The American Idol competition really gets started tonight with the debut of the Top 13 performers! In honor of this, I thought it would be fun to have a look at their names and their meanings. Maybe it can give us insight into who’s going to be the next American Idol…

TOP GUYS
Several of the guy’s names have a common religious theme. We have Kris, which means “Christ-bearer,” Matt which means “God’s gift,” Michael which means “who is like God?” and Danny which means “God is my judge” (watch out Simon, it looks like you’ve got some competition!). Adam is the name of a famous Biblical figure, but means “earth; man, mankind.” You can find it in both my Nature and Feminine & Masculine chapters. Scott literally means “a Scot” and Jorge means “farmer.” What about Anoop? I’m not sure what Anoop means, but I know I like his singing. If any readers out there know the meaning, write and let us know. I can tell you that I have Anoop on my list of additions for the next edition of my book.

TOP GIRLS
What about the girls in the Top 13? Their names don’t fall into any common themes—they’re as unique as the girls themselves. As you might guess, Jasmine means “jasmine.” Megan means “pearl” and you can find it in my Jewels, Gems & Precious Things chapter. Alexis is a feminine version of Alexander and means “man’s protector.” You can find Allison in two different chapters, Kindness & Goodness and Royalty, Rulers & Regal Things — it means “noble, kind.” Finally, we have Lil Rounds. I did a little Internet snooping to see if I could find any information on her name. There are two main theories out there. Some people say that Lil is a nickname similar to Lil’ Kim or Lil’ Wayne. Others say it’s short for Lillian or Lily. Until Lil tells us, I don’t think we’ll know for sure. Here’s hoping Ryan asks her…inquiring minds want to know!

UPDATE - UPDATE - UPDATE - April 7th

On tonight’s episode, Lil decided to clear up the confusion about her name and we learned that her full given name is actually “Lil.” She was named after her grandmother, Lily. Her mom liked the name and decided to shorten it to the first three letters. Mystery solved!