Keziah (name)

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Keziah/Kezhia
Pronunciation/kɛˈzə/
Genderfemale
Language(s)Hebrew
Origin
MeaningRestored to the heart of God[citation needed]
The one with Beautiful Hair
Other names
Related namesKeisha
Keshia

Keziah or Kezia is a Hebrew name. Keziah was a daughter of Job in the Hebrew Bible (Job 42:14–17). The name Keziah means 'cinnamon bark’.[1] Job gave the name to his second daughter after his restoration following the trials he faced in the first part of his life.

In the United Kingdom, the name Keziah is now unusual, but it was more common in Victorian times. In 1890, the births of 137 children named Kezia were registered in England; in 1990, only 40 were.[1][better source needed][2] More recently the name has become unisex despite its origin such as the musician Keziah Jones. Keziah has also found its way into modern literature in the book Keziah Dane by Sue Grafton.[3]

Keziah was also used as a female first name in the United States in the nineteenth century. For example, Keziah Brevard ran a plantation in South Carolina in the 1850s and 60s;[4] Keziah Brower lived on farms near Madison, Wisconsin and Vermillion, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota) in the 1850s, 60s, and 70s.[5] H. P. Lovecraft's The Dreams in the Witch House feature a character named Keziah Mason.

The modern name Keisha is derived from this name.[citation needed] Another Alternative pronunciation is Keshia which means the ‘The one with beautiful hair,. This name is derived from Lord Krishna who was also known as Keshava.

References[edit]

  1. ^ ancestry.com
  2. ^ Powell-Smith, Anna. "Babies called Keziah in England and Wales since 1996". darkgreener.com. BabyNameWizard.
  3. ^ Kleber, John E. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. p. 521. ISBN 0-8131-2100-0.
  4. ^ Moore, John Hammond, ed. (1996). A Plantation Mistress on the Eve of the Civil War: The Diary of Keziah Goodwyn Hopkins Brevard, 1860–1861. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-841-7.
  5. ^ Van Nuys, Laura Bower (1961). The Family Band: From the Missouri to the Black Hills, 1881–1900. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp. xvii–xviii. ISBN 0-8032-0186-9.