a PK named Delilah?

[mrstrivette]

Delilah is WAY better than Jezebel! :-)

[danni]

Honestly, if I met a pastor's child who was named Delilah, I would think, "Wow, how neat! They have used a name they love despite the story. The name must be meaningful to them."

I can certainly understand that there are some names people won't want to use because of personally associations (I met one bad egg named Andrew, for example, and now I wouldn't use that name for my son).

However, I think historical and religious names have different meanings to different individuals--the stories about Guinevere, Ophelia, and Sapphira matter to some people, but not to others.

I think it would be really interesting if, when your daughter is old enough to ask why she has the same name as the Delilah in the Bible, you could give her a meaningful explanation: "Yes, Delilah did something unkind to Sampson, but that doesn't mean you will be unkind because you have the same name. You can make different choices."

Just my two cents. If you love it, USE IT!

[8andcounting]

I would not recommend it. Imagine when she is in Sunday School and the get to the story of Delilah... When she is little I think this could cause her some problems and mixed feelings about her own name. I think other children may also be more inclined to tease her once they have heard the story of Delilah. What about just Lilah/Lila? It is almost the same name but takes away all these negative connotations.

[extradishes]

You could throw what other people think in the trash. But her name will still be part of your daughter's identity. It will be part of what shapes her. Will you teach her the biblical story? She will probably feel the biblical character is part of herself on some level since they share a name. I identified strongly with my name from a young age. My name's meaning is a virtue, so I tried to act that virtue (sometimes, ha). I learned about the Saint associated with my name and wanted to be more like her. I hated my unisex middle name when I was young, because it wasn't feminine enough and to me it didn't identify me properly as a girl. For the reason that a name and its meaning can become part of personal identity, I'd not use the name Delilah for my child. Just my opinion.

[marissalou]

I love the sound of Delilah, but would hesitate to name a daughter that because of the connotations... I looked up the meaning, just in case that might be redeeming, but it means "to flirt." I wouldn't use it, but if it's the one name that you both love, I wouldn't say don't use it, I'd just recommend being 100% sure you're ok with people making annoying comments. Good luck!

[goodhope]

I wouldn't do it, sorry.

I think it would be hard for a PK--harder, anyway, than for an accountant's kid or a bricklayer's kid--to escape biblical association of Delilah. If I were Delilah, the preacher's kid, I think I'd be uncomfortable with my own name.

[meso]

Wow, thanks for all of the great answers! The more I've thought about it, what other people think wouldn't bother me much, we have a great congregation, and while it may rattle a few old folks, I feel like people would think it was cute. But one of you said something about a sibling having a meaningful name and I think that could be a problem. We have a one year old Luke Elliott and we chose his name largely based on meaning so we should probably not give our baby girl a name that means " to flirt" too bad!

[mind_the_gap]

I have gone to church all my life and I know the story of Samson and Delilah, and I think it would be fine to use. I would assume that the pastor knows what he's doing and likes the name anyway. I recently checked out the book "Benny and Beautiful Baby Delilah" by Jean Van Leeuwen from the library to read to my kids and they really liked the story, and it made me like the name. You should look for the book!

[rosieposie]

I wouldnt do it!

Lilah
Bethany
Deborah
Anna
Rebecca
Junia
Adah
Gabrielle
Amy
Lydia
Hannah
Grace
Hope
Faith
Hosanna
Joanna
Elizabeth
Sarah
Ruth
Abigail
Esther
Eve
Talitha
Miriam
Mary
Madeline

There are so many beautiful Biblical names out there that represent Godly women! I wouldnt use Delilah personally but i agree that it is a pretty name...check out this website for more ideas
http://www.babynamesfromthebible.com...l-names-g.html

[lo]

I totally agree with your conclusion that since you have a Luke already you need to stick with the "good guys". My sons have Biblical names and they like to hear their names mentioned at church. Paul gets mentioned a lot =) In fact all the kids are excited to hear the baby's name (James) mentioned..