God's name in literature throughout history (Google Ngram Viewer)

[Prism]

Using Google Ngram Viewer, you can see how frequently certain words and phrases were used in literature over the past ~500 years. Out of curiosity, I looked up Jehovah’s name, and what surprised me the most was that its usage peaked long before Jehovah’s Witnesses came into existence:

One explanation for this I can think of is that the name “Jehovah” wasn’t necessarily more widely used during those times, but rather, religious texts as a whole made up a higher percentage of printed literature, and perhaps many non-religious texts from that era simply didn’t survive and thus weren’t scanned by Google.

This theory can be supported by the fact that the relative usage of the word “God” dropped significantly during the 18th and 19th centuries, despite not gaining a new, more popular variant (like thou vs you), and remaining an important concept in people’s everyday lives.

(I may be wrong though, so I’d be thankful if someone familiar with history and linguistics could give their thoughts.) 

 

It’s also interesting to note that, except for a short period between around 1957 and 2014, “Jehovah” has always been more widely used in English literature than both “Yahweh” and “YHWH”:

 

 

You can also search for books containing a certain word by time period. Here are some interesting examples of God’s name used in different historical texts:

A 1644 translation of the book of Psalms:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Booke_of_Psalmes_Englished_Both_in_P/9R3eyx9PEycC

 

 

“A Dissertation concerning the most venerable name of Jehovah” - an essay published in 1760:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/3PRhAAAAcAAJ

 

 

[trottigy]

I was surprised recently while listening to some classic audio books that used the name Jehovah, but now I can't remember which one.

 

I think it was one or both of Harper Lee's books, either "To Kill a Mocking Bird" or "Go Set a Watchman".

 

Interesting find - thank you!!!

 

OH - one more thing - MAYBE the reason for less is copyright issues. I tried using the search, but I can't search books that are still in copyright. It might be that there are less NON-Copyright books available for the search during a more recent time period.

Edited September 26, 2023 by trottigy

[jwhess]

The name was used in ordinary talk 250 years ago.

 

*** g04 1/22 p. 3 God Has a Name! ***
The name of God was no mystery in Colonial America either. Consider, for example, the American Revolutionary soldier Ethan Allen. According to his memoirs, in 1775 he demanded that his enemies surrender “in the name of the Great Jehovah.” Later, during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, several advisers made frequent mention of Jehovah in their letters to Lincoln. Other American historical documents containing the name of God are available for public review in many libraries. These are but a few examples of how the name of God has for centuries been prominently displayed.
 

*** g76 7/8 p. 3 200 Years of Independence ***
The first successful aggressive military action by the American revolutionaries took place in May 1775. Ethan Allen and his “Green Mountain Boys” of Vermont attacked the British fortress of Ticonderoga, New York. Allen demanded and got the British to surrender “in the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress.”
 

[Jwanon]

I think the Divine Name was known by learned people but not really used by ordinary people

[Lori]

While watching Janette Oke's series "Love Comes Softly" created from her books,  Jehovah's name is sang in a song.  I was really pleasantly surprised.  I believe it's Love's Enduring Promise that the song is on.    

 

If you want to watch the whole movie, it's pretty good.   But the song part starts at :      32:45

 

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Lori