Searching old biblical names

Writers' Corner
1

Hello :slight_smile:

I’ve been quietly lurking around the forum for some months now but decided to seek some character-naming help here. :wink:
Since this is my first post I am very sorry if I did something wrong and I would be very thankful if anyone would point out all the mistakes (posting/forum mistakes; English is not my native language so there are definitely going to be a lot of mistakes in that area :D)

I’m currently writing a [name_f]Fantasy[/name_f] story taking place in the 21st century in Central Europe.
But a big part of background information/plot has connections to the “old biblical world” and to [name_m]Cain[/name_m]. More precisely to his children which in my story will be several sons and one daughter.
As it is said in [name_u]Genesis[/name_u] his son is [name_m]Enoch[/name_m] but other children are not mentioned. Well, in my story he NEEDS to have more children so I started searching for fitting names.

My Criteria:

  • meaning has nothing to do with “God” -> maybe something with agriculture/harvest since [name_m]Cain[/name_m] was “farmer”
  • no common bible names or biblical names that are strongly associated with one biblical figure ([name_m]Moses[/name_m], [name_m]Samson[/name_m], [name_m]Job[/name_m]…)
  • old-biblical flair (and maybe somehow timeless if possible?)

I came up with
[name_m]Ephraim[/name_m] (fertile, productive)
[name_m]Boaz[/name_m] (swiftness?)
[name_m]Nisan[/name_m] (first month of the Jewish sacred year?)
[name_m]Jorah[/name_m] (early rain)

[name_f]Adah[/name_f]
[name_u]Yael[/name_u] (not sure about the meaning, “el” syllable is the name for “God”?)
[name_f]Keziah[/name_f] (cassia tree) -> current favourite but not 100% sure

I’d like to ask you what you think of these names, if you could confirm the meanings (I believe nameberry, just…control is better… :D), if you have any other ideas (especially for the girls!), etc.

I didn’t write about how I imagine their personalities/appearance on purpose because I would like to hear all your name ideas, not only the ones fitting for a certain type of character…

Thank you very much for your time and help, I appreciate it a lot!

  • Nisiver
2

[name_u]Elon[/name_u] – means “oak” in Hebrew, kind of associated with agriculture/nature.
[name_m]Abner[/name_m] – means “father of light” in Hebrew, which isn’t associated with harvest, but it seems kind of timeless.
[name_m]Cyrus[/name_m] – Greek for “young”, seems timeless and classic.

[name_f]Adele[/name_f] – combines [name_f]Adah[/name_f] and [name_u]Yael[/name_u] and means “noble” in [name_m]German[/name_m] (relating to your Central Europe setting).
[name_f]Eva[/name_f] – means “life” in Hebrew, somewhat associated with harvest. It’s also a nod to [name_f]Eve[/name_f] without the direct connection.
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f] (or [name_f]Zara[/name_f]) – Arabic for “flower” or “blossom”

I love your other names-- especially [name_f]Keziah[/name_f] and [name_f]Cassia[/name_f]-- but in my opinion [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] is a little bit too recognizable if you’re going for uncommon or unassociated names.

I hope this helps!

3

Thank you very much persephone.mare! :slight_smile:

[name_u]Elon[/name_u] is great, I love it, I will definitely add him and [name_m]Abner[/name_m] to my list!
I like the name [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m] a lot, so much actually that I have already chosen it for another character! :smiley:

[name_f]Adele[/name_f] is beautiful but the association with the singer is way too strong for me…
I’d rather not use [name_f]Eva[/name_f] for the reason you gave: it’s a nod to [name_f]Eve[/name_f] which unfortunately doesn’t fit into my plot…
[name_f]Zara[/name_f] is very nice but too close to [name_f]Sara/name_f

Thank you for your suggestions!