Biblical Names

Names borne by someone in the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Being in the text is not the same as being a hero of it — several popular biblical names belong to minor, ambiguous or badly behaved figures.

Rankings for

235 names, most popular first in the United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Zachariah Zachariah is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has remembered."
Boy Hebrew #538 in US
Priscilla Priscilla means ancient or venerable, and it is a diminutive — so the name literally reads as little old one, which was a mark of respect rather than an insult.
Girl Latin #544 in US
Saul Saul means asked for, and the Hebrew Bible appears to have attached his wordplay to the wrong man — the puns on asking in the birth of Samuel fit Sha'ul far better than they fit Shemuel.
Boy Hebrew #557 in US
Johan Johan means God is gracious, and it ranks 393rd in France against 572nd in the United States — a Scandinavian and Dutch form of John that does better in French than in either English-speaking market.
Boy Scandinavian #572 in US
Emanuel Emanuel began as a sign rather than a name — Isaiah tells Ahaz that a child will be called God with us as proof of a prophecy, and the phrase became a personal name only afterward.
Boy Hebrew #574 in US
Seth Seth is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "appointed" or "placed," given to Adam and Eve's third son after Cain killed Abel.
Boy Hebrew #581 in US
Mara Mara is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "bitter," and it is the name Naomi asks to be called after losing her family.
Girl Hebrew #589 in US
Jonas Jonas means dove, and the prophet's story turns on it — a man named for the bird sent out to find land is himself sent overseas, refuses, and is carried there inside a fish instead.
Boy Hebrew #599 in US
Marie Marie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the French form of Mary, and the largest name in the birth records with more than 2.8 million births on record.
Girl French #618 in US
Danny Danny is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," a diminutive of Daniel.
Boy Hebrew #628 in US
Nathanael Nathanael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has given," and it is the same name as Nathaniel with the spelling closer to the Greek.
Boy Hebrew #633 in US
Gabrielle Gabrielle is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my strength," the French feminine of Gabriel.
Girl French #634 in US
Sam Sam is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has heard," a short form of Samuel.
Boy Hebrew #647 in US
Tomas Tomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," a form of Thomas used across Ireland, Scandinavia and the Hispanic world.
Boy Irish #691 in US
Martha Martha is a girl's name of Aramaic origin meaning "lady" or "mistress of the house."
Girl Aramaic #712 in US
Mathéo Mathéo is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of God," a French form built from Matthieu on the Italian pattern.
Boy French #750 in US
Bethany Bethany is a village outside Jerusalem, and its meaning is contested — house of figs and house of the poor are both proposed.
Girl Hebrew #751 in US
Noé Noé is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "rest" or "comfort," the French and Spanish form of Noah.
Boy French #755 in US
Judith Judith is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "woman of Judea," borne by the heroine who beheads Holofernes in the deuterocanonical book named for her.
Girl Hebrew #789 in US
Ira Ira means watchful, and it is 12 percent female on record despite being a man's name in the Hebrew Bible — one of David's priests carries it in Samuel.
Unisex Hebrew #819 in US
Michaela Michaela is a question, not a statement — the Hebrew behind it asks who is like God, which was a rhetorical challenge rather than a claim, and the answer it expects is nobody.
Girl Hebrew #841 in US
Benny Benny means son of the right hand, and Jacob overruled the name at the deathbed — Rachel called the child son of my sorrow as she died, and his father renamed him on the spot.
Boy Hebrew #842 in US
Ben Ben is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "son," used both as a short form of Benjamin and as a name in its own right.
Boy Hebrew #845 in US
Léa Léa is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the French form of Leah, the elder sister of Rachel in Genesis.
Girl French #848 in US
Deborah Deborah is a girl's name from the Hebrew for bee, borne by the only woman to lead Israel as a judge.
Girl Hebrew #865 in US
Rebekah Rebekah is the spelling the King James Bible uses for the Old Testament, while the New Testament in the same book uses Rebecca — one translation, two spellings, and English inherited both.
Girl Hebrew #885 in US
Reuben Reuben is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "behold, a son."
Boy Hebrew #885 in US
Mathew Mathew drops a t from Matthew, and the doubled t was never in the Hebrew — it entered through the Greek and Latin spellings, so the shorter form is arguably closer to the original.
Boy English #974 in US
Toby Toby is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is good."
Unisex Hebrew #978 in US
Joe Joe is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," a short form of Joseph that has become the English word for an ordinary person.
Boy Hebrew #995 in US
Salomé Salomé is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "peace," and the woman the name is best known for is never named in the gospels.
Girl French #1,042 in US
Ismail Ismail is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God will hear," the Arabic form of Ishmael, counted in Islam as the ancestor of the Arab peoples.
Boy Arabic #1,065 in US
Susan Susan is a girl's name from a Hebrew word for lily, taken in turn from an Egyptian word for lotus.
Girl Hebrew #1,090 in US
Tiago Tiago is a boy's name of Portuguese origin meaning "supplanter," a form of James created by a misdivision of Santiago.
Boy Portuguese #1,115 in US
Raquel Raquel means ewe, and the animal is the point — Rachel is a shepherd in Genesis, met at a well while watering her father's flock, so the name and the story match exactly.
Girl Spanish #1,121 in US
Jean Jean is a unisex name on record: the French form of John, meaning "God is gracious," and separately a Scottish feminine form of Jane.
Unisex French #1,169 in US
Pierre Pierre is a boy's name, the French form of Peter, from the Greek for rock.
Boy French #1,253 in US
Tabitha Tabitha means gazelle, and it is Aramaic rather than Hebrew — one of a small set of New Testament names from the everyday language of first-century Judaea.
Girl Aramaic #1,300 in US
Dina Dina is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "judged" or "vindicated," borne by Jacob's daughter in one of the harshest stories in Genesis.
Girl Hebrew #1,330 in US
Micheal Micheal is a boy's name of Hebrew origin whose full form is a rhetorical question — who is like God?
Boy Irish #1,404 in US
Zack Zack is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord has remembered," a short form of Zachary.
Boy Hebrew #1,428 in US
Jonathon Jonathon respells Jonathan, and the original names a gift — Yahweh has given, borne in scripture by the friend whose bond with David the text describes in terms it uses nowhere else.
Boy English #1,487 in US
Zakaria Zakaria is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord has remembered," the Arabic form of Zechariah, who is named in the Quran as the guardian of Maryam.
Boy Arabic #1,527 in US
Youssef Youssef is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God will increase," the Arabic form of Joseph.
Boy Arabic #1,556 in US
Abbie Abbie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "my father is joy," a short form of Abigail, whose bearer talks David out of a massacre.
Girl Hebrew #1,653 in US
Lois Lois is a girl's name that appears once in the New Testament, in a letter naming Timothy's grandmother, and its meaning has never been established.
Girl Greek #1,669 in US
Josh Josh is a boy's name, the short form of Joshua, from a Hebrew name meaning the Lord is salvation.
Boy Hebrew #1,704 in US
Hawa Hawa is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "living one," the Arabic form of Eve, and in France it arrives from West Africa rather than the Middle East.
Girl Arabic #1,813 in US

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