The classic one is nephi, the name of the main book of mormon writer, and of no fewer than four characters in the book. Many book of mormon names are either biblical, formed from a rhyming pattern, changed by a prefix or suffix, or greek in etymology. When you look at this name, you dont really know what to say. Examples of authentic ancient book of mormon names a. Book of mormon names no fiction writer would choose. Most mormons do not know the words of their own socalled scripture. Following are suggestions for pronouncing book of mormon names and terms. Missing indices indicate people in the index who are not in the book of mormon. Three names in the guide have two pronunciations ishmael, israel, and mosiah, reflecting two ways the name is pronounced among englishspeaking church. Moroni, pronounced mor own eye, often comes out as mor on knee.
Lehi, nephi, helaman, shiblon, moronihah, amalickiah, korihor, pahoran, lamoni, zeezrom, shizwhat strange names. Ammon, a variation of the name amon, is featured in the book of mormon. As an example, nobody in the early days of the church attempted to define in print how the proper names appearing in the book of mormonbut not the biblewere to be pronounced since joseph smith in his translation spelled out unfamiliar proper names to his scribes during the translation process, but never formally recorded his pronunciations. Tvedtnes the preface to the work, david noel freedman wrote, the editor is to be commended for his catholicity and. Gideon in the book of mormon, gideon was a faithful leader of the church and an eventual enemy to the wicked king. Chances are, most people havent met someone with mormon as their last name since less than 1 person in 909k people have that last name. Indeed, the first published guide to pronunciation of book of mormon names, the pronouncing vocabulary, was not accomplished until the 1920. Forget the celeb craze of strange names like apple or north west.
Nibley postulates that names do not match exactly due to the process of metathesis. The mormon church does not want even its own members to know how to pronounce shimnilom. May 20, 2017 whether youve been reading the book of mormon for years, months or days, we bet you wont be able to ace this quiz. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. Even the word sarah he could not pronounce at first, but had to spell it, and i would pronounce it for him. Almost as shocking as the twisting of scriptural names is the complete omission of sacred toponyms. Some mormon name trends include using religious, ancestral, invented, themed names and a combination of the above to title a new baby. How was the book of mormon pronouncing guide developed. The name is also associated with great missionaries and prophet in the book of mormon. Many lds assume that this is evidence that joseph smith could not have made up the book of mormon. As 21st century members of the lds church, we can benefit from this less than successful experiment by studying the 1869 deseret alphabet book of mormon and learning how early church members most likely pronounced book of mormon names.
The deseret alphabet represents a bold but failed attempt by 19th century lds church leaders to revolutionize english language orthography. If you ask a typical mormon to say shimnilom, they will not recognize it as a word from their golden bible. Gideon in the book of mormon, gideon was a faithful leader of the church and an eventual enemy to the wicked king noah. How the guide to english pronunciation of book of mormon names. Many book of mormon names are not found in the bible, and were unknown to joseph smith. How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of mormon. Fun fact while finding common mormon names to give joseph and zaylie for this pos mormons love oddball baby names. Critics believe joseph smith came up with all the names in the book of mormon, noting that joseph owned a king james bible with a table listing all the names used in the bible. Considering josephs limited formal education, it is highly. Its like these parents combined the most basic of names to form an entirely new name, and you cant help but feel for the children. Two years ago i was asked to give a paper on hebrew names in the book of mormon at the world congress of jewish studies held in jerusalem.
The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. There are certain baby names out there that make you pause and think, what in the world. From 1880 to 2018, the social security administration has recorded 203 babies born with the first name teancum in the united states. How many people with the first name teancum have been born in the united states. Apr 22, 2012 the classic one is nephi, the name of the main book of mormon writer, and of no fewer than four characters in the book. This guide is provided to assist the reader and is not. Of course, it is not possible to know how joseph smith pronounced those names, but that is not the pronunciation guides vital purpose. The truth about the book of mormon pronouncing guide exposed. Scholars who have studied different manuscripts and printings of the book of mormon note finding some variations in spelling for common words but careful control of the spelling of names. In his book lehi in the desert, nibley compares names found in the book of mormon with ancient egyptian names from upper egypt. Can you pronounce these deceptively difficult book of. The tight control theory in the book of mormon deseret news. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have been found as actual names from ancient history. Utahs history is an interesting mix of old west and mormon heritage.
Mar 28, 2016 mormons name their kids the darnedest things. Lehi m mormon from an old testament place name meaning jawbone in hebrew, so called because it was the site where the hero samson defeated 1,000 warriors using only the jawbone of a donkey as a weapon. Some years after the publication of the book of mormon, joseph smith mentioned that mahonri moriancumer was the name of the brother of jared. Poor nephi, moroni and alma, though arguably alma is the most normal of the bunch. Can you pronounce these deceptively difficult book. This pronunciation guide shows what a utah accent sounds like. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. Census bureau surveyed 334 people with the last name mormon. Its only seven questions long and is comprised of names from the book of mormon pronunciation guide no cheating. Whether youve been reading the book of mormon for years, months or days, we bet you wont be able to ace this quiz. Mahonri m mormon in the book of mormon, the brother of jared is the most prominent person in the account given in the beginning chapters 16 of the book of ether. So how do you pronounce the unfamiliar names in the book of mormon. The \tight control\ theory for the book of mormon translation suggests that. While we generally pronounce the name as \uhmaluhkyuh,\.
Book of mormon pronunciation guide retrieved 20120225, ipaified from am. Some parents also give their children unique mormon names to point them in a positive direction. These hits provide additional evidence that the book of mormon is indeed an ancient record. Can you pronounce these book of mormon names correctly. This list is intended as a quick reference for individuals mentioned in the book of mormon. We can assume that the saints in the prophets day heard him pronounce some book of mormon names during gospel discussions and discourses given after the translation of the book of mormon. How the guide to english pronunciation of book of mormon. Most are difficult to pronounce, remember, classify, and keep straight. Does giving your children latterday saint names affect their. The state was inhabited by several native american tribes long before mormon pioneers arrived. Jan 05, 2009 the mormon church does not want even its own members to know how to pronounce shimnilom. Teancum is the 27,112 th most popular name of all time.
In studying the pronunciation guides evolution for englishspeaking church members, one thing becomes clear. These 24 towns in utah have the strangest names youll ever see. Learn how to pronounce mormon and more about the mormon word at. It is also used in the book of mormon as the name of a prophet. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a. Usually pronounced knee feye, it can often come out as neffee. We searched far and wide for the latest and greatest in utahs naming trends, and we were not disappointed. Ask them to explain what shimnilom means, and all you get is a blank stare. This guide is provided to assist the reader and is not intended as an authoritative source on how these names were pronounced originally. How the guide to english pronunciation of book of mormon names came about mary jane woodger journal of book of mormon studies 91 2000. The pronouncing guide, located at the back of the current english edition of the book of mormon, contains 344 proper names. Brinnlee brielle anderson and other great utah names zion curtain said on february 4th, 2017 at 5. Early in 1849 the mormon community was organized as the state of deseret 1 with brigham young as governor. The truth about the book of mormon pronouncing guide.
Dec 30, 2017 although book of mormon names like ammon and teancum are becoming more widespread, children with these names most likely wont share a name with someone in their kindergarten class. Audio and video pronunciation of nephi brought to you by pronounce names, a website dedicated to helping people pronounce nam. I think that was the first time that that organization of scholars from all over the world, most of them jewish, had really invited someone to discuss the book of mormon as one of the serious topics on that scholarly forum, and i was glad to do that. Take a look at the questions below and listen to your options. Nobody in the early days of the church attempted to define in print how the proper names appearing in the book of mormonbut not the biblewere to be. Aug 08, 20 audio and video pronunciation of nephi brought to you by pronounce names, a website dedicated to helping people pronounce nam. Apologists note that many of the proper names in the book of mormon are hebrew names found in the bible e. The book of mormon the major mission of the book of mormon, as recorded on its title page, is to the convincing of the jew and gentile that jesus is the christ, the eternal god, manifesting himself unto all nations. Alma may be a female name, but its used primarily for males among the mormons. Over onehalf of all the verses in the book of mormon refer to our lord. The comparisons show that many names in the book of mormon are similar to names in a certain region and era of ancient egypt.