My husband and I are expecting our second child and first boy…and we’re having a hard time settling on a first name. During my first pregnancy we found a happy medium - I like less common names and he likes Biblical names…so we went for a less common Biblical name. We’ll do the same this time. Nothing stands out to us so far. So, I’m hoping for suggestions for less commonly heard Biblical names - whether a proper name or a place etc.
I like this style too, and honestly what I did when I used to play the [name_m]Sims[/name_m] 2 (lol) and needed names, just grabbed a bible and flipped thru till I found something. For the record, I know a [name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m], [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] ([name_m]Zeke[/name_m]), and [name_m]Enoch[/name_m], and they all pull their names off really well and never have reported any teasing or negative reactions.
Our boys all have Bible names, too! IME, quite a few of the best ones have become more popular in recent years, but that doesn’t mean that they should be off limits. [name_m]Just[/name_m] don’t be completely shocked if something you thought was completely under the radar suddenly becomes less-than-unusual. Of the names you’re currently considering, I like 1) [name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m] (on my personal list), 2) [name_m]Enoch[/name_m] (I know an adorable little guy with this name), and 3) [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m].
In this list, I tried to stay out of the top 50, and also stick with positive biblical namesakes.
Abram/Abraham (Abram is at the top of my personal list)
[name_m]Amos[/name_m]
[name_u]Asa[/name_u]
Asaph (wrote 12 of the Psalms)
[name_m]Asher[/name_m] (upwardly mobile, but nowhere near as popular [name_m]IRL[/name_m] as it is on Nameberry)
[name_m]Abel[/name_m]
[name_m]Barnabas[/name_m]
Bartholemew
[name_m]Boaz[/name_m]
[name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]
[name_u]Elias[/name_u]/[name_m]Elihu[/name_m] ([name_m]Elijah[/name_m] and [name_m]Eli[/name_m] are pretty overheated)
[name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m]
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] (also heading up the charts)
[name_m]Gideon[/name_m]
[name_m]Hezekiah[/name_m]
Issachar (I’ve always thought this one was kind of cool)
[name_m]Japheth[/name_m]
[name_m]Jonah[/name_m]
[name_m]Josiah[/name_m]
Joash
[name_m]Jethro[/name_m] (I love this one!)
[name_u]Jude[/name_u]
[name_m]Judah[/name_m]
[name_m]Justus[/name_m]
[name_m]Lemuel[/name_m] (Very uncommon, but sounds a lot like [name_m]Samuel[/name_m]. He wrote the last few chapters of the book of Proverbs).
[name_m]Malachi[/name_m]
[name_m]Matthias[/name_m] (much less common than [name_m]Matthew[/name_m])
[name_u]Micah[/name_u] (I actually know several [name_u]Micah[/name_u]'s, but it’s not even in the top 100 yet)
[name_m]Moses[/name_m]
[name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Nicodemus[/name_m] (maybe a stretch for modern years, but what a story!)
[name_m]Obadiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Philemon[/name_m]
[name_m]Phineas[/name_m] (there are at least two in the Bible. One was a scoundrel, the other a good guy.)
[name_m]Simeon[/name_m]
[name_m]Silas[/name_m]/[name_m]Silvanus[/name_m]
[name_m]Solomon[/name_m]
[name_m]Zacheus[/name_m] (if you can get past the [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] School song, this name has a lot going for it)
[name_m]Zebedee[/name_m]
[name_m]Zebulun[/name_m]
Zephaniah
I really like [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] from your list. It’s a great choice, definitely Biblical, definitely uncommon, but quite well known so you won’t get a lot of ‘funny looks’ and confusion when you announce the name.
My favourite, uncommon Biblical names are…
[name_m]Hezekiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Thaddeus[/name_m]
[name_m]Jedidiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Jared[/name_m]
[name_m]Obadiah[/name_m]
Corinthian (ok, not an actual name but I’m determined to get it on the map, I think it would make a great name!!)
[name_m]Amos[/name_m]
[name_m]Abel[/name_m]
Manessah
[name_m]Solomon[/name_m]
[name_m]Gideon[/name_m]
[name_u]Asa[/name_u]
My favorite uncommon biblical name for a boy has always been [name_m]Boaz[/name_m]. It’s such a strong name and a great namesake. [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] was a good man, not a bad example to be named after.
From your list I love [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] and [name_m]Mordecai[/name_m]. Both are very usable but slightly under the radar. [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] comes with the excellent nickname [name_m]Zeke[/name_m] and [name_m]Mordecai[/name_m] could be shortened to [name_u]Cai[/name_u] (or [name_u]Kai[/name_u]). [name_f]Lovely[/name_f] choices!
Thank you for that! And for such an extensive list. We don’t live in the US and some of the names you mentioned, which we really like, are becoming very popular where we are. But, as you mentioned, it’s really hard to know how Biblical names will fair on the charts over time. Some of your suggestions I would never have thought of - Asaph and [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]. I’m not sure how they would wear though. [name_m]Hezekiah[/name_m] and [name_m]Malachi[/name_m] are strong contenders! We both love [name_m]Amos[/name_m] but when researching its meanings, it got bumped off.
Corinthian… Corinth…
Hhmmm… Interesting. We might need to start hunting outside the ‘box’ as although I’m undecided about Corinthian itself I like the idea.
My favorites from your list are [name_m]Malachi[/name_m] and [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m]. I also love [name_m]Israel[/name_m]! It was on our list if we had a boy. My best friend has cousins who are brothers named [name_m]Israel[/name_m] and [name_m]Solomon[/name_m].
I like [name_m]Saul[/name_m] as well. Along with [name_u]Asa[/name_u], [name_m]Ezra[/name_m], [name_m]Boaz[/name_m], and [name_m]Solomon[/name_m]. [name_m]Israel[/name_m] feels like too heavy a weight to carry to me.
There are a lot of awesome biblical names (boy or girl) but one that I absolutely love lately is [name_m]Kemuel[/name_m]. It might sound like a rip-off of [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] to some people, though…
Corinth, etc.–I wouldn’t go there. Overall, the city of Corinth was known for it’s licentiousness, and the church at Corinth had a lot of troubles because of it. Calling someone a Corinthian was basically calling him a scoundrel.
Elkanah~Interesting biblical namesake, but I can’t decide whether or not it sounds like a girls name or an animal with hooves and antlers.
[name_m]Boaz[/name_m]~ [name_u]Love[/name_u] it. Fresh sound and awesome biblical roll model.
[name_m]Israel[/name_m]~Might be a bit “out there” but one of the Duggar daughters just gave the name to her firstborn, so I think we’ll probably start to see more of it.
On your top 5 list, my faves are [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] and [name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m].
