Meaning: Its source is Timotheos, a Greek name meaning "God's honor."

Narrative: The Timothy of Christian scripture was a companion of St. Paul. According to tradition, he was martyred after denouncing worshippers of the Greek moon goddess Diana.

Nineteenth-century novelist Charles Dickens created an enduring association with this name in his beloved work A Christmas Carol. The story turns on the fate of the crippled but ever-cheerful Tiny Tim, who exhorts us every holiday season with the cry, ''God bless us, every one!''