Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Shiloh

Shiloh is a Hebrew name of Biblical origin. It refers to a geographical place, an ancient city and assembly place for the Israelites before Judah. In fact, Shiloh was the dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant for several centuries before it was ultimately housed in the Temple of Solomon on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. For those who don’t know, The Ark of the Covenant was basically a fancy chest which contained the two stone tablets upon which were written the 10 Commandments (which God had given Moses atop Mt. Sanai). The Ark and its Tabernacle (sacred tent) were brought to Shiloh in the time of Joshua (c. 1400 B.C.) after the Israelites crossed the River Jordan into the Promised Land. “Shiloh” comes from the Hebrew language meaning “tranquil, peaceful” so what better place to establish the Ark and feel confident in its safety? Shiloh is also the place where Hannah dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord and where Samuel was raised by the priest Eli. Shiloh was, for all intents and purposes, the first ancient capital of Israel; it’s where the Hebrews lived “tranquilly” amidst God and followed His law. That is, until the Philistines came to Shiloh and captured the Ark (1 Samuel 4). God basically allowed the Philstines to do a little Israelite ass-licking because His people had become complacent over the word of God. Even though the Ark was ultimately returned to Israel, it never again went back to Shiloh. The Bible doesn’t say exactly when the ancient city of Shiloh ceased to exist, but we do know of its destruction. Even today only scant ruins are left. Shiloh remains an important symbolic and spiritual reminder to the Jews as the place where the Ark was first established in the Promise Land, but where God forsook them when they were disobedient. Jeremiah 7:12 reminds the Israelites: “Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.” In other words, Shiloh was a “peaceful” place until its inhabitants took it for granted. We should also mention that there’s an ancient and obscure passage in Genesis 49:10 when Jacob is blessing his son Judah and says: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” This is often taken in reference to the coming of the Messiah so many people (probably erroneously) believe that Shiloh means “Messiah”. Messiah is a different name of Hebrew origin and means “anointed one”.

All About the Baby Name – Shiloh

Personality

OF THE GIRL NAME SHILOH

The number Eight personality has everything to do with power, wealth and abundance. Somehow, this personality has been blessed on the material plane, but their authoritative and problem-solving traits provide evidence that their good fortunes are not just the luck of the lottery. They are well earned. This is the personality of CEOs and high-ranking military personnel. Eights are intensely active, hard-driving individuals. Success is only meaningful to them after a job well-done.  They are remarkable in their ability to see the larger picture right down to the smallest details, and organize a strategy around success. They then have the ability to direct a group around them toward any goal, and realize individual potential to get the most out of their team.

Popularity

OF THE GIRL NAME SHILOH

The name Shiloh only first appeared on the American female naming charts in 2007 and there’s only one reason for its sudden debut. On May 27, 2006, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie welcomed their first biological child, a daughter they named Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. According to some sources, Angelina Jolie had always used Shiloh Baptist as her secret alias when checking into hotel rooms (obviously to avoid the paparazzi). Apparently this was the name her own parents had intended for her brother had he been born a female. Whatever the reason, we can understand the attraction of this obscure Biblical place name. It sure as hell beats the overplayed Madison, Savannah and Brooklyn place name! Shiloh has a pretty ring to it and a very “tranquil” sound. It could also be used on either sex since it has a gender-neutral quality (as evidenced by actor Shiloh Fernandez). Other references regarding Shiloh include a series of children’s books about a beagle (dog) named Shiloh and a charming Neil Diamond song called “Shilo”. The Battle of Shiloh was also an important Civil War battle in which Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederate forces in southwestern Tennessee. Shiloh is definitely not a mainstream name despite the fact that many Americans associate it with the celebrity child of the Jolie-Pitt clan. We think Shiloh has a charisma all her own even though we’re not big fans of the sheep-mentality practice of mimicking the name choices of celebrities. Shiloh doesn’t work for everyone, but it is a solid, ancient choice with meaning way beyond our crazy celeb-culture of today. An inevitable nickname is Shy which we also think is quaintly charming.

Quick Facts

ON SHILOH

GENDER:

Girl

ORIGIN:

Hebrew

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

633

PRONUNCIATION:

SHY-lo

SIMPLE MEANING:

Tranquil

Characteristics

OF SHILOH

Authoritative

Powerful

Tough

Tenacious

Wealthy

Problem-solver

Achiever

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Shiloh

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME SHILOH

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Shiloh

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME SHILOH

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Shiloh


Popular Songs

ON SHILOH

Shiloh Town
a song by Mark Lanegan

Shiloh
a song by Darryl Worley

In The Hills of Shiloh
a song by Bobby Bare

Famous People

NAMED SHILOH

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt (celebrity child and tom-boy fashionista)
Shiloh Fernandez (actor)
Shiloh Keo (football player)
Shiloh (singer)

Children of Famous People

NAMED SHILOH

Brangelina;

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME SHILOH

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Shiloh