Biblical Names for Girls

I've always felt that coming up with lovely biblical names for girls was a bit of a difficult task. After all, there are so many men in the bible and sometimes the women aren't named. It turns out there are many more name options than you might think.  Here is a list of some of the more wearable choices for a modern girl.

Be sure to do some research about the biblical person to make sure the name you're choosing is a good one!  :)  Which is your favorite?

Abiah
Abigail
Abra
Ada
Anna
Azubah
Beulah
Chloe
Deborah
Delilah
Dinah
Dorcas
Elizabeth
Esther
Eunice
Eve
Galilee
Hannah
Havilah
Hepzibah
Jael
Jemima
Jerusha
Joanna
Judith
Junia
Keturah
Keziah
Leah
Lydia
Magdalen
Magdalena
Martha
Mary
Mehitabel
Miriam
Naomi
Orpah
Peninah
Phoebe
Priscilla
Rachel
Rebekah
Rhoda
Ruth
Salome
Sarah
Selah
Susannah
Tabitha
Tamar
Zillah
Zilpah
Zipporah

There are even more options than that! Here is a full list of names that come from the bible.

7 Names That Start With Ev-

Once again, a poll on the sidebar of the blog has come to a close. A whopping 84 votes were cast for these lovely names that start with Ev-.  Because I couldn't help myself, I ended up choosing 7 names for the poll which made the votes spread a little thin, but there was definitely a clear favorite. Here are the results:

Known: Evangeline  19 votes (22%)
Common:  Eve       14 votes (16%)
Unusual:   Everly         14 votes (16%)
Popular:   Evelyn         12 votes (14%)
Popular:   Eva        9 votes (10%)
Rare:  Evadne          9 votes (10%)
Rare:  Eveline          7 votes (8%)

22% of you Name-Artists out there favor the name Evangeline the most!  It is toward the middle of the pack as far as popularity is concerned. Here is how each of the names ranked on the US Top 1000 chart in 2012:

Evelyn #27
Eva #86
Evangeline #292
Eve #558
Everly #907
Eveline #7189
Evadne Unranked (#14129 in 1994, zero births since then.)

Let's find out more about these names!

Evelyn is an English surname that comes from the name Aveline. It was originally common for boys in the 17th century but because of similar feminine names like Evelina, this name is all-girl now.
Eva is the Latinate form of Eve, meaning "life". It is also a variant of the Russian Yeva.  This name works well internationally. It has ranked well in 17 countries, even hitting #1 in Slovenia in 2011.

Evangeline is a Greek name that means "good news".  There is an epic poem entitled "Evangeline" that was written in 1847 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Eve comes from the Hebrew words "Chawah" which means "to breathe" and "Chayah" which means "to live". Eve was the first female human as written in the Book of Genesis in the bible. This name was used in the middle ages and gained more popularity in the 19th century.

Everly has been used on boys because of its association with the Everly Brothers, but nowadays it is very female. It is English meaning "wild boar in the woodland clearing" which is more of a boyish meaning to me!

Eveline is my favorite of the bunch. It is a variant of Evelina which comes from Aveline which is derived from Germanic elements possibly meaning "desired". It is very rarely used but has been around since the 1880s in the US.

Evadne surprised me in how unused it is. I've seen it around and its one of my favorite Greek names, but it hasn't been used at all since 1992-1994, and before that 1962. I suppose she does have a tragic story in Greek legend.

Which if these is your favorite?

Name of the Week: Simeon

The Name of the Week is the biblical boy's name Simeon. Its cuter than Simon but follows the coolness of Gideon. It is pronounced SIM-ee-ən.

It comes from the Hebrew name שִׁמְעוֹן Shim'on which means "he has heard" or "God is listening."  In the Old Testament, Simeon was the second some of Jacob and one of the ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel. In the New Testament, Simeon was a man who blessed Jesus as a newborn.  There was also a powerful ruler in Bulgaria who bore this name in the 10th-century. Simeon has also been a popular name for saints.

In 2012, Simeon popped back onto the US Top 1000 chart at #980, with 202 male births.  It has always been at the bottom of the chart, or just outside of it. It ranked as high as #360 back in 1880 (with 23 boys born).  It ranked as low as #2034 in 1928, but has always has usage.  Despite the number of births being higher today than ever, the name is still fairly rare but since it is biblical, its not unfamiliar.

Source

You wouldn't necessarily have to pair this name with another biblical choice. What would you pair with it? What do you think of the name overall? Let me know in the comments below!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sister: Amelia, Chloe, Delilah, Hannah, Lucy, Ruth, Sarah, Zoey
Brothers: Caleb, David, Elijah, Joshua, Matthew, Nathan, Samuel

Middle Name Ideas:
Simeon Paul
Simeon Todd
Simeon Edward
Simeon Henry

As a Middle Name:
Mark Simeon
Noah Simeon
Tyler Simeon
Oliver Simeon

Biblical Names for Boys

There are many names that have stood the test of time. Of those names, are names that come straight from the Holy Bible. Yes, Biblical names are still in fashion today and always have been. You cannot go wrong with these names, but I would recommend researching the people who first wore these names to make sure they were favorable. I personally would never consider using Cain because of who he was in the bible, but I'll leave those decisions to you!

Here are some of the more popular biblical boy names. Which ones are your favorites?

Abel
Abner
Abraham
Adam
Amos
Andrew
Asa
Asher
Azariah
Balthasar
Barnabas
Bartholomew
Benjamin
Boaz
Cain
Caleb
Daniel
David
Eli
Elijah
Enoch
Ephraim
Ethan
Ezekiel
Ezra
Gideon
Isaac
Isaiah
Jabez
Jacob
Jadon
James
Jared
Jedediah
Jeremiah
Jethro
John
Jonah
Joseph
Joshua
Josiah
Jothan
Jude
Laban
Lazarus
Levi
Luke
Malachi
Mark
Matthew
Micah
Moses
Nathan
Nathaniel
Nehemiah
Noah
Obadiah
Paul
Peter
Phineas
Reuben
Samson
Samuel
Seth
Silas
Simeon
Simon
Solomon
Thomas
Tobiah
Zachariah
Zebedee

Of course, there are plenty more biblical names out there. Here is a much longer list!  Don't forget to check out the list of Biblical Girl names too!

Name of the Week: Catalina

The Girl Name of the Week comes to us in honor of this week's "Spanish Names For Girls" list. I have to admit that I had a very hard time choosing just one name to feature since so many of them stood out to me. I finally decided on Catalina, pronounced kah-tah-LEE-nah.

It is a Spanish form of Katherine. Now, I've always seen Katherine-type names meaning "pure" but after looking deeper into possible meanings, I'm not so sure which is truly "correct."  Here are the original possibilities:

• From the Greek name Αικατερινη (Aikaterine) 
• From the earlier Greek name ‘Εκατερινη (Hekaterine) which came from (hekateros) meaning "each of two" which is similar to the goddess Hecate's name.
• From the Greek αικια (aikia) meaning "torture" which is obviously not ideal.
• From a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name."

Eventually, these were put on the back-burner and Katherine solely became associated with the Greek καθαρος (katharos) meaning "pure." To ensure that this would be the most popular meaning, early Christians changed its Latin spelling from Katerina to Katharina.

As for Catalina, it seems to be used most often in geography. There is a city in Arizona, an island off the coast of California, and another island near the Dominican Republic, just to name a few of the many.

As a given name for girls, it is used all over the Spanish-Speaking world including actresses and musicians and athletes from Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Mexico. There are several Catalinas from Romania as well since they use the same spelling.

Let's look at the stats! Catalina has been used in the States since 1893!  It remained in the double-digits for births until 1974. It broke into the Top 1000 in 1989.  Slowly but surely, more and more girls receive the name every year! As of 2013, there were 773 girls given the name which ranks it at #395, a brand new record-high!

Revision:  As of 2016, Catalina ranked at #314 for a total of 1,024 births on record.

I think it is gorgeous! I would use this instead of Catherine or Katherine and use the classy nickname Kate, the cutesy nicknames Cat or Cata (cah-tah) or the lovely and unique Lina.

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Alejandra, Bianca, Cristina, Estella, Ignacia, Juliana, Lucinda, Mercedes, Paloma, Selena
Brothers: Armando, Cordero, Diego, Eduardo, Felipe, Joaquin, Leandro, Maximo, Oswaldo, Vicente

Middle Name Ideas:
Catalina Rose
Catalina Inez
Catalina Pilar
Catalina Isobel
Catalina Luz
Catalina Mary

As a Middle Name:
Dolores Catalina
Grisel Catalina
Leonor Catalina
Maite Catalina
Raquel Catalina

Whether you have any Spanish roots or not, what do you think of this lovely name?

Original Post: 9/27/13
Revision: 5/15/17

Spanish Names for Baby Girls

Spanish names for girls are so lovely! If you are looking for a name with Latin flair, take a look at this list! Every one of these names would flow wonderfully with a Spanish last name, and some of them would even work with a non-Spanish last name.

No matter what origin your surname is, you've got to admit that these names are beautiful!  Which is your favorite?

Adabella Adelina Adriana Aitana Alba Alejandra Alicia Alondra Amada Ana Angel/a Aniceta Arabella Aracely Aroa Belen Belisma Benecia Bianca Blanca Calida Camila Candela Carlota Carolina Catalina Christabel Clementina Concepcion Consuela Cristina Daniela Delores

Dulce Eliana Esmeralda Estela Estrella Eulalia Evalia Felicidad Fidelia Francecsa Gabriela Gloria Graciela Guadalupe Havana Ignacia Ines Irati Isabella Jacinta Jimena Juliana Karina Laia Lenora Liliana Lolita Lorena Lucia Lucinda Magdalena Maite Mariana

Marisol Maritza Marta Mercedes Milagra Natalia Nerea Noa Nuria Pabla Paloma Paulina Penelope Pilar Ramona Raquel Rosalinda Selena Soledad Teresa Trinidad Valentina Valeria Verdad Xaviera Ximena Xiomara Yara Yesenia Yolanda Ysabel Zamora Zita

Take a look the list of Spanish Boy Names from last week as well! If you need a bit of advice to choose the perfect name, or some suggestions for a first and middle name combination, check out the "Naming Services" page. I'd be glad to help! :)

Name of the Week: Javier

The Boy Name of the Week comes straight off the list of Spanish Boy Names: Javier!

Javier is the Spanish form of the name Xavier. Both of these names come from the Basque place name Etxaberri which means "the new house". Over time, it became Exaberri, then dropped the beginning e and final i. The X was originally pronounced with more of a "sh" sound.

With influences from English, French and Spanish, pronunciation varies. Javier is typically pronounced the Spanish way "hab-YAIR" with a sort of combined b and v sound. In Portuguese, it still has a "sh" sound in place of the X. French would say HAV-ee-ay, and in English it is most correctly said ZAV-ee-er even though famous characters like Charles Xavier from the X-Men comics have influenced the pronunciation of X-ay-vee-er.

A notable Xavier was St. Francis Xavier, or San Francisco Javier in Spanish (1506-1552). Once he gained fame as a Jesuit priest and missionary, many places and people were named after him and therefore Xavier and Javier also gained popularity.

Javier was a place (town? city?) within the Kingdom of Navarre which was located between present day Spain and France on the Spanish side.

Source

Javier has been used in the US since 1917. It has gained popularity on a strictly upward trajectory until its usage began to decline after its high-peak in 2001. There were 2,635 boys born with the name, ranking it at a high of #149.  In 2012, it ranks at #211 with 1,759 births.

 What would you pair it with?  Source | Source

Sibling Name Ideas for Javier:
Sisters: Araceli, Delilah, Elsa, Guadalupe, Luz, Maria, Marisol, Veronica, Yolanda
Brothers: Antonio, Carlos, Cesar, David, Francisco, Jorge, Luis, Miguel, Rafael

Sibling Name Ideas for Xavier:
Sisters: Alaina, Bethany, Diana, Isla, Julia, Natalie, Olivia, Sabrina, Sophia
Brothers: Alexander, Christian, Dominic, Elijah, Felix, Gabriel, Isaac, Patrick, Zachary

Middle Name Ideas for Javier:
Antonio Javier
Javier Vicente
Enrique Javier
Javier Esteban

Middle Name Ideas for Xavier:
Jacob Xavier
Xavier Riley
Landon Xavier
Xavier Amadeus