Biblical Baby Names

[MummikinsOopNorth]

I would really love to call my DD/DS a biblibal name. What do people think of the following?

Abraham
Abel
Ezekiel
Gabriel
Isaiah
Malachai
Saul
Ezra
Amos
Eli
Ishmael
Josiah
Micah
Reuben

Hosanna
Mary
Delilah
Elisheba
Miriam

love Delilah, it was on our list for DD2, though I was put off it when someone told me the actual story of Samson and Delilah, she was a bit of a floozy!

I'd also add

Nathaniel
Ignatius
Rebecca
Rachel
Martha

I love Elisheba/Elisheva (non-Anglicised version of Elizabeth) and Hosanna... both really different!

But other women in the Bible you could consider naming after are

Eve
Sarah
Rebecca
Leah
Rachel
Dina
Yocheved
Hannah
Yael
Debbie/Deborah
Judy/Judith
Abigail
Tamara
Michal
Mirav
Bathsheba
Avishag (OK, maybe not )
Sharon ()
Naomi
Ruth
Esther
Shulamit
Martha
Jo/Joanne/Joanna/Johanna
Priscilla
Dorcas

I'm sure I must have missed some...

DH and i were saying yesterday that Sharon has such a lovely sound, and its a shame its so unusable now.
Love Shulamit, Esther,Bathsheba, Yael, Judith and Priscilla

OP -
Abraham - love this - on ourlist for dc5
Abel - cute
Ezekiel - love this but do not like nn Zeke
Gabriel - Gabe is cute
Isaiah - cute
Malachai - ok, do not like nn Cai though
Saul - nice
Ezra - lovely
Amos - my ds's name
Eli - my other ds's name [grin}
Ishmael - LOVE THIS
Josiah - cute
Micah - not a fan
Reuben - ok

Hosanna - like this
Mary - lovely, but prefer Miriam
Delilah - not keen
Elisheba - love
Miriam - lovely

Look at the meaning of the names - some of them have pleasing ones whilst others are named after land or animals. This may not bother you. The stories involving them are also varied, some being the victims of tragedy. Do you want a name that has been used in this country for centuries by both Christian and Jewish communities? It's possible to search and check how many there were prior to the 20th century if tradition interests or deters you.

I've noticed that Sharon was very rare in this country in 1851 and before, predominantly used as a male name and for the few female ones that appear, they appear to be in the Staffordshire, Yorkshire area.
It's popularity was due to Americanism and films that were shown in this country.

Elisheva was the original spelling of Elizabeth, could be pulled off and the 'eva' part used as a nn, don't like the -sheba ending as much as too much like the eponymous queen.

Not very keen on Judith, Micah and Delilah reminds me of a camel I once knew, it's rather cliched, like one of those old Turkish Delight adverts, all pink net nikab and Creosote makeup.

I love them all except for Hosanna. The nn HO would not be nice at all.

Its popularity not it's. Tsk.

Greek Scriptures ones...Julia, Claudia, Lydia, Gabrielle/a (well kind of, the girls version of Gabriel), Tabitha (a bible name? or have I just made that up?)
another 'spiritual' one Evangeline, also Genesis is gaining popularity. I can't see Abigail here? I wouldn't go for Delilah myself or Tamar the stories are not so nice. More unusual, Keziah.

Boys

Titus
Jude
Caleb
Gabriel
Barnabus
Nathaneal

There are some really nice hebrew ones which aren't strictly just 'jewish' names but have that ancient biblical connection, Girls: Shana, Tahlia (you may want to check this is from memory)I have a ton of them in one of my books and some are really pretty.

I had a Christian baby name book (long since donated to charity shop). Lots of obscure ones. They must have trawled the geneologies at the beginning of Chronicles! I love Hosanna, Josiah and Reuben. I actually know a woman named Shulamite.

Opinion wise on your list, Miriam is nice but I think it means bitterness or something. Gabriel is fantastic it is our choice if we were having a boy, I've loved it since I was about 14 ...

I always thought Ignatius was a leprachaun...

I like Seth, third son of Adam and Eve.

Levi
Joel
Ethan
Samuel
Hannah
Noah
Zachariah
Israel
Cyrus
Aaron
Elija
Christian
Obadiah
Tobias

Abigail
Anani
Grace
Hope
Faith

Out of your list I really like:

Abel
Gabriel
Saul
Amos
Eli
Reuben

Mary
Delilah
Miriam

We have put down Esther onto our shortlist because I like both the sound of the name and the story behind it.

Have you seen this website? One page with a raft of them, A -Z and some Greek names thrown into the mix.

Meraiah, meaning mutiny or bitterness. Must be true, that's all I feel when I hear Miss Carey's warbling.

www.ballina.net/babynames/

Like most of the names, with the exception of Delilah, which verges on Jezebel, and some of the more unusual male names where you imagine someone Old-Testament strict with a large beard. Feel names like Daniel, Saul are more workable.

One biblical name I considered as first/middle for DD was Vashti - a feisty woman who came to a sticky end but at least for sticking to her principles. I've always really liked that name but too much of a coward to go for it. You sound bolder.

Good luck with picking!

Mary & Miriam are lovely (and don't actually mean bitterness - there's a bit about it here . Elisheba is interesting, could grow on me.

If you want a biblical name for religious reasons I don't see the point in Delilah who as I recall was a bit of a baddie. & Hosanna isn't a name in the Bible afaik, & I don't think a teenage girl would enjoy it as the word "ho" is used a lot by the youth of today (unless they've moved on to something new). Rosanna is pretty though, not that it's biblical.

The male ones aren't my cup of tea but Eli is my favourite of them.

For Biblical names I also like Esther, maybe Gideon.

I knew a lovely Esther. Mary & Miriam, even Maryam are pleasing to the ear, too.

Abraham - like
Abel - quite like, might be mis-spelled as Able?
Ezekiel - like :) and could have Zeke for short
Gabriel - it's OK
Isaiah - OK
Malachai - like (would spell Malachi)
Saul - like
Ezra - like
Amos - like
Eli - like, also like as short for Elias
Ishmael - it's OK
Josiah - like
Micah - like
Reuben - it's OK but sounds a bit like rueful

Hosanna - I don't think of this as a name, how about just Anna?
Mary - like
Delilah - like
Elisheba - not so keen, how about Bathsheba?
Miriam - like :)

My favourites from your list are Ezekiel or Malachi for a boy, Mary, Delilah or Miriam for a girl.

We have Miriam and Delilah on our list.

We already have a JONAS - which is a derivative of Jonah but we thought Jonah was a bit TOO biblical - we have had so many compliments about Jonas and have not met another one (yet!)