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Faith (given name)

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Faith
"Faith" by Andrea di Niccolo.
Genderfemale
Origin
Word/nameEnglish
Meaningfaith
Region of originEnglish-speaking countries
Other names
Related namesFaithe, Fay, Faye, Fidelia, Fides, Pistis, Vera.

Faith is an English feminine given name derived from the word faith. It became popularized when the Puritans began using it as a virtue name during the 17th century.[1] Puritans also used Faith as part of longer phrase names, such as Be-faithful, Faithful, Faith-my-joy, and Fight-the-good-fight-of-faith.[2]

The name is also the usual English translation of the Greek name of Saint Faith, an early Christian child martyr who was tortured to death along with her sisters Hope and Charity. She is known as Pistis in Greek and Fides in Church Latin and her name is translated differently in other languages.

Faith, Hope and Charity, the three theological virtues, are names traditionally given to triplet girls, just as Faith and Hope remain common names for twin girls. There were 40 sets of twins named Faith and Hope born in the United States in 2009, the second most common name combination for twin girls. In 2011, there were 33 sets of twin girls named Faith and Hope in the United States, the fourth most common name combination for twins.[3] One example were the American triplets Faith, Hope and Charity Cardwell, who were born in 1899 in Texas and were recognized in 1994 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest lived triplets.[4]

Faith has been a consistently popular name for girls in the United States, ranking among the top 1,000 names since 1880 and the top 500 names since 1921. It reached peak popularity in the United States in 2002, when it was the 48th most popular name for American girls. It ranked among the top 100 names in the United States between 1999 and 2016.[5] Faith has also been a well-used name elsewhere in the Anglosphere, including Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It has also been well used in the Netherlands.[6]

Usage of the name increased during the 1990s due to popular culture influences such as the fame of the American country western singer Faith Hill and the debut of the character Faith Lehane on the 1997-2003 American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[7]

Other cultures also give names in reference to religious faith. The name Iman is used by Muslims for both boys and girls in reference to faith in Islam.

Women

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Stage name

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  • Faith Bacon, stage name of American burlesque dancer and actress Frances Bacon (1910-1956)


References

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  1. ^ Mike Campbell. "Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Faith". Behind the Name. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Name Nerds! List of the Week". Namenerds.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Popular names for twins born in 2011". www.ssa.gov. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  4. ^ "AT HOME WITH: Faith, Hope and Charity; 285 Years Young". The New York Times. 7 July 1994. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Popular Baby Names". Ssa.gov. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  6. ^ https://www.behindthename.com/name/faith/top/netherlands
  7. ^ Fowers, Alyssa; Van Dam, Andrew (13 December 2024). "Puritan baby names are back. Is '90s culture responsible?". washingtonpost.com. Washington Post. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
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