Religious Place Names

Lalibela, Ethiopia: This historical site is named for an Ethiopian Orthodox saint, King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (ruled ca 1181 + 1221). The buildings are laid out to represent Jerusalem and each of the eleven churches is carved from a single rock.

Remlap, State of Alabama, United States: This community is named for a local family. Since there was already an existing community named "Palmer," the name was reversed to spell "Remlap."
The surname is of Old French ("paume" = "palm tree") by way of the Latin word "palmifer" which means a "palm bearer" or a "pilgrim." and the suffix "erius" which means "descendant of." This is in reference to a pilgrim to the Holy Lands who returned, bringing back palm branches.

Bubastis, Egypt: aka: Tell - Basta; Per-Bast; Pi-Beseth . This city is mentioned in Ezekiel 30:17 as Pi-Beseth. It was a center of worship for the feline Egyptian goddess named Bast or Bastet, Numerous mummies of cats have been found at the site.

Touba, Senegal: "Tuba" is the Arabic word for "felicity" or "bliss." This is in reference to the sweet pleasures of eternal life in the Islamic afterlife paradise. The word also refers to closeness to Allah.

Nymph, State of Alabama, United States: Nymph is an unincorporated community in Conecuh County. In classical mythology, a nymph was an animating or maintaining nature spirit who appeared as a beautiful maiden and lived in the woods and rivers.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Leopold Sedar Senghor: (b. 1906, Senegal – d. 2001, France) Poet, politician, cultural theorist. First president of Senegal (1960-1980). First African elected to the Academie francaise. Roman Catholic.

Robin Rene Roberts: (b. 1960, Mississippi, USA) Television broadcaster and co-anchor.  Women’s basketball Hall of Fame (2012).  She says her parents taught her the three D’s, “Discipline, Determination, and “De Lord.””

Lecil Travis Martin: (b. 1931, Texas – d. 1999; aka: Boxcar Willie) Country Music Singer, songwriter, vocalist.  US Air Force pilot.  He performed, in character, as Boxcar Willie, a hobo.  He owned two hotels and a performance theater in Branson, Missouri.

Linda Susan Boreman: (b. 1949, New York, USA – d. 2002; aka: Linda Lovelace)  Raised in a strict Roman Catholic family, Linda Boreman (derided in high school as “Miss Holy Holy”)became the most well known pornographic film actress in history for her role in the 1972 film, Deep Throat.  After her retirement from the pornography industry, she became an outspoken anti=pornography crusader, saying that her involvement in the industry had been forced by her then husband, Chuck Traynor.  She later remarried, had two children, and said that “God had changed her life.”  What she meant by that was never explained.  She died from injuries she received in an automobile accident.

Richard Zehringer: (b. 1947, Ohio, USA; aka: Rick Derringer)  Musician, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, record producer.  When he was seventeen years old, Zehringer wrote “Hang on Sloopy” for his rock band, The McCoys.  The song rapidly went to number one on the ratings charts.  Over the years he recorded with Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter, Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, Weird Al Yankovic, and Ringo Starr.  Derringer took his stage name from the first record label for which he recorded, Band Records.  Their logo was a derringer pistol.  Derringer performs in the musical genres of hard rock, blues-rock, pop music, Christian rock.