Boy's names - Judah and Isaiah

[Balonzette]

I know several American children with these names but no British! I love them both. (Before anyone says they're very religious - I know. I like that bit )

What do you think? Are they usable in the UK or too uncommon?

To me, Judah is horrible. Isaiah is very nice.

Not my babies though. I would assume you were religious.

I would say not usable in the UK, unless you want to be seen as a religious nut.

I know a couple of British boys called Isaiah, in fact I know of brothers called Jude and Isaiah. I like the names but would assume you were a fairly religious family.

of course they are usable even if rare people have heard the name before and they are spelt correctly
other biblical prophets like Elijah and Joel are getting much more common go for it it is fine if I met you I would just say cool names I like it ( might not call my child that name but that is irrelevant and there are lots of nice names I wouldn't use )
any name that has been around for centuries is fine

Judah - no. The connotations there are never going to die down. Isaiah isn’t my bag but perfectly nice name.

@TheWayTheLightFalls

Judah - no. The connotations there are never going to die down. Isaiah isn’t my bag but perfectly nice name.

Are you thinking of Judas?

I know several Judah's of various ages; I like it.

I know of several Judahs and Isaiahs - all within my church community so that might not help you!

yes I wouldn't name a child Judas or Herod or Jezebel
but Judas is not the same as Jude or Judah or Judith which all derive from the same root
Jesus himeself is referred to as the Lion from the tribe of Judah

What connotations are you thinking of with Judah? I can't think of anything negative, only positive. Are you mistaking Judah for Judas?

I don't mind seeming like a religious nut, I am a bit Should have added, we are a very religious family and that's not unknown to our friends and relatives so seeming religious isn't a negative to us!

And that's true about other biblical names getting popular now. I know several non-religious Ashers and Elijahs. I loved but think it might be getting overly popular.

Isn't it funny how biblical names are too religious until enough non-religious people decide to use them they still come from the same source!

Thank you for the replies so far!

Should have said, I loved Elijah but thought it might be too popular

I know of two baby Hezekiahs born recently within our church community.

I like Judah, makes me think of Judah Ben Hur.
In a similar vein also really like Josiah, I wanted a Josiah Edward nn Jed (like President Bartlett from the West Wing) but I was vetoed

Isaiah is also nice.

I like Judah. Isaiah will almost always be misspelled in my experience. Both are nicer than some of the other "unusual" biblical names I've heard recently. A friend used Hephzibah which I felt was a lot to lumber a child with!

Wow! Hephzibar and Hezekiah are bold choices!

I actually love Zephaniah but I'm too cowardly to use it.

I was actually wondering about names like this yesterday. Like, I wonder how many baby Habakkuks or baby Keren-Happuchs there are in the world.

Josiah Edward nn Jed is a great name! The best names are always vetoed!

Judah is no more religious than Joseph, Levi , Asher, Reuben or Benjamin

Isaiah - no more religious than Joel Or Ruth or Joshua or Samuel...

Just less mainstream

I am not religious at all so don't think I could get away with it unfortunately, but LOVE boys names like this

My personal favourites are Isaiah, Ezekiel and Ephraim

Love them. I know a coupe of Judahs. I don't know any Isaiahs, but it would have been my first choice for my son.

Both lovely names OP!

30 out of the top 100 boy names are in the bible and for Girls it is 9 out of a 100

I like them both, I imagine Judah will get shortened to Jude (by his friends, if not you). I know a little Obadiah (he's Obi for short).

yes I wouldn't name a child Judas…….
How very dare you.

I would think you are religious freak :) nothing wrong with that but kids won’t be as forgiving … Judah is a really bad name for a baby, wasn’t Judah a horrible person that sold Jesus?:) that boy will 100% get bullied, bad bad name sorry OP

That was Judas, @Elisemum.

Judah was one of Jacob's sons. Quite a big difference.

Judah was one of the twelve tribes of Israel after Jacob's sons and the tribe into which Jesus was born many of the prophecies regarding Jesus refer to him as a lion form the tribe of Judah etc
Basically it means man from Judea ( the region of Israel around Jerusalem out towards Bethlehem ) the hebrew meaning is "the praise of the Lord" King David was from the same tribe
Judith is the female version and means woman from Judea