- Origin: English
- Gender: Female
The name comes directly from the word and first came into use as a female given-name in 16th-century English, it was later adopted by the Puritans and has had sporadic use as a given-name by various Christian groups since. The name has recent been very popular among Nigerian Christians.
The word itself derives from the Anglo-Saxon, blǣdsian, which originally meant “to mark with blood,” which was often done during pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon religious rights.
Blessing first entered the U.S. Top 1000 Female Names in 2019, ranking in at #916.
A notable bearer is Nigerian Track & Field Athlete, Blessing Ogakbere (b.1988).
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blessing
- https://www.behindthename.com/name/blessing/submitted
- http://www.familysearch.org
- https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2019/1121/Be-Thankful-Stand-Fast-and-other-Puritan-names
- https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/09/puritan-names-lists-of-bizarre-religious-nomenclature-used-by-puritans.html