certification in the course of the mysteries is infrequently met with.”45 The faithful are further promised: Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.46 (Revelation 3:12) Christ himself has a new name, as can be seen from this description: “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name

256  Stephen D. Ricks written, that no man knew, but he himself ” (Revelation 19:12). The notion of the secret name was also found among the Gnostics. The Marcosians, a Gnostic group attacked by Irenaeus, taught that Christ was clothed in a “hidden name” (onoma apokekrummenon).47 The hidden name of the gods was often known only to the gods and was frequently given by them. In the view of the ancient Egyptians, when the deceased was allowed to enter into the presence of the gods, he then became like them. Once he was there, he was given his “True Name,” which “no man knoweth.” This is made clear in the Pyramid Texts: “The king is a master of wisdom, Whose mother knows not his name.”48 In the first book of the Iliad, reference is made to Aegaeon, “whom the gods call Briareus, but all men [call] Aegaeon.”49 According to the Prayer of Joseph, Jacob is the earthly name of the patriarch, while his heavenly name is Israel.50 The Gnostic Pistis Sophia contains both the heavenly names and the earthly names of the five archons: Orimûth is Kronos, Munichunaphôr is Ares, Tarpetanûph is Hermes, Chôsi is Aphrodite, and Chônbal is Zeus.51 Similarly, in the Mandaean texts, Bhaq-Ziwa, who wishes a world to be created, sends down Ptāhil-Uthra to nonexistence, and at the same time “he put names on him, which are hidden and preserved on their place. He called him ‘Gabriel, the Apostle.’”52 The idea of using a name as a key that permits the initiate to enter into the true fold of God is found in many Egyptian sources. Entrance in the “broad hall of the Two Truths” in order to see the face of “every God” was dependent on a knowledge of names and formulas. This is clearly evident from the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead, in which, after the deceased approaches the broad hall of the Two Truths, he is told, “Let him come.” Thereafter, he is asked, “Who art thou?” The deceased replies with his name and then answers other questions the gatekeepers ask. Upon answering the questions correctly, the guards say, “Come thou, enter into the broad hall of the City of the Two Truths, (for) thou know.” The initiate is then stopped by the jamb of the gate, and afterward the beams, the rails, and the floor. All make the same demand, “[We] will not let thee enter past [us] … unless thou tellest [our] name.” The doorkeeper of the broad hall of the Two Truths refuses to announce the name of the deceased unless he states the doorkeeper’s name. After correctly giving the doorkeeper his name, the initiate is to speak to the “reckoner of the Two Lands.” Again, questions are posed: “And who … [is] the reckoner of the Two Lands?” “It is Thoth.” “For what purpose hast thou come?” inquires the doorkeeper. The initiate responds that he has come to report. To the next question, about his condition, the deceased replies, “I am pure from all evil deeds. I am aloof from the quarrels of those who are (on duty) in their day; I am not in on them.” “ whom shall announce thee?” asks the doorkeeper. “Announce to (him) whose roof is of fire ….” “ is he?” asks the guard. “He is Osiris,” replies the initiate. “Proceed, then. Behold, thou art announced.”53 The proper announcement of names in order to enter the halls of the gods is a motif much older than the Book of the Dead. A similar situation is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts: “The kings speak: Hail to you, doorkeeper of Horus at the gate of Osiris! Tell my name here to Horus, for I have come.”54 The dead king must prove

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  257 his divine origin and authority. The gatekeepers are to act as mediators between the deceased and the gods. Further, one finds in the Pyramid Texts: They summon me. And they bring to me these four who pass by, wearers of the side-lock, Who stand by their staffs on the eastern side of the sky, that they may tell my name, that of the good one, to Re, And that they may announce my name, that of the good one to Nhbw-kw, I am vindicated.55 The Ethiopian Bandlet of Justification has been described as an “Ethiopian Book of the Dead.”56 This “tractate,” purportedly the “prayer of our Lady Mary,”57 contains information that will enable the deceased to enter the kingdom of heaven. Chief among the topics discussed in this work is an account of Mary who, believing that Christ “possessed a secret name, by the use of which He created the world and governed it”58—like Isis in the story of Re and Isis—asks Christ to reveal to her his hidden name. At first he demurs, but after Mary’s continued importuning, he finally reveals his numerous hidden names, as well as other information necessary for Mary’s successful ascent to heaven. The danger inherent in revealing the hidden name is in the potential power over the individual that knowledge of the name might give. “The deceased king,” writes Erich Hornung, “shares with no one the knowledge of his name,” thereby eluding the terrifying supernatural powers of evil that can only operate if the name and nature of the object is known.59 As we have noted above, Isis is at pains to learn the secret name of Ra, since she believes thereby to be able to “usurp the power of Ra.”60 The first-century Rabbi Hillel said, “He … who spreads his name loses his name … and who makes use of the … secret name of God vanishes … and who knows [something new] will be asked for [it] in the world to come.”61 In Greek magical papyri, the invocation and supplication of divinities and demons are often coupled with threats of exposing their true name: “O mightiest Typhon, hear me, N[ame]; and do x for me: for I tell your true names.”62 Rome (i.e., the city’s patron deity) was possessed of two names, one of which (given by Joannes Lydus as Flora) was preserved by the priests but was never spoken aloud, not even during the most solemn rites.63 When, for instance, Valerius Soranus, a plebian tribune and distinguished grammarian of the first century BC, betrayed the secret name of Rome, he was immediately put to death.64 According to Pliny, before the Romans besieged a town, their priests would address the tutelary deity of the town, promising the deity similar or even greater worship as part of the Roman Empire than it had received by its own people. To prevent priests of hostile cities from attempting to do the same thing to Rome, the name of its tutelary deity was kept secret.65

Conclusion When contrasted with their general devaluation in the modern West, the significance of naming and the frequent occurrence of renaming and the giving of hidden names in the ancient world is astonishing. Not merely identification, but existence itself, was thought to be dependent upon the name. If naming constituted the giving of an identity, the giving of a new name gave a new identity to the recipient

258  Stephen D. Ricks and was frequently associated with an important transition in the recipient’s life. In many cultures of antiquity, the knowledge of certain secrets, including secret names, was necessary for a person to enter into everlasting bliss and to learn his own “True Name,” a notion reflected in the Wisdom of Sirach: “He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing and will acquire an everlasting name” (15: 6).66 Why all this discussion of the importance of names, renaming, and new and hidden names in the ancient world? It is because names are vitally important among Latter-day Saints. An infant, though not baptized as in traditional Christianity, is given a name in a priesthood ceremony by which he or she will be known on the records of the Church. When at age eight a child is baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that child is called by name and takes upon himself or herself the name of Christ. When Latter-day Saints marry (usually in the temple), during the wedding ceremony the prospective husband and wife are both called by name. These and other instances illustrate that names and renaming are vitally significant to Latter-day Saints, since believing that their religion follows an ancient pattern, their practice with regard to naming also follows an ancient—perhaps the most ancient—pattern.

Notes 1 This is an expansion and update of an earlier essay, “Names in Antiquity: Old, New, and Hidden,” by Bruce H. Porter and Stephen D. Ricks, in By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, vol. 1, edited by John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990), 501–22. 2 Origen, 248 A.D., Contra Celsum, Book I, 701–3; see also Origen, 248 A.D., Contra Celsum, Book V, 1249–53. On the importance of names and naming in the ancient world, see Ritner, “Legend of Isis,” 33, who observes, few texts [such as ‘The Legend of Isis and the Name of Re’] illustrate so clearly the ritual significance of the personal name. Felt to be an intrinsic element and source of power, the name did not simply identify but defined an individual. With regards to Hebrew names, in his book, What’s in a Name? Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson explains that his book “was written for the express purpose of arousing within ourselves a recognition of the weighty significance of … Hebrew names” (25). 3 Bolle, in his article, “Secrecy in Religion,” observes, “Not only is there no religion without secrecy, but there is no human existence without it” (1) and that secrecy is the “mystery at the heart of a religious tradition” (4). “Without secrets, religion becomes unimaginable,” as Johnson puts it (in Secrets, Gossip and Gods), since “religion is in its cultural sense a technology of periodic human access to extraordinary powers, which generally remain concealed, and in its social sense a group of people who share such a technology” (cited in Urban, Secrecy: Silence, Power, and Religion, 3). In the view of the Swedish-American philosopher Sissela Bok in Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment, 6, “The sacred and the secret have been linked from earliest times. Both elicit feelings of  … the ‘numinous consciousness’ that combines the daunting and the fascinating, dread and allure. Both are defined as being set apart and seen as needing protection.” On secrecy in the era of formative Judaism, one may also compare Wewers, Geheimnis und Geheimhaltung, particularly pp. 191–98, where Wewers discusses the terms “Geheimnis” (‘secret’) and “Geheimhaltung” (‘confidentiality, non-disclosure’).

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  259 4 “Creation Epic,” Tablet 1: 1–2, 7–8 in Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 60–61. For a more recent discussion of naming and existence, see Himes, Power of Names, 4. 5 Crystal, Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. See also Austin, How to Do Things with Words, for an in-depth discussion of performative language. 6 Piankoff, trans., Litany of Re, 4. In other myths, it is Thoth who gives names to things that were previously nameless; see Budge, Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, 1: 10. 7 Berlin Papyrus 3055, col. 16: 3–4, in Grapow, “Die Welt.” 8 Morenz, Egyptian Religion, 164; Grapow, “Die Welt,” 36, notes that the creation language used in the Shabako Stone and in the Berlin Papyrus (Grapow) 3055, col. 16: 3–4 is nearly identical. In the Book of the Overthrowing of Apep, Atum says he developed his desire to create the world “by making his mouth utter his own name as a word of power, and straightway the world and all therein came into being” (cited in Budge, Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, 2: 174). The power of the name Amun is discussed by Assmann, Of God and Gods, 65, who cites the following verses: People fall down immediately for fear if his name is uttered knowingly or unknowingly. There is no god able to call him by it. See further Zauzich, “Der verborgene Name des Gottes Amun,” 303–8, where the hidden names of Amun are given as JJ (pronounced “Yay”), as well as J.w and Jw, redolent of the tetragrammaton JHWH (pronounced “Yahweh”). 9 Clark, Myth and Symbol, 63. 10 Levy-Bruhl, Die Seele der Primitiven, 217, as cited by Bietenhard, “Onoma,” in Theological Dictionary, 5: 243. 11 Jenkins, “Great Name,” 43. In the Clementine Homilies III, chapter 21, in Patrologiae, vol. 2: 124–25, the naming of the animals by Adam is itself interpreted as a creative act. 12 In Genesis 35:18, the child, first named Benoni (“son of my sorrow”) by his mother, was renamed Benjamin (“son of the right hand”) by his father. 13 Charlesworth, 1 Enoch, book V, chapters 106–7, in Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1, pages 86–88. 14 An additional instance of naming an individual through divine inspiration is found in Reynolds, “Jaredites,” 282: While residing at Kirtland Elder Reynolds Cahoon had a son born to him. One day when President Joseph Smith was passing his door he called the Prophet in and asked him to bless and name the baby. Joseph did so and gave the boy the name of Mahonri Moriancumer. When he had finished the blessing he laid the child on the bed, and turning to Elder Cahoon he said, the name I have given your son is the name of the brother of Jared; the Lord has just shown [or revealed] it to me. Elder William F. Cahoon, who was standing near heard the Prophet make this statement to his father; and this was the first time the name of the brother of Jared was known in the Church in this dispensation. 15 Clark, Myth and Symbol, 75. 16 Piankoff, Litany of Re, 4–5. 17 Zandee, Death as an Enemy, 14; Alt, “Menschen ohne Namen,” 9. 18 Faulkner, Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, par. 1812. 19 Ibid., par. 764; see also par. 1660. These sections of the Pyramid Texts may be compared with the plaintive cry of Penelope to Medon about her son Telemachus, whom she imagines to have perished: “Was it that not even his name should be left among men?” in Homer, Odyssey, 1: 170–71. 20 Trigger et al., Ancient Egypt, 218–19. 21 Budge, Egyptian Magic, 160–61. A twentieth-century parallel to the ancient Egyptian practice of the destruction of the name is found in the now happily defunct Communist

260  Stephen D. Ricks practice of creating “non-persons” by removing their names from the official records and histories and brushing their faces from photographs. This practice was developed to a near art form in the Stalinist Soviet Union. 22 Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” 70; Gardiner, “Lawsuit Arising.” 23 Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” 73. 24 According to Philo, cited in Goodenough, Jewish Symbols, 1: 25, Abraham reached his final state of mystical achievement at the time he received his new name. 25 Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 141–50, 151–52. 26 Bremmer, “Heroes, Ritual, and the Trojan War,” where references to the classical sources are also given. 27 Odeberg, 3 Enoch or The Hebrew Book of Enoch, 169. 28 Ibid., 6–10. 29 The blessings that are recorded as having been bestowed on the patriarchs were also claimed by the Egyptian ruler in a slightly different form. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, 50, notes that the attributes ‘nḫ wd’ snb (‘may he live, be prosperous, [and] be healthy’) were believed to be bestowed on the king and on persons honored by the gods. This tripartite petition was not to be used for this life only, but was a desired benediction for all eternity. On the renaming of Jacob by the angel in Genesis 32, see Pumphrey, “Names and Power,” 25–38, 69. 30 The acceptance of a new culture or a new religion often results in the adoption of a new name, e.g., Cassius Clay, who accepted Islam and renamed himself Muhammad Ali; Lewis Alcindor became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; and Malcolm Little renamed himself Malcolm X. 31 Brandon, “Significance of Time,” 47. An example of a baptismal rite in which the element mentioned by Brandon figures prominently may be found in Narsai, “Homily XXII (B),” in Liturgical Homilies, 8: 40. Narsai wrote: He [i.e., the initiate] waits for the priest to bring in his words before the Judge; and he (the priest) restores to him the chart of liberty with the oil and the water. A sponsor also he brings with him into the court, that he may come in and bear witness to his preparation and his sincerity. With sincerity he protests that he will abide in love of the truth; and his companion becomes surety (saying): “Yea, true is the protestation of his soul.” He becomes as a guide to his words and his actions; and he shews him the conduct of spiritual life. He calls (or reads) his name, and presents him before the guards (i.e. the priests), that they may name him heir, and son, and citizen. In the books the priest enters the name of the lost one, and he brings it in and places it in the archives [ἀρχεîα] of the King’s books. He makes him to stand as a sheep in the door of the sheep-fold; and he signs his body and lets him mix with the flock. The sign [rushma] of the oil he holds in his hand, before the beholders; and with manifest things he proclaims the power of things hidden. [cf. also Mosiah 5:8–13] 32 Murphy, “Names, Christian,” in New Catholic Encyclopedia, 10: 203. 33 Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, 71; see Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs, 51; Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods, 46–47; Wilson, Culture of Ancient Egypt, 102; and Budge, Book of the Kings of Egypt, xii–xxiv. 34 Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods, 246; Engnell, Studies in Divine Kingship, 59; Widengren, “Sacral Kingship of Iran,” 253. 35 James, Christian Myth and Ritual, 90; Lord Raglan, Death and Rebirth, 62. 36 Hocart, “Initiation,” 312. The receipt of a new name by the monarch at the time of enthronement is a nearly universal phenomenon. Irstam found in his study of African kingship, King of Ganda, 58, 61, numerous instances of a new name given at the time of coronation; similarly, Ellwood, Feast of Kingship, 152, notes that the receipt of a new name was a characteristic feature of the Japanese enthronement ceremonies. The Japanese never

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  261 refer to their emperor by his regnal name (e.g., Hirohito or Akihito) during his lifetime, though after his death his reign is known by this name. 37 Piankoff, Litany of Re, 5; hidden names in Egypt from the Pharaonic to the Coptic eras are given in Lexa, La magie, 1: 145; 2: 155, 163–66, 168, 175, 183. 38 Budge, “Legend of Rā and Isis,” 243–54. For a recent translation and brief discussion of the myth of Re and Isis, see Ritner, “Legend of Isis.” 39 The story of Re and Isis was quite popular and was used in formulas for protection against the bites of poisonous snakes. It was published from hieratic papyri manuscripts housed in Turin. See Pleyte and Rossi, Papyrus de Turin, 1:170–91; 2: plates 131–38. It is also published from a hieratic papyrus dating from the 19th dynasty that is currently located in the British Museum, noted by Gardiner, Hieratic Papyri in the British Museum, 116–18, plates 64–65a; it has also been translated and studied by Lefébure in “Un chapitre de la chronique solaire,” and in Roeder, Urkunden zur Religion des alten Agypten, 138–41; an interlinear hieroglyphic transcription, transliteration, and translation has been provided by Budge, “Legend of Rā and Isis”; see also Lexa, La magie, 1: 113–20; Budge, Egyptian Tales and Romances, 111–17; Obbink, De Magische Beteekenis, 4–8; Brunner-Traut, Altägyptische Märchen, 115–20; and, most recently, see Ritner, “Legend of Isis.” On the legend of Isis learning the secret name of Re, see Pumphrey, “Names and Power,” 10–25, 68–69. On secret names of ancient Near Eastern deities, see Huffmon, “Name.” 40 Hilka, Beiträge zur Kenntnis, 12; Kroll, “Antiker Volksglaube,” 346; and Schmidt, Die Bedeutung des Namens, 45. Hilka, Beiträge zur Kenntnis, 40, also notes that the practice of bestowing secret names persists among the modern Hindus. According to Gonda, Vedic Ritual, 375, the name given to a child immediately after birth was not revealed so as to protect the child from the attack of evil spirits. See also Zeller, Die Knabenweihen, 3. 41 Wessely, Griechische Zauberpapyrus, 85, verses 1609–10; Wessely, Neue griechische Zauberpapyri, 39, verse 569; cf. Dieterich, Abraxas, 195. 42 1 Enoch 69:14–15, in Charlesworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1: 48. 43 Kaplan, “Hidden Name.” The pious suppression of a divine name is frequently attested in antiquity. See Hirzel, “Der Name,” and the explanation given in Doctrine and Covenants 107:2–4 why the first priesthood, called before Melchizedek’s time “the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God,” was later called after the name of Melchizedek “out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name.” 44 See Gangemi, “La Manna Nascosta,” 348–49, where he reviews various suggestions concerning the meaning of the white stone in ancient and modern commentators, including those of Aretas, Andreas of Caesarea, Pseudo-Augustine, Strabo, Primasius, the Venerable Bede, Alcuin, Grotius, Zahn, and Swete, concluding that its most probable meaning is “una attestazione di vittoria” (‘a sign of victory’). 45 Nibley, Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, 120; Trumbull, Blood Covenant, 337, mentions a striking aspect in the manhood initiation rites practiced among the natives of New South Wales: A white stone, or a quartz crystal, called mundie, is given to each novitiate in manhood, at the time he receives his new name. This stone is counted a gift from deity, and is held peculiarly sacred. A test of the young man’s moral stamina is made by the old men’s trying, by all sorts of persuasion, to induce him to surrender this possession, when first he has received it. 46 That the children of Christ are known and called by name is implied by John 10:3, “The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” 47 Irenaeus, Contra Haereses, Book I, chapter 21, section 3, page 664. 48 Faulkner, Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, par. 394.

262  Stephen D. Ricks 49 Homer, Iliad, 1: 42–43 (Book I, lines 403–4); cf. 2: 370–71: “that gods call Xanthus, and men Scamander” (Book XX, line 74). 50 Jonathan Z. Smith, Map is Not Territory, 31–32. 51 Pistis Sophia 137, in Koptisch-Gnostische Schriften, 1: 235. 52 Lidzbarski, Ginzā, 97–98, cited in Widengren, Ascension of the Apostle, 59; cf. Lidzbarski, Ginzā, 284, where Ptahil is identified as Gabriel, and cf. Rudolph, Theogonie, Kosmogonie und Anthropogonie, 198, for further examples in Madaean literature. This same dichotomy between heavenly names and earthly names is also implied in Milton, Paradise Lost, 11, where the “Infernal Serpent” begins to recognize the companions of his revolt by him, including the following: weltring by his side, One next himself in power, and next in crime, Long after known in Palestine, and named Beelzebub. To whom th’ Arch-Enemy, And thence in Heaven called Satan, with bold words Breaking the horrid silence, thus began: 53 Allen, Egyptian Book of the Dead, 200–201; see Budge, Egyptian Magic, 162–72. 54 Faulkner, Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, par. 520–21. 55 Ibid., par. 355–56. 56 Euringer, “Die Binde der Rechtfertigung.” According to Budge, Bandlet of Righteousness, 1–2, the bandlet of justification (or righteousness) was a strip of linen or parchment which was exactly as long as the body of the person for whose benefit it was prepared was high, and on this were inscribed a series of eight magical compositions, and, presumably, drawings of crosses. The width of the strip is unknown; it may have been wide enough to cover the body, but it is more likely that it was only from 3 inches to 6 inches wide, like the linen strips inscribed in hieratic with texts from the Book of the Dead, which the Egyptians buried with their dead in the Saïte and Ptolemaïc periods. This Bandlet was wound round the body of the deceased on the day of burial and was believed to protect it from the attacks of devils, and enable him to pass through the earth without being stopped at any of the gates or doors, and ultimately to pass into heaven. Both Euringer and Budge consistently refer to this work as “magical,” without providing a shred of evidence for their use of this terminology. While the contents of the Bandlet of Justification may, in certain regards, reflect the post-Reformation European view of “magic,” discussed by Aune in “Magic; Magician,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 3: 213–14, it has little to do with activities and writings that were anciently described as “magical.” According to Jonathan Z. Smith, Map is not Territory, 193, and Maurice, “La Terreur de la Magie,” 188, in antiquity certain ritual activities were described as “magical” if they were illegal or societally marginal. Morton Smith’s Clement of Alexandria, 220, avers that “magician” was primarily “a term of abuse,” a most interesting statement in light of the title of his book, Jesus the Magician, which came out in 1978, only a few years after the other statement was made. As Penner has pointed out in a brilliant article, “Rationality, Ritual, and Science,” no objective criteria can be established for distinguishing between “magic” and ritual. 57 Euringer, “Die Binde der Rechtfertigung,” 244. 58 Budge, Bandlet of Righteousness, 50. 59 Hornung, Conceptions of God, 88–89; cf. Böcher, Dämonenfurcht und Dämonenabwehr, 104–6; and Böcher, Christus Exorcista, 88–89. 60 Budge, Egyptian Tales and Romances, 111. 61 Cited in Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, 80. 62 Nock, “Greek Magical Papyri,” 227.

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  263 63 Lydus, De Mensibus (Peri Menōn) IV, 30, 73, 75, in Wünsch, 89.19–20, 125.7–8, and 126.16–17. Lydus posits a relationship between Flora, Rome’s secret name, and Anthousa, the secret name of the New Rome, Constantinople. According to Bernays, “Quellennachweise zu Politanus,” and Riese, “Anthusa,” several other Greek and Byzantine authors also mention Anthousa as the name of Constantinople, among them Julius Honorius, Eustathius, and Stephanus Byzantinus. Wissowa, “Flora,” in Paulys Real-Encyclopädie, 6: 2749, coolly avers that there “ist nichts Rechtes anzufangen” with the name Flora. Macrobius, Saturnalia, Book III, chapter 9, sections 3 and 4, page 217, includes several suggestions about the secret name (tutelary deity) of Rome, including Jupiter, Luna (Lua), Angerona, and (his personal preference) Ops Consivia. Pfister, “Zur Grabschrift des Aberkios,” col. 29, distinguishes in the writings of the classical authors between the onoma telestikon, which might under no circumstances be divulged; the onoma hieratikon, which might, without penalty, be revealed to another person; and the onoma politikon, the name commonly used. Rome’s three names, corresponding to these three categories, were respectively Eros, Flora, and Roma. 64 Plutarch, Quaestiones Romanae, 61 (278F), in Plutarch: Moralia, 4: 95; Pliny, Natural History, 2: 48–49; Servius, Commentarius in Aeneidem, Book I, section 277 (in Servii Grammatici Commentarii, vol. 1, page 103). 65 Pliny, Natural History, 8: 12–15; cf. Macrobius, Saturnalia, Book III, chapter 9, section 3, page 217. The power of the knowledge of a name over a being can also be seen in the widely told folk tales of the Rumpelstiltskin variety (Tom Tit Tot, Purzingele, Kruzimugeli, Gilitrutt, Ropiquet, and Wind and Weather), wherein elves, trolls, dwarves, and spirits are rendered impotent to work their (generally malevolent) will on their would-be victims because their names have been discovered; see Clodd, Tom Tit Tot, 53–56; Clodd, “Philosophy of Rumpelstiltskin”; Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, 1: 418, fn. 1, and 1: 454; Schmidt, Die Bedeutung des Namens, 43–44; Thompson, MotifIndex, C 432.1 (vol. 1: 518), G 303.16.19.9 (vol. 3: 339); de Vries, Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte, 2: 49–50, notes that the names Freyer and Freya were not the true names of these deities but were used so that no harm might come to them. 66 This Apocryphal book is also known as Ecclesiasticus.

References Allen, Thomas George, ed. and trans. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: Documents in the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960. Alt, Albrecht. “Menschen ohne Namen.” Archiv Orientalni 18, no. 1 (1950): 9–24. Assmann, Jan. Of God and Gods: Egypt, Israel, and the Rise of Monotheism. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2008. Aune, David. “Magic; Magician.” In The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev. ed., 4 vols., edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, 3: 213–14. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986. Austin, J. L. How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962. Bernays, Jacob. “Quellennachweise zu Politanus und Georgius Valla.” Hermes 11, no. 2 (1876): 129–38. Bietenhard, Hans. “Onoma.” In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols., edited by Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, 5: 242–83. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–76. Böcher, Otto. Dämonenfurcht und Dämonenabwehr: Ein Beitrag zur Vorgeschichte der Christlichen Taufe. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1970. ———. Christus Exorcista: Dämonismus und Taufe im Neuen Testament. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1972. Bok, Sissela. Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation. New York: Pantheon, 1983.

264  Stephen D. Ricks Bolle, Kees W. “Secrecy in Religion.” In Secrecy in Religions, edited by Kees W. Bolle, 1–24. Leiden: Brill, 1987. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Brandon, Samuel G. F. “The Significance of Time in Some Ancient Initiatory Rituals.” In Initiation: Contributions to the Theme of the Study (Studies in the History of Religions, vol. 10), edited by C. J. Bleeker. Conference of the International Association for the History of Religions. Held at Strasburg, September 17th–22nd, 1964, 40–48. Leiden: Brill, 1965. Bremmer, Jan. “Heroes, Ritual, and the Trojan War.” Studi Storico-Religiosi 2 (1978): 7–8. Brunner-Traut, Emma. Altägyptische Märchen. Düsseldorf-Köln: Diederichs, 1965. Budge, E. A. Wallis. The Book of the Kings of Egypt. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1908. ———. Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, 2 vols. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1911. ———. First Steps in Egyptian: A Book for Beginners. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1923. ———. “The Legend of Rā and Isis.” In Budge, First Steps, 241–56. ———. The Bandlet of Righteousness: An Ethiopian Book of the Dead. London: Luzac, 1929. ———, trans. Egyptian Tales and Romances: Pagan, Christian and Muslim. London: Thornton Butterworth, 1935. ———. Egyptian Magic. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1972. Charlesworth, James H., ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2 vols. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983. Clark, Robert T. R. Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt. London: Thames and Hudson, 1978. Clementine Homilies III, chapter 21, in Patrologiae, vol. 2. Clodd, Edward. “The Philosophy of Rumpelstiltskin.” Folk-Lore Journal 7 (1889): 135–63. ———. Tom Tit Tot: An Essay on Savage Philosophy in Folk-Tale. London: Duckworth, 1898. “The Creation Epic.” Tablet 1:1–2, 7–8. In Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, edited by James B. Pritchard and translated by Ephraim A. Speiser. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1974. Crystal, David. Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008. de Vries, Jan. Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte, 2 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1957. Dieterich, Albrecht. Abraxas: Studien zur Religionsgeschichte des spätern Altertums. Leipzig: Teubner, 1891. The Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Eissfeldt, Otto. “Renaming in the Old Testament.” In Words and Meaning, edited by P. R. Ackroyd and B. Lindars, 69–79. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1968. Ellwood, Robert S. The Feast of Kingship: Accession Ceremonies in Ancient Japan. Tokyo: Sophia University, 1973. Engnell, Ivan. Studies in Divine Kingship in the Ancient Near East, 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1967. Euringer, Sebastian. “Die Binde der Rechtfertigung (Lefâfa sedek),” Orientalia 9 (1940): 76–99, 244–59. Faulkner, Raymond O., trans. The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. Frankfort, Henri. Kingship and the Gods. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978. Gangemi, Attilio. “La Manna Nascosta e il Nome Nuovo.” Rivista Biblica 25, no. 4 (1977): 337–56.

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  265 Gardiner, Alan H., ed. Hieratic Papyri in the British Museum, third series, 2 vols. London: British Museum, 1935a. Gardiner, Alan H. “A Lawsuit Arising from the Purchase of Two Slaves.” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 21, no. 2 (1935b): 140–46. ———. Egypt of the Pharaohs. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961. ———. Egyptian Grammar, 3rd ed. London: Oxford UP, 1966. Glazerson, Matityahu. What’s in a Name? The Spiritual Link Between the Name of a Person and his Soul. Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and Johannesburg: Himelsein Glazerson Publishers, 2005. Gonda, Jan. Vedic Ritual: The Non-Solemn Rites. Leiden: Brill, 1980. Goodenough, Erwin R. Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, 13 vols. New York: Pantheon Books, 1953. Grapow, Hermann. “Die Welt vor der Schöpfung.” Zeitschrift für Agyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 67 (1931): 36. Grimm, Jacob. Deutsche Mythologie, 3 vols. Basel: Schwabe, 1953. Hilka, Alfons. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der indischen Namengebung: Die altindischen Personennamen. Breslau: Marcus, 1910. Himes, Mavis. The Power of Names: Uncovering the Mystery of What We are Called. Lanham, MD; Boulder, CO; New York; and London: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016. Hirzel, Rudolf. “Der Name: Ein Beitrag zu seiner Geschichte im Altertum und besonders bei den Griechen.” Abhandlungen der Philologisch-historischen Klasse der Sächsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften 36, no. 2 (1918): 252–57. Hocart, Arthur M. “Initiation.” Folk-Lore 35, no. 4 (December 1924): 308–23. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. Homer. Iliad, trans. A.T. Murray, rev. William F. Wyatt, 2 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1999. ———. Odyssey, trans. A.T. Murray, rev. George E. Dimock, 2 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2014. Hornung, Erik. Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many, trans. John Baines. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1982. Huffmon, Herbert B. “Name.” In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd rev. ed., edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst, 610–12. Leiden, Boston, and Köln: Brill; Grand Rapids, MI and Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 1999. Irenaeus. Contra Haereses. In Patrologiae Cursus Completus Series Graeca, vol. 7. Irstam, Tor. The King of Ganda: Studies in the Institutions of Sacral Kingship in Africa. Lund: Hakan Ohlssons Boktryckeri, 1944. James, Edwin O. Christian Myth and Ritual: A Historical Study. London: John Murray, 1937. Jenkins, Allan K. “A Great Name: Genesis 12:2 and the Editing of the Pentateuch.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 4, no. 10 (Feb. 1979): 41–57. Johnson, Paul C. Secrets, Gossip and Gods: The Transformation of Brazilian Candomblé. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Kaplan, Chaim. “The Hidden Name.” Journal of the Society of Oriental Research 13 (1929): 181–84. Kroll, Wilhelm. “Antiker Volksglaube.” Rheinisches Museum für Philologie 52 (1897): 338–47. Lefébure, E. “Un chapitre de la chronique solaire.” Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Alterthumskunde 21 (1883): 27–33. Levy-Bruhl, Lucien. Die Seele der Primitiven. Wien: W. Braumüller, 1930.

266  Stephen D. Ricks Lexa, Francois. La magie dans l’Egypte antique, 2 vols. Paris: Geuthner, 1925. Lidzbarski, Mark. Ginzā: Der Schatz oder das grosse Buch der Mandäer. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1925. Lundquist, John M., and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, 2 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990. Lydus, Joannes. De Mensibus (Peri Menōn). In Joannes Lydi Liber de Mensibus, edited by Wünsch. Macrobius. The Saturnalia, trans. with an intro. and notes by Percival Vaughan Davies. Records of Civilization: Sources and Studies 79, edited by W. T. H. Jackson (gen. editor). New York and London: Columbia UP, 1969. Maurice, Jules. “La Terreur de la Magie au IVe Siècle.” Comptes Rendus des Séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 70, no. 3 (1926): 182–88. Milton, John. Paradise Lost, edited by Merritt Y. Hughes. New York: Odyssey Press, 1935. Morenz, Siegfried. Egyptian Religion, trans. Ann E. Keep. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1978. Murphy, F. X. “Names, Christian.” In New Catholic Encyclopedia, 15 vols., 10: 201–3. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Narsai (fl. A.D. 450). “Homily XXII (B) (On Baptism).” In The Liturgical Homilies of Narsai in Text and Studies, edited and translated by R. H. Connolly, 10 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1909. Nibley, Hugh. The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975. Nock, Arthur D. “Greek Magical Papyri.” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 15, nos. 3–4 (1929): 219–35. Obbink, Hendrik Willem. De Magische Beteekenis van den Naam inzonderheid in het Oude Egypte. Amsterdam: H. J. Paris, 1925. Odeberg, Hugo, ed. and trans. 3 Enoch or The Hebrew Book of Enoch. New York: KTAV, 1973. Origen. 248 A.D. Contra Celsum I, chapt. 24, in Patrologiae, vol. 11. ———. 248 A.D. Contra Celsum V, chapt. 45, in Patrologiae, vol. 11. Patrologiae Cursus Completus Series Graeca, 161 vols. Paris: Migne, 1857–66. Penner, Hans. “Rationality, Ritual, and Science.” In Religion, Science, and Magic: In Concert and in Conflict, edited by Jacob Neusner, Ernest S. Frerichs, and Paul V. M. Flesher, 11– 24. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Pfister, Friedrich. “Zur Grabschrift des Aberkios.” Berliner Philologische Wochenschrift 33 (1913): cols. 29–30. Piankoff, Alexandre, trans. The Litany of Re. New York: Pantheon Books, 1964. Pistis Sophia 137. In Koptisch-Gnostische Schriften, 2 vols., edited and translated by Carl Schmidt and Walter Till. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1962. Pleyte, Willem, and Francesco Rossi. Papyrus de Turin, 2 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1876. Pliny. Natural History, 10 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1938–63. Plutarch. Quaestiones Romanae. In Plutarch: Moralia, 15 vols., trans. Frank Cole Babbitt, vol. 4. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1972. Porter, Bruce H., and Stephen D. Ricks. “Names in Antiquity: Old, New, and Hidden.” In By Study and Also by Faith, edited by Lundquist and Ricks, 1: 501–22. Pumphrey, Nicholaus B. “Names and Power: The Concept of Secret Names in the Ancient Near East.” M.A. thesis, Vanderbilt University, 2009. Accessible at https://ir.vanderbilt. edu/handle/1803/11509 Lord Raglan. Death and Rebirth: A Study in Comparative Religion. London: Watts, 1945. Reynolds, George. “The Jaredites.” The Juvenile Instructor 27, no. 9 (May 1, 1892): 282–85. Riese, A. “Anthusa.” Hermes 12, no. 1 (1877): 143–44.

“Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”  267 Ritner, Robert K. “The Legend of Isis and the Name of Re (1.22) (P. Turin 1993).” In The Context of Scripture, 3 vols., edited by William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr., vol. 1: 33–34. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2003. Roeder, Gunther. Urkunden zur Religion des alten Agypten. Jena: Diederichs, 1915. Rudolph, Kurt. Theogonie, Kosmogonie und Anthropogonie in den mandäischen Schriften. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1965. Schmidt, Wilhelm. Die Bedeutung des Namens im Kult und Aberglauben: Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Volkskunde. Darmstadt: Otto, 1912. Scholem, Gershom G. Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition, 2nd ed. New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1965. Servius. Commentarius in Aeneidem, Book I (in vol. 1). In Servii Grammatici Commentarii, 3 vols., edited by Georg Thilo and Hermann Hagen. Hildesheim: Olms, 1961. Smith, Jonathan Z. Map is Not Territory: Studies in the History of Religions. Leiden: Brill, 1978. Smith, Morton. Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1973. Thompson, Stith. Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, 6 vols. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 1966. Trigger, Bruce Graham, B. J. Kemp, D. O’Connor, and A. B. Lloyd. Ancient Egypt: A Social History. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1983. Trumbull, Henry Clay. The Blood Covenant: A Primitive Rite and Its Bearings on Scripture. New York: Scribner, 1885. Urban, Hugh B. Secrecy: Silence, Power, and Religion. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2021. Vergote, Jozef. Joseph en Égypte (Orientalia et Biblica Lovaniensia III). Louvain: Publications Universitaires, 1959. Wessely, Carl, ed. Griechische Zauberpapyrus von Paris und London. Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien. Philosophisch-historische Klasse. Denkschriften 36, no. 2 (1888). ———, ed. Neue griechische Zauberpapyri. Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien. Philosophisch-historische Klasse. Denkschriften 42, no. 2 (1893). Wewers, Gerd A. Geheimnis und Geheimhaltung im rabbinischen Judentum. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 1975. Widengren, Geo. The Ascension of the Apostle and the Heavenly Book (King and Saviour III). Uppsala: Lundequistska Bokhandeln, 1950. ———. “The Sacral Kingship of Iran.” In La regalita sacra/The Sacral Kingship. Studies in the History of Religions 4, 242–57. Leiden: Brill, 1959. Wilson, John A. The Culture of Ancient Egypt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. Wissowa, Georg. “Flora.” In Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, edited by Georg Wissowa, 6: 2749. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1909. Wünsch, Richard, ed. Joannes Lydi Liber de Mensibus. Stuttgart: Teubner, 1967. Zandee, Jan. Death as an Enemy. Leiden: Brill, 1960. Zauzich, Karl-Theodor. “Der verborgene Name des Gottes Amun in demotischen Texten.” In New Approaches in Demotic Studies: Acts of the 13th International Conference of Demotic Studies, edited by Franziska Naether, 303–10. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2019. Zeller, Moritz. Die Knabenweihen: Eine ethnologische Studie. Bern: Haupt, 1923.

13 Book of Mormon Names A Collection that Defies Expectation Brad Wilcox, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Sharon Black, and Bruce L. Brown

The Book of Mormon has been called “the American scripture that launched a new world religion.”1 But even beyond its religious significance, it also displays considerable literary merit. Yet the book’s literary achievements have often been overlooked because of controversy surrounding its provenance and authenticity. Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian for 2008, has written: True or not, the Book of Mormon is a powerful epic written on a grand scale with a host of characters, a narrative of human struggle and conflict, of divine intervention, heroic good and atrocious evil, of prophecy, morality, and law…. It tells a tragic story, of a people who, though possessed of the true faith, fail in the end. Yet it does not convey a message of despair; God’s will cannot ultimately be frustrated. The Book of Mormon should rank among the great achievements of American literature, but it has never been accorded the status it deserves, since Mormons deny Joseph Smith’s authorship, and non-Mormons, dismissing the work as a fraud, have been more likely to ridicule than read it.2 Whether the Book of Mormon is actually an authentic record prepared by ancient prophets is a matter that comes down to faith. Yet the distinctive names within the book invite us to explore some interesting approaches when considering the book’s provenance and authenticity. This chapter will explore some of these approaches. The Book of Mormon3 contains 337 proper names: Of these, 149 are also found in the Bible. Some are obvious like Samuel, Isaiah, Gideon, Benjamin, Aaron, Noah, Timothy, and Jacob. Some are less obvious like Aminadab, Esrom, Helam, and Kish. However, 188 are not found in other scriptural texts.4 Of these 188 names, 162 are given to people—160 to men and 2 to women. Although 66% of the 162 names are mentioned only briefly, 17% refer to major characters, with another 17% having only minor roles; 41% are positive characters, 23% are negative, and 36% seem neutral. Some of these names are given to multiple characters. For example, Nephi is a name or title for four different characters, and Morianton is the name for two. In our analyses we used each name only once, and thus use the word unique to describe these 126 names (see Appendix).5 DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000-15

Book of Mormon Names  269 Some research has focused on these unique names, but pieces of the puzzle are difficult to connect. In fact, some years ago, Paul Hoskisson, a Book of Mormon scholar, noted that with regard to the etymological background or origin of names, “much preliminary work remains to be done on the Book of Mormon Onomasticon.”6 Most of the studies that have been completed have focused primarily on the affinity of Book of Mormon names with Semitic languages. For example, Tvedtnes has published comparisons between the Book of Mormon’s Lehite-Mulekite names and Hebrew.7 The name Abinadi, for example, resembles ab (father) names in Hebrew; Alma appears in a Bar Kokhba letter from AD 130 in the Judean Desert; and Jershon is remarkably close to a noun form of the Hebrew root yrš. Other scholars have demonstrated that many Book of Mormon names have Egyptian roots and relationships8: Ammon, Korihor, and Paanchi, for example. The combination of Hebrew and Egyptian names is significant because the Book of Mormon begins with a family that flees Jerusalem in 600 BC, a time when Egyptian influence was especially strong in this area.9 Such results are fascinating, but despite these connections, some Book of Mormon linguistic phenomena still seem to beg explanation. For example, of the 126 distinctive names for people, 23 begin with the letter a. The letters m (12), c (11), l (11), s (10), and z (10) are also common initial letters, but no names begin with b, d, f, q, u, v, w, x, or y. Pledger10 has pointed out that none of the names uses the letters q, x, and w in any position. Of course, this observation relates only to letters, not to sounds, so we need to be cautious about drawing conclusions based only on this. For example, when translated, many Arabic names are spelled using either a q or a k to represent the same sound. Still, the distribution of forms in the Book of Mormon names deserves further examination. The overall lexicon of Book of Mormon names does not appear to have a distinctive internal system beyond the fact that within the text the names of admired and loved people are often given to their descendants. Howe’s classification of “powerful epic written on a grand scale”11 is reflected in the characters’ names: The epic covers approximately 1,000 years of cultural evolution and variety, reflected in names that seem randomized over this period. If these names are not authentic, one would expect that the author must have had extensive background knowledge of ancient languages and cultures, boundless imagination, and a great deal of luck to have created them. We have recently conducted three studies examining Book of Mormon names and the resulting insights from various cultural and disciplinary positions that the studies provide about Joseph Smith’s possible authorship. We like to think of these studies as different lenses through which the names in the Book of Mormon can be viewed. As we applied each, we found that this collection of names defies expectations that generally exist for the names chosen by authors of fiction. Recognizing the individuality of the lenses and the weaknesses as well as the strengths of these forms of research, we offer our findings to explore possibilities, not to attempt definitive statements on the sources or methodologies involved with the book. The first study considered a common psychological aspect of name choice—personal or cultural identifiers—conspicuously lacking in the Book of

270  Brad Wilcox et al. Mormon. The second study went deeper into authorial issues to examine typical “rules” or practices of authorship that authors and publishers follow in selecting effective character names. The Book of Mormon names lacked evidence of any of these practices. The third study analyzed linguistic properties and probabilities of Book of Mormon names, comparing them to character names from fictional works and to naturally occurring names from census records. If Joseph Smith invented the names in the Book of Mormon, as some critics have claimed, he was successful at avoiding types of standardization and stereotyping that had not yet been discovered and identified when the Book of Mormon was produced and printed. The names seem to have been chosen randomly, as genuine historical individuals would have chosen them. We shall now consider the three previously mentioned studies. Because some critics of the Book of Mormon have claimed that Joseph Smith or one of his contemporaries was the author of the text, we have contextualized our discussion of the three studies within expectations that would reasonably accompany the claim that the Book of Mormon is an authored work of fiction. Findings show that the names included in that book remain a collection that defies these expectations.

Expectation 1: Personal and Cultural Identifiers Orson Scott Card, widely known as a creator of science fiction that requires him to make up lands and cultures and, of course, names, has observed: [E]very storyteller, no matter how careful he is, will inadvertently confess his own character and the society he lives in. He can make every conscious effort… but if he tries to write something that is not of his own culture he will give himself away with every unconscious choice he makes.12 But in analyzing the Book of Mormon with an author’s eye, Card could not find a place where Joseph Smith committed this practically universal author’s slip. Others have attempted to identify such cultural slips,13 but not by examining the sounds and letters within Joseph Smith’s name. If he was the author of a work of fiction rather than translator of an ancient record, he made a multitude of name choices (conscious and/or unconscious) without giving himself away. He seemed to let neither his own name nor names identifiable with his family intrude on his choices. Name Letter Effect An individual’s lifelong adventure with language and literacy begins with the sounds and letters of his or her name. The combination of sounds in an infant’s name is continually being pronounced clearly and usually slowly in the infant’s presence, directed at him or her, and the infant quickly learns to recognize it and understand that it is used to identify him or her. Children’s names are intensely personal, and the letters and sounds in their names are the first that many of them are able to read and write.14 Because children seem to have more exposure to the

Book of Mormon Names  271 first initials in their names than to any of the other letters, “they feel an inherent sense of ownership” for these letters.15 Reading and writing instruction often begins with individuals’ names, and the letters and sounds of those names are deeply embedded in the person’s subconscious use of language. Influence of Name Letter Preferences Psychologists are learning that people do not outgrow the influence of the sounds and letters in their names. Koole and Pelham comment that “it is difficult to think of a social symbol that is more closely associated with a person’s identity than his or her name.”16 Empirical studies involving observations, rankings, and rating scales have found that most people have positive associations and preferences for their names, and that they respond to their names even when they are asleep,17 a phenomenon demonstrated in studies from at least 15 different countries.18 The label name letter effect was coined in 1985 by Jozef M. Nuttin, Jr.,19 who demonstrated that people have unconscious as well as conscious preferences for the letters in their names (particularly their initials) and the phonemes (consonant and vowel sounds) in their names. Moreover, they often react to the letters and sounds decisively without realizing that they are doing so. Even when their name or initials are associated with something negative (e.g., with a consolation prize instead of first place), people are still attracted by and build expectations on it.20 Nuttin uses the word narcissism to describe this phenomenon.21 Some research shows that the name letter effect has also been a factor in people’s preferences in naming their children (Christina’s son is Christian), selecting partners and spouses22 (Paul marries Paula), jobs23 (Laura studies law), and even places where they choose to live24 (Maria lives in Minneapolis). The effect has also been identified in the brand names people choose to buy25 (Nick likes Nike). Studies have even found that criminals tend to use their real initials as they create their aliases.26 Nuttin has demonstrated that people can be drawn to negative situations or people if they have the same letters or sounds in their own name (Valerie thinks Voldemort is cool).27 Additional research has documented that some parents have systematic preferences for using letters and sounds found in their own names when naming their children.28 Dramatic examples of this include baseball legend Vernon Law and his wife VaNita, who proudly bestowed on all six of their children names starting with the letter V: Veldon, Veryl, Vance, Vaughn, Varlin, and VaLynda. Larry and Mary Golding named their children using similar sounds: Cheri, Gary, Jerry, Carrie, Barry, Terry, and Larry. These were conscious choices; but some parents show subconscious preferences for the sounds and letters in their own names when selecting names for their children. For example, Ray names his son Roger. Margo names her daughter Miranda. Name Letter Use by Authors It is commonly known that authors of fiction represent themselves—consciously or subconsciously—in the characters they create. Thus, we anticipated that the

272  Brad Wilcox et al. name letter effect would be seen in the character names selected by authors of fiction. Although editors caution authors to consciously avoid repeating letters and sounds in character names so that characters are easier to distinguish from each other, subconsciously many authors still seem to favor the letters and sounds in their own names. We have not performed in-depth analysis to determine the percentages that the following examples represent. However, a cursory look at the beginning letters of some authors’ given names and surnames compared to characters they have named in their literary works does beg further investigation. The name letter effect seems to be present in the names of characters chosen by Stephanie Meyer for her popular Twilight Series: Swan, Sasha, Sulspicia, Santiago, Siobhan, Senna, Stefan, Stanley, Sam, Marie, Masen, Mary, Makenna, Marcus, Maggie, Mike, Marshell, Mark, Mallory, and Marks. The effect seems equally obvious in the New York Times bestselling Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull: Burgess, Bahumat, Barker, Bubda, Bracken, Berrigan, Muriel, Mendigo, Michael, Marla, Mara, Mirav, and Morisant. Contemporary writer Dean Hughes, author of over 80 novels, sometimes writes himself into his novels, and he likes to call the character Dennis (no question about that name letter identification).29 C. S. Lewis is known for his Chronicles of Narnia in which 206 named characters appear. It is interesting that Clive Staples Lewis gave 23 characters names that begin with C including Caspian, Cole, Colin, and Cornelius. More characters begin with C than any other letter. There are 18 characters that begin with S (including Sarah, Silenas, Lord Sopespian, Scorner, and Spivvins) and 8 that begin with L (such as Litith, Liln, and King Lune). Just under one-quarter of this author’s characters begin with his initials. What’s more, C. S. Lewis was known to his friends as Jack. Although there are only four characters that begin with J, three of them include the sound of Jack in them: Jack, Jackdaw, and Edith Jackle. During the 19th century, fiction writers and even poets used the letters of their names freely, though perhaps unconsciously in most places. Charles Dickens, for example, gave Charles Darney (A Tale of Two Cities) his initials in the right sequence and the same first name; this choice may have been conscious. The character he designated as his favorite—the one most like himself—was David Copperfield, his own initials reversed. Perhaps less deliberate, Dickens’ books have many prominent characters with the first sound in his own last name: Jack Dawkins (the Artful Dodger), Sir and Lady Dedlock, Monsieur and Madame DeFarge, the Domby family, the Dorrit family, and Edwin Drood (his final protagonist). In 19th century America, Joseph Smith’s culture, Nathaniel Hawthorne created major characters named Fanshawe and Grimshaw. The little boy in Dr. Grimshaw’s Secret (based on recollections of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s boyhood) was Ned, and the precocious little boy in House of Seven Gables was Ned Higgens, a character employing Hawthorne’s initials. Additional significant Hawthorne characters beginning with H are Holgrave, Hollingsworth, Heidegger, and Hooper (the minister behind the black veil); gender does not seem to have interfered with name letter representations as Hester, Hepzibah, Hannah, and Hilda are also prominent in Hawthorne’s works. The master of impressionist language sounds, Edgar Allen Poe, used his first initial in the idealized land of “Eldorado” (additionally emphasizing the/ō/in Poe).

Book of Mormon Names  273 Although he rarely named the narrators in his stories, he does in “Bernice.” Edgar named that narrator “Egaeus.” Thus, it appears that 19th century writers commonly employed the letters and sounds of their own names in their work. If the Book of Mormon is a piece of fiction written by Joseph Smith, wouldn’t one expect to see the same pattern? Authors of Smith’s day certainly seem to show the name letter effect. Wouldn’t Joseph Smith’s character name selection be typical of his era? And wouldn’t the effect actually be even more likely if the names were almost all invented by the author for an unfamiliar time and place in the past rather than having been drawn from and applied to his own time period and culture, as, for example, were the names of many of Dickens’, Hawthorne’s, and Poe’s characters? In order to answer this question, we first examined the sounds of the 126 unique names in the Book of Mormon (see the Appendix of this chapter) plus five additional names that are in both the Book of Mormon and the Bible but are obscure enough that if Joseph Smith had chosen them, his choice may have also been influenced by the name letter effect: Aminadab, Ammon, Esrom, Helem, Nimrah. These 131 names had 423 consonant and 375 vowel sounds represented. Then we looked for the sounds that are in the name Joseph Smith (Although not shown here, a similar analysis of the letters in Joseph Smith’s name revealed similar findings). When we looked for the initials, the most significant sounds in the name letter effect, we found the sound /dʒ/ (the first sound in Joseph) in only 0.95% (4 out of 423 consonant sounds within the Book of Mormon names) and the sound/s/ (the first sound in Smith) in only 1.7% (9 out of 423) of them and at the beginning of names only twice. The totals include all the consonant sounds anywhere in the name, not merely in an initial or a stressed position. All of these instances are for minor characters in the book; nine are positive, and four are negative. If Joseph Smith was creating names for a novel, he certainly avoided whatever drove Dickens and Hawthorne to consciously or subconsciously include their initial sounds of their names among their major characters. Subsequently we looked with more depth at the internal sounds for both Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon character names. We examined each of the book’s names for evidence of any of the most prominent sounds in the name Joseph and found that these consonant sounds make up only about 5% of the overall consonant sounds used, and neither vowel is used more than 10% (/dʒ/=.95%, /o/=9.1%, /z/=3.5%,30 /ɛ/=8%, /f/=.95%). If Joseph Smith was choosing the sounds in the names, he did not let his first name sounds become dominant. Considering that Joseph is a biblical name of Hebrew origin and the book is purportedly concerned with a Hebrew people and culture, we were not surprised that the name Joseph does appear. It is the name of a character in the Book of Mormon who is mentioned in relation to other members of his family and to his descent from the biblical Joseph. There are also five references to Josephites, his descendants. But when compared to the names of other more prominent characters and their descendants (who are called Nephi/Nephites, Laman/Lamanites) and other more prominent biblical names (e.g., Noah, Benjamin), the name Joseph is used less frequently.

274  Brad Wilcox et al. We also found that the internal sounds in Smith were not involved in a high percentage of the Book of Mormon names. We discovered /s/in nine names (2.1% of the consonant sounds), but we did not find the sound sequence /sm/as in Smith in any of them. The/m/ without /s/was the most common letter sound, found in 84 names (19.86%), but/m/followed by/ɪ/ (the vowel in Smith) occurred only three times. The sound/θ/ (the final sound in Smith) was found only seven times (1.7%).31 Considering Joseph Smith’s limited education (approximately fourth grade) and restricted exposure to a variety of people and cultures (frontier farming community), we would have expected that if he wrote a novel, he would have relied more on the letters and sounds most deeply engrained in his consciousness as other authors have, despite their education. But this was not the case.32 Some may argue that his non-use of these letters might merely be evidence of Joseph Smith’s lack of literary sophistication when compared to other authors. But those people need to consider that the Book of Mormon has been shown to be a very sophisticated book in both its detail and its construction.33 Our analysis has been based on the current pronunciation guide provided in the Book of Mormon. English-speaking readers of the volume have pronounced the names with little thought of how they may have originally been spoken, much as English-speaking readers of the Bible have pronounced its names; in neither case are pronunciations uniform. Thus, in this study, sounds and sound combinations are based on general, common usage of readers of the English language Book of Mormon. Associations from Life and Culture Personal associations beyond their own name sounds have also been found to be prevalent in authors’ character name choices. After extensive study of names in fiction, Yvonne Bertills wrote, “The author’s own personal background and intentions form one significant criterion for name formation and selection of literary characters.”34 Orson Scott Card applied this to the Book of Mormon specifically: “The Book of Mormon, if it is a science fiction work, if it is an artifact of the 1820s, should be thick with similar cultural clues; 1820s America should leap out of every page.”35 Names chosen by fiction writers do tend to provide cultural clues about their background, even if they also attempt to portray a distant or imaginary culture. To make readers feel comfortable with characters, many authors choose names common in their nation and culture. J. K. Rowling, for example, chose Harry Potter for her child wizard because Harry happened to be her favorite name (as well as the name of a current prince of the realm) and Potter was the surname of close childhood friends.36 These names would seem as common to readers of her culture as the family living next door. When Harry makes friends before he arrives at his school, they are named Ron, George, Fred, Percy, Ginny, and Hermione—relatively ordinary names37 in Britain during the target time. It isn’t until he gets to the wizard school that he encounters names like Dumbledore, Hagrid, Tralawny, and Snape. Similarly, Brandon Mull put his little sister’s best friend, Kendra, and his little

Book of Mormon Names  275 brother’s best friend, Seth, in the starring roles of Fablehaven (familiar schoolyard names for readers who would be meeting these children before Kendra and Seth discover the magic land of Fablehaven).38 Others choose names with more specific cultural identifications. Orson Scott Card named Mazer Rackham in Ender’s Game after Karl G. Maeser, the founder of Brigham Young University, the institution where Card was employed at the time the character was created, and Arthur Rackham, an illustrator of children’s fairy tales whose work he admired.39 Children’s book author Michael Tunnell named the three children in Beauty and the Beastly Children after the three musketeers40—a personal joke with his readers’ parents, who would likely have read the book or seen one of the movies based on it (though the children probably would not). Having no ancient Hebrews/Egyptians or pre-Colombian Americans in his neighborhood, Joseph Smith would have had no close and familiar names to give characters in a novel set in these cultures. Critics have accused Joseph Smith of naming characters based on the sounds found in the names of places he lived (Laman from the name Manchester and Himni from the name Harmony).41 However, there are not enough examples within the text to support such a claim. Critics have also claimed that Joseph Smith named Nephi’s brother Sam after his own brother Samuel Harrison Smith—chiding him for using the short nickname that sounded “modern,” rather than the more Hebraic Samuel. This might have given him away as being a 19th century fiction writer rather than a translator of an ancient text if it had been true. Ironically, however, the name “Sam” has since been attested as an ancient form by having been found on a Hebraic bronze seal from the seventh century BC, the time and place of the Book of Mormon setting. This name can also be read as “Shem,”42 which would not have been a contemporary form in Joseph Smith’s time. There is a Samuel in the Book of Mormon—situated almost 600 years after the time of the earlier Sam—and the shortened “Sam” is not used for him. Thus, what some have considered a slip revealing a personally relevant name and culture has turned out to be yet another link to ancient languages and cultures.

Expectation 2: “Rules” of Authorship In a study of successful fiction writers by Black and Wilcox, it was evident that these authors as well as other authors cited in Black and Wilcox’s review of the literature agreed that selecting names for characters is extremely important, requiring conscious and deliberate choices which may involve a great deal of time and consideration.43 In addition to interviewing successful fiction writers, Black and Wilcox researched onomastic (name) studies and consulted published statements by additional authors on their own considerations and processes. Unless cited as coming from published works, the statements by individual authors in this section were taken from that series of interviews. Care One of the first cardinal rules of authorship is that authors do not select names quickly or carelessly. Literary name specialist Leonard Ashley asserted, “Names

276  Brad Wilcox et al. require serious and sensitive handling.”44 The specific practices of the authors interviewed by Black and Wilcox varied from generating a name based on extensive historical research at the beginning of the writing process (e.g., Chris Crowe and Shannon Hale) to calling a character “X” until a name seemed to emerge from the character development (Chris Stewart). But none suggested that the process is hasty or casual in any way. In contrast, Joseph Smith produced the Book of Mormon in approximately 60 days, and he did not have a great deal of time to carefully and deliberately consider the 337 proper names of the text—names that are far more numerous and more complex and varied (yet internally consistent) than names of any novel or series of novels Black and Wilcox encountered in their study. Drawing names from carefully researched historical contexts or letting names evolve gradually with characters does not appear to have been part of Joseph Smith’s process. Without a computer or even a typewriter, Smith dictated the Book of Mormon to a succession of scribes, putting in the names without even pausing as he spoke. His wife, Emma, one of the scribes, claimed that he had no idea how to pronounce many of the names, but he spelled them all carefully, painstakingly correcting her mistakes. Others who observed the dictation (David Whitmer and Joseph Knight) described the same procedure.45 Apparently Smith placed great emphasis on spelling the names, with little or no regard to sound—something professional authors who are conscious of style and language rhythm would never do. Scholars and historians have studied different Book of Mormon manuscripts and printings and have found some changes in spellings of common words, but no changes made by Joseph Smith himself in the spelling of proper names.46 One might expect haste and such a large number of proper names to be a seedbed for possible errors for fiction writers. But an analysis of Book of Mormon names has revealed remarkable consistency and correlations between name forms in the book and Hebrew etymologies that provide relevant insights into the meaning of the text.47 Considerations Authors who have written and spoken about their fiction writing process have naming practices and restrictions that are relatively similar. If the Book of Mormon is a fictional epic, Joseph Smith might likely have invented the names using the sources and applying the processes and cautions common to successful authors of fiction. During the interviews and literature review conducted by Black and Wilcox, purposeful deliberation was the process most frequently mentioned by authors. In addition, the following considerations were mentioned by all the participating fiction writers and evident in the literature they produced: (1) Fiction writers make names accessible so that readers can easily remember the names and distinguish between characters, (2) they carefully fit names to the personalities, backgrounds, and cultures of the characters, and (3) they consult available sources to find authentic names of different time periods, nationalities, cultures, ethnic groups, etc. A follow-up study by Black and Wilcox compared the application of these practices by the fiction writers to patterns and relationships in Book of Mormon names.48 Results showed that if Joseph Smith wrote the Book of

Book of Mormon Names  277 Mormon, he did so without adhering to conventions and practices that authors and editors commonly use. It might be easy for critics of the Book of Mormon to assume that the reason Joseph Smith didn’t follow these practices was because he was just an untrained writer. But as we shall see, at least some of the names display a remarkable consistency and complexity with the forms and patterns that have been identified in the cultural setting in which the Book of Mormon claims to be situated. Accessibility Contemporary fiction writer Scott Nicholson has used a modern metaphor to express the danger of a poorly chosen character name: “You don’t want the name to throw up a speed bump for the reader.”49 All of the interviewees of Black and Wilcox agreed that names must be accessible. Readers should not have to slow down to pronounce them, differentiate them, remember them, and keep names and characters straight. When Chris Stewart began writing war novels and science fiction, he didn’t worry about similar names or repeated name sounds that might cause character confusion, but his editor told him in no uncertain terms to change this—which he did. Shannon Hale creates entire civilizations and cultures for her award-winning young adult fantasies, but she avoids letting names of two significant characters in a book begin with the same sound, sometimes deliberately staring at her keyboard to recall letters that she still hasn’t used. Joseph Smith did not have editors, and his scribes did not have the experience or the knowledge to suggest that he avoid similar names. So in one of the first episodes in the Book of Mormon Lehi has a nasty kinsman named Laban, a rebellious son named Laman, and a second rebellious son named Lemuel. No editor suggested that there were too many L names in close proximity, though some modern critics have done so. It took more than 150 years for scholars of the future to discover that the names Laman and Lemuel were Arabic pendant names, often given by ancient desert Semites, such as Lehi, to the two eldest sons of a family.50 In addition to Lehi, Laban, Laman, and Lemuel, the Book of Mormon later includes Lamah, Lachoneus, Lamoni, Lehonti, and Limhi. The A names are even more abundant: Two Almas (father and son), three Aarons (unrelated), two Ammons (unrelated), two Amalekis, [plus] Abinadi, Abinadom, Abish, Akish, Amulek, Amulon, Amlici, Amalickiah and Ammoron ([a couple of] nasty brothers), and Antipus (one of the generals who helped defeat them)… [also] Aminidab, Aminadi, Amnihu, and Amnor.51 And these are just two popular letters (sounds). Hugh Nibley would eventually trace ancient Egyptian and Hebrew origins for these names, with traces of Arabic, Hittite, and Greek.52 According to Nibley, a scholar of Middle Eastern history and languages, the variations on the names follow “the correct rules”53 and are justifiable, confusing though they may be. Although it might be argued that Joseph Smith’s limited education prevented him from knowing enough divergent names,

278  Brad Wilcox et al. this explanation ignores the fact that Nibley has claimed that Book of Mormon names are accurate according to the professed originating cultures. Character Fit Ashley comments that in names “we see [words] releasing their magic.” He continues, “Names help create the characters in a work of fiction and connect them with… the readership and its experience, the ‘cultural context’ and the rest of the real frame of reference.”54 Finnish scholar Yvonne Bertills explains the reason: “Proper names are, to some degree, culturally and linguistically specific.”55 Thus, an author must take great care to ensure that the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the name are accurate for the character and the setting. Paul Hoskisson has turned the relationship to focus on the reader: the proper names in the Book of Mormon form a unique and useful tool for the study of the languages of the peoples of that book and make possible new insights for understanding the cultures of the Book of Mormon.56 Thus, an author’s efforts with cultural and linguistic “fit” not only provide credibility and consistency for his or her work but also a cultural and linguistic education for thoughtful readers. Authors who place characters in a culture different from their own (historical, foreign, or imaginary) must be particularly careful to choose names that accurately represent that culture. This often requires research. Chris Crowe, who writes historical novels, reads newspapers of the period to find authentic names and cultural items. For example, one of his characters, a 1950s ignorant but tough southern kid called R. C. Rydell got his name from (1) the cultural practice of uneducated whites going by their initials, (2) the drink R.C. Cola that was popular during the period, and (3) the Rydell brand of athletic shoes loved by kids of that era. Thus, Crowe bound the individual to his adolescent culture. When Shannon Hale decided to set a book in Mongolia, she went to the Internet to find Mongolian root words that could be turned into names. Michael Tunnell studied Arabic history and culture as he created fiction set in the Middle East.57 Name scholars Alleen and Don Nilsen refer to the power of names to keep readers “immersed in the time period.”58 To be an effective fiction writer, Joseph Smith would have had to immerse readers in a culture in which he could not immerse himself. For the Book of Mormon cultures there were no living witnesses, no newspapers or other artifacts, no sources from which to learn words from its languages. Historical works on the ancient Americas for the time of the Book of Mormon narrative appeared considerably later than the book’s publication, and ancient Semitic and Egyptian languages were not extensively known at the time the book appeared. Much later, artifacts would be found, scholars would study ancient American cultures, and thus words and names would be discovered, but Joseph Smith’s time and culture had not produced these sources. Those who claim that Joseph Smith is the author of the Book of Mormon have difficulty explaining how he was able to create character names that future

Book of Mormon Names  279 emerging evidence59 would eventually suggest to be culturally and linguistically accurate—situated in a culture no one at his time understood. Ancient Hebrew and Egyptian word roots that have been shown to be consistent with Book of Mormon names had not yet been found written on ancient papyri and engraved on clay tablets and round bullae (seals). Another 150 years would be required for such confirming artifacts to be recovered from Egypt’s Elephantine region, a common refuge area for those who had left Jerusalem near the time Lehi and his family reportedly fled from this city.60 It would be very difficult for an author to select names based upon a projection of the future discoveries of artifacts and language knowledge. No novelist we know would undertake it, particularly in two months’ time. Multiple Sources Fantasy writer Brandon Mull confesses, “When you have to come up with name after name, you just can’t do it on your own without them sounding alike.”61 Even if research is not required, fiction writers look for name inspiration in a variety of sources. J. K. Rowling named an arrogant, showy, blowhard professor Gilderoy (from the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable) Lockhart (from a war memorial). “The two together said everything I wanted about the character.”62 Some authors go to newspaper headlines or obituaries. Brandon Mull got the character name John Dart from a tombstone and the prison name Zzyzx from a road sign. “That has to be the last word possible in the English language… dead last.” Thus, serendipity provides wonderful names. Dean Hughes, who has published more than 80 novels, likes to use telephone books—mixing and re-matching first names and surnames. Joseph Smith did not have these resources. The telephone and its accompanying lists had not been invented. Ancient Hebrew, Egyptian, and Arabic names did not appear in the local newspapers or the cemeteries. The names Zoram and Zeniff are at the end of the (modern English) alphabet, but they did not appear on road or trail markers in Joseph Smith’s community. The many names in the Book of Mormon seem to violate the most common rules for choosing fictional names. They do not demonstrate accessibility, character fit, or extensive research that an author or editor would commonly display. Does Joseph Smith’s total disregard for the “rules” for naming characters indicate he was a careless craftsman, or does it indicate he was a careful translator of a record filled with authentic names which were not his inventions? Coming up with 188 unique names would have been an overwhelming task for any author— especially for someone with little formal education or world travel. Even if someone were to suggest that inventing that number of names in a severely limited time frame might have been possible, the consistency with language patterns unknown in Joseph Smith’s time makes this unlikely. If the Book of Mormon is a clever work of fiction, it is reasonable to expect that Joseph Smith would have chosen character names in the ways that clever fiction writers do. However, a study by Black and Wilcox63 demonstrates that he did not.

280  Brad Wilcox et al.

Expectation 3: Properties and Probabilities Exploring ways in which fiction authors reveal themselves through the names they choose for their characters and noting the conscious processes they go through in making name choices have demonstrated many ways in which Book of Mormon names differ from those of mainstream fiction. Joseph Smith (and millions of his worldwide followers for over more than 190 years) have regarded the book as a translation of an ancient record and thus considered its names to be authentic ones belonging to actual, historical individuals, not merely names invented by Smith, his scribes, or contemporaries. The studies we have cited lend some support to this position. However, self-identification and characteristic naming practices are qualitative matters—anecdotal in nature and not furnishing firm statistical evidence. To explore a quantitative dimension, Wilcox and Black joined with colleagues in researching the sounds within names.64 Various authors’ use of specific words, phonemes (sounds), and phonotactics (sound patterns) can be counted and graphed in ways that personal and cultural factors cannot. These calculations can be used to compare author-invented names phoneme by phoneme to lists of authentically occurring names, such as those recorded on 19th century census records. If Joseph Smith was a fiction writer, the Book of Mormon names could be expected to show the kinds of phonemic patterns that fiction writers have produced. They would show similar patterns across all the names, since the names would have been invented or chosen by a single author (as occurs in fictional works with one author). If he was a translator who took the names from an authentic record, the names could be expected to show phonotactic patterns and probabilities closer to those of authentic name collections. Thus, the patterns of the names should differ widely, since they represented a variety of origins. A study by Wilcox, Brown, Baker-Smemoe, Black, and Eggett65 compared phonemic characteristics of names in the Book of Mormon to those of two fiction writers—J.R.R. Tolkien, a highly skilled linguist and expert on a variety of languages as well as a consummate fiction writer, and Solomon Spaulding, a little-known writer from Joseph Smith’s time period who wrote a story set in a place similar to that described in the Book of Mormon. All three naming patterns were then compared to the authentic naming characteristics found in the US census lists from the Smith-Spaulding era. Phonotactic Patterns Authentic naming systems are composed of names with many different origins. For example, among the most popular male names of the 20th and 21st century in the United States are Biblical (likely Hebrew —Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew), older English (William, Ryan, Edward), Greek (Christopher, Nicholas), and French (Alan, Adrian) names, with new names constantly being added from other languages (Jose, Muhammad).66 But in fiction the author is the sole creator, or at least the sole selecting agent of personal names.

Book of Mormon Names  281 For several decades, researchers have noted that authors can be identified by the words they use and the ways they put them together in sentences.67 Such patterns have sometimes been referred to as wordprints, because like fingerprints they can reveal an individual’s identity.68 In fact, an author can be identified based on his or her use of function words alone.69 These findings suggest that authors have certain tendencies toward using particular words and syntactic structures. Wilcox and colleagues examined whether writers who make up or select character names have a comparable tendency to use specific phonemes in particular patterns over and over again (phonoprints).70 If Joseph Smith had composed the Book of Mormon, his phonoprint, similar to sounds in his name and references to his culture, could be expected to be all over it. Name Sources for Comparison Solomon Spaulding (1761–1816, also spelled “Spalding”), an ordained Congre­ gationalist preacher, wrote a fiction piece titled Manuscript Story about a group from Rome that landed on the American Continent and intermingled with the Native Americans. A few critics have tried to discredit Joseph Smith by claiming that the Book of Mormon was plagiarized from Manuscript Story, because both discuss migrations to pre-Columbian America, rendered from ancient manuscripts. Unfortunately, Manuscript Story was lost for many years, so a direct comparison could not be made. Spaulding’s relatives claimed that some of the names from the Book of Mormon were lifted directly from Spaulding’s manuscript. When the manuscript was later discovered in 1884, it was found to contain no names in the Book of Mormon—or any other significant similarities, for that matter. Later John L. Hilton used wordprint analyses to demonstrate that the author of the Spaulding manuscript had no significant commonalities with the author or authors of the Book of Mormon.71 Because of the plagiarism allegation and the wordprint analysis, Manuscript Story seemed to be a logical manuscript for the phonemic comparison of names. J.R.R.Tolkien was chosen as an author for comparison because of his linguistic sophistication and because of the character names he created for civilizations perhaps even more varied than the pre-Columbian American continent. A notable linguist and professor of Anglo Saxon, Tolkien was well acquainted with medieval and modern versions of Germanic and Celtic languages. He based some of his characters’ names on modern languages (e.g., Arwen, Boromir, and Celeborn), claimed others to be translation equivalents (e.g., Treebeard, Skinbark, and Leaflock), and developed others based on Old English (e.g., Frodo comes from the Old English word frod, meaning “wise”).72 We assumed that if anyone could create a system of names as variable as authentic ones, he could. Throughout the 1800s, both male and female given names were gathered and reported on the US Census, but because of the prevalence of male single-word names in the books examined in this study, only male first names on the census were used. And because the other sources we looked at had so few female names, we deleted them from the comparisons we made as well. For our study, we selected the 100 most common male names from the 19th century,73 and identified their origins using the Dictionary of First Names.74 These

282  Brad Wilcox et al. names derived from several languages, including but not limited to Hebrew (36 names), Germanic languages other than English (22), English (16), Latin (11), Greek (9), French (4), Aramaic (1), and Phoenician (1). Some of the top-100 male names in the 19th century include names still common today: William, James, Joseph, Thomas, David, Robert, Henry, and Samuel. Others are still used but less often: George, Asa, Earl, Roy, and Hugh. Study Parameters To compare the phonoprints of these authors, the research involved 419 male names: 94 from the Book of Mormon; 55 from Manuscript Story; 181 from Tolkien’s The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Silmarillion, along with the 89 most used male names of the 19th century for comparison. How these numbers were determined is explained below. As Joseph Smith’s pronunciation of the Book of Mormon names was not documented, the study consulted pronunciation guides published in the 1920 edition and the 1981 edition of the Book of Mormon.75 Out of the 124 unique Book of Mormon personal male names (126 minus the two female names), 68 disagreed across the two guides. However, most of these differences were in the use of the schwa (/ə/) vowel, typically used in unstressed syllables as in the first syllable in above. The 1920 edition described the words as they would be produced in hyperacticulated speech. For example, the name Zoram in the 1920 edition was transcribed as /zoræm/ (with the final vowel pronounced as in the word man), whereas the 1981 edition transcribed the same word as/zorəm/, as in the first syllable in above. The same phenomenon occurs when hyperarticualting the word human. Since the 1981 edition recorded how the names are actually spoken in American English (using a transcription system that can be applied to names from the other books we are examining), we felt that these pronunciations would be the best ones to use in our analysis. Spaulding provided no pronunciation guide, so we created separate pronunciation guides based on English and Latin pronunciations, since Spaulding’s characters allegedly migrated from Rome. The phonotactic probabilities of both pronunciation sets were similar, the primary difference being vowel pronunciations. For example, the English version of the name Bambo from Spaulding’s manuscript is /bæmbo/and the Latin version is /bambo/. This change does not alter the frequency with which one sound is used: either the sound /æ/or the sound/a/is used in 54% of the names (in the Spaulding manuscript). Since our statistical analyses determined that the pronunciations were parallel in terms of probability, we chose to include only the English. To determine how Tolkien’s names were pronounced, we used a website which transcribed names based on audio recordings of Tolkien reading his own books.76 Pronunciations of the 19th century male names are commonly known. A further consideration that influenced how we set up our comparison was that since none of Spaulding’s 55 names was shorter than four phonemes or longer than eight, we only included equivalent names from the other sources. This left us with

Book of Mormon Names  283 94 of the original 124 unique personal male names of the Book of Mormon, 181 of the 197 Tolkien names, and 89 of the top-100 male names from the 19th century. Phoneme Identity and Frequency Wilcox et al.77 hypothesized that authentic names would have more variability in phonemes than invented fictional names, as no single individual’s sound preferences would be consciously or subconsciously involved. Two methods were involved in analysis. First, the researchers looked at whether the 19th century male names, and the names from Tolkien, the Book of Mormon, and Spaulding differed in the variety of consonants and vowels found in the first four phoneme positions (since all names used in the study had at least four phonemes). For example, in the Tolkien names, the first sound in the name Bilbo was the first sound in 33 (18%) of the total 197 names. If a particular author had a bias for using the same sounds over and over, the author’s two most used phonemes in each of the first four ordinal positions would account for a larger percentage of the total number of phonemes for his fictional names than would occur in authentic naming groups like the 19th century census list. For that reason, we compared the two most common phonemes for each of the first four positions in the name for each of the four name groups (19th century names, Tolkien, Book of Mormon, Spaulding). Table 13.1 shows the two most common phonemes in the first ordinal position for each of the four naming groups. Note the relatively high percentages for Spaulding and Tolkien names compared to the others. To determine whether these differences were statistically significant, we compared the two most common phonemes in each of the first four phoneme positions in a series of chi square analyses. These analyses found that the 19th century names differed from both the Spaulding and Tolkien names, but not from the Table 13.1  First and Second Most Common Phonemes in the First Position for the Four Comparison Name Collections Phoneme Spaulding’s story (n=55) /h/ as in Harry /l/ as in Larry Tolkien’s books (n=181) /b/ as in Barry /ɛ/ as in Ed 19th century census (n=89) /h/ as in Harry /dʒ/ as in Jerry Book of Mormon (n=94) /æ/ as in cat or black /m/ as in Matthew

Examples

Percent

Hambo, Habelan, Hamul, Hdadokam, Hakoon, Hamback, Hamelick, Hamko Lasko, Lambon

39

Balin, Balbo, Bilbo, Bandobras, Beor, Beril, Bolg, Bombur, Boromir Elrond, Elwe, Eomer, Elendil

51

Hiram, Harvey, Herbert, Herman, Harrison Joseph, James, Jesse, Jeremiah

10 5

Amulek, Amulon, Amlici, Ammoron, Amnor Mormon, Moroni, Mosiah, Mulek

14 13

34

18

284  Brad Wilcox et al. Book of Mormon names, in the amount of phoneme diversity. In particular, the 19th century names differed from the Spaulding names on three of the phoneme positions (first, second, and third) and from the Tolkien names on two of the phoneme positions (first and fourth). By contrast, the 19th century names did not differ from the Book of Mormon names in any position. In other words, the Book of Mormon names had the same amount of variability in the first four phoneme positions as the authentic 19th century names. This is not to say that the 19th century names and the Book of Mormon names used the same phonemes or were the same names, but that the 19th century names and the Book of Mormon names showed an equal amount of phoneme diversity and complexity—meaning that they did not use the same phonemes over and over again and suggesting that they came from a variety of cultural origins. By contrast, the names created by Spaulding and Tolkien, although both authors did not use the same phonemes, were similar in that there was less variation in the number of different phonemes that each used. Joseph Smith had considerably less formal education than Tolkien and probably less than Spaulding, as well as much less time for craft and creativity. However, if he was creating names for a culture that was to show no influence of his own, he seems to have been more skillful than either of them. Phonotactic Probability The second method we used in phoneme variability analysis is related to phonotactic probability. When Brandon Mull saw Zzyzx on a road sign and chose it as the name for a demon prison in his Fablehaven fantasy series, he could be fairly confident that he wouldn’t later find the same name used frequently in other fiction.78 In the English language, the sequence z y z x rarely occurs outside of the imagination, and there is not really much that seems to fit with it (except demons perhaps). Languages have different phonotactics—sound patterns and combinations—some that occur frequently and some that do not, and the frequent combinations occur naturally and sound “right” to native speakers of those languages. The probability in a given language of sounds occurring where they do in specific words is referred to as phonotactic probability. The term was coined by Vitevitch, Luce, Charles-Luce, and Kemmerer79 to designate how probable it is that a particular phoneme will be found in a specific word position. For example, the first consonants in the words ball and dog have a probability of occurring in English words in the initial position 5.12% and 5.18% of the time, respectively. They occur more often in the initial position than the consonants that begin the words whale (2.03%) and you (less than 1%). Moreover, the first sound in ball is more common (5.12%) in that first position than it is in the second position in a word (as in abbot) (less than 1%). The sounds that commonly occur around a specific sound are called its neighborhood density. These factors can be measured and compared statistically. Invented names that are high in phonotactic probability and neighborhood density are closely tied to an author’s native language, even if the novel is set in a completely different cultural context. When the language referred to is English, we refer to

Book of Mormon Names  285 English-like words and names. However, we are not presenting evidence of origin. Rather, we are using this measure of how similar the names are to English to determine the degree of variability. Measurement of Phonotactic Probability To examine and compare the English-like phonemic structure of the fictional names by novice Spaulding and expert Tolkien with names in the authentic list and the Book of Mormon, we began with their phonotactic probability. These phonotactic probabilities can be found using a calculator created by Vitevitch and Luce (https://calculator.ku.edu/phonotactic/about). This calculator compares the target word, name, etc. to a frequency database for standard American English words.80 It reports the relative probability that each phoneme (not the spelling) in the word will occur in its location in the word, as well as the probability it will occur in any word in a position next to the particular sounds that precede and follow it, thus showing the probability for the whole word. For the word talk (/tɑk/), the calculator shows how probable it is that a word would start with the sound /t/and be followed by the sound /ɑ/ in the second position, how likely a word would have/ɑ/ in the second position and/k/following it, and then the overall probability of all of those particular sounds occurring next to each other in that order. The neighborhood density of a word is part of its probability as well. Words with a lot of common neighbors (e.g., bad, bat, bid, big) score higher on the probability calculator than words with few neighbors (jaguar, chisel). Both neighborhood density and phoneme location probability are determined by the calculator comparing the target word to existing calculations performed with a corpus of words collected by Kucera and Francis.81 Phonotactic probability does not measure how commonly a word or name is used. The word talk (1.15%) could be used more frequently than the word ball (1.18%), but the overall phonotactic probability of ball is greater because phonotactic probability deals only with how common or uncommon the sounds are in the positions where they occur. Joseph Smith spoke only English at the time the Book of Mormon was published; Spaulding’s story involves Romans who would have spoken Latin, but Spaulding himself only spoke English. Both would probably be expected to invent “English-like” names. Tolkien was fluent in many languages, including some that he invented himself (published posthumously by his son). If Joseph Smith invented the names in the Book of Mormon, one would expect those names to be more closely tied (albeit unconsciously) to the sound and usage probabilities of his native language and thus be more “English-like” than would names created by the highly educated, linguistically talented Tolkien. Phonotactic Calculator Results Using the Phonotactic Probability Calculator, we performed two analyses of how the four name groups in the study differed in the phonotactic probabilities of their names, more specifically, the following: (1) the probability of the first four

286  Brad Wilcox et al. phonemes in the names and (2) the phoneme probability related to differing lengths of words.82 We hypothesized that the authentic 19th century names would show greater variance in phonemic probabilities than would Tolkien’s and Spaulding’s fictional names and that the Book of Mormon names would pattern more like the authentic names than the fictional ones. As stated above, the rationale for this hypothesis was that names created or chosen by a single author would be expected to be more similar in their phonotactic probabilities (and more English-like) than names that developed from a variety of origins within a natural language population (whether ancient or recent). Variance in Phonotactic Probabilities with the First Four Phonemes The first of the two phonotactic probability analyses examined the variance in phonotactic probability averages for the different name groups at each of the first four phoneme positions, as shown in Figure 13.1. The authentic 19th century names, Book of Mormon names, and Tolkien’s names all showed fairly similar patterns, with variances in phonotactic probabilities that were larger in the longer names: The 19th century names, Tolkien names, and Book of Mormon names did not differ statistically from each other and increased in phonemic probability as they increased in length. The Spaulding names, however, did not follow this pattern, but in contrast showed low variance in phonotactic probabilities across all phoneme positions, and were statistically different from the other three name groups.

Figure 13.1 The Variances of English Phonemic Probabilities for Each of the Four Name Groups at Each of the Phoneme Ordinal Positions.

Book of Mormon Names  287 Probability Spread Across Four Phonemic Lengths Our second of the two phonotactic probability analyses tested the phonotactic probabilities of names of various phonemic lengths. We assumed that an author constructing an artificial naming system would use the same phonotactic processes regardless of name length. In contrast, we supposed that naturally developing naming practices, with names chosen by people from varying origins and backgrounds, would involve a more heterogeneous set of phonotactic structures. The phonotactic probabilities of individual phonemes in natural naming practice would, therefore, be expected to vary more across name lengths. We calculated the mean phonotactic probability for each of five name lengths (from a length of four phonemes to a length of eight) for each of the four naming groups, as well as the standard error of the mean (i.e., how the five-length means deviate from each other) for each name source at each phoneme position. Figure 13.2 shows the standard errors of the means for each of the four name groups at each phoneme position. The standard errors were highest for the 19th century census names, and there was no significant difference in standard errors between these names and the Book of Mormon names, both of which were significantly higher than those for the Spaulding and Tolkien author-created fictional names. Thus, the Book of Mormon phonotactic probabilities were more consistent with those from the natural naming practices. In terms of phonemic probabilities, the Book of Mormon names patterned more like the authentic names from a century of census recording than they did with names from fictional works. This short analysis of the phoneme identity, frequency, and phonotactic probabilities of the four name groups showed that Spaulding’s names differed from

Figure 13.2 Standard Errors of Mean English Phonemic Probabilities as a Measure of Spread Across the Five Word Lengths for Each of the Four Name Groups at Each of the Four Phoneme Ordinal Positions.

288  Brad Wilcox et al. authentic naming systems across all analyses. Spaulding was shown to have used similar phonemes in many of his names, not even varying the position in which he used them in names. In fact, the Spaulding names differed substantially from 19th century names across all three analyses of phonemic variability (the analysis of phoneme identity and frequency, and the two analyses of phonotactic probability). To a smaller degree, Tolkien’s names also differed from authentic 19th century names across two of the three analyses. In the first of these analyses, Tolkien used the same phonemes across many names (Bilbo, Boromir, Bori, Beorn, etc.), and in the third analysis his names did not vary in their phonotactic probability, even as the names became longer. By contrast, the Book of Mormon names patterned similarly to the 19th century names on all three analyses. In other words, the names in the Book of Mormon were more like the naturally occurring naming system included in this study than the two systems of fictional names used in this study. Results of phoneme identity, frequency, and phonotactic probability indicated that while it is possible to invent or select names based on real and created languages, as Spaulding and Tolkien did, such names seem to follow patterns that are significantly different from those of naturally occurring names, which come from a variety of cultural origins. Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon names were authentic from a variety of cultural origins (which he referred to as Jaredite, Nephite, Lamanite, Mulekite). The fact that these names were found to have phonemic probabilities more like a compilation of authentic names than like two authors’ fictional names is noteworthy, suggesting that they may have come from authentic naming practices, not from a single author. Subsequent research that has looked at Tolkien’s character names, this time looking at names “as whole units” (not just in their use of individual phonemes or syllable structure), has also found that Tolkien’s character names displayed his own phonoprint and “do not appear to have the variance seen in personal names that come from a variety of sources.”83 We may also consider the results of a separate study that compared Tolkien’s character names with the names in the Book of Mormon and found that in contrast to the names in Tolkien’s writings, with the names in the Book of Mormon, “a single author’s phonoprint does not emerge.”84 It is also significant that this latter study found that even as Tolkien’s writings aim to portray multiple cultures within his different works, “the Book of Mormon name groups were significantly more diverse than Tolkien’s.”85 Of course, more research is needed using broader samples of both fictional and authentic names.

Conclusion This chapter has examined Book of Mormon names through analyses of varying disciplines and approaches, ranging from self-disclosure, through literary practice, and finally to phonemic analysis. Answers to questions about the source of the Book of Mormon are obscured by controversy and emotion to the extent that no form of evidence or explanation is going to satisfy everyone. Each analysis in this chapter seems to have taken us further and further away from the common claim that the Book of Mormon was written as a work of

Book of Mormon Names  289 fiction by Joseph Smith. The expectation that Joseph Smith as a fiction writer would reveal himself in unconscious personal sound associations or cultural allusions embodied within the names of the characters of the Book of Mormon is challenged by our findings. In fact, Joseph Smith’s relationships (personal or cultural) with the Book of Mormon names seem to us more like that of a translator reporting names rather than a fiction writer inventing them. Unlike the way a fiction writer would develop names, Joseph Smith didn’t engage in purposeful invention or deliberation as he dictated names. As the foremost authority on Book of Mormon textual analysis notes, Joseph was careful with names, spelling them clearly to his scribes; and he never changed a name. He never paused before dictating a name—whether he attempted to pronounce it or just started in with the spelling.86 In addition, Joseph would not have had access to the historical and cultural information to generate such names. Furthermore, he did not worry about distinguishing the names from each other in order to make them more accessible to readers. His care seemed to be in conveying names rather than in creating or selecting them. Finally, we experimented with the more precise lens of phonemic analysis. Knowing from previous studies that authors of fiction tend to choose words according to individual identifiable patterns (wordprints) and seem to create or select names with discernable phonemic patterns (phonoprints), we examined phonemic patterns in Book of Mormon names, considering their variability and their probabilities of occurrence. On the assumption that naturally occurring names in a population, with their variety of origins, would have greater variety in phoneme use and phonotactic probability, we compared these properties of Book of Mormon names to names from three other groups: author-invented names from one of Joseph Smith’s contemporaries (Solomon Spaulding), author-invented or selected names from an author highly educated and gifted in linguistics (J.R.R. Tolkien), and naturally occurring names taken from the census records of the Smith-Spaulding era. We hypothesized that if the Book of Mormon names were created by Joseph Smith, they would have variations and probabilities comparable to the other name sets invented by single authors. However, if the names had occurred naturally in genuine cultures described in the Book of Mormon, the names would have phonotactic relationships more like the naturally occurring census-recorded names. This lens showed the Book of Mormon name corpus as characteristic of naturally occurring rather than author-invented names, leading to the conclusion that perhaps it is not unreasonable to view these names as forms preserved in translation, as Joseph Smith claimed, rather than inventions on his part. The findings we report here are still preliminary. More research must be conducted to examine further the influences of name letter effect as well as naming practices of many more authors than we have included in this chapter. Similarly, many more collections of fictional and authentic names must be studied before conclusions can be drawn with confidence. Nevertheless, to us the Book of Mormon names comprise a collection that defies expectations.

290  Brad Wilcox et al.

Appendix 126 Book of Mormon Personal Names and Sample References (All Male Except as Indicated with Asterisk) Abinadi (Mosiah 17:1) Abinadom (Omni 1:10) *Abish (Alma 19:16) Aha (Alma 16:5) Ahah (Ether 11:10) Akish (Ether 9:1) Amaleki (Omni 1:12) Amalickiah (Alma 47:1) Amaron (Omni 1:3) Aminadi (Alma 10:2) Amlici (Alma 2:1) Ammah (Alma 21:11) Ammaron (4 Nephi 1:47) Ammoron (Alma 54:1) Amnigaddah (Ether 1:14) Amnor (Alma 2:22) Amoron (Moroni 9:7) Amulek (Alma 14:2) Amulon (Mosiah 24:1) Antiomno (Alma 20:4) Antionah (Alma 12:20) Antionum (Alma 43:5) Antipus (Alma 56:9) Cezoram (Helaman 6:15) Chemish (Omni 1:8) Cohor (Ether 7:15) Com (Ether 10:31) Corianton (Alma 63:10) Coriantor (Ether 11:18) Coriantum (Ether 9:21) Coriantumr (Ether 14:3) Corihor (Ether 7:3) Corom (Ether 10:16) Cumenihah (Mormon 6:14) Emer (Ether 9:14)

Book of Mormon Names  291 Emron (Moroni 9:2) Enos (Enos 1:1) Ethem (Ether 11:11) Ether (Ether 1:2) Gadianton (Helaman 2:4) Gid (Alma 58:16) Giddianhi (3 Nephi 4:5) Giddonah (Alma 10:2) Gidgiddonah (Mormon 6:13) Gidgiddoni (3 Nephi 3:18) Gilgah (Ether 6:14) Gilgal (Mormon 6:14) Hagoth (Alma 63:5) Hearthom (Ether 10:29) Helam (Mosiah 23:19) Helaman (Alma 59:3) Helorum (Mosiah 1:2) Hem (Mosiah 7:6) Himni (Alma 23:1) *Isabel (Alma 39:3) Jacom (Ether 6:14) Jarom (Jarom 1:1) Jeneum (Mormon 6:14) Josh (Mormon 6:14) Kib (Ether 7:3) Kim (Ether 10:13) Kimnor (Ether 8:10) Kishkumen (Helaman 2:3) Korihor (Alma 30:12) Kumen (3 Nephi 19:4) Kumenonhi (3 Nephi 19:4) Lachoneus (3 Nephi 3:1) Lamah (Mormon 6:14) Laman (1 Nephi 2:5) Lamoni (Alma 20:1) Lehonti (Alma 47:10) Lemuel (1 Nephi 2:5) Lib (Ether 14:10)

292  Brad Wilcox et al. Limhah (Mormon 6:14) Limher (Alma 2:22) Limhi (Mosiah 21:1) Luram (Moroni 9:2) Mahah (Ether 6:14) Manti (Alma 58:1) Mathoni (3 Nephi 19:4) Mathonihah (3 Nephi 19:4) Morianton (Alma 50:25) Mormon (Mormon 1:1) Moron (Ether 11:14) Moroni (Moroni 1:1) Moronihah (Helaman 1:25) Mosiah (Mosiah 1:2) Mulek (Alma 52:2) Muloki (Alma 21:11) Nehor (Alma 1:15) Nephi (1 Nephi 1:1) Nephihah (Alma 59:5) Neum (1 Nephi 19:10) Omer (Ether 8:1) Omner (Alma 31:6) Omni (Omni 1:1) Orihah (Ether 6:14) Paanchi (Helaman 1:3) Pachus (Alma 62:6) Pacumeni (Helaman 1:3) Pagag (Ether 6:25) Pahoran (Alma 62:1) Riplakish (Ether 10:4) Seantum (Helaman 9:26) Seezoram (Helaman 9:23) Shared (Ether 13:23) Shemnon (3 Nephi 19:4) Sherem (Jacob 7:1) Shez (Ether 10:1) Shiblom (Ether 11:4) Shiblon (Alma 63:1)

Book of Mormon Names  293 Shiz (Ether 15:4) Shule (Ether 7:7) Teancum (Alma 52:1) Teomner (Alma 58:16) Tubaloth (Helaman 1:16) Zarahemla (Helaman 1:15) Zeezrom (Alma 11:21) Zemnarihah (3 Nephi 4:17) Zenephi (Moroni 9:16) Zeniff (Mosiah 9:1) Zenock (Alma 33:15) Zenos (Alma 33:3) Zerahemnah (Alma 44:1) Zeram (Alma 2:22) Zoram (1 Nephi 4:35)

Notes 1 Givens, By the Hand of Mormon. 2 Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 314. 3 In the Book of Mormon, a prophet named Lehi led his family from Jerusalem to the Americas, where they eventually gave rise to two separate and competing civilizations: Nephites and Lamanites. The Nephites eventually merged with another group, the Mulekites, that independently from Lehi’s family and at approximately the same time had also traveled to the Americas from Jerusalem. Thus, with regard to the historical claims of the Book of Mormon, it would be relevant to compare the Lehite-Mulekite names with Hebrew names. Another group, the Jaredites, were a much earlier and apparently non-Hebrew group that also traveled to the Americas and are discussed in the Book of Mormon. Their language would not be expected to display similarities with Hebrew. 4 Hoskisson, “Book of Mormon Names”; cf. Hoskisson, “Introduction to the Relevance”; and Matthews, Who’s Who in the Book of Mormon. 5 Among the 126 Book of Mormon personal names are six forms that occur in the Bible (see Holy Bible) but are not used there as personal names. In three cases, they occur in the Bible as names of places (Gilgal, Helam, and ammah, part of the place name Methegammah). In two cases, they occur in the Bible merely as English words that are homonymous with Book of Mormon names (hem and omer), and in one case the form is an exclamation (Aha). 6 Hoskisson, “Book of Mormon Names,” 1: 186. In a more recent development, we may note the publication of Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names & Foreign Words in the Book of Mormon. 7 Cf. Tvedtnes, “Hebrew Names in the Book of Mormon”; and Tvedtnes, “Names of People: Book of Mormon.” See also some more recent work by Bowen, including “Striking While the Irony is Hot.” 8 Nibley, “Book of Mormon as a Mirror.” Cf. Nibley, Lehi in the Desert; and Reynolds, “Nephite Proper Names.” 9 See 1 Nephi 1:2 (in the Book of Mormon). 10 Pledger, “The W and I.”

294  Brad Wilcox et al. 11 Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 314. 12 Card, “The Book of Mormon—Artifact or Artifice?” 20. 13 Prince, “Psychological Tests.” 14 Clay, Becoming Literate, 91–102. See also Levin and Ehri, “Young Children’s Ability.” 15 Pence Turnbull et al., “Theoretical Explanations,” 1759. 16 Koole and Pelham, “On the Nature of Implicit Self-Esteem,” 99. 17 Ibid., 100. 18 Ibid., 100. 19 Nuttin, “Narcissism Beyond Gestalt.” 20 Nelson and Simmons, “Moniker Maladies,” 1110–11. 21 Nuttin, “Narcissism Beyond Gestalt,” 359. 22 Jones et al., “Name Letter Preferences.” 23 Anseel and Duyck, “Unconscious Applicants.” See also Nelson and Simmons, “Moniker Maladies.” 24 Pelham et al., “Why Susie Sells Seashells.” 25 Koole and Pelham, “On the Nature of Implicit Self-Esteem.” 26 Maurer and Futrell, “Criminal Monickers.” 27 Nuttin, “Narcissism Beyond Gestalt.” 28 Koole and Pelham, “On the Nature of Implicit Self-Esteem.” 29 Hughes, Interview with Brad Wilcox. 30 Some speakers may pronounce this letter in Joseph as /s/. As stated above, however, even fewer names in the Book of Mormon have this sound (1.7%). 31 We assumed that any digraph represented the sound /θ/ (as in thing). However, this digraph can represent several sounds in English, including /t/ (as in Thomas) or /ð/ (as in the). Therefore, it is possible that the sound /θ/ can be found in fewer names than seven. 32 Black et al., “Absence of ‘Joseph Smith’.” 33 See Peterson, “Defending the Faith.” 34 Bertills, Beyond Identification, 46; see also the argument on page 47, which says that if there is no semantic context, “the phonetic aspects become prominent.” 35 Card, “Book of Mormon—Artifact or Artifice?” 22. 36 Shapiro, J.K. Rowling, 24. 37 Nilsen and Nilsen, “Naming Tropes and Schemes,” 60–68. 38 Interview with Brandon Mull, cited in Black and Wilcox, “Sense and Serendipity,” 160. 39 Email from Orson Scott Card, quoted in Nilsen and Nilsen, Names and Naming, 97. 40 Tunnell, Beauty and the Beastly Children. 41 Prince, “Psychological Tests,” 386–87. A more recent attempt by some critics to link Book of Mormon names to contemporary names in Joseph Smith’s day can be seen in Johnson and Johnson’s article, “A Comparison of The Book of Mormon and The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain.” In their article, they compare the Book of Mormon with Gilbert J. Hunt’s earlier history, The Late War between the United States and Great Britain and suggest that Hunt’s book influenced Joseph Smith’s work with the Book of Mormon, including similarities in its names. As noted by Callister in A Case for the Book of Mormon, Johnson and Johnson see a significant similarity between the place names Moravian Town and the Book of Mormon person Morianton, and between the person Tecumseh and the Book of Mormon Teancum. Callister, who challenges Johnson and Johnson’s view, lists all the names of people in The Late War and finds no credible connection to Book of Mormon names (see Callister, Case for the Book of Mormon, 78–79, and his endnote #8 on pp. 86–87). 42 Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested,” 51. 43 Black and Wilcox, “Sense and Serendipity.” This article relied on interviews with Michael O. Tunnell, Chris Crowe, Shannon Hale, and Brandon Mull. Other personal communications took place in 2010 with the authors Chris Stewart and Dean Hughes. 44 Ashley, “Mudpies which Endure,” 28.

Book of Mormon Names  295 45 Maxwell, “By the Gift and Power of God,” 8; Skousen, “Towards a Critical Edition,” 51–52. 46 See Skousen, “Towards a Critical Edition.” It’s important to note that there were some spelling changes later because of a few inconsistencies in the spellings of some names that occurred in the earliest editions of the Book of Mormon, but Skousen shows that the manuscript evidence seems to indicate these resulted from scribal errors. 47 For some examples, see Bowen, “Striking While the Irony is Hot.” 48 Black and Wilcox, “188 Unexplainable Names.” 49 Nicholson, “What’s in a Name?” 50 Nibley, Approach to the Book of Mormon, 291–92. 51 Black and Wilcox, “188 Unexplainable Names,” 123. 52 Nibley, Approach to the Book of Mormon, 281–94. 53 Ibid., 281. 54 Ashley, “Mudpies which Endure,” 11–12. 55 Bertills, Beyond Identification, 17. 56 Hoskisson, “Introduction to the Relevance,” 2: 128; cf. Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Nephi.” 57 Examples from interviews discussed in Black and Wilcox, “Sense and Serendipity,” 157–59. 58 Nilsen and Nilsen, Names and Naming, 47. 59 Cf. Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested”; Tvedtnes, “What’s in a Name?”; Tvedtnes and Roper, “Further Evidence”; Roper and Tvedtnes, “One Small Step.” 60 Tvedtnes et al., “Book of Mormon Names Attested”; see also Nibley, Approach to the Book of Mormon, 285. 61 Brandon Mull, quoted in Black and Wilcox, “Sense and Serendipity,” 158. 62 As cited in Fraser, Conversations with J.K. Rowling, 39. 63 Black and Wilcox, “188 Unexplainable Names.” 64 Wilcox et al., “Identifying Authors by Phonoprints.” 65 Wilcox et al., “Comparing Phonemic Patterns.” 66 Hanks and Hodges, Dictionary of First Names, x; cf. also x–xxiii. 67 Hilton, “On Verifying Wordprint Studies”; Morton, Literary Detection; Schaalje et al., “Comparative Power.” 68 Holmes, “Authorship Attribution”; Zheng et al., “Authorship Analysis.” 69 Garcia and Martin, “Function Words.” 70 Wilcox et al., “Identifying Authors by Phonoprints.” 71 Hilton, “Some Book of Mormon ‘Wordprint’ Measurements”; cf. also Hilton, “On Verifying Book of Mormon Wordprints/Authors”; and Schaalje et al., “Comparative Power.” 72 Cf. Baker-Smemoe et al., “Naming Practices.” 73 Galbi, “Popular Given Names.” See also Brown et al., Multivariate Analysis, 233–35; Erickson et al., “Convergent Multivariate Graphics.” 74 Hanks and Hodges, Dictionary of First Names. This source separates English from other Germanic languages. 75 Woodger, “How the Guide to English Pronunciation”; and Huchel, “Deseret Alphabet.” 76 “Lord of the Rings Pronunciation Guide.” 77 Wilcox et al., “Comparing Phonemic Patterns.” 78 Black and Wilcox, “Sense & Serendipity,” 160. 79 Vitevitch et al., “Phonotactics and Syllable Stress.” 80 Kucera and Francis, Computational Analysis. Although this corpus is older and smaller than most of the corpora of today, it is the one on which the phonotactic calculator was created. 81 Kucera and Francis, Computational Analysis. 82 Wilcox et al., “Comparing Phonemic Patterns.”

296  Brad Wilcox et al. 83 Wilcox et al., “Tolkien’s Phonoprint,” 139, 142. 84 Wilcox et al., “Comparing Book of Mormon Names,” 120. 85 Ibid., 119. 86 Skousen, “Towards a Critical Edition.”

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Book of Mormon Names  297 Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1990. Hilton, John L. “Some Book of Mormon ‘Wordprint’ Measurements Using ‘Wraparound’ Block Counting.” FARMS Preliminary Reports, 12 pages. Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 1988. ———. “On Verifying Book of Mormon Wordprints/Authors.” Academic Paper, 19 pages. Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 1989. ———. “On Verifying Wordprint Studies: Book of Mormon Authorship.” Brigham Young University Studies 30, no. 3 (1990): 89–108. Holmes, David L. “Authorship Attribution.” Computers and the Humanities 28, no. 2 (1994): 87–106. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. Hoskisson, Paul Y. “An Introduction to the Relevance of and a Methodology for a Study of the Proper Names of the Book of Mormon.” In By Study, edited by Lundquist and Ricks, 2: 126–35. ———. “Book of Mormon Names.” In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Ludlow, 1: 186–87. ———. “What’s in a Name? Nephi.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 2 (2000): 64–65, 83. Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. Huchel, Frederick M. “The Deseret Alphabet as an Aid in Pronouncing Book of Mormon Names.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 58–59, 79. Hughes, Dean. Interview conducted by Brad Wilcox, 2011. Hunt, Gilbert J. The Late War between the United States and Great Britain, 3rd ed. New York: Daniel D. Smith, 1819. Johnson, Chris, and Duane Johnson. “A Comparison of The Book of Mormon and The  Late War Between the United States and Great Britain.” Available at http:// wordtreefoundation.github.io/thelatewar. Accessed August 10, 2022. Jones, John T., Brett W. Pelham, Matthew C. Mirenberg, and John J. Hetts. “Name Letter Preferences Are Not Merely Mere Exposure: Implicit Egotism as Self-Regulation.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 38, no. 2 (2002): 170–77. Khan, Geoffrey, ed. Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, 4 vols. Leiden: Brill, 2013. Koole, Sander L., and Brett W. Pelham. “On the Nature of Implicit Self-Esteem: The Case of the Name Letter Effect.” In Motivated Social Perception: The Ninth Ontario Symposium, vol. 9, edited by Steven Spencer, Steven Fein, Mark P. Zanna, and James M. Olson, 93–116. Mahwah, NJ and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003. Kucera, Henry, and W. Nelson Francis. Computational Analysis of Present-Day American English. Providence: Brown UP, 1967. Levin, Iris, and Linnea C. Ehri. “Young Children’s Ability to Read and Spell Their Own and Classmates’ Names: The Role of Letter Knowledge.” Scientific Studies of Reading 13, no. 3 (2009): 249–73. “Lord of the rings Pronunciation Guide.” https://inogolo.com/guides/lord+of+the+rings. Ludlow, Daniel H., ed. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1992. Lundquist, John M., and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, 2 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990. Matthews, Robert J. Who’s Who in the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976. Maurer, David W., and Allan W. Futrell. “Criminal Monickers.” American Speech 57, no. 4 (1982): 243–55.

298  Brad Wilcox et al. Maxwell, Neal A. “By the Gift and Power of God.” In Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch, 1–15. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2002. Morton, Andrew Q. Literary Detection: How to Prove Authorship and Fraud in Literature and Documents. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1978. Nelson, Leif D., and Joseph P. Simmons. “Moniker Maladies: When Names Sabotage Success.” Psychological Science 18, no. 12 (2007): 1106–12. Nibley, Hugh. “The Book of Mormon as a Mirror of the East.” Improvement Era 51, no. 4 (April 1948): 202–4, 249–51. ———. An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 3rd ed., edited by John W. Welch, vol. 6 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 17 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988a. ———. Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites/There Were Jaredites, edited by John W. Welch, with Darrell L. Matthews and Stephen R. Callister, vol. 5 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 17 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988b. Nicholson, Scott. “What’s in a Name?” Essay #18 in Write Good or Die: Survival Tips for the 21st Century, edited by Scott Nicholson. Published by Haunted Computer Books at Smashwords, 2010. Available at https://academia.edu/37751990/WRITE_GOOD_ OR_DIE_Survival_Tips_for_the_21st_Century. Accessed August 10, 2022. Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Don L. F. Nilsen. Names and Naming in Young Adult Literature. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2007. Nilsen, Don L. F., and Alleen Pace Nilsen. “Naming Tropes and Schemes in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Books.” The English Journal 98, no. 6 (July 2009): 60–69. Nuttin, Jozef M., Jr. “Narcissism Beyond Gestalt and Awareness: The Name Letter Effect.” European Journal of Social Psychology 15, no. 3 (1985): 353–61. Oaks, Dallin D., Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson. Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2023. Pelham, Brett W., Matthew C. Mirenberg, and John T. Jones. “Why Susie Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Implicit Egotism and Major Life Decisions.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82, no. 4 (2002): 469–87. Pence Turnbull, Khara L., Ryan P. Bowles, Lori E. Skibbe, Laura M. Justice, and Alice K. Wiggins. “Theoretical Explanations for Preschoolers’ Lowercase Alphabet Knowledge.” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 53, no. 6 (Dec. 2010): 1757–68. Peterson, Daniel C. “Defending the Faith: Book of Mormon’s Consistency, Complexity Still Amaze.” Deseret News, Oct. 27, 2011. Pledger, Arthur G. “The W and I.” Ensign 6, no. 9 (September 1976): 24–25. Prince, Walter Franklin. “Psychological Tests for the Authorship of the Book of Mormon.” American Journal of Psychology 28, no. 3 (July 1917): 373–89. Reynolds, George. “Nephite Proper Names.” Juvenile Instructor 15, no. 18 (Sept. 15, 1880): 207–8. Ricks, Stephen D., Paul Y. Hoskisson, Robert F. Smith, and John Gee. Dictionary of Proper Names & Foreign Words in the Book of Mormon. Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation, in cooperation with Eborn Books, 2022. Roper, Matthew, and John A. Tvedtnes. “One Small Step.” FARMS Review 15, no. 1 (2003): 147–99. Schaalje, G. Bruce, John L. Hilton, and John B. Archer. “Comparative Power of Three Author-Attribution Techniques for Differentiating Authors.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6, no. 1 (1997): 47–63.

Book of Mormon Names  299 Shapiro, Marc. J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2000. Skousen, Royal. “Towards a Critical Edition of the Book of Mormon.” Brigham Young University Studies 30, no. 1 (1990): 41–69. Tunnell, Michael O. Beauty and the Beastly Children. New York: Tambourine Books, 1993. Tvedtnes, John A. “What’s in a Name?: A Look at the Book of Mormon Onomasticon.” The FARMS Review of Books 8, no. 2 (1996): 34–42. ———. “Hebrew Names in the Book of Mormon.” The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research. Available at http://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/ uploads/2011/12/tvedtnes-HebrewNames.pdf. Accessed August 10, 2022. ———. “Names of People: Book of Mormon.” In Encyclopedia of Hebrew, edited by Khan, 787–88. Tvedtnes, John A., John Gee, and Matthew Roper. “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 40–51, 78–79. Tvedtnes, John A., and Matthew Roper. “Further Evidence for Book of Mormon Names.” FARMS Update 131, Insights 19, no. 12 (Dec. 1999): 2. Vitevitch, Michael S., Paul A. Luce, Jan Charles-Luce, and David Kemmerer. “Phonotactics and Syllable Stress: Implications for the Processing of Spoken Nonsense Words.” Language & Speech 40, no. 1 (1997): 47–62. Wilcox, Brad, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Bruce L. Brown, and Sharon Black. “Comparing Book of Mormon Names with those Found in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Works: An Exploratory Study.” Interpreter 30 (2018): 105–24. Wilcox, Brad, Bruce L. Brown, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Sharon Black, and Justin Bray. “Identifying Authors by Phonoprints in Their Characters’ Names: An Exploratory Study.” Names 61, no. 2 (2013): 101–21. Wilcox, Brad, Bruce L. Brown, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Sharon Black, and Dennis L. Eggett. “Comparing Phonemic Patterns in Book of Mormon Personal Names with Fictional and Authentic Sources: An Exploratory Study.” Interpreter 33 (2019): 105–22. Wilcox, Brad, Bruce L. Brown, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, and Timothy G. Morrison. “Tolkien’s Phonoprint in Character Names Throughout His Invented Languages.” Names 66, no. 3 (2018): 135–43. Woodger, Mary Jane. “How the Guide to English Pronunciation of Book of Mormon Names Came About.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 52–57, 79. Zheng, Rong, Yi Quin, Zan Huang, and Hsinchun Chen. “Authorship Analysis in Cybercrime Investigation.” Intelligence and Security Informatics Proceedings 2665 (2003): 59–73.

Index

Pages in italics refer to figures, bold refer to tables, and pages followed by n refer to notes. Aaronic see priesthood Abish 82, 122, 220, 235 Abraham 34, 36, 163, 214, 215, 216n22, 253; covenant of 11, 174, 206–11, 238–40; name change of 253–54, 260n24; writings of 4, 73, 163, 211 Adam 12, 170–71, 209, 250; and Eve 209; fall of 180; identity as Michael 184; language of 181; names animals 71, 209, 251 Adam-ondi-Ahman 12, 28, 163 adoption, into House of Israel 175, 192n14, 208–09 African-American(s) naming trends 42, 84, 107, 109n17, 121, 122, 126, 128, 130, 162 Alma 32, 81, 85, 122, 139, 141, 149, 179, 220, 228, 233, 240–42, 244, 269, 277; discussion of name in Book of Mormon 188–89, 233–34 Amalickiah/Amlici 228, 242–43, 244, 277, 283, 290 Ammon 32, 82, 122, 128, 137, 141, 149, 152, 223, 228, 236–39, 239, 269, 273, 277 Anazazi (Anasazi) 23, 38n6 ancestors 10, 11–2, 50, 77, 83, 170, 172, 217, 221, 233, 243 Anderson, most common surname 48–9 anthroponym 42–3, 58–9, 61 apologetic approaches 218 apologetics viii, 1, 5–6, 12, 169, 189, 195n69, 196n87 apostasy 4, 160 Apostles: as special witnesses of the name of Christ 186, 202, 213, 232; in Church leadership 4, 33–4, 181 Arizona 3, 33–4, 73–4, 83, 126

attestation/attestational approach 5, 217, 220–22, 233 authentic (naturally occurring) name sets 280, 283–84, 286–89 authority in names 121, 122, 137, 172–73, 184, 185–86, 210–13; see also divine investiture of authority -ayden names 81, 121–22, 132–33, 136 -axton names 84, 133, 136, 141 baby blessings see blessing of babies baptism 3, 9, 13, 92, 129, 171, 174–75, 176, 201–04, 210, 254 Benjamin 219, 228, 231–33, 268, 273 Benjamin, King see King Benjamin Benson, Ezra Taft 86, 124, 153 Bible 4, 14, 21, 30, 36, 50, 80, 163, 165n13, 182, 187–89, 201, 203, 214, 209, 251, 268, 273–74; as stick of Judah 173, 175, 176; Hebrew 186, 203, 206, 207, 241 Bible Belt 107 Biblical names 9, 35–6, 53, 81, 140, 163, 170, 173, 177, 218, 228–29, 230, 235, 240, 243, 273, 280 Black, Susan Easton: on titles of Christ 186 Blanding, Utah 60, 104 blessing: of babies 8–9, 79–80, 82, 178, 254; of healing 212; patriarchal 11, 174, 208; name change 253–54 blotting out of names 252, 259–60n21 Boggs, Lilburn 12 Book of Mormon: and apologetics 30, 186–87, 189, 218; as “new covenant” 173, 178, 185–86, 202–03, 206; as stick of Joseph 8, 173, 175, 176; attestational approach 6, 220, 223; chiastic structures in 186, 195n61; cultural clues of names in

Index  301 190, 220, 222, 241, 274, 278, 288; etymological approach 6, 218–20, 222, 269; Hebrew and Egyptian names in 13, 50, 176, 188–90, 218, 220, 228–29, 241–43, 269, 279; onomasticon of 6, 30, 188–89, 217–23, 228–29, 268–69; pronunciation guides 282; personal names-Appendix 290–93; naming practices in 179, 222, 254, 277, 286–88; phonemic characteristics of names in 280; as epic 268, 276 Bountiful 30–1, 53, 74 Brigham City 33, 56, 74, 77 Brother, as title 91 brother of Jared 81–2, 259n14 byname(s) 43, 47, 50–2, 61; see also nicknames canon of scripture 4, 92, 173 Card, Orson Scott 83, 270, 274, 275 celebrity/celebrities 141, 148, 153, 155 census data 45, 46, 48, 104, 107, 136, 154, 270, 280–81, 281, 283, 287, 289 Christ: identity as Jehovah 182, 186–87; name of, referring to priesthood authority 171, 186, 210, 211–13; taking name upon oneself 11, 13, 174, 201–04, 207, 232; visit to Americas in Book of Mormon 186, 202, 208, 210; name of as key to gates of heaven 202, 215; name of necessary for salvation 3, 174, 179, 183, 185, 192n12, 202–03, 213, 232; all things to be done in name of 202; apostles as special witnesses of the name of 186, 202, 213, 232; praying in the name of 202–03 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: correct name of 14n2, 37n1, 87, 169, 202–04 Clark, Wes and Cari 15–6n15, 102, 111, 127, 129–30, 156n18; see also Utah Baby Namer code names 161–65 Colorado 8, 35, 81, 104, 111–55, 112–20, 126, 131–35, 138–40, 143–47, 151–52 Columbus, Christopher 190, 196n81 Community of Christ 75, 89, 90 composite names 101–08; list of historical/ literary 103 cooperatives, names based in 35, 161 covenant(s) 3–5, 11, 13, 14, 173–75, 176–77, 185, 187, 202–09, 211, 213, 232–35; Abrahamic 11, 174, 206–09, 211, 238–40, 253; and names 173–76; baptismal 202–03; of peace 234 Covey, Britain 153

Covey, Stephen R. 153 Cowdery, Oliver 163, 164–65n9, 210, 214, 215n7 Crowe, Chris 276, 278, 294n43 cultural clues 36–7, 274 Cumorah 75 Dane(s)/Danish see Scandinavia(ns) -den suffix 81, 105, 137; popularity of in Utah 121 Denmark 42–6, 52–8; see also Scandinavia(ns) Deseret 10, 32, 73–5, 177–78; folk origin of name of 74 divine investiture of authority 182, 194n41 Dixie 74, 94n30 Doctrine and Covenants 4, 12, 71, 76, 79, 92, 161–63, 170–72, 176, 180–82, 185, 187 doctrine and names 1, 5, 14, 78, 177, 179–84, 191, 193n37, 203, 211, 215 Duchesne, origin of 25 Edwards, Lavell 84 Egypt 206–08, 221, 250–54 Egyptian 5, 91, 163, 164, 188–89, 218–22, 229, 251–52, 254, 256, 269, 277, 278–79; reformed Egyptian 6, 228 Elias, appearance to Joseph Smith 172, 215–16n22 Elijah 137, 171–72, 191n6, 207, 209, 214 “Endless,” as name of God 180 endowment 172, 203 Enoch 35, 162, 232, 251, 253 Enos 228, 229–30, 232 Ensign Peak 177 Ephraim 35, 46, 51–5, 54, 61, 173–74, 175, 177, 207 epithets see nicknames “Eternal,” as name of God 180–81, 214 ethnography 72 etymological approach 183–84, 188–90, 218–20 etymology 63n45, 175, 184, 190, 205, 217, 219–22, 228–29, 240 Evans, Cleveland 6, 8–9, 81, 82, 94n58 Eve 209 explorer(s) 9, 23, 25–30, 37–8n4, 42, 53, 74 Ezekiel 148; prophecy of 173, 215n8 family of faith 214 female(s) names in Utah 47, 49, 82–4, 89, 104, 105, 108, 112, 116–21, 123, 129, 131, 134–35, 143, 146–47, 149, 151–52, 209, 281–82

302 Index fiction writers: and name creation 272, 275–76, 279–80 first name see given name(s) First Vision, the 2, 75, 153 “Firstborn” as title for Christ 181, 193n39, 194n40 FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) 3, 90 folklore of names 49, 51, 71–92 Fremont, John C. 28–9, 53 French names 21, 24, 25, 28, 42, 50, 84, 103, 107, 124, 280, 282 gender 9, 14, 49, 140, 150, 209, 272 genealogy/genealogical 10, 77, 170–74, 209 General Authorities, names and titles 80, 85–6, 90–1, 95n64 gentile, as used by Church members 75, 87–8, 95n75, 161, 190, 206 gentilic names 220, 240, 242, 245n24 Gidgiddoni 220, 245n9 Gilbert, Algernon Sidney 163 given name(s) 1, 8, 13–4, 33, 42–3, 47–51, 72, 81, 82–6, 101–03, 108, 111–12, 120–55, 156n32, 178–79, 192n20, 219, 222, 228, 229–30, 251–52, 272, 281 God, names of 72, 172, 178, 180–81, 255–57; sons and daughters of 232; taking name of in vain 172 gods: Odin 59; Re [Ra] 251–52, 254–55, 257, 258n2, 261n39; Isis 254–55, 257 Grant, Heber J. 35, 83, 124 Great Salt Lake 3, 26, 28–9, 35, 177 Great Salt Lake City see Salt Lake City Green River 27, 38–9n20, 58 Gunnison, John W. 29, 53 Hale, Shannon 276–78 Harris, Martin 163, 164–65n9 Hatch, Orrin 83 Haun’s Mill 12 Hawaii/Hawaiian 34–5, 102, 148, 152; see also Polynesia(ns) Hebrew 2, 5, 14, 50, 163, 164n5, 175, 183, 187–90, 195n68, 196n87, 203–07, 211, 214, 218, 220, 221, 228–45, 246n57, 246n58, 251, 253, 258n2, 269, 273, 275–76, 277, 279–80, 282, 293n3 Hidden names 250, 254–58, 261n37 Hill, Taysom 141 Hinckley, Gordon B. 86, 124 Hispanic-Americans 121–22, 123, 127, 136, 148

historicity, of Book of Mormon 188, 217 Holland, Jeffrey R.: influence of name 83; on names of Christ 14; on personal names 178 Hoskisson, Paul 188, 218, 221, 229, 241, 246n57, 269, 278 Howe, Daniel Walker 268 Hughes, Dean 272, 279, 294n43 Hunter, Howard W. 124–25 Hyde, Orson 176 Icelanders 10, 62n10 identity and naming 1, 5, 7–10, 13–4, 30, 51, 71, 90, 107, 130, 181–82, 184, 257–58, 271, 281 Illinois 2, 28, 30, 76, 129, 164, 177 immigrant(s) 5, 10, 23, 32, 36, 42–61, 101, 107, 127, 140–41, 152 Independence, Missouri 90, 161–62, 164 Indians see Native American(s) initials in names 50, 85–6, 95n64, 102, 271–73, 278 Iosepa 34 Isaac 36, 174, 192n15, 206–08, 214, 254 Isabel 190, 196n84, 220 Isaiah 121, 140, 176–78, 184, 187, 207, 268 Israel 87–8, 174–77, 187, 190, 204–05, 208, 213, 214, 220, 230, 240–41, 250, 253–54, 256; gathering of 175–77, 206–08, 214; House of 11, 173–76, 185, 206, 208 -ite, use of suffix 90, 96n81 Jacob (Bible); see also Israelrenaming of 253–54 Jacob (Book of Mormon) 90, 95n75, 228–30, 244, 268 James, Jane Manning 137, 150 Jared 81–2, 228, 241–42, 244; brother of; see also brother of Jared Jaredites 207, 241–42, 244, 293n3 Jehovah, identity of 182, 186–87 Jershon 189–90, 228, 239–40, 244, 246n57, 269 John the Baptist 4, 170, 210, 251 Johnson, John 163 Johnston, Sydney 12 Jordan River 35, 177 Joseph 33–5, 82, 123, 173–76, 205, 228, 242–43, 244, 273, 282, 283; etymology of name 175–76, 205, 243; popularity of name 82, 94n58, 123; stick of 173, 175–76, 215n8, 273, 282; Joseph Smith; see also Smith, Joseph Joseph (Book of Mormon) 173, 273

Index  303 Joseph of Egypt 35, 173–75, 205, 207, 253, 256, 273 The Joshua Tree album 70–1 Judah 173–74, 206, 232, 239; stick of 173, 176 Kane, Thomas L., Colonel 12, 36, 88 Kennedy 121, 131, 143; Robert F. 12 keys 170–72, 176, 194n50, 210, 213–14 Kimball, Camilla 123 Kimball, Heber C. 34, 83 Kimball, Spencer W. 83, 123–24 King Benjamin 202, 219, 231, 232–33, 236 Kirtland, Ohio 33, 82, 161–63, 171; Kirtland Temple 171–72, 176, 182, 214 Knight, Gladys 72, 93n11 Knight, Lydia Bailey 150 Knight, Newel 150 La- as prefix 8, 43, 84, 105, 107, 128–29 labels, applied to Church and members 13, 53, 71, 86–9 LaDonna 107, 153–54 LaDue, Geraldine 101–03, 107–08 Laman 219, 273, 275, 277 Latter-day Saints: as a people 1, 7, 9–14, 30, 32, 48, 107; as Christians 2, 3, 81, 170, 173–74, 180–85, 202; as ethnic community 5, 7, 10–2, 14, 34, 107, 191; as part of Church name 2, 169–70, 204; naming patterns 8, 10, 79, 85–6, 202; insecurity and vulnerability 9–12, 16n27 Lehi 31, 36–7, 53, 74, 82, 91, 101, 177, 188, 218, 220, 222, 228–29, 231, 231, 269, 277, 279, 293n3 Lewis, C. S. 272 lineage 11, 52, 77, 170–71, 174–76, 181, 192n14, 207–08, 217 linguistic assimilation of Scandinavian immigrants 47, 53 Little Copenhagen 55–7 Little Denmark 55–7 Mackenzie 84, 120 Mahonri Moriancumer 82, 259n14 maiden name(s) 60, 78, 84 Malachi, prophecy about Elijah 171, 207, 214 Male names in Utah 48–9, 79, 84–5, 108, 112, 112–16, 120–28, 130–31, 131–33, 136–38, 140–41, 143–45, 149–52, 209, 280–83, 290 Manassa/Manasseh 35, 163, 174–75, 207

“Man of Holiness” as title for God 181, 193n37 Mansfield, Jennifer 9, 42, 107, 108 Manti 31–2, 44, 56, 74, 84, 103, 177, 292 Mc- prefix 108, 121, 124, 140 Maxwell, Neal A. 178, 182 McKay, David O. 83, 123–24, 141, 152 McKenzie: variant spellings of 108 McMahon, Jim: baby named after 80 Melchizedek 187, 195n68, 211–12, 216 Melchizedek Priesthood; see also priesthood Mencken, H. L.: on peculiarity of LDS given names 101; on Scandinavian influence 42, 50 Messiah 204, 210 metaphor/metaphorical 13, 76, 176, 277 metonymy 190, 219 Michael: identity as Adam 184; meaning of name in Church doctrine 183–84; hidden name of 255 middle name 49, 78, 83–4, 85 missionary/missionaries language 2–3, 5, 9–10, 34–5, 43, 76, 82, 88, 90–1, 95n70, 101, 140, 175–76, 185–87, 190, 208, 236, 240 Missouri 2, 12, 25, 28, 30, 89, 161–64, 177, 205 Monson, Thomas S. 141 Mormon (Prophet) 2, 82, 194n53, 204, 217, 222, 228, 231–43, 282, 291 Mormon (Military Leader) 222–23 Mormon as boys’ name 122 Mormon: as label/nickname for Church vii, 1, 7, 9, 14–5n2, 21, 30, 37n1, 86–7, 89–90, 95n76, 169–70, 204; proposed etymology 204; in reference to modern Latter-day Saints 9, 108, 128–29, 216, 169, 154, 191, 268; see also Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints Mormon colonies 10 Mormon Corridor 3 Mormon Culture Region (also Mormon Country) 26, 72–4 Mormon pioneers/settlers 23–8, 30–7, 43, 53–9, 73–5, 78, 141, 150, 175; changing use of “pioneer” 87 Mormon West 3, 21–37, 53 Moroni (Prophet) 42, 203–04, 206–07, 211, 214, 222, 228–29, 241–42; as given name 42, 50, 81, 84, 101, 122, 179; place name 31, 37, 53, 74, 177; hvisit to Joseph Smith 2, 28, 194n53, 204, 207, 214 Moroni (Military leader) 222–23, 239

304 Index Moses 4, 170, 176–77, 187, 203, 205, 240; appearance to Joseph Smith 172, 176, 214; as given name 152 Mosiah I 219, 228, 238 Mosiah II 219, 228, 231, 232–33, 236–37, 239; Mosiah as given name 122, 149; etymology of 190, 196n87, 236, 244 Mulek/Mulekites 190, 269, 288, 293n3; proposed forms Muloch/Mulochites 196n86, 239, 246n54; etymology of 190, 196n86, 246n54 Mull, Brandon 272, 274, 279, 284 name as essence 186, 250–52 name Letter Effect 270–74 naming by women 251 naming by God or angels 192n15, 209, 230, 251–54 Native American(s) 10, 24–5, 30, 87, 178, 281; Aboriginal 23–5; Amerindian 161; Apache 192–93n25; Goshute 24, 42, 53; Indian 23–9, 31–2, 35, 38n7–8, 42, 53, 56, 73, 87, 93n27, 161, 192n24, 192–93n25, 207; Navajo 42, 53; Pahvant 29; Paiute/Piute 24, 42, 53, 56; Shoshone/Shoshoni 24, 27, 42, 53; Ute 10, 24–5, 28, 38n8, 42, 53, 74, 192n24, 192–93n25 Nauvoo 2, 28–9, 76, 78, 87, 164n5, 177; City of Joseph 29; neighborhood density of sounds 284–85 Nelson, Russell M. 13, 85; on name of the Church 14–5n2, 87, 170 Nephi 5–6, 175, 190, 201–02, 228, 229, 231–32, 233, 242, 243, 268, 275; etymology 221–22; given names 42, 81, 101, 122, 141; place names 31, 53, 74, 177, 188, 234–35, 238; metonymy with name 190, 219, 254; wordplay with name 193n31, 222, 229–30, 232 Nephites 82, 90, 95n75, 163, 189, 219–20, 222, 228–29, 232, 239, 241, 242, 273, 288, 293n3 New York 2, 30, 33, 75–6, 153, 163, 204 Nibley, Hugh 13, 188–90, 218, 233, 255, 277–78 nicknames vii, 13–4, 32, 57, 74–5, 94n30, 275; of Church 7, 14–5n2, 21, 30, 86, 87, 170, 204; Scandinavian use of 51–2, 55–7, 63n49, 107; types of 50–2; see also bynames Noah (Bible) 170–71, 211, 228, 235, 246n39, 251, 268, 273 Noah (Book of Mormon) 219, 228, 234–35, 244, 268

Noah as boys’ name 137 Norway/Norwegian see Scandinavia(n) Oaks, Dallin H. 83, 125, 172, 185, 191n7 Ogden 31, 53, 74, 93–4n27, 107; origin of name 28 Ohio 2, 12, 30, 33, 150, 161–62, 171 Onidah 228, 241, 244 onomasticon 6, 188, 217–18, 223, 228, 269 ordinances 3, 8–9, 11, 78, 173, 204, 209; and covenants 3, 11, 13, 92, 173–74, 209; and individual names 171–72, 178, 209; and priesthood 8–9, 11, 78–9, 210, 213–14; baby blessings 8–9, 78–80, 81, 258; baptism 3, 11, 13, 92, 171, 174, 204; of salvation 3, 8, 11, 13, 79, 171, 174, 178; marriage 92, 209–10; performed in name of Christ 178, 213; proxy 3, 11, 171–72, 178, 209 Packer, Boyd K. 141 Palmyra 153 paranomasia see wordplay Partridge, Edward 163, 164n9 patriarchal blessing 11, 174, 192n14, 208 patronymics 47–8, 49, 52 Pearl of Great Price 4, 92, 162–63, 180, 210 peculiar people 11, 175 pendant names 277 Perdition, as name for Satan 184 personal names 1, 13, 16n32, 27, 31, 42, 47, 108, 178, 189, 220–21, 241, 280, 288, 290; see also given name(s) performatives 251 Peter (Apostle) 4, 170–71, 210, 212; as given name 48, 50; as nickname 88 Peterson, Dan C. 188 Phelps, William Wines 163, 164–65n9 phonemes 189, 271, 280–89 phonoprints 6, 281–82, 288–89 phonotactics 280, 282, 284–89; probability 282, 284–89; calculator of 285–89 pioneer(s) see Mormon pioneers/settlers place names 9, 21–3, 53, 74–5; anomalies of 25; as given names 120–21, 127, 153; derived from explorers and trappers 26–30; false leads about 27, 36–7, 60; LDS contemporary 30–6, 177; LDS scriptural 30–2; Native American 23–5; Scandinavian 53–61; Spanish 26; see also separate entries for Native American(s); Scandinavia(ns); Spanish; and toponyms

Index  305 plan of salvation 3, 179–85, 201–03, 207–10; names for 179 Plat of Zion 70 polygamy 3, 10, 78, 90 Polynesia(ns) 3, 34, 82, 140–41, 152; Hawaii(ans) 34, 35, 148, 152; Samoa(ns) 140, 152; Tonga(ns) 140, 152 pop culture 70–1, 136, 143, 148 Powell, John Wesley 29, 53 Pratt, Orson 83, 164–65n9 Pratt, Parley P. 34, 83, 124 prefixes 8, 30, 42, 84, 101, 104–07, 121, 124, 128; female 105–06; male 105 presidential names: given names 83, 131, 143; place names 10, 25, 36 priesthood 4; Aaronic 4, 89, 170, 210–11; authority of 4, 11, 170–72, 186, 207, 210–11, 212–14; exercised in name of Christ 202, 212; keys of 170–72, 176, 194n50, 207, 210, 213–14; line of authority/lineage 170–71, 208, 211; Melchizedek 4, 89, 170–71, 187, 210–11, 212–13; name of God 172, 210, 212–14; ordinances of 8, 11, 79, 92; previous restrictions on 123; restoration of 4, 170, 172, 210; sealing power of 78, 172, 209, 214 Provo 28, 31, 74, 80, 93n27, 107 Rabbanah 242–43, 244 Rameumptom 240, 241, 244 Re [Ra] and Isis, myth of 254–55, 257 referential aspect of naming 12–4, 16n32 reformed Egyptian see Egyptian renaming: of organizations 76, 94n30; people 252–54; of places 28, 31, 33, 57, 93–4n27, 161 restoration: of Church 2, 4, 169–70, 176; of priesthood 4, 170, 172, 210 resurrection 30, 181, 185, 202, 208, 254 revelation/inspiration: in using priesthood 210, 213; patriarchal blessings 11, 174, 208; personal 79–80, 259n14; prophetic 2, 4, 12, 123, 162, 170, 173, 179, 215n11 Rigdon, Sidney 90, 162–63, 164–65n9 Rockwell, Porter 83, 124, 141 Rocky Mountains 3, 21, 26, 28–9, 60, 123, 129, 177 Roosevelt, Theodore 25, 36 Rowling, J. K. 274, 279 “rules” of authorship 275–79 saint/saints 2, 169–70 Salt Lake: City 10, 28–9, 31, 53, 56, 74, 80, 89–90, 93n27, 101, 104, 107, 172;

street names 70; County 44, 46; Valley 3, 31, 56–7, 61, 177 salvation/saved 3, 185; as families 208–09, 214; Christ/name of Christ necessary for 3, 174, 185, 201–03, 213, 232; ordinances and covenants necessary for 13, 171, 174, 213; other names associated with 201, 204–05, 206–10; plan of 3, 179–85, 201–03, 207–10; see also plan of salvation Sam 220, 275 Samoa(n) see Polynesia(ns) Sanderson, Brandon 154–55 Sanpete 10, 24, 31, 44, 46, 49, 53–6, 59, 74, 77, 107; nicknames in 51–2 Sarah 122, 149, 209, 253, 272 Sarai 209, 253 Sariah 122, 137, 149, 220, 228 Satan 75; meaning of name 183; plan of 75, 183; war in heaven 75, 182–84, 262n52; see also Perdition Scandinavia(ns) 3, 27, 36, 42–61, 64n67, 77, 107; Church converts 43, 77; Denmark/Danes 10, 42–5, 47, 52, 53, 55–8, 61; Figure and maps showing origin and destination of Utah’s Scandinavians 43, 45–6; given names from 49–50, 107; Icelanders 10, 62n10; immigrant areas in Utah 44–7; immigration 42–7; linguistic assimilation of immigrants from 47–8; map of Utah place names from 54; Norway/Norwegians 10, 42–4, 47, 50, 53, 59; surnames in Utah 47–9, 77, 107; Sweden/Swede/Swedish 10, 36, 42–4, 47, 49, 52–3, 55–7, 58, 59, 103, 127; toponyms 53–61; see also nicknames or byname(s) Shilom 228, 234–35, 244 Shipps, Jan 7, 88, 90, 169, 177 Sister, as title 91 Smith, Emma 123, 276 Smith, George A. 34, 74 Smith, Hyrum 3, 34, 123, 141, 152, 179 Smith, Joseph 2, 3, 153, 205; and city planning 70; and code names 162–64, 164–65n9; and critics’ claim he authored Book of Mormon 6, 188–89, 268–70, 273–74, 275–79, 280–89; and dictation of Book of Mormon 210, 276; and gathering of Israel 175–76, 206–07; and Joseph of Egypt 175, 192n16, 205; and Joseph Smith Translation 215n11; and Moroni’s visit 31, 204, 207; and name letter effect 273–74; and place names 29, 32–3, 37,

306 Index 75; and Porter Rockwell 83; and restoration 2, 4, 169–73, 207–08, 210, 214; and revealing plan of salvation 179; compared to Moses 205; etymology of name of 175–76, 205; influence on contemporary given names 123, 153; informal title 91; marriages to 78; name of to be had for good and evil 204; new scripture through 2, 4, 73, 91, 162–63, 176; on ancient Christian church 250; prophecy of western settlement by 3, 28 Smith, Joseph F. 34, 85–6 Smith, Lucy (Mack) 123, 150 Snow, Eliza R. 78, 86, 125 Snow, Lorenzo 33 Snowflake 33–4, 83 Social Security data 104, 136–37, 143, 148, 150, 153 “Son of God” as title for Christ 181–82, 213 “Son of Man” as title for Christ 181-son, suffix: boys’ names ending in 84; surnames ending in 47, 49 Spanish 21, 23, 26–9, 42, 50, 53, 136 Spaulding, Solomon 280–89 spelling variants 23–4, 57, 77, 84, 104, 108, 121, 123, 124, 129, 130–31, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 143, 148, 150, 153, 155, 223, 276, 295n46 stakes 4, 44, 76, 90, 91, 176 Star Trek, name from 136, 143 St. George 34, 61, 74 Stewart, Chris 276–77 stick of Joseph and Judah 173, 175, 176 Stockton, John 125, 141, 153 style guide of Church 14n2, 87, 170, 191n4 suffixes/endings 8, 47, 60, 81, 83–4, 90, 96n81, 101–02, 104, 105, 125, 131, 138, 141, 148, 220 superiority complex 11, 16n23 Supernatural, TV series 143, 148 surname(s): and polygamy 78; and sealings 77–8; Anderson most common 48; clues from 10, 14; creative use of by authors 272, 274, 279; decrease in shared LDS surnames 77; deliberate change in 77; in terms of address 90–1; localized 10; Scandinavian 47–9, 51–2, 58, 60, 61; surname suffix -son/-sen 47, 49; surname transfer 83, 108, 120–21, 125, 127, 128, 131, 136, 140, 141, 143, 153

Swede Town 56 Sweden see Scandinavia(ns) Tanner, Nathan Eldon 124 temple(s) 3, 6; Lord’s visit to Kirtland Temple 182; priesthood keys restored in Kirtland Temple 171–72, 176, 214; proxy work in 3, 171–72, 209; sacred ordinance work in 3, 171, 203, 209, 258; see also ordinances, proxy theme naming 108 Timpanogos 24, 26, 38n10, 38n12, 53 titles 1, 16n36, 71, 87, 90–1, 179, 181, 186; of Christ 14, 181, 186, 193n34, 195 Tolkien, J. R. R. 280–89 Tonga(n) see Polynesia(ns) toponyms 21, 23–37, 189, 234, 239, 241; toponymic scriptural wordplays: Jershon 239; Onidah 241; Shilom 234; Zarahemla 238; see also place names trapper(s) 25–8, 53, 58, 74, 93n27 Tron: Legacy 140 Tunnell, Michael 275, 278 two-syllable names ending with -n 131, 141 typology and names 175, 186–87, 192n16 United Order 35 Urim and Thummim 91 Utah: distinctiveness of naming 81–5, 101–02, 111–12, 129–30, 142, 155; maps of 22, 45, 46, 54; meaning of 38n8, 177–78, 192–93n24–26 Utah Baby Namer 102, 111, 127–29, 153, 155n1 Utah names as predictor of popularity 8, 81, 136–38, 140, 143, 148–49, 155 Ute(s) 10, 24–5, 28, 38n8, 42, 53, 74, 192n24, 192–93n25; see also Native American(s) Van Cott, John W. 38n11 Vorlage(n) 188, 218, 229 ward 31, 34, 44, 56, 76, 91, 104; baby blessings performed in 8, 79, 81, 156n22, 178; origin and meaning of 4, 76 Welch, John W. 186, 236, 239, 246n57 Whitmer, John 163 Whitney, Newel K. 163, 164–65n9 Widtsoe, John A. 34, 48, 59 Williams, Frederick G. 162–63 Woodruff, Wilford 34, 78

Index  307 wordplay 16n28, 186–87, 190, 219–20, 222, 229, 230, 232–33, 237, 239, 243–44, 245n17; paronomasia 230; paronomasia defined 245n17 wordprints 281, 289 Yahweh 228, 230, 236, 244, 255 Young, Brigham: a baby naming by 80; and city planning 70; and gathering to Zion 42; and given names 82, 123; and naming of Ensign Peak 177; and naming of Manti 31–2; and naming of Salt Lake City 28; and Native Americans 24; and Porter Rockwell 83, 124–25; and Scandinavian immigration 43; and United Order 35; as colonizer 3, 10, 31–2, 44, 58, 73; challenge to leadership of 89–90; commemorated in

place name 33, 37, 74; comparison to Moses 177; marriages to 78; referenced by Robert F. Kennedy 12; Saints led westward by 3, 73 Zarahemla 74; as Hebrew name 189–90; etymology of 238; wordplay with 239–40, 244 Zion 2, 12, 35, 42–3, 44, 53–4, 70, 73, 76, 161–63, 176–78, 213; meaning of 73 Zoram/Zoramites: and -ite suffix 90; and Jershon 239, 241; and pride 240–41, 244; and Rameumptom 240–41, 244; etymology of 228, 240, 244; pronunciation of 282; symbolism with inheritance 240 Zzyzx 279, 284