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#REDIRECT[[Names in the Book of Mormon]]
{{BoMPortal}}
=Book of Mormon Anachronisms: Names=
=={{Criticism label}}==
Critics claim some Book of Mormon names are used improperly or in an inappropriate context.
Examples include:
*using "Alma" as a man's name, rather than a woman's name
*using names of Greek origin, such as "Timothy"
 
{{CriticalSources}}
 
=={{Conclusion label}}==
 
Many Book of Mormon names are not found in the Bible, and were unknown to Joseph Smith.  Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages and/or have been found as actual names from ancient history.  These "hits" provide additional evidence that the Book of Mormon is indeed an ancient record.
 
== ==
{{Response label}}
===Key===
Hugh Nibley did considerable work on Book of Mormon names.  References to his work will be marked as follows to avoid multiple, repetitive footnotes:
 
* {{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}} = {{Nibley5|start=23-32}}  [Nibley marks Old World names as (OW) and Book of Mormon names as (BM).]
 
Others:
* {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}} = {{JBMS-9-1-10}}
 
===General treatments on Book of Mormon names===
*{{FR-8-2-5}}
*{{JBMS-3-1-2}}
*{{JBMS-6-2-15}}
*{{JBMS-7-1-11}}
 
===Abish===
: "Abish corresponds to the Hebrew name 'bš', found on a seal from pre-exilic times (prior to 587 BC) in the Hecht Museum in Haifa.19 The addition of the Hebrew letter aleph (symbolized by ' in transliteration) to the end of the name is known from other Hebrew hypocoristic names, suggesting that the name on the seal may be hypocoristic." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
===Aha===
:"Aha (OW), a name of the first Pharaoh; it means "warrior" and is a common word." {{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
*"Hugh Nibley proposed that the name was of Egyptian origin meaning "warrior". But the name is now attested in several early inscriptions as Hebrew 'h', thought by scholars to have been vocalized 'Aha' and to be a hypocoristic name based on 'ah, "brother". The longer form, rendered Ahijah in the King James Bible, is 'ahîyah(û), which means "brother of Yah (Jehovah)" or "Yah is my brother",21 which is also attested in a dozen ancient Hebrew inscriptions." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
*{{JBMS-8-2-11}}
 
 
===Alma===
 
*"Alma is supposed to be a prophet of God and of Jewish ancestry in the Book of Mormon. In Hebrew Alma means a betrothed virgin maiden-hardly a
fitting name for a man." - "Dr." Walter Martin, ''The Maze of Mormonism'' (Santa Ana, California: Vision House, 1978), 327.
 
Despite claims into the 1980s by anti-Mormon critics, the name "Alma" has been known since the 1960s as a male Hebrew name.  It occurs in contexts from 2200 B.C. to the second century B.C.{{ref|roper1}}
 
* Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon'', 2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
*{{JBMS-8-1-14}}
*{{JBMS-9-1-10}}
 
===Ammon===
:"Ammon (Amon, Amun) (OW), the commonest name in the Egyptian Empire: the great universal God of the Empire."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
===Ammonihah===
 
:"Ammoni-hah (BM), name of a country and city. [compare with]
:Ammuni-ra (OW), prince of Beyrut under Egyptian rule. The above might stand the same relationship to this name as Khamuni-ra (OW), Amarna personal name, perhaps equivalent of Ammuni-ra."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
* "The name is attested on two Hebrew seals, one known to date to the seventh century BC, in the forms ‘mnyhw and ‘mnwyhw." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:
* {{JBMRS-18-1-6}} <!--Hoskisson-->
 
===Chemish===
* "His name is apparently related to that of the Ammonite god Chemosh, spelled Kmš in prevocalic Hebrew and Ammonite (related languages). A number of names containing the element Kmš are known, in which it is clear that the divine name was meant.33 Also known is a seal currently in the Israel Museum that has Kmš as the name of a man or woman." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
===Com===
* Criticism: {{CriticalWork:Sunderland:Mormonism:10 February 1838}}
{{nw}}
 
===Corihor===
 
''See:''[[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Korihor|Korihor]]
 
===Cumenihah===
 
For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:
* {{JBMRS-18-1-6}} <!--Hoskisson-->
 
===Cumorah===
* {{JBMS-6-2-15}}
 
===Hagoth===
: "One Book of Mormon critic argued that Joseph Smith derived the name Hagoth from the name of the biblical prophet Haggai. Indeed, the names may be related, but a closer parallel is the biblical Haggith (see {{b|2|Samuel|3|4}}; {{b|1|Kings|1|5}}, etc.), which may have been vocalized Hagoth anciently. All three names derive from a root referring to a pilgrimage to attend religious festivals.  The name Hagoth is attested in the form Hgt on an Ammonite seal inscribed sometime in the eighth through the sixth centuries BC36 (The Ammonites, neighbors of the Israelites and descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot, wrote and spoke the same language as the Israelites.)" - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
===Helaman===
:"Helaman (BM), great Nephite prophet. [compare with]
:Her-amon (OW), "in the presence of Amon," as in the Egyptian proper name Heri-i-her-imn. Semitic "l" is always written "r" in Egyptian, which has no "l." Conversely, the Egyptian "r" is often written "l" in Semitic languages.{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
===Hem===
 
:"Hem (BM), brother of the earlier Ammon."
:"Hem (OW), means "servant," specifically of Ammon, as in the title Hem tp n 'Imn, "chief servant of Ammon" held by the high priest of Thebes."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
===Himni===
:"Himni (BM), a son of King Mosiah.
:Hmn (OW), a name of the Egyptian hawk-god, symbol of the emperor."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
* "...the name Himni is clearly Hebrew and is represented by the unvocalized form, Hmn on two Israelite seals. The first, from the eighth century BC, was found at Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley. The other is from the first half of the seventh century BC." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
===Isabel===
* "Isabel was a harlot in the land of Siron, on the border between the Lamanites and the Zoramites (see {{s||Alma|39|3}}). LDS scholars have generally assumed that the name is identical to that of the Old Testament Jezebel, the Hebrew form of which was 'ÃŽzebel, and this is probably correct. But the spelling Yzbl is now attested on a seal in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem that is thought to be Phoenician in origin." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
===Irreantum===
Critique: {{CriticalWork:Bachelor:Mormonism Exposed|pages=13}}
{{an|"Proof of this, Mr. Nephi Mormon Moroni Rigdon Harris Cowdery Smith. Let us have the proof. Irreantum signifies a complete ass, nearer than any thing else."}}
{{nw}}
 
===Jaredite Names===
''See'': [[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Less well supported examples|below]].
 
===Jarrom===
 
* "One might wish to compare Jarom with the biblical name Jehoram, which is found twenty-one times in the Bible, while its hypocoristic form Joram occurs twenty-four times. But several Hebrew inscriptions bear the name Yrm, which scholars consider to be the hypocoristic form of Yrmyh(w), Jeremiah, whose name means "Yah (Jehovah) exalts." Yrm is found in four Hebrew inscriptions, including a seal of the seventh century BC, found in Egypt, and three items from the time of Lehi: a jug inscription from Tel esh-Shari‘ah, and an ostracon and bulla in the Moussaieff collection." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
===Jershon===
* Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon'' 2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
* {{JBMS-6-2-15}}
 
===Josh===
* Criticism: {{CriticalWork:Sunderland:Mormonism:10 February 1838}}
* "Josh was the name of a city destroyed at the time of Christ's crucifixion (see {{s|3|Nephi|9|10}}) and of a Nephite military leader who died in the great battle at Cumorah (see {{s||Mormon|6|14}}). Critics have suggested that this is merely the American diminutive for the name Joshua.  But a number of Hebrew inscriptions bear the name Y'š, probably vocalized Yô'š, which Israeli scholars have acknowledged to be hypocoristic for the biblical name Y'šyhw, Josiah, in whose reign Jeremiah began his prophetic mission (see Jeremiah 1:2; 27:1).43 The name appears in three of the Lachish letters (2, 3, and 6) from the time of Lehi.44 It is also the name of four persons named in the fifth-century BC Jewish Aramaic papyri from Elephantine, Egypt. Four of the bullae found near Tel Beit Mirsim and dating from ca. 600 BC bear the name Y'š. Three of them were made from the same seal.
 
===Kim===
* Criticism: {{CriticalWork:Sunderland:Mormonism:10 February 1838}}
{{nw}}
 
===Korihor===
 
:"Korihor (BM), a political agitator who was seized by the people of Ammon.
:Kherihor (also written Khurhor, etc.) (OW), great high priest of Ammon who seized the throne of Egypt at Thebes, cir. 1085 B.C."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
:The twenty-first [Egyptian] dynasty was founded by a person called Korihor whose son was Piankhi. That's a very funny name; you don't invent a thing like that. It wasn't discovered until the 1870s that Piankhi is a name that we have in the Book of Mormon. Korihor was a priest of Amon who usurped the power of the state. His son Piankhi became king.{{ref|korihor1}}
''Compare'': [[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Paanchi|Paanchi]]
 
===Lachoneus===
 
Wrote Hugh Nibley of this Old World name:
 
:The occurrence of the names Timothy and Lachoneus in the Book of Mormon is strictly in order, however odd it may seem at first glance. Since the fourteenth century B.C. at latest, Syria and Palestine had been in constant contact with the Aegean world, and since the middle of the seventh century Greek mercenaries and merchants, closely bound to Egyptian interests (the best Egyptian mercenaries were Greeks), swarmed throughout the Near East. Lehi's people...could not have avoided considerable contact with these people in Egypt and especially in Sidon, which Greek poets even in that day were celebrating as the great world center of trade. It is interesting to note in passing that Timothy is an Ionian name, since the Greeks in Palestine were Ionians (hence the Hebrew name for Greeks: "Sons of Javanim"), and&mdash;since "Lachoneus" means "a Laconian"&mdash;that the oldest Greek traders were Laconians, who had colonies in Cyprus (BM Akish) and of course traded with Palestine.{{ref|lach1}}
 
Lehi or Mulek's group would have then known&mdash;or even contained&mdash;people named "Lachoneus," a proper Greek name of the proper sort in the proper timeframe.
 
''Compare'': [[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Timothy|Timothy]]
 
===Lehi and Sariah===
 
====Lehi====
:Since the Hebrew term ''lḥy'' does not occur as a personal name in the Bible but only as this place name, skeptics might suggest that Joseph Smith simply appropriated it as a male personal name for the Book of Mormon.
 
:However, two different twentieth-century archaeological finds from Palestine attest to the term lḥy as a male personal name. One inscription is on a papyrus fragment found in 1962 among the Samaria Papyri of the Wadi el-Daliyeh; it preserves lḥy  as the main element of a compound name. The other inscription in which ''lḥy''  stands alone as a personal name appears on an ostracon (an inscribed ceramic sherd) found in 1939 at Tell el-Kheleifeh (ancient Elath) on the shore of the Red Sea....
 
:In turning to territory that was clearly influenced by Hebrew, we can now report that Lehi may be identified as a male personal name element from the Samaria Papyri found in Wadi el-Daliyeh, located in the so-called West Bank territory of the land of Israel. Lehi (''lḥy'', ...) appears in the compound name אבלחי, ʾblḥy, which was probably pronounced ''av-lĕḥy'' or perhaps ''avi-lĕḥy''. If the name were put into King James English forms it would most likely be Ablehi or Abilehi. The meaning of the name would be either "The Father Is Lehi" or "My Father Is Lehi." - {{JBMRS-19-1-4}} <!--Chadwick-->
 
====Sariah====
 
:It is also an interesting coincidence that similar evidence for Lehi's wife's name has turned up in a papyrus document, written in Persian period Aramaic, in the era following the sixth century BC. The female Jewish/Hebrew name Sariah appears in an Aramaic papyrus from the fifth century BC (albeit partially restored by the original publisher). The document is known as C-22 (or Cowley-22), and was found at Elephantine in upper Egypt around the year 1900....The female name Sariah does not appear in the Bible, just as the male name Lehi does not. Yet both appear in the Book of Mormon. That we can now identify both the Jewish/Hebrew names Sariah in the Elephantine Papyri and Lehi in the Samaria Papyri and on Ostracon 2071 represents two significant steps forward in corroborating the authenticity [of the Book of Mormon]. - ''Ibid.''
 
====Discussion on Lehi and/or Sariah====
*{{JBMS-9-1-4}}<!--Anonymous-->
*{{JBMS-2-2-13}}<!--Chadwick-->
*{{JBMS-9-1-6}}<!--Chadwick-->
*{{JBMRS-19-1-4}} <!--Chadwick-->
*{{JBMS-1-1-12}}<!-- Gee-->
*{{JBMS-9-1-5}}<!--Hoskisson-->
*{{JBMS-9-1-9}}<!--Hoskisson - Response-->
*{{JBMS-9-1-7}}<!--Pike-->
*{{JBMS-9-1-8}}<!--Tvedtnes-->
 
===Liahona===
 
* literally, "to Yahweh is the whither" or, by interpretation, "direction of-to the Lord."
* {{JBMS-16-2-8}}<!--Curci-->
 
===Limhah===
 
For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:
* {{JBMRS-18-1-6}} <!--Hoskisson-->
 
===Luram===
* "The name is reflected in the second element of the name 'dn-Lrm, "Lord of LRM," known from a seal of ca. 720 BC found during excavations at Hama (Hamath) in Syria. The name is also known from graffiti on three bricks from the same level at Hama." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
===Manti===
:"Manti (BM), the name of a Nephite soldier, a land, a city, and a hill.
:Manti (OW), Semitic form of an Egyptian proper name, e.g., Manti-mankhi, a prince in Upper Egypt cir. 650 B.C. It is a late form of Month, god of Hermonthis."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
===Mathoni===
 
* "The Hebrew name Mtnyhw appears on a seventh- century BC wine decanter, on six seals, and on seven bullae, most of them from the time of Lehi. The hypocoristic Mtn, which could be vocalized either Mattan (as in the Bible) or Mathoni (as in the Book of Mormon), is found on Ostracon 1682/2 from Khirbet el-Meshash (second half of the seventh century BC), seven seals (most from the seventh century BC), and eleven bullae (most from the time of Lehi)." - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}
 
===Mathonihah===
 
One view:
<blockquote>"Critic Walter Prince suggested an unusual derivation for the name, writing, "Just lisp the sibilant and you have the entire word 'Mason' and almost the entire word "Masonic" in both of these appellations."48 Prince would have done better to look to the Bible.
 
The fact that Mathoni is hypocoristic for Mathonihah reinforces the idea that the element -ihah is the Nephite form of the divine name (see Ammonihah, above). This being the case, Mathonihah would correspond to KJV Mattaniah (Hebrew Mtnyhw), the birth-name of Zedekiah (see 2 Kings 24:17), who was king of Judah when Lehi left Jerusalem (see 1 Nephi 1:4). Several other biblical personalities bore this name. We can then compare Mathoni to biblical Mattan, the name of two different men, one of whom was a contemporary of Lehi and Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 38:1). (Note that the Hebrew letter tav is sometimes transliterated t in the Bible, as in these names, and sometimes th, as in Methuselah.)
 
Hugh Nibley was the first to suggest that the Book of Mormon name Mathonihah corresponded to biblical Mattaniah, while its biform Mathoni (see 3 Nephi 19:4) corresponded to biblical Mattan. He further noted that both names are found in the Elephantine Papyri and that the longer form occurs in the Lachish letters, written just a few years after Lehi left Jerusalem. - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}}</blockquote>
 
For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:
* {{JBMRS-18-1-6}} <!--Hoskisson-->
 
===Moronihah===
 
For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:
* {{JBMRS-18-1-6}} <!--Hoskisson-->
 
===Mosiah===
 
*John Sawyer, "What Was a Mosiaʿ?" ''Vetus Testamentum'' 15 (1965): 475&ndash;486 [FARMS Reprint in 1989]; cited and applied by {{reexploring|author=John W. Welch|article=What Was A 'Mosiah'?|start=105|end=107}}
 
===Mulek===
 
*{{reexploring|author=Anonymous|article=New Information About Mulek, Son of the King|start=142|end=144}}{{GL1|url=http://gospelink.com/library/doc?book_doc_id=296833}}
*{{JBMS-12-2-9}}<!-- Chadwick - has the seal of mulek... -->
*{{BYUS|author=John L. Sorenson|article=The Mulekites|vol=30|num=?|date=Summer 1990|start=6|end=22}} {{link|url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/Products/MoreInfoPage/MoreInfo.aspx?Type=7&ProdID=620}}
 
===Muloki===
<blockquote>
Muloki was one of the men who accompanied the sons of Mosiah on their mission to the Lamanites (see Alma 20:2; 21:11). His name suggests that he may have been a Mulekite. Also from the same root are names such as [[#Mulek|Mulek]] and Melek, which is the Hebrew word meaning "king". Mulek is hypocoristic for Hebrew Mlkyh(w) (KJV Melchiah and Malchiah), which is attested both in the Bible (see 1 Chronicles 6:40; Ezra 10:25, 3; Nehemiah 3:14, 31; 8:4; 11:12; Jeremiah 21:1; 38:1, 6) and in numerous ancient inscriptions, most of them from the time of Lehi. Indeed, it has been suggested that one of the men bearing this name is the Mulek of the Book of Mormon. He is called "Malchiah the son of Hammelech," which means "Malchiah, son of the king" (see Jeremiah 38:6).
 
Muloki corresponds to the name Mlky on a bulla found in the City of David (Jerusalem) and dating from the time of Lehi. - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}} </blockquote>
 
===Nahom===
* Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon'', 2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
* See also [[Book_of_Mormon_geography:Old_World#Nahom| Nahom]] in geography section.
 
===Nephi===
:"Nephi (BM), founder of the Nephite nation.
:Nehi, Nehri (OW), famous Egyptian noblemen. Nfy was the name of an Egyptian captain. Since BM insists on "ph," Nephi is closer to Nihpi, original name of the god Pa-nepi, which may even have been Nephi."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
*{{JBMS-1-1-12}}
*{{JBMS-9-2-10}}
 
===Nephihah===
 
For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:
* {{JBMRS-18-1-6}} <!--Hoskisson-->
 
===Onihah===
 
For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:
* {{JBMRS-18-1-6}} <!--Hoskisson-->
 
===Paanchi===
:"Paanchi (BM), son of Pahoran, Sr., and pretender to the chief-judgeship.
:Paanchi (OW), son of Kherihor, a) chief high priest of Amon, b) ruler of the south who conquered all of Egypt and was high priest of Amon at Thebes."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
''Compare'': [[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Korihor|Korihor]]
 
===Pahoran===
:Pahoran (BM), a) great chief judge, b) son of the same.
:Pa-her-an (OW), ambassador of Egypt in Palestine, where his name has the "reformed" reading Pahura; in Egyptian as Pa-her-y it means "the Syrian" or Asiatic."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
===Pacumeni===
:"Pacumeni (BM), son of Pahoran.
:Pakamen (OW), Egyptian proper name meaning "blind man"; also Pamenches (Gk. Pachomios), commander of the south and high priest of Horus."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
===Pachus===
:"Pachus (BM), revolutionary leader and usurper of the throne.
:Pa-ks and Pach-qs (OW), Egyptian proper name. Compare Pa-ches-i, "he is praised.""{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
===Rameumptom===
 
:Rameumptom was the name given by the Zoramites to the elevated place in their synagogues whence they offered up their vain-glorious and hypocritical prayers. Alma states that the word means a holy stand. It resembles, in its roots, Hebrew and also Egyptian in a remarkable manner. Ramoth, high (as Ramoth Gilead), elevated, a place where one can see and be seen; or, in a figurative sense, sublime or exalted. Mptom has probably its roots in the Hebrew word translated threshold, as we are told that the Philistines' god, Dagon, has a threshold in Ashdod (See {{b|1|Samuel|5|4-5}}). Words with this root are quite common in the Bible. Thus we see how Rameumptom means a high place to stand upon, a holy stand.{{ref|reynolds1}}
 
:While many words and names found in the Book of Mormon have exact equivalents in the Hebrew Bible, certain others exhibit Semitic characteristics, though their spelling does not always match known Hebrew forms. For example, "Rabbanah" as "great king" ({{s||Alma|18|13}}) may have affinities with the Hebrew root /rbb/, meaning "to be great or many." "Rameumptom" ({{s||Alma|31|21}}), meaning "holy stand," contains consonantal patterns suggesting the stems /rmm/ramah/, "to be high," and /tmm/tam/tom/, "to be complete, perfect, holy.{{ref|ramy2}}
 
===Rabbanah===
 
:While many words and names found in the Book of Mormon have exact equivalents in the Hebrew Bible, certain others exhibit Semitic characteristics, though their spelling does not always match known Hebrew forms. For example, "Rabbanah" as "great king" ({{s||Alma|18|13}}) may have affinities with the Hebrew root /rbb/, meaning "to be great or many." "Rameumptom" ({{s||Alma|31|21}}), meaning "holy stand," contains consonantal patterns suggesting the stems /rmm/ramah/, "to be high," and /tmm/tam/tom/, "to be complete, perfect, holy.{{ref|rab1}}
 
===Sam===
* Criticism:
**{{CriticalWork:Bachelor:Mormonism Exposed|pages=10}}
** Criticism: {{CriticalWork:Sunderland:Mormonism:10 February 1838}}
 
:"While Sam is a perfectly good Egyptian name, it is also the normal Arabic form of Shem, the son of Noah."
:"Sam (BM), brother of Nephi.
:Sam Tawi (OW), Egyptian "uniter of the lands," title taken by the brother of Nehri upon mounting the throne."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
Gee, Roper, and Tvedtnes:
<blockquote>
Sam, brother of Nephi, came to the New World with his father Lehi and family (see 1 Nephi 2:5; 2 Nephi 5:6; Alma 3:6). Critics have suggested that Joseph Smith simply used the common English diminutive of Samuel. What these critics failed to realize is that the name Samuel, which appears in the English Bible, is from the Hebrew name (Å mû'el) comprised of two elements, Shem ("name") + El ("God").
 
The name Sam is attested on a bronze ringmounted seal dated to the seventh century BC60 While others have read this name as Shem, in paleo- Hebrew there is no distinction in writing between s and š (the latter written sh in English). (It is the same letter used at the beginning of the name Sariah.) Various dialects of Hebrew pronounced this letter in different ways anciently. From the story in Judges 12:6, we find that some of the tribe of Joseph pronounced it s instead of š, reminding us that Lehi was a descendant of Joseph (see 1 Nephi 5:14). - {{Gee Roper Tvedtnes BoM Names Label}} </blockquote>
===Sheum===
* Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon'' 2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
 
===Shilum===
* Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon'' 2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
 
===Timothy===
Critics have argued that "Timothy" is an unlikely Nephite name, since it is of Greek origin.
 
Hugh Nibley pointed out:
 
:[R]emember...that in Lehi's day Palestine was swarming with Greeks, important Greeks. Remember, it was Egyptian territory [prior to being seized by Babylon] at that time and Egyptian culture. The Egyptian army, Necho's army, was almost entirely Greek mercenaries. We have inscriptions from that very time up the Nile at Aswan-inscriptions from the mercenaries of the Egyptian army, and they're all in Greek. So Greek was very common, and especially the name Timotheus.{{ref|tim1}}
 
''Compare:'' [[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Lachoneus|Lachoneus]]
 
It would thus not be at all surprising for Lehites or Mulekites to be familiar with the name "Timothy" (or a derivative), or even for a "Timothy" to have accompanied Mulek's party of immigrants.
 
===Zarahemla===
* {{JBMS-6-2-15}}
 
===Zemnarihah===
 
For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:
* {{JBMRS-18-1-6}} <!--Hoskisson-->
 
===Zenoch===
:"Zenoch (BM), according to various Nephite writers, an ancient Hebrew prophet.
:Zenekh (OW), Egyptian proper name; once a serpent-god."{{NibleyLehiDesertLabel}}
 
==Less well supported examples==
 
Linguistics is a complex subject, and it is all too common for zealous but mistaken defenders of the Church to use parallels in names or language which cannot be sustained.  Since most Church members have no training in ancient American languages, evaluating such claims can be difficult.
 
Mesoamerican scholars consulted by FAIR have recommended that the following sources, while superficially persuasive, should be used with caution (if at all):
 
* Bruce W. Warren, "Surviving Jaredite Names in Mesoamerica," ''Meridian Magazine'' (26 May 2005){{link|url=http://www.ldsmag.com/ancients/050526mesoamerica.html}}; citing {{NewEvidencesOfChrist|start=17|end=22}}
* Bruce W. Warren, "'Kish'&mdash;A personal Name" ''Meridian Magazine'' (17 February 2005){{link|url=http://www.meridianmagazine.com/articles/050217kish.html}}; citing {{NewEvidencesOfChrist|start=19|end=22}}
 
These comments are not intended to disparage the individuals involved, but to encourage rigor and restraint in claims made.  As Elder Dallin H. Oaks cautioned, "When attacked by error, truth is better served by silence than by a bad argument."{{ref|oaks1}}
 
=={{Endnotes label}}==
#{{note|roper1}} Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon'' 2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
#{{note|korihor1}} Hugh Nibley, ''Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price'', edited by Robert Smith and Robert Smythe (n.p., n.d.), 11.
#{{note|lach1}} {{Nibley5_1|start=31}}
#{{note|tim1}} {{NibleyTeachingsBoM1_1||article=Lecture 27: Omni; Words of Mormon; Mosiah 1: The End of the Small Plates and The Coronation of Mosiah|start=430}}
#{{note|reynolds1}} {{CommentaryBoM1|vol=4|start=80}}
#{{note|ramy2}} {{EoM1|vol=1|start=181|author=Brian D. Stubbs|article=Book of Mormon Language}}
#{{note|rab1}} {{EoM1|vol=1|start=181|author=Brian D. Stubbs|article=Book of Mormon Language}}
#{{note|oaks1}} {{Ensign1|author=Dallin H. Oaks|article=Alternative Voices|date=May 1989|start=27}} {{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1989.htm/ensign%20may%201989.htm/alternate%20voices%20.htm?fn=document-frame.htm$f=templates$3.0}}
 
{{FurtherReading}}
 
[[de:Anachronismen_im_Buch_Mormon/Namen]]
[[es:Libro_de_Morm%C3%B3n_Anacronismos:_Nombres]]
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[[fr:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms/Names]]

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