Luther

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

The name Luther has German and Hebrew roots and means some version of 'famous warrior' in both languages. An alternative idea about the meaning of the name Luther comes from the French, in which the name Luther can refer to someone who plays the lute. Historically, the Biblical roots suggest that the name is more firmly rooted in association to Germanic roots stemming from Hebrew, influence by usage in the Bible. ^[1]

The name Luther has also been made into the church (Lutheran) which refers back to Martin Luther, who is credited with being very strongly behind the Protestant Reformation in Europe. He lived from 1483-1546 and changed the course of European history by changing religious common values. ^[1] Martin Luther King was named after Martin Luther by his father Martin Luther King Sr. Both Jr. and Sr. were baptized Michael King, but MLK Sr. changed his own name, and the name of his son (MLK Jr.) at the same time in order to honor the German Martin Luther whose ideas inspired the Protestant Revolution.^[1]

POPULARITY

Luther was a much more popular given name for boys in the first half of the 20th century than the second half of the 20th century. The name Luther fell off the list of the 1000 most popular given names for boys in 1993, when it was ranked 917th; it hasn't shown back up on the US popular names list since then. ^[1]

The only place where Luther is still on the list of the top 1000 given names for boys is Australia, where the name ranked 537th in 1997. ^[1] With so many revered Luther's in the world, perhaps it's time for a revival of this Biblical name?

FACTS

• Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his work in the Civil Rights Movement in the US.
• There are two colleges known as Luther College, one in Iowa in the US and one in Victoria, Australia.

NAMESAKES

• Luther Arkwright is a science-fiction character in the series 'The Adventures of Luther Arkwright', written by Bryan Talbot.
• Three separate movies are named 'Luther', one from 1928, one 1973 and one 2003.
• Luther is a 'bad guy' in the PlayStation2 Game Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Luther Vandross, popular entertainer and musician
• Luther Burbank was a botanist
• Luther Goldman, American wildlife photographer
• Thomas Luther, professional German chess player
• Luther Grosvenor, British singer
• Luther Wright, American basketball player (NBA)

OTHER LUTHER'S

Luther Smith, Luther Johnson, Luther Williams, Luther Jones, Luther Brown, Luther Davis, Luther Miller, Luther Wilson, Luther Moore, Luther Taylor, Luther Aadland, Luther Abel, Luther Aberts, Luther Abraham, Luther Abrahamson, Luther Abrons, Luther Abshear, Luther Aceves, Luther Adair, Luther Adams, Luther Adamson, Luther Adcox, Luther Adden, Luther Agan, Luther Ahsley, Luther Aiken, Luther Ainsworth, Luther Akemon, Luther Akers, Luther Akridge, Luther Aaberge, Luther Aaron, Luther Abbott, Luther Abernethy, Luther Abrams, Luther Acker, Luther Acklin, Luther Addesso, Luther Agard, Luther Agdaca, Luther Agee, Luther Aguilar, Luther Aguillard, Luther Ahlbrandt, Luther Ajim, Luther Akai, Luther Akin, Luther Akins, Luther Abernathy, Luther Ables, More results

Author: Rachel Hanson

NOTES