A new name for me

[ElizabethHerts]

I'm transcribing Exeter BTs for Cornwall OPC.

I have a baptism (and later a marriage) for a girl called Jecoliah.

A biblical name which I have never encountered before.

[Phoenix]

That's a lovely name. I wonderwhy it didn't become popular.

I like Mahala - which according to Kilvert was popularised by some trashy biblical trat in the 1800s. But as it allegedly means "barren" you wouldn't really want to call a daughter that.

[ElizabethHerts]

Yes, Phoenix, it is rather nice. I had to google to find out the origin. She was wife of King Amaziah, and mother of King Uzziah ( 2 Chronicles 26:3 ).

[Olde Crone]

Ha, talking of unusual Cornish names, I used to have a neighbour who once told me her sister was called Jerdonna.

It was years and years and YEARS before the penny dropped and I realised she meant Dieudonna!

OC

[ElizabethHerts]

OC, it's a shame when children are given foreign names but people can't cope with the pronunciation.

I have a lot of foreign names that I like, but they would be ruined by our pronunciation.

The Cornish like different names from other parts of the country. I have a lot of men called Melchesideck (and variants) and other biblical delights.

[Kit]

Not an unusual name but new to me. Johan - is that just a form of Joan? It is a woman's name.

Finally found it in wikipedia:

English
Etymology
An archaic variant of Joan, from Old French Johan, from Latin Johanna.
Proper noun
Johan - A female given name.
Usage notes : Included in the 100 most common given names of women born in Scotland in 1900.

[ElizabethHerts]

Lots of girls called Johan in the early registers, Kit. It is just a variant spelling of Joan, which in the early years wasn't used so much. You often see Jone.

[Kit]

Thanks Eliza. I've seen Jone before but not Johan.