Puritan Names
The Puritans of 16th- and 17th-century England and New England wanted names that preached. They avoided saints’ names they considered “popish” and turned instead to the Old Testament, to single virtues such as Patience and Temperance, and sometimes to whole phrases like Sorry-for-sin or Fly-fornication.
Below are 100 Puritan names recorded in parish registers, colonial records and the Mayflower passenger list, grouped by type and explained. Several are fashionable again (Mercy, Honor, Hope, Ezra), while others are pure historical curiosity. For neighboring eras, see our colonial names and 1800s names, or dig into the scriptural sources with our biblical names.
Puritan virtue names for girls
Single-word virtue names were given mostly to daughters. Records from Sussex and Kent in the 1580s–1600s show dozens of them.
| Name | Virtue it names | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Faith | Trust in God | Still popular today |
| Hope | Expectation of salvation | One of the three theological virtues |
| Charity | Christian love | From Latin caritas |
| Grace | God’s unearned favor | Top 50 US name in recent years |
| Mercy | Compassion, forgiveness | Rising again in the US |
| Patience | Endurance, forbearance | Common in 17th-c. Massachusetts |
| Prudence | Wisdom, foresight | Nickname Prue |
| Temperance | Self-restraint | Popular in period dramas |
| Constance | Steadfastness | Constance Hopkins sailed on the Mayflower |
| Honor | Integrity | Also spelled Honour |
| Silence | Quietness before God | Surprisingly common in New England |
| Obedience | Submission to God’s will | Rare today |
| Comfort | Consolation | Used for both sexes |
| Joy | Spiritual gladness | Timeless |
| Clemency | Mercy, gentleness | English virtue name |
| Verity | Truth | From Latin veritas |
| Modesty | Humility in manner | Rare |
| Amity | Friendship | Old French amitie |
| Thankful | Gratitude | Recorded in 1600s Connecticut |
| Desire | Longing for God | Desire Minter, Mayflower passenger |
| Deliverance | Rescue by God | Colonial records |
| Submit | Yielding to God | Found in Massachusetts records |
| Experience | Knowledge of God’s grace | Rare 17th-c. name |
| Truth | Honesty | Unisex |
Puritan names for boys
Boys more often received Old Testament names, but a few distinctly Puritan word-names were used for sons, including the famous Increase Mather.
| Name | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Increase | Growth in God’s favor | Increase Mather, Harvard president |
| Resolved | Firm in faith | Resolved White, Mayflower passenger |
| Wrestling | Wrestling with sin | Wrestling Brewster, son of William Brewster |
| Love | Christian love | Love Brewster, Mayflower passenger |
| Remember | Remember God’s mercies | Remember Allerton (a girl) sailed on the Mayflower |
| Oceanus | Of the ocean | Oceanus Hopkins, born aboard the Mayflower |
| Peregrine | Pilgrim, traveler | Peregrine White, first English child born in Plymouth Colony |
| Consider | Reflect on God’s word | New England records |
| Return | Return to God | Colonial Massachusetts |
| Preserved | Kept safe by God | Preserved Fish, 17th-c. Rhode Island |
| Standfast | Steady in faith | Rare |
| Zeal | Religious fervor | Rare |
| Hopestill | Hope still in God | Hopestill Foster, Boston |
| Supply | God’s provision | Colonial Massachusetts |
Hortatory phrase names
The most extreme Puritans gave “hortatory” names, short sermons meant to exhort the child. They were mocked even at the time, but they are real and recorded, many in Sussex between 1580 and 1640.
| Name | Message | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Praise-God | Praise God | Praise-God Barebone, member of Parliament, 1653 |
| Fear-God | Fear God | Fear-God Barebone, brother of Praise-God |
| If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned | Christ died for you | Nicholas Barbon’s birth name (son of Praise-God), per tradition |
| Sorry-for-sin | Repentance | Sussex parish records |
| Fly-fornication | Avoid sin | Warbleton, Sussex, 1600s |
| Faint-not | Do not lose heart | Faint-not Wines, Sussex |
| Hate-evil | Reject evil | Hate-evil Nutter, New Hampshire |
| Stand-fast-on-high | Stay faithful | Sussex records |
| The-Lord-is-near | God is close | Sussex records |
| Much-mercy | Abundant mercy | Sussex records |
| Job-raked-out-of-the-ashes | Rescued like Job | Recorded in Sussex; often cited |
| Sin-deny | Deny sin | Sussex records |
| Be-steadfast | Remain firm | Sussex records |
| Search-the-scriptures | Study the Bible | Sussex records |
Old Testament names Puritans loved
Rejecting medieval saints, Puritans reached deep into the Hebrew Bible, reviving names that had been unused in England for centuries. More in our biblical boy names and biblical girl names.
| Name | Meaning | Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| Abigail | My father is joy | 1 Samuel 25 |
| Hannah | Grace, favor | 1 Samuel 1 |
| Rebecca | To bind, snare | Genesis 24 |
| Sarah | Princess | Genesis 17 |
| Rachel | Ewe | Genesis 29 |
| Deborah | Bee | Judges 4 |
| Judith | Woman of Judea | Book of Judith |
| Leah | Possibly “weary” | Genesis 29 |
| Miriam | Possibly “bitter” or “beloved” | Exodus 15 |
| Keziah | Cassia (spice) | Job 42 |
| Jerusha | Possession | 2 Kings 15 |
| Hepzibah | My delight is in her | Isaiah 62 |
| Mehitabel | God makes happy | Genesis 36 |
| Zipporah | Bird | Exodus 2 |
| Bathsheba | Daughter of the oath | 2 Samuel 11 |
| Ezekiel | God strengthens | Book of Ezekiel |
| Ezra | Help | Book of Ezra |
| Nehemiah | Comforted by God | Book of Nehemiah |
| Josiah | God supports | 2 Kings 22 |
| Jedidiah | Beloved of God | 2 Samuel 12 |
| Obadiah | Servant of God | Book of Obadiah |
| Zechariah | God remembers | Book of Zechariah |
| Elkanah | God has acquired | 1 Samuel 1 |
| Habakkuk | Embrace | Book of Habakkuk |
| Eleazar | God has helped | Exodus 6 |
| Hezekiah | God strengthens | 2 Kings 18 |
| Ebenezer | Stone of help | 1 Samuel 7 |
| Nathan | He gave | 2 Samuel 7 |
| Enoch | Dedicated | Genesis 5 |
| Gershom | Stranger there | Exodus 2 |
| Zerubbabel | Seed of Babylon | Ezra 3 |
| Jabez | Sorrow | 1 Chronicles 4 |
| Phinehas | Possibly Egyptian “the Nubian” | Numbers 25 |
| Barzillai | Man of iron | 2 Samuel 19 |
Names from the Mayflower and early Plymouth
Real passenger and settler names from 1620 and the years after, a mix of Puritan Separatists and hired hands. Great for historical fiction set in colonial New England.
| Name | Person | Role |
|---|---|---|
| William | William Bradford | Governor of Plymouth Colony |
| Myles | Myles Standish | Military leader |
| Priscilla | Priscilla Mullins | Married John Alden |
| Elizabeth | Elizabeth Tilley | Married John Howland |
| Susanna | Susanna White | Mother of Peregrine White |
| Mary | Mary Chilton | Said to be first woman ashore |
| Stephen | Stephen Hopkins | Passenger who had been to Jamestown |
| Isaac | Isaac Allerton | Merchant and assistant governor |
| Fear | Fear Brewster | Arrived 1623 on the Anne |
| Jonathan | Jonathan Brewster | Eldest Brewster son, arrived 1621 |
| Bartholomew | Bartholomew Allerton | Child passenger |
| Humility | Humility Cooper | Child passenger |
| Damaris | Damaris Hopkins | Child passenger |
| Edward | Edward Winslow | Later governor |
How to choose a Puritan name today
- Pick a virtue that ages well. Mercy, Honor, Constance and Verity work at any age; Obedience or Submit carry heavy baggage today.
- Check the nickname. Prudence gives Prue, Temperance gives Tempie, Patience gives Patty. Make sure you like the short form too.
- Use hortatory names as middle names or for characters. A full sentence name is a fun detail in fiction but a burden on school forms.
- Look at the Old Testament for rare finds. Hepzibah, Jerusha and Keziah sound fresh; see our old-fashioned girl names for similar picks.
- Balance with a plain surname. Word-names like Silence or Remember read more clearly as names alongside a traditional last name.
Frequently asked questions
What are Puritan virtue names?
Virtue names are single English words naming a Christian quality, such as Faith, Hope, Charity, Patience, Prudence, Mercy and Constance. Puritans used them from the late 1500s, mostly for girls.
What is the strangest Puritan name?
Among the most famous is the name traditionally attributed to Nicholas Barbon, son of Praise-God Barebone: “If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned.” Sussex records also include Fly-fornication and Sorry-for-sin.
Why did Puritans avoid saints’ names?
They saw non-biblical saints and their cults as Catholic tradition, so they preferred Bible figures and plain English words that carried a moral lesson.
Were Puritan names used in America?
Yes. The Mayflower passengers included Love, Wrestling, Resolved, Remember, Desire and Oceanus, and New England records are full of names like Increase, Thankful and Silence.
Are Puritan names coming back?
Several are. Grace, Faith, Hope, Mercy, Honor and Ezra all appear in recent US birth data, and Temperance and Prudence have gained attention through period dramas.