Definition of "Faith"

"Now, I was called Faith after the cardinal virtue; and I like my name, though many people would think it too Puritan; that was according to our gentle mother's pious desire.

1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter XVII, in Ruth

“Faith.”“No name that—no name that! I can’t stomach such a name. Got any other?”“No, sir.”“Don’t like the name, don’t like it. There’s no smeddum to it. Besides, it makes me think of my Aunt Jinny. She called her three girls Faith, Hope, and Charity. Faith didn’t believe in anything—Hope was a born pessimist—and Charity was a miser.

1919, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter XVI, in Rainbow Valley, Echo Library, published 2006, page 90

There was something to be said for all those religiously influenced names – Patience, Grace, Chastity, Faith. Better to be named for a virtue than to be landed with a forgettable name like 'Martin'.

2006, Kate Atkinson, One Good Turn, Black Swan, published 2007, page 81