Do you have a theophoric name? If your name is Christopher, you do.

Timothy, Christian, and Elijah are also theophoric names. Female theophoric names include Elizabeth, Christina, and Michelle.

A theophoric name embeds the word “God” or one of God’s names in a person’s name. For example, the name Christian contains “Christ” and means “One who believes in Christ.” The name Elijah comes from Hebrew and means “My God is Jehovah.” Michelle is a form of the Hebrew name Michael, which means “Who is like God?”

Sadly, my name is not theophoric. Andrew simply means “manly” or “macho.” (Most people laugh when I tell them that.)

Ironically, the word theophoric is also theophoric. It contains God’s name. Coming from the Greek language, “theophoric” literally means “God-bearer.” One of the first pe

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