--- title: Phoenician Names author: Jan van der Crabben source: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/120/phoenician-names/ format: machine-readable-alternate license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) updated: 1970-01-01 --- # Phoenician Names _Authored by [Jan van der Crabben](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jvdc/)_ Phoenician names are generally composite words with a specific meaning. The naming of children had a significance in the Ancient [Near East](https://www.worldhistory.org/Near_East/) that is difficult to understand nowadays. By choosing a name for their child, the parents could not only celebrate their joy of having created life, but they believed that the naming of the child would greatly influence which divine being would benevolently influence the life of the child. Thus Phoenician names frequently were dedications to a specific deity, or wishes regarding which deity should guard over the child's life. This becomes clear when examining some Phoenician names: Abdhamon (servant of Hamon) Abibaal ([Baal](https://www.worldhistory.org/baal/) is my father) Abirami ([god](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/)-father is elated) Adonibaal (Baal is my lord) Ahinadab (my god-brother was noble) Ahirom (god-brother is elated) Ahumm (brother of the sea) Azmelqart ([Melqart](https://www.worldhistory.org/Melqart/) is powerful) Baaliahon (so that Baal favors) Baaliaton (Baal has given) Barekbaal (Baal has blessed) Batnoam (son of charm) Bōdashtart (From the hand of [Astarte](https://www.worldhistory.org/astarte/)) Eshmounhilles (Eshmoun has saved) Eshmouniaton (Eshmoun has given) [Hannibal](https://www.worldhistory.org/hannibal/) (favored by Baaal) Itthobaal (Baal is with him) Melqart-shama' (Melqart has listened) Paltibaal (my refuge is Baal) Sikarbaal (Baal has remembered) Ummashtart (Astarte is my mother) Urumilki (Milki is my light) Yada'milk (Milk has known) Yehomilk (so that Milk makes life) Common prefixes are "Abd-" (servant of, cf. Abdhamon), "Mithon-" (gift of), "Ben-" (son of), "Ger" (proselyte), and "Hanni-" (favored by, cf. Hanniba\[a\]l). #### Editorial Review This human-authored article has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/). ## Bibliography - M. Gras, P. Rouillard, J. Teixidor. *L'univers phénicien.* Hachette Littératures, 1995, 37-47. ## About the Author Jan is the Founder & Chairman of World History Encyclopedia and is the organisation's Director of Design & Technology. He holds an MA War Studies from King's College, and he has worked in the field of history-related digital media since 2006. - [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/janvdc) ## Cite This Work ### APA Crabben, J. v. d. (2012, January 18). Phoenician Names. *World History Encyclopedia*. ### Chicago Crabben, Jan van der. "Phoenician Names." *World History Encyclopedia*, January 18, 2012. . ### MLA Crabben, Jan van der. "Phoenician Names." *World History Encyclopedia*, 18 Jan 2012, . ## License & Copyright Submitted by [Jan van der Crabben](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jvdc/ "User Page: Jan van der Crabben"), published on 18 January 2012. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.