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Colonial Craftsmen Names

Opening the door to America's colonial past reveals some very antiquated names that were worn by early craftsmen. Many of the names borne by Colonial furniture and clockmakers are what you’d expect — classic biblical names such as Jacob and Solomon, as well as traditional English names like William and Oliver.

Along with Jacob and William, other Colonial craftsman names in the US Top 100 include Caleb, Elias, Josiah, Levi, Miles, Samuel, Silas, and Thomas. Among the more surprising names found in furniture directories of the period are Gamaliel, Hercules, Kenelm, and Peregrine.

Colonial-era Americans also held onto the trend of Puritanical virtue names, evident in craftsmen named Prudent and Noble. Browse our collection of Colonial Craftsmen names below.

Ezra

Meaning: help

Origin:Hebrew
21
Levi

Meaning: joined, attached

Origin:Hebrew
71
Miles

Meaning: soldier or merciful

Origin:English form of Milo
24
Gideon

Meaning: hewer; or, having a stump for a hand

Origin:Hebrew
68
Silas

Meaning: of the forest; or prayed for

Origin:Aramaic, Latin, Greek
4
Caleb

Meaning: devotion to God

Origin:Hebrew
28
Nathaniel

Meaning: gift of God

Origin:Hebrew
41
Abel

Meaning: breath

Origin:Hebrew
156
Moses

Meaning: delivered from the water

Origin:Egyptian
817
Elias

Meaning: Yahweh is God

Origin:Greek variation of Elijah, Hebrew
132
Elijah

Meaning: Yahweh is God

Origin:Hebrew
136
Ansel

Meaning: with divine protection

Origin:German
181
Joel

Meaning: Jehovah is his God

Origin:Hebrew
254
Job

Meaning: persecuted

Origin:Hebrew
776
Asa

Meaning: healer; born in the morning

Origin:Hebrew; Japanese
204
Phineas

Meaning: the Nubian

Origin:English, Egyptian
196
Edmund

Meaning: fortunate protector

Origin:English
280
Allen

Meaning: handsome, cheerful

Origin:English and Scottish
835
Reuben

Meaning: behold, a son

Origin:Hebrew
90
Noble

Meaning: aristocratic

Origin:Latin
1223