Naming a counterpart to Miriam

Thank you for all the excellent help naming [name_f]Miriam[/name_f]! I didn’t expect that thread to get so big, but it was an enormous help! Now I have one other request, to name her male counterpart.

Genre of [name_u]Story[/name_u]: [name_u]Drama[/name_u]

Time Period/Location: Modern day [name_u]America[/name_u]

Brief Plot: Woman, [name_f]Miriam[/name_f]- raised in a [name_m]Christian[/name_m] cult emphasizing patriarchy, homeschooling, isolation, and childbearing- marries a young man with a similar background and the two of them begin their own families and become exposed to new ideas, leading to a radicalization of their worldview and lifestyle, recognizing the true damage of their religious upbringings.

Character Description: [name_m]Young[/name_m] man around 19/20, raised under the teachings of a conservative [name_m]Christian[/name_m] cult. Experiences emotional, physical, and spiritual abuse. A carpenter by trade and student as a [name_m]Christian[/name_m] college, interested in science and philosophy. Kind-hearted and empathetic, struggles with the concept of being “[name_m]King[/name_m]” of the household. He is insecure and damaged from a childhood of abuse.

Immediate Family: Mother named [name_f]Dawn[/name_f], lots of siblings.

[name_m]Don[/name_m]’t Suggest These Names: Anything starting with an M or a J (M is a scheme in [name_f]Miriam[/name_f]'s family, and I’m avoiding having lots of J names because it’s too Duggar), preferably Biblical name, nickname potential is a plus.

[name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m]/[name_m]Nathan[/name_m]/[name_u]Nat[/name_u]/[name_m]Nate[/name_m]
[name_u]Elisha[/name_u]/[name_m]Elijah[/name_m]/[name_m]Elihu[/name_m]/[name_m]Eli[/name_m]
[name_m]Zebulon[/name_m]/[name_m]Zeb[/name_m]
[name_m]Simon[/name_m]/[name_m]Simeon[/name_m]
[name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m]/[name_m]Zeke[/name_m]

This sounds like a great story! I’m fascinated by leaving-a-cult stories, and he sounds like a wonderful character. Good luck naming and writing!

[name_m]Adriel[/name_m] or [name_m]Amos[/name_m] or [name_u]Abijah[/name_u]; [name_m]Eben[/name_m]; [name_m]Gideon[/name_m]; [name_m]Isaiah[/name_m] or [name_u]Ira[/name_u]; [name_m]Lemuel[/name_m]; [name_m]Noam[/name_m] or [name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m]; [name_m]Obadiah[/name_m]; [name_m]Phinehas[/name_m]; [name_m]Reuel[/name_m] or [name_m]Reuben[/name_m]; [name_m]Simeon[/name_m].

A good source for Biblical names is [name_m]Ben[/name_m] Ames [name_m]Williams[/name_m]'s novel Come [name_f]Spring[/name_f], which is about the settlement of Union, [name_f]Maine[/name_f], and uses actual real names from the census of the 1780s in which it is set. One of the most common male names was [name_u]Abijah[/name_u], which is now trending in [name_m]Israel[/name_m] as Aviya, for girls and boys.