CHRISTIAN NAMES. 
27 
it should interfere with any name of office, sta¬ 
tion, or hereditary title, that might appertain unto 
them. But every blasphemous, idolatrous, or impure 
name, (and those of some of the Areois and priests 
were so to a most affecting degree,) we recom¬ 
mended should be discontinued, that they should 
select those names, by which, in future, they would 
wish to be designated. A few of the adults chose 
foreign, and in general scriptural names, for them¬ 
selves or their children. 
This produced a considerable change in their 
language. Formerly, all names were descriptive 
of some event or quality—as Fanauao, day-born, 
Fanaupo, night-born, Mataara, wakeful or bright¬ 
eyed, Matamoe, sleepful or heavy-eyed, Paari, 
wise, or Matauore, fearless, &c. A number of 
terms were now introduced, as Adamu Adam, Noa 
Noah, Davida David, Ieremia Jeremiah, Hezekia 
Hezekiah, lacoba James, loane John, Petero 
Peter, &c. with no other signification than being 
the names of the persons. 
With regard to infants, we only baptized those 
whose parents, one or both, were themselves bap¬ 
tized, and who desired thus to dedicate their chil¬ 
dren to God, and engaged to train them in the 
principles of Christianity ; and then we only bap¬ 
tized infants, unless the children of more advanced 
years understood the nature of the ordinance, and 
themselves desired to make, by this act, a public 
profession of their discipleship to Christ, and their 
wishes to be instructed in his word. 
Sometimes the infant was held in the arms of 
its parent, who stood up while the rite was admi¬ 
nistered ; at other times, and I believe invariably 
during subsequent years, we have taken the child 
in the left arm, and baptized it with the right 
