Genealogy Chat

Hi guys,

I've just come across one of my ancestors with an unusual name, and wondered if anyone else had come across it?

It is a female name, Mahlah. It sounds quite interesting - I thought maybe Hebrew? No idea though! She was born in Norfolk though so maybe not!

Thanks!

I've just looked it up and found out it is actually Hebrew! It means "sick" or "ill" apparently!

Do you think this could give me any clues as her religion? Was it common for Hebrew names to be given in Norfolk in the mid 1800s?

I have relatives by the name Mahala, quite similar.

MAHALA
Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Variant of MAHLAH

MAHLAH
Gender: Feminine & Masculine

Usage: Biblical

Other Scripts: מַחְלָה (Hebrew)

Pronounced: MAH-la, MAY-la [key]

Possibly means "weak" or "sick" in Hebrew. This name is used in the Old Testament as both a masculine and feminine name.

It was in the bible, so would have been used in England, as an example, my name rachel is hebrew and from the bible and there are many rachels in my tree in the 1700s and 1800s.

Just a thought - do any of your rellies have a Hebrew surname?
I have surname Abraham for one set of my great-grandparents but as yet have not traced their ancestors so I'm not sure of their origin yet although it is a biblical name. Good luch with your searches.

Nope - Baker is her surname!

Will keep it in mind!

Amy

What part of Norfolk was she born?

I have had a quick look at my CD for marriage 1801-1837 and there are quite a few "Baker" gentlemen with hebrew/biblical names. Such as Zebulon, Nehemiah, Moses....maybe her father???

Dee

Deetortraining - Is the cd just for Norfolk?

I had several female ancestors in East Anglia called Sabra, or Saberah. It sounds like an Arabic or Hebrew name but I've no idea how or why they chose it. Maybe its something from the Old Testament.

To confuse matters further, in the 1841 Census Sabra became "Savory" *confused look*

The girl's name Sabra \s(a)-bra, sab-ra\ is pronounced SAY-brah. (Hebrew) "cactus" or "to rest". Also used to describe a native-born Israeli.

Sabra has 3 variant forms: Sabrah, Sebra and Sabrette.

I think Saberah, was maybe a typo on the part of the census taker, it doesnt seem to be a name.

Aha. Just found this on rootsweb too..

Re: Has anyone heard of the name Sabra ? Is It of Indian origin ?
Mary Rice (View posts) Posted: 20 Aug 2002 3:55AM GMT

Classification: Query
Surnames:
I have a twin sister named Sabra. She was named after my Grandmother. The originates from the Bible. It is only in there once. I couldn't even begin to tell you where it is. But my Grandmother showed it to us once when we were younger.

Sean if you go to wisegeek.com it gives quite abit of info on Sabra, it now means more than a name!

i have the name mahalla or could be malalla in 1820's any ideas.victoria by the way the family she married into were all baptised in the roman catholic church so i would be intrested to know if the name means anything

Read the top post of mine for the meaning of Mahala, Mahalla will just be a slightly different spelling. This was a biblical name, so it would not really matter what denomination the family was, catholics would still have used biblical names.

Thanks for your help, Raych! And apologies for hijacking your thread Amy ;o)

sorry raych should of read more closely.best wishes victoria

Amy - I have two Mahala or Mahalia Baker in my tree. They were sisters b. Rayleigh, Essex.
One b. 1844 died 1845
One b. 1846 probably also died young.
Do they ring any bells with your Norfolk Baker family? Angela

The name seems to have been used fairly often in East Anglia. I taught a little girl called Mahala in Suffolk only a few years ago. There is a novel called "Mehalah: a story of the salt marshes" written by the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould in 1880 and set in Essex.

There were a lot of non comformists in Norfolk, huge numbers got obscure biblical names which is a nice change from James or Sarah in my lot.

Raych, sorry for not getting back sooner.

The CD covers Norfolk parishes & 25 Suffolk.

Do you have any names you would like me to look up?

Dee

Dee, my family is cumbria, kent and glamorgan, I was more interested in whether there is a cd for those areas?