Why are some Biblical names widely popular whilst others are rarely used?

Yes I know a couple of Tzipporahs - I've always liked it. I know three sisters called Miriam, Deborah, Judith - I think when they were born 60-80yrs ago that was fairly unusual for Christian families, but common in Jewish communities.

Possibly a gormless question but...presumably some biblical names were already common in the UK prior to Christianity and the Bible arriving, as I'm guessing that the first English bible translation used some names that were already common over here as equivalents?

@sashh , @Unexpectedlysinglemum , the OP said Biblical. Had she meant Abrahamic faith names, she probably would have said so.

Fashions differ between faiths. Eve is popular but Hawwa isn't.

It's Hephzibah.

I think Noah has become a lot more popular because of Noah in ER. Lots of Elijah's too thanks to Elijah Wood.

It's really lovely! The one I knew was from a Gospel church - they seemed to love Old Testament names in general.

I like Hepzibah too, like the character in Silas Marner. I must have a thing for names with Z in.

I know two little Abels, I think it is becoming more popular. I really like Moses too. I think the others are a bit more complicated and the trend is for simpler names, especially for boys.

OP are you including the Islamic versions?

Yusef rather than Joseph and Isa rather than Jesus?

There's a thing, we don't use Jesus as given name in the UK but it is used in South America.

People often like to choose names that are already known wihin their family so it takes a while for new names to become favourites.

Two of my nephews are named Abel. I'd say it's very popular, but I see your point for Moses and Ezekiel. Though they too will come back into fashion soon as well. It's cyclical. We also have a little Gideon, a Tobias and a baby Silas in the family.

Tzipora is fairly common in religious Jewish circles!

I hope you’re watching The Pitt now. I’m enjoying Noah Wyle for a second time.

i know a few Noah’s in their early 20s so it must’ve come in to fashion in the early 2000s.

My DS has a common biblical name which is timeless!

My husband wanted to name our dd Dorcas ( a Bible name) Of course I vetoed the name.
I feared that she would be called dork at school

Abel is lovely. I think in part it is the cycle of name trends, Ezra and Noah would have been very "out there" when I was a child. Mathew, Mark, John, Stephen, Michael, Timothy were your standard 1970s boys names all of which now sound a bit dated.

I have taught many of the more unusual names on here. I particularly loved the names Boaz, Adah and Hezekiah (but that may be because of a soft spot for the kids themselves!)

Love Abel.

I think the sound of the name is a factor. Isaac is far more prevalent in our society than Isaiah, even though from a Biblical POV Isaac has a darker association. The 'iah' at the end of some names tends to give it an instant Biblical, Old Testement feel - Jeremiah, Zechariah etc

Names like Caleb, Jacob, Luke, Samuel, Nathaniel fit into our language conventions with more ease than Ishmael, Naphtali and Shadrach. I think lots of people using a Biblical name like the name, rather than referencing the Bible (which is still lovely).

We are in a large Christian community and there are: Jacob, Lydia, Samuel, Joshua, Reuben, Titus, Josiah, Levi, Daniel, Rebecca, Abel, Miriam, Elijah, Esther, Joseph and lots of Calebs.

I have known a few Miriams. In face my daughter's bestie is Miriam (age 12).

She also has a friend at nursery called Tziporah which I think is a fabulous name. Tziporah was the wife of Moses. I've never met another one though.

I love Abel

In Poland

Really

The Bible contains a total of 1,941 distinct personal names, of which 1,838 (about 95%) are male and 103 (about 5%) are female

She didn't say it was harder to find girls' names in the Bible.
She said it was harder to find examples of the rarer ones for girls than it was for boys.

I know a young Abel, but it's not that popular.

Lots of Jesuses in Spanish-speaking countries.

I agree it’s mostly fashion switching about between the New and Old Testaments, and certainly some names not having particularly Biblical connotations. I know a Phineas, an Ezekiel known as Zeke, a Thaddeus, two Moses, several Ezras, several Tabithas , several Judiths, Marthas . And when I was at school (70s and 80s), the place was stuffed with kids called Mary, Maria, Miriam, Ruth, Elizabeth, John, Peter, Luke, Mark, James, etc.

I knew a Spanish boy called Moises and thought it was brilliant.
I also have a Jesus in my phone contacts. Love telling my vicar that. Hey Rev - do you have Jesus on speed dial? I do 🤣

The name was Keziah. Kasia is 'Kasha'.

Slight tangent, but my mother-in-law had a lovely story about visiting a family as a health visitor and finding that they had four boys called Matthew, Mark, Luke and William. They were genuinely confused as to why she was surprised 🤣