Unique Biblical Names

I really like biblical names for boys because many of them are manly but unique and have great meanings and stories behind them. Some of the biblical boys names I like are [name_m]Boaz[/name_m], [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m], [name_m]Enoch[/name_m], [name_m]Malachi[/name_m], [name_m]Silas[/name_m], [name_u]Zion[/name_u], [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m], [name_m]Psalm[/name_m], [name_u]Asher[/name_u] and [name_m]Abel[/name_m]. I like biblical girl names as well but many of them are either over used like [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f], [name_f]Leah[/name_f], ect. So do you guys have any unique biblical names for boys or girls you would like to share? If you want to could you include a brief summary of who/what they are in the Bible and what they did?

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Asa
[name_m]Bartholomew[/name_m]
[name_m]Darius[/name_m]
[name_m]Eliezer[/name_m]
[name_u]Israel[/name_u]
[name_m]Jethro[/name_m]
[name_m]Kenan[/name_m]
[name_m]Moses[/name_m]
[name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Othniel[/name_m]
[name_m]Samson[/name_m]
[name_m]Simeon[/name_m]
[name_u]Zion[/name_u]

Bethia
[name_u]Damaris[/name_u]
[name_f]Dinah[/name_f]
[name_f]Elisheva[/name_f]
[name_f]Hadassah[/name_f]
[name_f]Keziah[/name_f]
[name_f]Moriah[/name_f]
[name_f]Salome[/name_f]
[name_f]Susannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Tirzah[/name_f]
[name_f]Tzipporah[/name_f]

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I really like [name_u]Asa[/name_u] and [name_u]Israel[/name_u]! And Keziah is pretty too!

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Elim
[name_u]Jericho[/name_u]
[name_m]Zebedee[/name_m]
[name_m]Mahlon[/name_m]
[name_m]Gamaliel[/name_m]
[name_m]Azriel[/name_m]

Sarai
Abeline
[name_f]Lydia[/name_f]

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[name_u]Jericho[/name_u]
[name_m]Amias[/name_m]
[name_u]Azariah[/name_u]
[name_m]Azaiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Benaiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Canaan[/name_m]
[name_u]Cross[/name_u]
[name_m]Eliab[/name_m]
[name_m]Job[/name_m]
[name_m]Josias[/name_m]
[name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Obadiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Hezekiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Nicodemus[/name_m]
[name_m]Ozias[/name_m]
Raziel
[name_u]Seven[/name_u] (seven is a very prominent number in the Bible)
Theodosius
[name_m]Theophilus[/name_m]
[name_m]Tobias[/name_m]/Tobiah
[name_m]Uriah[/name_m]
[name_m]Uziah[/name_m]
Zacciah
[name_m]Zakai[/name_m]
[name_m]Zebediah[/name_m]
[name_m]Zephaniah[/name_m]
[name_m]Judge[/name_m]
[name_m]Nahum[/name_m]
[name_u]Amos[/name_u]
[name_u]Micah[/name_u]
[name_m]Habakkuk[/name_m]
[name_m]Zechariah[/name_m]
[name_m]Uri[/name_m]
[name_m]Shem[/name_m]
[name_u]Neriah[/name_u]
[name_m]Tiras[/name_m]
[name_m]Lazarus[/name_m]
Methuselah
[name_u]Zion[/name_u]
[name_m]Azarel[/name_m]
[name_m]Balthasar[/name_m]
[name_m]Barnabas[/name_m]
[name_m]Ebenezer[/name_m]
[name_m]Esau[/name_m]
[name_m]Ehud[/name_m]
[name_m]Enos[/name_m]
[name_m]Ephraim[/name_m]
[name_m]Festus[/name_m]
[name_m]Gaius[/name_m]
[name_m]Ishmael[/name_m]
[name_m]Japeth[/name_m]
[name_m]Jubal[/name_m]
[name_m]Jotham[/name_m]
[name_m]Moab[/name_m]
[name_m]Mordecai[/name_m]
[name_m]Nekoda[/name_m]
[name_m]Zebulon[/name_m]

[name_f]Ester[/name_f]
[name_f]Philomena[/name_f]
[name_f]Adah[/name_f]
Jaala
[name_u]Genesis[/name_u]
[name_u]Terah[/name_u]
[name_f]Selah[/name_f]
[name_u]Abilene[/name_u]
[name_f]Adalia[/name_f]
[name_f]Agrippa[/name_f]
[name_f]Bathsheba[/name_f]
[name_f]Bethel[/name_f]
[name_u]Dove[/name_u]
[name_f]Galilee[/name_f]/Galilea
[name_f]Zipporah[/name_f]
[name_f]Hosanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Hallelujah[/name_f]
[name_f]Jezebel[/name_f]
[name_u]Micaiah[/name_u]
[name_f]Rahab[/name_f]
[name_u]Shalom[/name_u]
[name_f]Sarai[/name_f]
[name_f]Zemira[/name_f]
[name_f]Jubilee[/name_f]
[name_f]Orpah[/name_f]
[name_f]Sapphira[/name_f]

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps :slight_smile:

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I’m going to focus on girls’ names, because there are far fewer women mentioned in the Bible, so it’s harder to find good ones than it is with boys.

  • [name_f]Zipporah[/name_f] - a Midianite woman who becomes the wife of [name_m]Moses[/name_m] when he is exiled from Egypt. Also spelled [name_f]Ziporah[/name_f], Tzippora, [name_f]Tzipporah[/name_f], [name_f]Tzipora[/name_f], etc. God sends an angel to attack Moses while they are journeying, and Zipporah saves him from death by cutting off the foreskin of their son and flinging it at the angel’s feet, telling God that he is her father-in-law by that blood, in keeping with the circumcision covenant. The Greek version of her name is [name_f]Sephora[/name_f].
  • [name_u]Shifra[/name_u] - a midwife who helped deliver [name_m]Moses[/name_m].
  • [name_f]Tryphena[/name_f] - [name_u]Christian[/name_u] woman mentioned in Romans for the good work she was doing.
  • [name_f]Vashti[/name_f] - wife of a Persian king who refused to appear naked for his dinner guests and was thus replaced with [name_f]Esther[/name_f]. The [name_m]Edwin[/name_m] [name_m]Long[/name_m] painting is absolutely stunning!
  • [name_f]Hosanna[/name_f] - an exclamation of joy (like [name_f]Hallelujah[/name_f]) used to greet [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] in the [name_u]New[/name_u] Testament.
  • [name_f]Selah[/name_f] - a word used as a literary device throughout the Psalms, signaling the reader to pause and meditate on the previous passage before reading on.
  • [name_f]Rahab[/name_f] - a Canaanite sex worker who hid two Israelite spies in her home when the Canaanite soldiers came looking for them. She is one of the few women mentioned mentioned in the lineage of [name_m]Jesus[/name_m]. This name also refers to a sea monster in Hebrew mythology who represented [name_u]Egypt[/name_u]. Some versions of the story say [name_f]Rahab[/name_f] used to be an angel and is now imprisoned at the bottom of the ocean for teaching forbidden skills to humanity.
  • [name_f]Tirzah[/name_f] - a woman, briefly mentioned, as well as the name of a Biblical city.
  • [name_f]Priscilla[/name_f] - a noble woman who was one of the first converts to Christianity.
  • [name_f]Elisheva[/name_f] - wife of [name_m]Aaron[/name_m] in the book of Exodus. Also the Hebrew ancestor of the classic [name_f]English[/name_f] variant, [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f].
  • [name_f]Naamah[/name_f] - two women in the Bible bear this name. One was a direct descendant of [name_m]Cain[/name_m] and presumably carried his curse in her blood. The other was one of the 700 wives and 300 concubines of [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_m]Solomon[/name_m].
  • [name_f]Hadassah[/name_f] - the Hebrew name for [name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f].
  • [name_f]Sapphira[/name_f] - a gorgeous name, and a sad story. She and her husband were killed by God because they lied about how much they sold their land for to the person collecting money for the church.
  • [name_f]Moriah[/name_f] - a Biblical mountain with spiritual significance.
  • [name_f]Talitha[/name_f] - When [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] heals a little girl, this is the word he calls her in the original Aramaic.
  • [name_f]Jerusha[/name_f] - the wife of an Old Testament king who died of leprosy, and the mother of his successor.
  • [name_f]Persis[/name_f] - a [name_u]New[/name_u] Testament woman commended by [name_m]Paul[/name_m] for her hard work in serving the [name_m]Lord[/name_m].
  • [name_u]Jael[/name_u] - also spelled [name_u]Yael[/name_u]. She was a Kenite woman who saved the Israelites from oppression by luring the enemy commander into her tent, giving him something to drink and a place to rest, and once he was asleep, hammering a tent spike through his temples. :scream: #iconic
  • [name_f]Orpah[/name_f] - daughter of [name_f]Naomi[/name_f] in the Old Testament. Fun fact, [name_f]Oprah[/name_f]'s name was actually a misspelling of [name_f]Orpah[/name_f]!
  • [name_u]Damaris[/name_u] - an Athenian woman who may have been a courtesan and who converted to Christianity after attending a sermon given by [name_m]Paul[/name_m] to the leading council of Athens.
  • Gilead - a Biblical place name.
  • [name_f]Atarah[/name_f] - also spelled [name_f]Atara[/name_f]. We don’t know much about her, because she’s only mentioned in the genealogies as a descendant of [name_m]Judah[/name_m].
  • [name_f]Tamar[/name_f] - the name of several women in the Bible, one of whom posed as a sex worker to blackmail her father-in-law into giving her what she was owed after she was widowed because of her husband’s wickedness. She’s one of the few women mentioned in the lineage of [name_m]Jesus[/name_m]!
  • [name_f]Keturah[/name_f] - a beautiful name that means “incense,” and the second wife of [name_m]Abraham[/name_m].
  • [name_f]Beulah[/name_f] - a metaphorical place name thought to represent heaven.
  • Salome - the name of two women in the New Testament. One was a follower of Jesus who witnessed his crucifixion and went to anoint his body in the tomb only to find he had resurrected. The other, more infamous, was the daughter of Herodias who danced for her stepfather Herod on his birthday. He was so pleased that he offered her whatever she wanted, and prompted by her mother, she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. (John the Baptist had opposed Herodias’ marriage to Herod and she wanted revenge.) To save face, Herod had John the Baptist executed.
  • [name_f]Junia[/name_f] - an early [name_u]Christian[/name_u] referred to by [name_m]Paul[/name_m] as a female apostle.
  • [name_f]Peninah[/name_f] - also spelled [name_f]Penina[/name_f] or [name_f]Peninnah[/name_f]. One of Elkanah’s wives who had a not-so-low-key power struggle with [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] over the fact that [name_f]Peninah[/name_f] had children and [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] was thought to be barren.
  • Delilah - a Philistine woman who caught the attention of notorious philanderer and strongman, Samson, and it is implied that they became lovers. The Philistines bribed her to learn the secret of his strength. Three times she tried to persuade him to tell her, and three times he lied. (You’d think the dude would get the clue that Delilah had it in for him!) The third time, she got angry and tearful with him, accusing her of mocking her with his lies, so finally he told the truth - his strength was in his hair. She cut it while he was sleeping and when it was evident that his strength was gone, she turned him over to the Philistines. The consensus is often that God used Delilah to test Samson and punish him for breaking the covenant he’d made.
  • [name_f]Galilee[/name_f] - a Biblical place name.
  • [name_f]Drusilla[/name_f] - a granddaughter of [name_m]Herod[/name_m] the Great who supported the imprisonment of [name_m]Paul[/name_m] when her husband [name_m]Felix[/name_m] was almost persuaded to let him go.
  • [name_u]Athaliah[/name_u] - daughter of [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_m]Ahab[/name_m] and [name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Jezebel[/name_f] who was the only woman reported to have reigned as a monarch within [name_u]Israel[/name_u] / [name_m]Judah[/name_m]. She was queen for seven years until she was overthrown and killed.
  • [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] - the Aramaic name of the [name_u]Christian[/name_u] woman [name_f]Dorcas[/name_f], who was mourned so fiercely by her fellow widows that [name_m]Peter[/name_m] was persuaded to raise her from the dead.
  • [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] - one of the Hebrew names for [name_u]Jerusalem[/name_u], as well as an angel in Jewish and [name_u]Christian[/name_u] mysticism, whose name means “lion of God.”
  • [name_f]Bathsheba[/name_f] - the wife of [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_m]David[/name_m], who coveted her for her beauty while she was still married to one of his generals. He slept with her, and when she conceived, he sent her husband to the front lines of the next battle so he would die and Bathsheba would be free to marry. She was the mother of [name_m]Solomon[/name_m] and helped him ascend to the throne after [name_m]David[/name_m]'s death. Depending on the interpretation, she was a virtuous woman embroiled against her will in scandal and tragedy, or a cunning manipulator who seduced her way to power.

Reason for edits: I added blur/spoiler tags to some of the gnarly bits, because the Bible is heckin hardcore. Also fixed grammar mistakes and fleshed out Zipporah’s story some more. Also added Salome and Delilah!

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A boy’s name I really love and has been a guilty pleasure of mine for many years is Eliud, an ancestor of [name_m]Jesus[/name_m].

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My children all have unusual Biblical names. I’ll just include the first & middle if its biblical-

My Girls:
Amaré (Latin for Love)
Selah

My boys:

Job (we call him Joby)
Boaz Apollos
Shiloh Moses

Loved reading all these!

Would love to use any of these in the future:

Boys:

Cephas
Zion
Jabez
Phinehas
Mordecai

Girls:

Noémi
Ahava
Agapé
Jael
Jubilee
Hadassah or Ester
Sephora (Greek form of zipporah)

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[name_f]Lydia[/name_f] (not really unique but I don’t see it used much) - Her wealth allowed her to live independently in a spacious house. She opened her home to [name_m]Paul[/name_m] after hearing him preach

[name_f]Jezebel[/name_f] (unique and probably unusable, a crying shame really)- Her name is used as a slur but so unjustly

[name_m]Immanuel[/name_m] (the name itself is not unique but the spelling is)

[name_u]Ira[/name_u] - Means “watchful” in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of [name_m]King[/name_m] David’s priest.

[name_m]Lazarus[/name_m] - a man from [name_f]Bethany[/name_f], the brother of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Martha[/name_f], who was restored to life by [name_m]Jesus[/name_m].

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