I’ve been posting over in the boys forum as my husband and I are expecting our second child and first boy. Recently friends of ours were blessed with an unexpected surprise when their daughter turned out to be a boy! We like less common Biblical names so I want to be prepared in case…
Our daughter’s name is [name_f]Jerusha[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f].
Our just in case considerations so far are
[name_m]Lael[/name_m] (we would pronounce it lay-el / although it’s a masculine name we think it works for a girl – thoughts please)
[name_f]Hadassah[/name_f]
[name_f]Talitha[/name_f]
What other uncommon Biblical names do people like for a girl? Thanks!
[name_f]Havilah[/name_f] - place name in the Old Testament
[name_f]Jerusha[/name_f] - wife of [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_m]Uzziah[/name_m] of [name_m]Judah[/name_m] in the Old Testament
[name_u]Abilene[/name_u] - place name in [name_m]New[/name_m] Testament
[name_f]Hephzibah[/name_f] - a queen and the mother of Manasseh in Old Testament
Iscah - name of [name_m]Abraham[/name_m]'s niece in Old Testament
Shiphrah - Old testament midwife
[name_f]Keturah[/name_f] - [name_m]Abraham[/name_m]'s wife after [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] in Old Testament
Athaliah - Old Testament daughter of [name_m]Ahab[/name_m] and [name_f]Jezebel[/name_f]
[name_f]Tirzah[/name_f] - Old Testament
[name_f]Keziah[/name_f] - a daughter of [name_m]Job[/name_m] in Old Testament
[name_f]Rhoda[/name_f] - [name_m]New[/name_m] Testament
[name_f]Sapphira[/name_f] - [name_m]New[/name_m] Testament
[name_f]Zipporah[/name_f] - Old testament wife of [name_m]Moses[/name_m]. Maybe not obscure but not used nearly enough in my opinion.
This one is hard as I like all three on your list! But I think that [name_m]Lael[/name_m] and [name_f]Talitha[/name_f] seem less obscure / out there - they are still uncommon but have similar sounds etc to names of the time. So, they seem better fits to me.
Is [name_f]Selah[/name_f] too similar to [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u] (a name that I often hear now)? It is very pretty. But could it have the potential to trend?
[name_f]Hadassah[/name_f] is a wonderful name, and fits perfectly with [name_f]Jerusha[/name_f], IMHO. I couldn’t get my hubby on board with it, either. I tried three times. ETA: My favorite nickname possibility for Hadassah is Daisy.
[name_f]Selah[/name_f] is definitely not too similar to [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u]. They sound and feel very different (at least to my ears), their meanings are different, and [name_f]Selah[/name_f] is not heard nearly as often. I actually have a friend who has a [name_f]Hadassah[/name_f] and a [name_f]Selah[/name_f].
Some that I don’t think have been mentioned, that I think go with [name_f]Jerusha[/name_f]:
[name_f]Shoshanna/name_f–the Hebrew of [name_f]Susannah[/name_f], means “lily”
[name_f]Moriah[/name_f]–biblical place-name
[name_f]Acacia[/name_f]–yes, the tree. The wood was used in the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle.
Shiphrah–the head of the Hebrew midwives, who refused to kill the baby boys at birth when [name_m]Pharoah[/name_m] commanded them to
[name_u]Shalom[/name_u]–Hebrew for “peace”. [name_f]Salome[/name_f] is an actual name based on the word, but it belonged to the daughter of Herod who asked for [name_m]John[/name_m] the Baptist’s head on a platter. I’ve mostly heard it used ([name_u]Shalom[/name_u], that is) as a middle name.
Hosannah–I’ve heard it a few times [name_m]IRL[/name_m], works best on an [name_f]Easter[/name_f] baby
[name_f]Havilah[/name_f]–another place name, from [name_u]Genesis[/name_u] 1
[name_f]Jubilee[/name_f]–if you don’t mind having two “J’s” in the family, this joyful name has a lot going for it. The year of [name_f]Jubilee[/name_f] was a time of forgiving debts and freeing indentured servants.
My favorite Biblical Girl Names (Yes, I know some are not uncommon…but I always feel that just a matter of perception. Also I tend to be drawn to nicknames, so I also listed the ones I would use.)
[name_f]Drusilla[/name_f] (nn [name_u]Dru[/name_u])
[name_f]Keturah[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Ketty[/name_f])
[name_f]Keziah[/name_f]
[name_f]Lydia[/name_f]
[name_f]Magdalene[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Maggie[/name_f])
[name_f]Mara[/name_f] (though I would probably use as a nn for [name_f]Marilla[/name_f])
[name_f]Miriam[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Miri[/name_f])
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f]
[name_f]Ruth[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Ruthie[/name_f])
[name_f]Sela[/name_f]/[name_f]Selah[/name_f] – My favorite
[name_u]Shiloh[/name_u]
[name_f]Susannah[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Zanna[/name_f])
[name_f]Zillah[/name_f]