It may not be the most popular Hebrew name out there, but ‘Adoniyah’ is certainly a name. While that’s the same for any name, what gives it value is its history–strange as that history may be.
‘Adoniyah’ is only one of many spellings for the name ‘Adoniyahhu’, which is a combination of the Hebrew words ‘Adonai’ and ‘Yahweh’. The name actually means ‘The Lord is my God’, and can be seen spelled ‘Adoniah’, ‘Adoniyah’, or ‘Adonijah’.
Perhaps the most well-known iteration of the name is ‘Adonijah’. This form appears in most English translations of Hebrew scripture–most notably the King James version of the Bible, where Adonijah is recorded as the usurping fourth son of King David.
There are any number of reasons that today ‘Adoniyah’ has declined in popularity–it is an older name, it is strictly male, it has deep religious meaning–but given the name’s history, the most obvious reason seems to be the moniker’s original owner.
While there are any number of reasons for the name’s contemporary lack of popularity–it is an older name, it is a male name, it has a deep religious meaning that today is not so popular–what seems the most likely reason for this lack of popularity is none other than the name’s original owner.
After openly defying King David and rallying the people against him–going so far as to host a feast for his new kingship–Adonijah found himself suddenly humbled when the bed-ridden David appointed his other son, Solomon, to the throne. In sudden repentance, Adonijah fell at his half-brother’s feet, begging for his life. Solomon, being wise, made no promises, sparing Adonijah on condition that: ‘… He show(s) himself to be worthy’, (1 Kings 1:52).
Shortly afterward, King David died, leaving a prosperous kingdom and a number of widowed concubines behind. One of these concubines the recently de-throned Adonijah was attracted to, asking Solomon if she might be his. So Solomon had him executed.
The history of ‘Adonijah’ isn’t a pretty one. If it wasn’t his own foolishness getting him in trouble, it was his own foolishness getting him into trouble.
Perhaps with a name that means ‘The Lord is my God’, Adonijah became a little full of himself. Perhaps he assumed, given the meaning of his name, that he was beyond reproach. Perhaps the world may never know–scripture makes no definite contentions on this point, and there are few modern figures that carry the moniker. But at least not everything associated with the name ‘Adoniyah’ is terrible. According to 1 Kings 1:6 ‘… He was also very handsome…’.
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