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Etymology •
& Meaning •
Hebrew •
Greek •
Bible •
Names •
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Meaning and etymology of the name Cain
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Cain 
Cain is the first son of Adam and Eve, the first human conceived the way we were all conceived, and also the first murderer (Genesis 4). His victim is his brother Abel, who is the first human to die. Abel has no posterity. Cain's posterity never makes it past the flood of Noah. All humans alive today are descendants of Adam and Eve's son number three, named Seth. For his deed Cain is exiled and he flees to the land of Nod.
The name Cain is identical to the hebrew word (qyn) meaning spear and occurring only once, in 2 Samuel 21:16, where the spear of the giant Ishi-benob is said to weigh three hundred shekels of bronze. It didn't do Ishi-benob much good, though, because David's general Abishai defeated and killed him.
Related languages contain a root qyn meaning to forge, but this name comes most likely from the verb  qana (2039), get, acquire, create, as used in Genesis 4:1 where the name Cain is either explained or played upon by Eve, "...I have acquired a man with YHWH."
The identical Hebrew root (qana) yields the derivation (qaneh), meaning some herb on a stalk or reed, which may explain the word for spear. This word for reed or stalk is quite common in the Bible. Most notable are its occurrences in the beautiful promise of Isaiah that a bruised reed will not broken (42:3) and its use as one of the four ingredients for the holy oil (Exodus 30:23).
BDB Theological Dictionary states that although it seems that the name Cain comes from the verb used by Eve in Genesis 4:1, the name Cain is etymologically most probably akin the Kenite tribe mentioned in Judges 4:11. Story-wise the two are separated by the flood of Noah and have nothing to do with each other.
HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament and NOBS Study Bible Name List translate Spear but NOBS adds Smith, possibly because of the similarity with the verb qyn or because of the name Tubal Cain, who was a smith.
Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names relates it to and renders Acquisition.
Also see the names Kana, Kenan and Kenite.
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