Hebrew name meaning "faithful" or "trustworthy." An ancestor of King David in the Old Testament.
Ammon traces its roots to two ancient and intertwined sources. In Egyptian theology, Amun (rendered Ammon by the Greeks) was one of the most powerful deities in the ancient world — the hidden god, the breath of life, whose name literally means "the concealed one" or "the invisible." Worshipped at Thebes, he merged with the sun god Ra to become Amun-Ra, king of the gods.
Alexander the Great famously claimed to be his son after consulting the oracle at Siwa, legitimizing his conquest of Egypt. In the Hebrew Bible, Ammon is also the name of a son of Lot and the eponymous ancestor of the Ammonites, a Semitic people who inhabited what is now northwestern Jordan. The ancient city of Rabbath Ammon eventually became Philadelphia under the Ptolemies and is now Amman, the capital of Jordan — a city whose name still carries this ancient syllable.
The name therefore bridges Egyptian mysticism and Semitic history in a way few names can claim. In modern usage, Ammon has remained most prominent in communities with deep scriptural ties — particularly among Latter-day Saints, where the missionary Ammon in the Book of Mormon is celebrated as a heroic figure of compassion and courage. Outside that context, the name feels quietly rare and distinguished, carrying a gravitas that suits its ancient pedigree without feeling inaccessible.