Names given to the divine

In monotheism, there are many names attributed to the personification of the divine, supreme, entity. Different names may refer to the same "God", though be of different languages, or be in varied ways different from other cultural meanings, as prescribed by religious doctrine, for example.

Some of the names are used in approximately the same sense (e.g., when a Catholic uses both "God" and "the Holy Trinity"), but for the most part, the names mark important differences in meaning. Positivists (e.g., advocates of Logical empiricism) should take note that a robust theory of the meaning of Religious Language, however dismissive, ought to be able to account, in some fashion, for these differences in meaning. Among the names used, or ways to refer to the divine, are the following; there are both generic words given for the divine being(s), as well as specific names (used by analogy to names for particular individuals or things) for the divine used in particular religions.

Table of contents

1 Generic names for the divine being(s) 2 Names for specific conceptions of God 3 Alternative names used to address or refer to deities

Generic names for the divine being(s)

God, Goddess, gods, Deity, deities.

Names for specific conceptions of God

Yahweh, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity, the Godhead, Heavenly Father, Elohim, Jah, Allah, Krishna. There are also the many names of the different gods of polytheistic religions, e.g., Zeus, Jupiter, Odin, and Siva.

The Lokota [i.e., Sioux] of the Great Plains called their monotheistic deity "The Great Spirit".

Since the term "Buddha" does not correlate well with European definitions of the divine, it may or may not be considered a "name given to the divine", depending on the specific sect and/or philosophy.

Alternative names used to address or refer to deities

These are used for various reasons: tabuism, glorification, etc. Examples are G*d (tabuistic ellipsis), The Almighty, Pancrator(Pantocrator) (glorification), Him, He who is called "I am". See also: The name of God in Judaism; Ninety-nine names of Allah.

See List of deities for full list.

[Please add to this list, and if you feel ambitious, give a brief gloss on each.]