On account of being an atheist and all, Biblical names are often not my thing. Not a big draw to have a meaning like "God is my judge" when I don't think anyone's there to do the judging, you know? But they are names with history and heft, and there are quite a few that manage to sound a little more strong-ancient-literary and less cheesy evangelical. And there are some really wild and wonderful inspirational characters, too — something that always makes a name more interesting. I was looking through the
Biblical name lists over at Behind the Name, and these are the ones that stood out —
Abilene — the name of this Syrian plain is briefly mentioned in the New Testament. It may come from Hebrew elements meaning "grass." I think it would make a really sweet girls' name
Absalom — means "my father is peace." He's described in the Book of Samuel: "In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him." Axel is the medieval Dutch form of this name
Amos — one of the 12 minor prophets of the Old Testament, Amos means "carried." Amos ranked in the top 100 in the first half of the 1800s, but has been steadily falling ever since. It finally fell off the list in 2004, but poked its nose back in '07 and '09 in the high 990s. However, in 2011 Amos jumped into the top thousand pretty solidly, coming in at #860. I'll be looking at this one next year
Avidan — this one actually does mean "my father is judge" (and so does Daniel, below) It's mostly found as a modern-day surname
Baltasar — a form of Belshazzar, the Hebrew form of Akkadian name Bel-sarra-usur, meaning "Ba'al protect the king." He appears in the Book of Daniel, where he sees mysterious messages written on a wall
Bartholomew— I've always had a soft spot for Bartholomew. It means "son of Talmai," a name featured at the end of this list. I like a lot of the variants, like Dutch Mies and French Barthélémy, and the potential nickname Tolly
Bethel — another lovely place name, Bethel means "house of god," and was the place where Jacob sold that lady the stairway to heaven. I think that's right ...
Caleb — I don't really like Caleb, except that I do. Most of the time I just think people aren't using it the right way. It comes off as trendy and edges towards the evangelist category, but I think it's got potential in the right combo. I read East of Eden at an impressionable age and Caleb (who was called Cal, which is nice) was a great character. It means "dog," though, which is sort of random
Cornelius — such a fun one. From the Latin cornu, meaning "horn," Cornelius was the first gentile convert to Christianity
Daniel — solid, dependable Daniel. Soft and strong all at once, it's really been growing on me lately after I used it for a character. Plus his is one of my favorite books of the Bible he's a total badass, brave, dream-interpreting namesake
Esau — Daniel's a badass, Esau's a bit of a scumbag. His name means "hairy" and he sold his brother for a bowl of stew, or something? Weird. Anyway this one is also saved, for me, by a literary association. I Saw Esau, anyone?
Gad — one of my newest favorites, Gad means "fortune" in Hebrew
Hanan — this is listed as masculine Old Tastement name meaning "gracious." It's also a feminine Arabic name meaning "mercy," or "compassion," and I prefer it on a girl
Iael — I've always liked Jael and Yael, but Iael is my current preferred variant. It means "mountain goat"
Ishvi — means "he resembles me," and was one of the sons of Asher in the Old Testament
Jemima — the oldest of Job's three daughters, this Hebrew name means "dove."
Jerusha — means "possession" in Hebrew. I also remember this name from a book I read as a pre-teen, though I can't remember which book. Some girl, maybe an orphan, writing in letter format ... hmm ...
Leui — a variant of Levi, meaning "attached." I'm not interested in Levi, but Leui looks a lot friendlier
Maala — a form of also-nice Mahlah, which has a lovely sound but a rotten meaning ("sick") It's used for both boys and girls. Mahlet and Mahli are other pleasant forms
Maeleth — this beauty is a variant of Mahalath, meaning "lyre." She's the wife of aforementioned Esau
Omri — an Old Testament king of Israel, his name means "my sheaf." I wonder why this one isn't a bit more well-used, it's so appealing
Phineas — a plague-preventing grandson of Aaron, this name could derive from Egyptian Panhsj, meaning "Nubian," or from the Hebrew for "serpent's mouth." I'll let you decide which would be wickeder
Raphael — a long-time personal favorite, I think I'm definitely in the "Raph-" camp and out of the "Raf-" one, though both spellings are nice. It is the name of one of the 7 archangels and means "God has healed." I can get behind that, God healing is a much better meaning than God judging, I think
Rhode — a New Testament name, from the Greek rhodon, meaning "rose." It ranks on the girls list in the Netherlands, and I'm totally into it at the moment
Talmai — a Hebrew name meaning "furrowed"
Yiskah — I can't help but love almost all "-iska" names, so this one makes the list. It's the original Hebrew form of Iscah, which means "to behold" and is the basis of English name Jessica