Name of the Week: Seth

 
 

Origin:

In the Old Testament, Seth is the name of the third son of Adam and Eve. The name is traditionally translated as "appointed, placed," which fits with his birth story in the Old Testament. Seth was born after Cain had killed Abel. According to Genesis 4:25, Eve "bore a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, has appointed me another child instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." Many scholars agree, however, that the name is more complex and mysterious than this neat derivation suggests.  The verb שית (shiyth), from which Seth traditionally derives, is used 83 times in the Bible and is such a wide encompassing verb that a single English translation is totally inadequate. It can sometimes mean "to make" or can mean "to put, to lay"; sometimes "to give" or "to fix, to set in place".* Furthermore, one of the verb's derivatives is the masculine noun שת (shath) which means "basis, national foundation" and is much closer to the Hebrew script for Seth (שֵׁת).* This is the etymology given in Rabbinical literature which considers Seth "the founder of the world."* Seth was the ancestor of Noah and therefore the father of all mankind because all other humans perished in the Flood. In another twist, שת shath (and Seth - שֵׁת) is almost identical to שֵׁת (sheth) which means "buttocks." Sometimes the two are linked as "foundation of the body."*  Sheth, in turn, is also linked to* the verb שָׁאָה (sha'ah) which signifies a loud crash, rumble or some action that leads to tumult/devastiation.* Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon p852* For a much more nuanced look at Seth's Hebrew etymological links, I highly recommend reading Abarim Publication's article on the name Seth. To summarise, they say: "When Eve names Seth she says, "God has appointed (שית) me another offspring..". (Genesis 4:25), and traditionally readers have understood that therefore the name Seth must come from שית. But this is by no means certain. It may be that the name Seth is really the word שת (shat), meaning national foundation, but the Masoretic punctuation made the name Seth identical to the word for buttocks, and even the assumed contraction of שאון, meaning tumult." And also: "In a grand poetic sense, we here at Abarim Publications suppose that no definitive solution should be pursued: all possibilities are equally true." Seth is also the traditional spelling (via the Ancient Greek Σήθ) of Set, the name of the Egyptian god of the desert, storms and chaos. He accompanied Ra on his solar boat to repel the serpent of Chaos.  Seth was lord of the red land (desert), while Horus/Osiris was the lord of the black land (fertile soil). Horus/Osiris were dominant for half of the year after the Nile flooded, and Seth was dominant in the other half of the year when the sun dried up the land.  This balance of power was represented in the Osiris Myth - one of the most prominent parts of Egyptian mythology - in which Seth usurps Osiris and is challenged by Osiris's son Horus. In Egyptian art, Seth and Horus were often shown together crowning the new pharaohs as a symbol of their power over both Lower and Upper Egypt, and later the two gods were combined as the god Set-Horus.  As with the Hebrew Seth, the Egyptian Seth's etymology is also shrouded in mystery. Plutarch (c. 46 AD - 120 AD) asserted that it "means "the overmastering" and "overpowering," and it means in very many instances "turning back,"* while the Egyptians attributed the meanings of "deserter" and "instigator of confusion."* It has also been linked to the meanings "pillar" and "to dazzle."

Usage:

Image from Christian Names in Local and Family History Seth is generally considered to be one of the many Biblical names which came into use after the Reformation in the 16th century. However, George Redmonds has effectively demonstrated that Seth's usage actually predates this, and was not uncommon among Yorkshire gentry families.   In Christian Names in Local and Family History (2004) p147, he says:  "Writers have largely ignored its early history and we are invited to believe that it was one of the Old Testament names brought into use after the Reformation. [...] The reality is that Seth is on record, in good numbers, a century before most Old Testament names were at all popular. It is difficult to say exactly when it was first used, as the earliest recorded bearers were adults. The first use though must have been c.1450 at the latest, for a man called Seth Gillow was made clerk of Bishop Booth's markets in Durham in 1476. [...] The Gillows would almost certainly have known William Snawsell, the goldsmith and alderman of York whose son and heir Seth was admitted to the Guild of Corpus Christi in 1483, and it is tempting to think that they were kinsmen. [...] The wider use of Seth in and around Bilton is probably evidence of the Snawsells' network of kith and kin, but it does not explain why such an unusual name was given in the first place. Perhaps it was chosen by well-educated individuals who were aware of its meaning and symbolism, or perhaps both Seth and Wilfrid were attempts by these families to emphasise their gentility or anti-clericalism. Alternatively, those who made the choice may have encountered the name in the Cursor Mundi, or one of the source works from which it derived. Seth figured prominently in that section of the book which dealt with the story of the cross, and the author was a northerner whose poem is thought by some to have been written near Durham. Sadly, we cannot be certain what motivated the original name-giver, but his choice was a remarkable innovation for that period." Though it was never popular, Seth remained in regular use into the 19th century, as birth records in England and Wales, show: 1850: #117 1860: #126 1870: #149 1880: #168 1890: #216 1900: #221 It declined over the course of the 19th century, and fell of the map in during the 20th century. By 1996, Seth was down at #441 (45 births).   In America, Seth became more popular in the 1970s and first entered the US top 100 in 1980, peaked at #63 in 2000, and left the top 100 again in 2006.  In Britain, Seth was much later to the party. It began to rise in the early 2000s and first entered the top 100 at #91 (683 births) in 2012. This period was also a time when several American Seths were exposed to British popular culture. The actor Seth Green starred as "Oz" in Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1997-2000, then Seth Cohen was a principle character in The OC from 2003-2007. Both of these programmes were massively popular in Britain during these years and no doubt contributed to Seth's birth count increasing ten-fold from 1997 to 2007 in E&W. Added to this, actor Seth Rogen had his breakthrough Hollywood role in Knocked Up in 2007. Seth remained in the 90s in England and Wales from 2012 to 2015. In 2016, it fell to #107 (611 births). However, individually, it ranked #95 in Wales and #106 in England.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Seth Jermy (1653–1724), British naval officer. * Seth Eastman (1808–1875), American painter. * Seth Boyden (1788–1870), American inventor. * Seth Holt (1923–1971), British film director. Contemporary: * Seth MacFarlane (born 1973), American television producer. * Seth Meyers (born 1973), American actor and comedian  * Seth Green (born 1974), American actor. * Seth Lakeman (born 1977), British folk singer. * Seth Rogen (born 1982), Canadian actor. Literature and Other Media: * Seth Cohen, fictional character in the television series The O.C.. * Seth Clearwater, fictional werewolf in the Twilight novels by Stephenie Meyer. * Seth Lord, fictional character in the play and film The Philadelphia Story.

Variants:

Sheth (Hebrew)

Pronunciation:

SETH [key]

Possible diminutives:

N/A

Sibling Names:

Esther    Zoe     Cora     Eden     Leila     Zara  Jesse     Levi     Ezra     Jonah     Eli     Asher

Name Lists:

Ripe Renovations   Slim Softies    Popular Biblical   Short and Sweet

 

If you like Seth you may also like:   Amos, Leon, Sonny, Joel, Elias, Abel, Kian, Ruben, Zayn, Otis

Thanks to Victoria for requesting this name.