Lass Words: A name to remember

I have always been fascinated that people of the Bible are never referred to by a last name. There’s a good reason for that: They didn’t have one.

Last names, or surnames as they are technically called, did not become common until around the 11th century. 

Of course folks still had to be able to tell each other apart, so they distinguished themselves in several ways — usually through lineage (Peter, Son of Jonah), or hometown (Jesus of Nazareth, Saul of Tarsus, Simon of Cyrene) or tribe (Aaron the Levite, Ruth the Moabitess).

I always used to think Mary Magdalene and Judas Iscariot had first and last names, but come to find out Magdalene actually refers to Mary being from Magdala, an important first century port on the Sea of Galilee. The translation of Iscariot is “man from Kerioth,” a village on the fringe of the Judean desert. Don’t confuse him with Judas, Son of James, who was also a disciple. That Judas was often called Thaddeus, perhaps to avoid mistaken identity. 

What are you known for?

But to me, the most interesting way people were identified in biblical times was by what they did, or what they were known for, such as John the Baptist or Simon the Sorcerer. And I couldn’t help wondering, if we still used that particular method today, what do you suppose your name would be? What are you known for? What have you dedicated your life to? Would you be called something like Sam the Servant Heart? Or maybe Cindy the Unselfish? Frank the Encourager? Theresa the Trustworthy? 

Or might you be labeled something like Debbie the Deceiver, Gladys the Gossip or Charles the Cheater? It makes you wonder, or at least it should, what type of legacy you are leaving. Is it one Jesus would approve? 

Eventually, there were just too many people out there and folks had to take on permanent surnames. It wasn’t really that much of a change — many popular surnames today reflect family occupations. I’ll bet you know people with last names such as Carpenter, Fisher, Potter, Cook or Baker. 

Anyway, thank You, Lord, for surnames. Else I would probably be writing today as Ken the Napper, or possibly Ken the Eater of Sweets.