Table Of ContentPerspectives on Latter-day Saint
Names and Naming
Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming approaches cultural, historical,
and doctrinal dimensions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
through a fresh lens that explores how these dimensions intersect with names and
naming.
Featuring a collection of chapters from multiple authors, its bipartite structure
examines fascinating topics in relation to the Church, looking first at cultural and
historical perspectives before analyzing doctrinal and scriptural perspectives. The
book discusses such matters as how contemporary naming practices of Latter-day
Saints compare to those outside the faith, how code names were used in one of the
faith’s books of scripture to protect Church leaders from persecution, and how
names and naming relate to the covenant identity of Church members.
Through its fresh approach to understanding religious identity and belief in
relation to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this book is an invalu-
able resource for scholars and students of Mormon studies and will also be of
interest to people with a fascination with names and naming issues as those occur
in a variety of settings, including religious ones.
Dallin D. Oaks is a professor of English Linguistics at Brigham Young University
and the author or editor of several books, including Linguistics at Work and Structural
Ambiguity in English (2 vols.).
Paul Baltes edits academic books and other creative works. He has been research-
ing names since his MA Thesis. He continues to research and apply how we pro-
cess meaning in business and leadership organizations.
Kent Minson has worked in editing and publishing for over two decades and is
currently the manager of BYU Academic Publishing.
Perspectives on Latter-day
Saint Names and Naming
Names, Identity, and Belief
Edited by Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baltes,
and Kent Minson
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baltes, and
Kent Minson; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson to be identified
as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-35043-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-35044-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-32500-0 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003325000
Typeset in Bembo
by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)
Contents
Preface vii
Editor Biographies ix
1 Introduction to Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names
and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief 1
DALLIN D. OAKS
PART I
Cultural and Historical Perspectives 19
2 Place Names of the Mormon West: Religion, Heritage, and
Idiosyncrasy 21
RICHARD H. JACKSON
3 Scandinavian Influences on Anthroponyms and Toponyms
in Utah 42
LYNN HENRICHSEN, GEORGE BAILEY, TIMOTHY WRIGHT, AND JACOB HUCKABY
4 Nameways in Latter-day Saint History, Custom, and Folklore 70
ERIC A. ELIASON
5 Composite LDS Given Names 101
DON E. NORTON
6 Contemporary Latter-day Saint Naming 111
CLEVELAND K. EVANS
7 Early Latter-day Saint Code-Names 161
JOHN A. TVEDTNES
vi Contents
PART II
Doctrinal and Scriptural Perspectives 167
8 Onomastics and Latter-day Saint Belief 169
DALLIN D. OAKS
9 The Doctrine of Names in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ 201
JOSEPH FIELDING MCCONKIE
10 Book of Mormon Names: Beyond Etymology 217
JOHN GEE
11 Striking While the Irony Is Hot: Hebrew Onomastics and
Their Function within the Book of Mormon Text 228
MATTHEW L. BOWEN
12 “Like a Shadow that Accompanies the Body”: Names and
Naming in the Ancient World 250
STEPHEN D. RICKS
13 Book of Mormon Names: A Collection that Defies
Expectation 268
BRAD WILCOX, WENDY BAKER-SMEMOE, SHARON BLACK,
AND BRUCE L. BROWN
Index 300
Preface
One of the first things we ask people when we wish to get to know them is their
name. Learning people’s names is an important initial step to knowing about them,
but in order to get better acquainted with them, we usually ask other questions
such as where they are from, what kinds of jobs or hobbies they have, or something
about their educational background. Interestingly, it doesn’t generally occur to us
to ask them further questions about their name (or nickname) unless it is unique
or unusual. Even then we may hesitate or ask only a quick, superficial question.
We don’t often inquire about their family patterns of naming, nor do we query
them about their views regarding names and naming culture, possibly because we
feel it would be too socially invasive or unusual upon first meeting them, but more
likely because we don’t really think about how much we might discover by doing
so. Yet we could really learn some important information if we were to ask how
they feel about their own name, how their name was selected, whether there was
a significance to the name they were given, how the bestowal of the name was
formalized, what kinds of names they would give (or have given) their own chil-
dren, what kinds of measures they take to protect their names and those of loved
ones or others they care about, etc. Such information would reveal much about
their background, preferences, attitudes, and perhaps even beliefs.
While the study of names and naming (onomastics) can be revealing on an
individual level, it is very significant when applied and extended to a religious
belief system, as well as the cultural practices and attitudes of its adherents. In this
book, we have collected a variety of chapters that apply an onomastic lens to dif-
ferent facets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members
have sometimes been known unofficially by the nickname “Mormons.” Our antic-
ipated audience for this book consists of those who identify with the Church and
its system of beliefs, as well as those who don’t but are interested in learning
something more about the Church, its members, and their beliefs. For the benefit
of those who are not very familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and thus might not recognize or understand certain references and discus-
sions in what follows, we have provided some basic background information in the
introduction.
It should be noted here that when describing or referring to Church doctrine
and history, this book will not encumber the text with a lot of qualifying
viii Preface
expressions such as “alleged” or “claimed.” We will describe some events and
beliefs from the perspective of a Latter-day Saint’s doctrine and belief, and we
expect that our readers can recognize when religious claims are presented from
that standpoint. We expect, for example, that if our readers see a reference to “the
prophet Joseph Smith,” they can recognize that this phrase contains an accepted
title and status from the standpoint of those who belong to the Church and believe
its tenets. We also recognize that readers from outside the Church will apply their
own interpretive significance to such a phrase. Similarly, in the last part of the
book, we have a few articles involving apologetics. Those articles nicely illustrate
how a consideration of names and naming can relate to defenses that people make
for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. And even as some readers may not
accept the conclusions that are drawn in those pieces, we think there is value in
seeing how onomastic considerations have factored into arguments that have been
made on behalf of that religious text. Of course, in all of what follows, the views,
arguments, and beliefs that are presented are those of the individual authors and do
not necessarily represent those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This book has benefited from the efforts and input of various individuals. We
first wish to acknowledge Professor Leonard Ashley, who initially proposed that a
book related to Latter-day Saints and naming be prepared. We also thank all the
various authors who have prepared articles for this book. In some cases, they have
also assisted in reviewing or answering questions about other matters that have
arisen in the preparation of this book.
Over the years we have also received some useful input and assistance from Ed
Geary, Bill Eggington, Matt Christensen, and John Gee. We have also had some
editorial assistance or other support from Tim Zeidner, Raymond Pai, Rachel H.
Bricker, Cari Taylor Averett, Bethany Cummings Petersen, the Brigham Young
University (BYU) Linguistics department and College of Humanities, as well as
Mel Thorne and the BYU Faculty Publications Center. We are especially grateful
for the considerable help we received from Jessica Mitton and Kayue Chan. We
also thank the editorial team at Routledge, and their colleagues, for their consid-
erable kindness, help, and support, especially Ceri McLardy, Iman Hakimi, Thivya
Vasudevan, and Helen Chomyszyn.
For a variety of reasons, this book has been many years in preparation. The
editors thank the authors for their patience in waiting for this volume to appear.
We also respectfully acknowledge Joseph Fielding McConkie and John Tvedtnes,
who both passed away before being able to see the completion of this book. They
were excited to share their works, words, and ideas with the world.
Editor Biographies
Dallin D. Oaks, who is the lead editor of this book, is a professor of English
Linguistics at Brigham Young University, and the author or editor of several
books, including Linguistics at Work and Structural Ambiguity in English (2 vols.).
Of the latter book, the Oxford Bibliographies says that it is “the most compre-
hensive treatment of ambiguity” and “a must-have reference for professionals.”
Paul Baltes holds a PhD in English Linguistics from Purdue University and has
professionally edited numerous academic books and other creative works. He
has been researching names since his master’s thesis, “On Meaning, Reference,
and Predicative Functions of Personal Names” (Purdue University, 1991). He
continues to research and apply how we process meaning in business and
leadership.
Kent Minson holds both an MA in English with an editing emphasis and an
MBA from Brigham Young University. He has worked in publishing for over
two decades, and is currently the manager of BYU Academic Publishing. In
addition, he has co-authored the article “When Pages Collide: Dissecting the
Words of Mormon,” BYU Studies Quarterly 51, no. 4 (2012).
