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

227 names, most popular first in Northern Ireland

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Candice Candice is not a name but a title — Kandake was the word for the queen mother of Kush, and Acts records one without naming her, so a royal office became a personal name by misreading.
Girl English 94,374 births
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 88,318 births
Noémie Noémie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "pleasantness," borne by a woman in the Book of Ruth who asks to be called the opposite.
Girl French 86,829 births
Candace Candace is a job title mistaken for a name — Kandake was the word for the queen mother of Kush, and Acts uses it as though it were personal, so a Sudanese royal office became an American given name.
Girl English 86,451 births
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 84,800 births
Eunice Eunice means good victory, and she is named in the New Testament as Timothy's mother — one of very few women whose faith Paul credits by name, alongside her own mother Lois.
Girl Greek 83,676 births
Silas Silas is a boy's name generally understood as a Greek form of the Aramaic Seila, itself corresponding to the Hebrew Saul, meaning "asked for" or "prayed for."
Boy Aramaic 82,575 births
Noé Noé is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "rest" or "comfort," the French and Spanish form of Noah.
Boy French 79,523 births
Israel Israel means he wrestles with God, and it is a name given after a fight — Jacob receives it in Genesis having wrestled a stranger until dawn and refused to let go without a blessing.
Boy Hebrew 76,524 births
Ismael Ismael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God will hear," the son of Abraham and Hagar and a prophet in Islam.
Boy Arabic 75,522 births
Beulah Beulah means married, and it is a place before it is a person — Isaiah calls the restored land Beulah, and Bunyan turned it into the country just short of heaven in Pilgrim's Progress.
Girl Hebrew 73,614 births
Malachi Malachi is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "my messenger."
Boy Hebrew 73,417 births
Esteban Esteban is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "crown," the Spanish form of Stephen, whose bearer was the first Christian martyr.
Boy Spanish 70,393 births
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 69,685 births
Yanis Yanis is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious," a French spelling of the Greek Yannis and so a form of John.
Boy French 69,368 births
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 65,978 births
Hanna Hanna is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "favor" or "grace," and it is the source of Anne, Anna, Nancy and Hannah alike.
Girl Hebrew 64,375 births
Ira Ira means watchful, and it is 12 percent female in our records despite being a man's name in the Hebrew Bible — one of David's priests carries it in Samuel.
Unisex Hebrew 63,998 births
Josue Josue is the same name as Jesus, not merely a relative of it — both descend from the Hebrew Yehoshua, and Greek translators simply rendered it two different ways in two different books.
Boy Spanish 63,318 births
Bennie Bennie means son of the right hand, and Jacob renamed the child to get there — his dying mother called him son of my sorrow, and his father would not let the name stand.
Unisex Hebrew 62,816 births
Mathias Mathias is a boy's name, the French and Scandinavian form of Matthias, from a Hebrew name meaning gift of God.
Boy Hebrew 61,400 births
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 58,298 births
Elie Elie means my God is the Lord, and it is a declaration aimed at a rival — the prophet's whole career is a contest against Baal, and his name states the winning side before he opens his mouth.
Boy French 55,162 births
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 53,439 births
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 52,292 births
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 50,675 births
Jean-Baptiste Jean-Baptiste means John the dipper, and the second half is a job description — baptizein is the ordinary Greek for dipping something in liquid, so the title says plainly what he did in the river.
Boy French 49,373 births
Sammy Sammy means God has heard, or possibly name of God — the Hebrew admits both readings, and the Bible's own explanation of Samuel uses a pun on asking that fits neither.
Boy Hebrew 48,602 births
Moses Moses is explained in Exodus as drawn out of the water, but the name is more likely Egyptian — mose means born of, and it is the second half of Thutmose and Ramose, where the god's name sits in front.
Boy Hebrew 45,915 births
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 44,260 births
Daniella Daniella means God is my judge, and the name is a legal claim — Daniel's story turns on false accusation and vindication, so the name states in advance who decides the case.
Girl Hebrew 43,748 births
Yoann Yoann is a French respelling of one of the most widely borne names in history — John, whose forms include Ian, Sean, Juan, Ivan, Giovanni, Jens and Hans, all from one Hebrew sentence.
Boy French 43,069 births
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 42,611 births
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 42,086 births
Lia Lia is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the Italian and Portuguese form of Leah — whose own meaning is disputed between "weary" and "wild cow," neither of them especially flattering.
Girl Hebrew 41,278 births
Arielle Arielle is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "lion of God".
Girl Hebrew 40,149 births
Adriel Adriel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin usually translated as "flock of God," from eder, a flock or herd, and El, God.
Boy Hebrew 38,027 births
Eliott Eliott is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord is my God," a French spelling of Elliot that descends from Elijah.
Boy French 36,078 births
Salomé Salomé is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "peace," and the woman the name is best known for is never actually named in the gospels.
Girl French 35,800 births
Cyrus Cyrus is a boy's name of Persian origin whose meaning is not settled.
Boy Persian 32,984 births
Matthias Matthias is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of God".
Boy Hebrew 32,244 births
Tiago Tiago is a boy's name of Portuguese origin meaning "supplanter," a form of James created by a misdivision of Santiago.
Boy Portuguese 31,066 births
Matias Matias is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of God."
Boy Hebrew 30,841 births
Gaspard Gaspard is a boy's name meaning "treasurer," the French form of Caspar, traditionally one of the three Magi.
Boy French 30,033 births
Youssef Youssef is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God will increase," the Arabic form of Joseph.
Boy Arabic 29,920 births
Gianni Gianni is a unisex name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious," the Italian short form of Giovanni.
Unisex Italian 29,393 births
Titus Titus is a boy's name of Latin origin whose meaning is unknown.
Boy Latin 28,108 births
Shiloh Shiloh is a unisex name of Hebrew origin taken from a place rather than a word, the sanctuary town where the Israelites kept the Ark of the Covenant.
Unisex Hebrew 27,644 births

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A style is our reading of a name. A decade is the register — the names children were actually given, in order, with the counts.

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