Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.

The line equates a child’s experience of maternal care with the idea of the divine: for “little children,” the most immediate, comprehensible form of providence, protection, and love is their mother. Thackeray’s phrasing suggests that religious language is often learned through human relationships, and that the earliest “theology” is emotional and domestic rather than doctrinal. The quote also elevates motherhood as a moral and spiritual vocation, implying that a mother’s tenderness and authority shape a child’s sense of goodness and trust. At the same time, it reflects a Victorian sentimental tradition that idealized maternal influence as foundational to character and faith.