Name-Giving

In the Old and New Testaments, names often have a meaning. In many stories, it is the mother who chooses her child’s name at the birth.

A person’s name often has something to do with the circumstances of the birth or contains a reference to something from the parents’ past (see for instance Genesis 30:10-13 or 1 Samuel 4:19-22).
In the seventh century BC, animal names were popular. At birth, a baby could be named after an animal because of the colour of its hair, for instance. Thus, the prophetess Huldah, who appears in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, probably gets her name (“mole”) from her black hair.
Parents often gave a name displaying their connection with God. Names like this tend to contain the syllable “el” or “yah”, like Samuel (God hears), Elijah (the Lord is my God) or Uzziah (the Lord is my strength).

In the New Testament, it is clear that there could also be an official moment for the name-giving. That was on the occasion of the circumcision on the eighth day. This is what happens in Luke 2:21.