What are Your Favorite Biblical Names?

Let’s work on another entry for the Favorites category; it seems like once we have three entries (and this would be the third), we have enough for a sidebar menu! This time the topic is favorite biblical names.

I find this category difficult because so many biblical names have been completely mainstreamed: if a family had a Michael, a Jacob, and an Abigail, I wouldn’t think, “Ah, a biblical theme!”

And many lists contain names that weren’t used as names for individuals in the Bible: Eden, Zion, Cana, Jordan, Bethany, Selah, Shiloh—and that seems like a different KIND of biblical name.

And of course there is the Bad Guys problem: Delilah is a lovely name, and I’d go right ahead and use it—but I would not use it AS a biblical name, or put it on a list of favorite biblical names, since then I’d be using it as the namesake of a Bad Guy; I’d only use it as a non-biblical name. Ditto the name Cain, which has a great on-trend sound: I think it’s fine to use it, but I wouldn’t suggest it to parents looking for a biblical name.

And many biblical names are such that if you asked 100 people, no more than one of them would know it was a name from the Bible or know the story associated with the name.

But are we discouraged? No! We are relaxed, laid-back people, and we can cope with categories that are difficult to pin down! And so as usual with this category of post, we will not sweat it: we will just make lists of names that we think of as biblical names, and we will just mention the one or ones we like. We will not fret overmuch about making sure the ones we list are our Very Very Favorites; we will just make a little list and be done with it. We will not worry about listing ones someone else has already listed, because duplicates make this a better resource for people looking to see what names of this sort are in favor. And if we think of more names later, we can come back and add them at any time: this will be a work in progress, available for anyone who wants to add to it or anyone who wants to use it to browse for ideas.

I would add the general suggestion that anyone considering a Biblical name look up the name in the Bible before using it. (Typing the name and the word “Bible” into a search engine is a pretty good way to catch all the references—and to make sure it’s in there.)

Here is my own casual, fret-free list:

Anna
Bethany
Elizabeth
Eve
Esther
Miriam
Naomi
Ruth

Benjamin
Daniel
Ethan
Isaac
James
Joel
John
Mark
Paul
Reuben
Simon

68 thoughts on “What are Your Favorite Biblical Names?

  1. Michelle

    I love this category, especially for the boys. Because I would describe my favorite style for boys as ‘puritan farm names’, and many of those are right out of the Bible. My favorites:
    Asa, Silas, John, Ezekiel (this one I like for the nick- Zeke), Jedediah, Samuel and Caleb (again, for the nick- Cale)

    For the girls:
    Mary, Rachel, Rebecca, Dinah, Lydia, Esther and Eve.

    In the ‘in the Bible but not a name’ category:
    Shiloh (although, I would not use this reference to one of the bloodiest battles of the War of Northern Aggression), and Abilene.

    Reply
  2. Alex

    Boys:
    Josiah
    Caleb
    John
    Matthew
    Jacob
    Joseph
    Elijah/Eli
    Benjamin
    David

    Girls:
    Eve
    Ruth
    Mary
    Hannah
    Rachel
    Rebecca
    Martha
    Anna

    Oh, I love bible names. My favourite boys names are Josiah and Eli, and my favourite girls are Martha and Anna.

    Reply
  3. Sarah

    I have two Biblical names for boys:

    Judah

    Asher

    I like that Judah means “praise, thankful” and that Asher means “happy, blessed”.

    For a girl, though it’s not Biblical, per se, I like Kyrie (pronounced Keer-ee-Ae), which is Greek for “Lord”. It’s from the part of church liturgy called “Kyrie Eleison” which means “Lord, have mercy”. But, then, I’m a big liturgy nerd.

    Reply
  4. Colleen

    I am sad to not see Isaiah on the list. That is one of my favorites and not as commonly used as Isaac.

    I also love:
    Jonah
    Ezra
    Reuben
    Soloman
    Isaac
    James
    Matthias
    Asher
    Judah
    Jude
    Simeon (I like it better than straight up Simon)
    Amos
    Malachi
    Elijah

    Girls:
    Naomi
    Chloe
    Phoebe
    Lydia
    Anna
    Elizabeth

    Reply
  5. Therese

    My Biblical Names list would be:

    Mary
    Rachel
    Rebecca
    Sarah
    Elizabeth
    Ruth
    Naomi
    Magdalene

    Matthew
    John
    James
    Jacob
    Elijah
    Noah
    Mark
    Paul
    Simon
    Luke
    Benjamin
    Daniel
    Isaac
    Cain
    Abraham
    Jonah

    Reply
  6. Elisabeth

    Boys:
    Andrew
    Asher
    Benjamin
    Ephraim
    Ezra
    Gideon
    James
    Levi
    Simon

    I wrote this down, and then I realized that I have a fondness for the names in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers :)

    Girls:
    Miriam
    Mary
    Esther
    Elizabeth
    Ruth
    Susanna
    Tabitha

    Reply
  7. Tracy

    Another poster already said “Ezra” but that’s one that isn’t super popular.
    Or Ezekiel
    Hosea
    Obedia
    Levi
    Amos
    Jonah
    Micah
    Joshua
    Jonah

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    If I were to use a biblical name it would be out of admiration. Therefore, my favorite people from the bible are:

    Girls
    Deborah
    Jael
    Rebecca
    Miriam
    Mary
    Martha

    Boys
    Barak
    Elijah
    John
    Gideon
    Moses
    Joseph
    Isaiah

    Reply
  9. Laura

    I absolutely adore Biblical boy names. My 3 sons have New Testament names for their first and their middles. My boys are: Paul Stephen, Mark Joseph, and James Philip. I’d love a future son to be Luke but that’s dh’s younger brother so it’s probably not possible. Thomas is a long time favorite of mine as well but it sounds a bit off with my surname. The front runner right now for a future son is Andrew. I also see the charm of Peter, Simon, and Timothy.

    I’m not as wild about Biblical girls names. My two favorites are Ruth and Elizabeth. Phoebe, Lydia, and Chloe are great as well. I think Lois is a bit dated for current use but I think it’s a nice name as well.

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    Leah (love how it sounds, but would have a hard time using it since her story is sad)
    Rachel
    Rebecca
    Elizabeth
    Ruth (solely because I like Ruth the person; if it weren’t Biblical, I wouldn’t like it)
    Magdalene, nn Maggie (but I’d never use it since people think Mary Magdalene = prostitute)

    Asa
    David
    Mark
    Luke
    Daniel
    Stephen
    Samson

    Reply
  11. Annika

    Samuel is my favorite for boys, and Ruth for girls. (My children are Sam and Grace, and I could make a case for Grace being biblical despite not being an actual name that was given to people until the 1700s, but…I won’t.)

    Reply
  12. Anonymous

    Boys:

    Ethan
    Nathan
    Judah
    Jonah
    Gideon
    Solomon
    Asher

    Girls:

    Magdalene (it’s my favorite despite the connotations)
    Rebekah (from the Old Testament – this is my sister’s middle name)
    Keturah (I know two girls with this name)
    Miriam
    Elizabeth
    Eve
    Selah

    Reply
  13. Patricia

    Girls:
    Anne / Anna
    Abigail
    Elizabeth
    Joanna
    Rachel
    Rebecca
    Sarah
    Susanna

    Boys:
    Andrew
    Daniel
    David
    Ethan
    James
    John
    Jonathan
    Joseph
    Matthew
    Michael
    Thomas
    Timothy

    It seems that we should define what we mean by “biblical baby names” and set some perimeters before this category joins the sidebar menu.

    Are we including any word that is in the bible, whether or not it was the name of a person?

    Are we including names that evolved from biblical names: e.g., Elizabeth –> Isabelle and John–>Evan?

    What about female forms of male names like Joseph–>Josephine; Michael–>Michaela?

    And how about the offshoots of those names: Michaela — Mikayla — Kayla — Kaylee?

    The website biblical-baby-names.com includes all of the above and more. I found their indication of which names in the SSA Top 500 names of 2010 are “biblical” of interest, including:
    Jayden
    Mason
    Jackson
    Tyler
    Evan
    Julian, etc.

    Isabella
    Addison
    Alexis
    Alyssa
    Ashley
    Brooklyn
    Kaylee
    Gianna, etc.

    http://www.biblical-baby-names.com/popular-names-2010.html

    Reply
  14. Julie

    Joseph is very much from the Old Testament (or as Jews know it, *The Bible,* since there’s nothing else for them). Joseph was the favored youngest son of Jacob {because his mother was Rachel}. He was sold into slavery by his older brothers and like his brothers, has one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel named for him.

    My favorite biblical names are:
    Rebecca
    Rachel
    Sarah
    Hannah
    Eve

    Isaac
    Joseph
    Eli{jah}
    Nathan
    Samuel

    Reply
  15. Claire Wessel

    Boys:
    Cyrus
    Judah
    Asa
    Ezra
    Hezekiah
    Saul
    Reuel
    Raphael
    Shiloh
    Simeon (which hubs vetoes because he thinks “simian” when he hears it)

    Girls:
    Jezebel (maybe I’ll be brave enough to use it someday!)
    Delilah
    Naomi
    Eden
    Vashti
    Mary
    Selah
    Eve

    Reply
  16. Issas Crazy World

    Alexander, Samuel, Micah, Gabriel, Benjamin, Matthew, Isaac, Nathaniel, James, Thomas, Michael and Charles. Although I’m unsure if Charles is, or if I just think it’s biblical.

    Almost all of my favorite boys names are biblical. Although for me, it’s the classic feel to them, instead of the religious one.

    Girls…Elizabeth, Anne (I think is one?), Phoebe and Abigail are the ones I can think of.

    Reply
  17. Jessica

    My favorite boy name EVER is Luke. I love it so. I’m still bitter my husband won’t use it.

    Although, I think now I need to start saying my favorite boy name is Paul, as that’s my son’s name. (I do love it. Probably more than Luke at this point, because it’s associated with my son.)

    I’m also a big fan of Thomas, my husband’s name. You can see we’re a big fan of mainstreamed biblical names.

    Reply
  18. Anonymous

    Well, I am learning a lot here — I didn’t realize that some names I love, like Phoebe and Tabitha, were Biblical names! Fun.

    Off the top of my head, I love Nathaniel, Bartholomew, James, Luke, Timothy, Tabitha (!), Phoebe, Mary.

    Reply
  19. Anonymous

    Anna, Miriam, Rachel, Elizabeth, Tabitha

    Adam, Jacob, Thomas, James, Matthew, Jonathan, Nathaniel

    My Biblical style preference is obviously for the names that have gone more mainstream.

    Reply
  20. booksdontgrowontrees

    Gideon (It’s top of my middle-name list)
    Samuel (Husband’s name)
    Silas
    Josiah
    Malachi
    Thomas

    Micaiah (Male name in the Bible but I like it as a girl’s name)
    Adlai (Also a male name but I like it-and variations thereof-for girls)
    Moriah (Significant place name in the Bible, also my daughter’s middle name)

    Reply
  21. Erin

    Being not-even-remotely religious, super-Biblical names are generally off-putting to me (for my own kids, they don’t both me for other peoples’ kids!), but there are a few I do like:

    Caleb
    John
    Michael
    Gabriel (Gabe)
    Abel (thanks, Sons of Anarchy!)
    Luke (one of my favorites ever, but can’t use it because my daughter is Lorelai and that would be like naming my kids Romeo and Juliet)

    Leah
    Rachel
    Abigail
    Elizabeth

    Reply
  22. The Mrs.

    Rufus
    Gaius
    Bartholomew
    Nicodemus
    Augustus (hmmm… maybe not so much of a “good guy” though)
    Amos
    Felix (also not such a good guy)

    Miriam
    Phoebe
    Chloe
    Anna
    Eve
    Esther

    Reply
  23. K

    I second the previous poster’s re Deborah. She was a female judge, prophetess, and military leader at the time that women weren’t exactly in the profession!

    If I used it myself I would probably want to use the Hebrew form: Devorah/Devora. I think it sounds and looks a bit fresher and more current than Deborah.

    Reply
  24. Carolyn

    Girls:
    Kezia (It means “from the Cassia tree” and I would almost say I like Cassia better, but it’s a stretch to call that biblical)
    Rebekah
    Miriam
    Ruth

    Boys:
    Benjamin
    Joseph
    Thomas
    Luke
    Paul

    Reply
  25. Jenny Grace

    One of my favorite name categories.

    Gabriel
    James
    Jesse
    Levi
    Daniel
    Isaac
    Abram
    Paul
    Adam
    Simon

    Dinah
    Ruth
    Eve
    Naomi
    Miriam
    Anne

    There’s a bunch more; that’s off the top of my head.

    Reply
  26. Karen L

    Except for the honour name Margaret, all names that we’ve seriously considered have been biblical. * for my children’s actual names.

    Aaron
    Adam *
    Benjamin
    Gabriel
    James
    John *
    Jonah
    Simon

    Naomi *
    Rachel
    Sarah

    These were never contenders for various reasons, but I also really like:

    Noah
    Raphael

    Eve
    Mary
    Leah

    Reply
  27. Elisabeth

    Selah (My baby’s first name)
    Faith (Selah’s middle name)
    Rebecca
    Leah
    Hannah
    Eden
    Shalom (Hebrew)

    Judah
    Asher
    David

    We also know a Zipporah (nn Zippy [girl]), Canaan (girl. also Zippy’s sister) and Micaiah (boy).

    Reply
  28. Heidi J

    My favorite names that appear in English translations of the Bible:

    Miriam
    Lydia
    Esther
    Naomi
    Mara
    Ruth
    Martha

    Samuel
    Levi
    Malachi
    Reuben
    Simon
    Elias (only in the KJV)
    Gideon
    Isaac
    Benjamin
    Seth
    Thaddeus

    Names that are in non-English translations of the Bible:

    Eva
    Magdalena
    Noemi

    Reply
  29. Eva.G

    Boys:

    Abel
    Abner
    Adam
    Asher
    Canaan
    Cyrus
    David
    Eben
    Ephraim
    Ezra
    Hezekiah
    Judah
    Levi
    Luke
    Malachi
    Manasseh
    Micah
    Noah
    Reuel (my husband’s great uncle’s name is Reuel!)

    Girls:

    Esther
    Eve
    Hannah
    Leah
    Miriam
    Naomi
    Phoebe
    Ruth
    Sarah

    Wow, I much prefer Old Testament to New Testament names!

    Reply
  30. Anonymous

    Would be handy to split these into Old and New Testament. I’m Jewish and would be uncomfortable with a new testament name.

    Reply
  31. Rebecka

    Some of these names might be spelled differently because I’m Swedish, for example Mary Magdalene is in Sweden called Maria Magdalena.

    Magdalena
    Susanna
    Rachel
    Anna
    Elizabeth
    Rebecca
    Mary
    Therese
    Lydia
    Esther
    Miriam
    Phoebe
    Ruth
    Leah
    Judith
    Julia
    Helena

    James
    Aaron
    Jonathan
    Jude
    Daniel
    Alexander
    Johannes
    Emanuel
    Samuel
    David
    Michael
    John
    Felix
    Benjamin
    Thomas
    Adam

    My favourites are Elizabeth, Susanna and Helena for a girl, and Jonathan and Daniel for a boy.

    Reply
  32. Gwennan

    I love Biblical names.

    My favourites are

    Abigail
    Anna
    Dinah
    Esther
    Hannah
    Lydia
    Martha
    Miriam
    Phoebe
    Rebecca
    Susanna(h)
    Tabitha

    Aaron
    Adam
    Amos
    Andrew
    Asa
    Barnabas
    Bartholomew
    Caleb
    Christopher
    Cornelius
    Cyrus
    Eli
    Ezra
    Gabriel
    Gideon
    Isaac
    Jesse
    John
    Joseph
    Mark
    Matthew
    Micah
    Nathan
    Nathaniel
    Paul
    Peter
    Philip
    Raphael
    Reuben
    Samuel
    Seth
    Simeon
    Simon
    Thomas
    Timothy
    Tobias
    Zachary

    Reply
  33. vanessa

    wait wait wait, did someone just call the Civil War the War of Northern Aggression?

    I like (although probably wouldn’t use unless I had dozens of babies) these names, which I think of as Biblical even though they may well not be even remotely biblical.

    Esther
    Miriam
    Sarah (I WILL use this, family name)
    Eve (she was framed!)
    Abigail
    Aviva
    Anna
    Hannah
    Tova
    Rivka
    Tzipporah! with the nickname Tzippy!
    Naomi
    Ruth

    Asher
    Isaac
    Luke
    Simon
    Abel
    Elijah
    Noah
    Jonah
    Silas
    Ephraim
    Ezra
    Gabriel

    Reply
  34. Rachel

    Asher
    Asa
    Noah
    Jonas
    Samuel

    Naomi

    Asher is basically my favorite name, ever since I encountered it in he noble. Clearly, I don’t like biblical girl names as much (even though I have one) and right now, Naomi is it.

    Reply
  35. Jen

    Boys:
    Ezra
    Elisha/Elias
    Josiah
    Joel
    Matthew
    Stephen
    John
    Asher
    Benaiah
    Micaiah
    Luke
    Jordan

    Girls:
    Rachel
    Leah
    Lydia
    Elisabeth
    Jordan
    Mahala
    Joy
    Joanna
    Mary
    Hannah

    Reply
  36. Tesni

    Girls:

    Eve
    Jemima
    Keturah
    Miriam
    Naomi
    Phoebe
    Sapphira
    Susanna
    Tamar

    Boys:

    Andreas
    Ariel
    Asa
    Benjamin
    Eli
    Ezra
    Felix
    James
    Jude
    Levi
    Noah
    Reuben
    Samuel
    Simon

    Safe to say I love biblical names? ;)

    Reply
  37. Katy

    Benjamin
    Joshua
    Solomon (know a boy with this name and they call him “Solly” and it fits him perfectly!)

    Leah (my daughter’s name!)
    Priscilla
    Mary / Miriam

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Karen L Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.