One day a Native American boy asked his father, “Father, how did we (siblings) get our names?”

“Well,” said the father, “When your sister was born, I came out of the tepee and the first thing I saw was a soaring eagle, so we named her Soaring Eagle. When your brother was born, I came out of the tepee and saw a running bull, so we named him Running Bull.” Perplexed by his son’s question, he turned to him and said, “Why do you ask Pooping Dog?”

I find this joke especially fitting for our topic this year. As I look over our Bible character for this week, and some of the characters we will study in the weeks to come, I have to chuckle at some of their names.

I wonder if a similar discussion unfolded between Hagar and her parents, Abednego and his parents, and Euodias and her parents. All of these Biblical children grew up to be extraordinary characters in Biblical history. In fact, I believe, their given names had everything to do with their purpose in the Kingdom.

Hagar, for example, means “flight.” As we saw in Stacy’s devotion last week, Hagar fled shortly after she conceived a son with Abraham. “Then Sarai mistreated Hagar, so she fled from her.” Genesis 16:6.

The passage goes onto say, “The angel of the Lord said to her: ‘You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael for the Lord has heard of your misery.’” Genesis 6:11. Guess what the name Ishmael means? “God will hear.”

There are also many characters throughout the Bible that God renames. Sarai meant “my princess,” but God renamed her Sarah to signify His promise that she would conceive a child. One commentary I read suggests that “my princess” confined Sarah to one family. But her name change to “princess” signified God’s favor upon her. She no longer belonged to one family, but humbly she became the ancestor of many nations.

We still see the importance of an individual’s name in many cultures today. Some are named after ancestors and relatives; others are named because of their religious or cultural heritage; and then there are those who are named by what their father sees when he exits the tepee. Joke or not, names are important and carry significant meaning in many cultures and families.

Do you know the meaning of your name? Do you know the story behind how your name was chosen? If not, I encourage you to find out. As I have researched this topic the past week, I have found that many names can be traced back to the Bible, and carry significant spiritual meaning. I believe that God continues to have a great influence on naming His people today. I know that sounds like a radical thought, but read Psalm 139 in its entirety.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13.

If our Creator knows the inmost things about us before we were even born, isn’t it possible that He carefully chose a name that’s fitting for us and our purpose in His Kingdom?