Naming and nationalism

Peter J. Leithart, December 28, 2006

With nationalism at its height in the nineteenth century, the common practice of giving children biblical names was a check on nationalist idolatry, a reminder that the child was part of Christendom, not merely of France, Germany, England, etc. Rosenstock-Huessy puts the point dramatically: "When biblical names disappeared in Europe around 1900, the World War was the immediate result."