100 Biblical Boy Names (And Who They Actually Were)

Biblical names are the deepest well in naming — three thousand years of use, and most of them still sound completely ordinary on a register today.

One thing worth doing before you commit, and it takes two minutes: look up who the man actually was. Several perfectly nice-sounding names belong to genuinely awful people, and nobody will ever mention it to you.

A hundred below, grouped by how familiar they are, with the person attached.

The ones everyone knows

1. Noah — "Rest, comfort." Built the ark. Top of the US charts for years running.
2. Elijah — "My God is Yahweh." The prophet taken up in a whirlwind.
3. James — The English form of Jacob. Two apostles carried it.
4. Benjamin — "Son of the right hand." Jacob's youngest, the favored one.
5. Samuel — "God has heard." The prophet who anointed the first two kings.
6. Isaac — "He laughs." Abraham's son, named for his mother's laughter.
7. Caleb — "Whole-hearted" (or "dog", depending who you ask). One of only two spies permitted to enter the promised land.
8. Levi — "Joined." Jacob's third son; the priestly tribe.
9. Ethan — "Firm, enduring." A wise man mentioned in Kings.
10. Nathan — "He gave." The prophet brave enough to confront David.
11. Adam — "Man, earth." The first.
12. Jacob — "Supplanter." Wrestled an angel and was renamed Israel.
13. Joshua — "The Lord is salvation." Led Israel after Moses.
14. Daniel — "God is my judge." The lions' den.
15. Matthew — "Gift of God." Tax collector turned apostle.
16. Aaron — Moses' brother and the first high priest.
17. Joseph — "He will add." The coat, the pit, the granaries of Egypt.
18. David — "Beloved." Shepherd, giant-killer, king, poet, deeply flawed.
19. Thomas — "Twin." The one who wanted evidence, which seems fair.
20. Simon — "He has heard." Peter's original name.

Strong and underused

21. Gideon — "Hewer." Won with three hundred men and some trumpets.
22. Ezra — "Help." The scribe who rebuilt the law.
23. Boaz — "Swiftness." Ruth's husband; a genuinely decent man in a story full of them.
24. Asa — "Physician, healer." A reforming king of Judah.
25. Amos — "Carried by God." A shepherd who became a prophet and did not soften it.
26. Silas — "Of the forest." Paul's companion; sang in prison.
27. Enoch — "Dedicated." Walked with God and "was not."
28. Jethro — "Excellence." Moses' father-in-law, and the first management consultant in literature.
29. Abner — "Father of light." Saul's army commander.
30. Barnabas — "Son of encouragement." Possibly the best meaning in the whole book.
31. Hezekiah — "God strengthens." A king who did the right thing.
32. Zebedee — Father of James and John.
33. Titus — A Greek companion of Paul.
34. Cyrus — The Persian king who let the exiles go home.
35. Malachi — "My messenger." The last book of the Old Testament.
36. Jonah — "Dove." The fish, the reluctance, the plant.
37. Micah — "Who is like God?" A prophet with a famously good line about justice.
38. Reuben — "Behold, a son." Jacob's eldest.
39. Eli — "Ascension." The priest who raised Samuel.
40. Abel — "Breath." The second son. A short story and a sad one.

Prophets

41. Isaiah — "Salvation of the Lord."
42. Jeremiah — "Appointed by God." The weeping prophet.
43. Ezekiel — "God strengthens." The wheels, the dry bones.
44. Hosea — "Salvation."
45. Joel — "Yahweh is God."
46. Obadiah — "Servant of God."
47. Nahum — "Comforter."
48. Habakkuk — A genuine outside choice.
49. Zephaniah — "Hidden by God."
50. Haggai — "Festive."
51. Zechariah — "God remembers."
52. Elisha — "God is salvation." Elijah's successor.
53. Samson — "Sun." Enormous strength, poor judgment.
54. Nathanael — "Gift of God."
55. Jesse — "Gift." David's father.

Kings and leaders

56. Solomon — "Peace." Wisdom, temple, and a complicated late career.
57. Josiah — "Healed by God." Became king at eight.
58. Uzziah — "My strength is God."
59. Jotham — "God is perfect."
60. Abijah — "My father is Yahweh."
61. Omri — A king of Israel; short and unusual.
62. Jehu — "He is God."
63. Saul — "Asked for." The first king; also Paul's birth name.
64. Rehoboam — Solomon's son, who took bad advice.
65. Azariah — "Helped by God."

New Testament

66. Luke — "Light-giving." Physician and gospel writer.
67. Mark — Gospel writer.
68. John — "God is gracious." Apostle, Baptist, gospel.
69. Paul — "Small, humble."
70. Peter — "Rock."
71. Andrew — "Manly." Peter's brother.
72. Philip — "Lover of horses."
73. Stephen — "Crown."
74. Timothy — "Honoring God."
75. Jude — "Praised."
76. Lazarus — "God has helped."
77. Bartholomew — "Son of Talmai."
78. Cornelius — The first gentile convert.
79. Theophilus — "Friend of God." Luke's addressee.
80. Zacchaeus — The tax collector up the tree.

Rare, and worth a look

81. Ari — "Lion." Hebrew, short, modern-sounding.
82. Boaz — worth listing twice.
83. Eliab — "God is father."
84. Elon — "Oak." A judge of Israel. One very large modern association.
85. Gad — "Fortune." Jacob's son.
86. Heber — "Companion."
87. Ira — "Watchful." One of David's officers.
88. Jabez — "Sorrow", but his story turns it around.
89. Job — "Persecuted." The patience is the point.
90. Kenan — Genealogy of Genesis.
91. Lemuel — "Devoted to God."
92. Naphtali — "My struggle."
93. Phineas — "Oracle."
94. Seth — "Appointed." Adam's third son.
95. Shiloh — A place name, now used as a given name.
96. Tobias — "God is good."
97. Uriah — "God is my light." A loyal man David wronged badly.
98. Zebulun — "Dwelling."
99. Abiel — "God is my father."
100. Ephraim — "Fruitful."

The two-minute check worth doing

Look the man up before you decide. Some to know about:

• Ahab — sounds fine, married Jezebel, and the Bible is unambiguous about him
• Uriah — an entirely good man, but his story is about being betrayed
• Judas — the name is Jude in most other contexts, and Jude is genuinely lovely
• Jabez — his name means "sorrow"; the story redeems it, but you'd want to know

None of these are disqualifying. The point is only that the story comes with the name, and it's better to choose it than inherit it.

More lists: 70 boy names that mean king — where Melech, Malik and the ruler-names sit — 95 Irish boy names, and 80 boy names that mean light for Abner, Uriah and the rest of the light-meaning names.