Were the names John, James, Peter, Mark, etc., popular everyday names for folks during the days of Jesus?
James was not – the name was redesignated to replace “Jacob” when King James I ascended the throne. Peter was a name substituted in the New Testament for “Shim’on”, which was more popular. Names in general in the New Testament should be taken with a grain of salt, since in many cases they were Greek substitutions for the Hebrew equivalent or certain people were just plain given different names to signify the new experience of early Christianity. “John” was pronounced “Yochanan” in Hebrew, and that might be the only name which really was more common.
