Most Popular Biblical Names Throughout Time

In the Western world, Biblical names have become classics, withstanding all the trends and fads, past the unusual Gothic names, the long Greek and Roman appellations that end with the ever-popular -ia for girls and -ius for boys, and the beautiful floral names the Edwardian era. Names that are so synonymous with the word classic, as if they could be anything else but usual. Some are New Testament, some Old.

Listed in most popular to least, here are the most popular Biblical boys and girls name since 1890, when the US began to record names.

James - #1                                                         Mary - #1 (and Maria #51, Marie #70)
John - #2 (and Johnny #98)                          Elizabeth - #4 (and Betty #14)
Michael - #4                                                      Barbara - #6
David - #6                                                         Susan - #7
Joseph - #8                                                        Sarah - #11 (and Sara #78)
Thomas - #10                                                    Michelle - #22
Christopher - #11                                              Deborah - #26 (and Debra #46)
Daniel - #12                                                      Stephanie - #28
Matthew - #13                                                   Rebecca - #29
Paul - #16                                                          Ruth - #33
Mark - #17                                                        Anna - #34 (and Nancy #13, Ann #67)
Steven - #19 (and variant Stephen #35)       Janet - #45
Andrew - #21                                                    Samantha - #47
Joshua - #23                                                      Rachel - #49
Timothy - #27                                                   Martha - #58
Jacob - #34                                                        Joan - #59
Jonathan - #36                                                   Judith - #63 (and Judy #83)
Samuel - #44                                                     Jean - #68
Benjamin - #45                                                 Andrea - #73
Peter - #54                                                         Jacqueline - #74
Aaron - #55                                                       Hannah - #80
Adam - #58                                                       Danielle - #90
Zachary - #59                                                    Jane - #94
Nathan - #61
Jeremy - #70
Jesse - #75
Ethan - #84
Philip - #92 (and Phillip #99)


Considering our population has grown and that is should be expected that names popular name are overall higher in birth, the list reflect the popularity of the past decades. Trendy names like Sean and Brandon appeared on the list as well, but they have the longevity these names do. If you want something timeless and well-received, these names are always available. Could Jacob, Noah, and Sarah be destined to the 2000s? Quite possibly, but like Jennifer, they are still considered modern classics.

Surprised by any on this list? How about Jane? Did you expect little miss Jane to be so far down the list? Comment below about your opinions and these names, or if you're name is on this name.

The Great Migration - Puritan Ships

Halsall, William F. Arrival of the Winthrop’s Ships in Boston Harbor. 1880. N.p.

Besides the famous (or should I say infamous?) Mayflower carrying Separatist passengers, there was a series of ships that brought Puritans to America in the seventeenth century.

The Recovery

In the Spring of 1633 (31 March to be exact), the Recovery set sail from Weymouth, Dorsetshire for New England, captained by Master Gabriel Cornish. Among its passengers were six Thomases, six Johns, two Roberts, a David, a Jonathan, a Daniel, a Joseph, a William, an Anthony, an Elizabeth, a Mary, and a Sarah. The oddeset name on board this ship was Ezechia, which was a variant of the name Hezekiah. 

The Elizabeth

The ship left port in mid-April 1634 from Ipswich, Suffolk, bound for New England. It took the ship six months to reach its destination, and the ship was captained by Master William Andrewes. It's not surprising that the most popular names on board were John (x15) and Elizabeth (x11), followed by eight occurrences of Thomas and eight occurences of Mary. Other classics included Henry (x5), Richard (x4), Isaac (x3) [includes variation Isaacke], Robert (x3), William (x3), Samuel (x3), Joseph (x2), George (x2), Sarah (x5), Susan (x4), Martha (x4), Anne (x5) [includes variantion Anna], and Abigail (x2). Less common occurrences of one passenger were Edmond, Martin, Daniel, Edward, Philip, Rose, Elinor, Bridget, Katherine, Rebecca, and Lydia. The most eccentric names on board were Thurston, which occured twice in father and son, Humphry, Abraham, Ursula, and Phebe. 

Other passengers on Puritan ships:

Just (Houlding, 23), Darcas (Rose, 2), Ffayth (Newell, 14), Wilbroe (Cooper, 42), Barbarie (Ruggels, 30), Augustine (Clement, --), Hercules (Woodman, --), Zacheus (Courtis, --), Etenetus (Olney, --), Isbell (Tuttell, 70), Sycillie (Clark, 16), Palmer (Tingley, 21), Eglin (Hanford, 46), Randolphus (Elmes, 15), Clement (Bates, 40), Jervice (Gold, 30), Jersula (Greenoway, 32), Hopestill (Ffoster, 14), Philemon (Dalton, 45), Abram (Ffleming, 40), Aymes (Gladwell, 16), Josias (Cobbett, 21), Hilary (Carter, 27), Gamaliel (Bewmont, 21), Caleb (Carr, 11), Bennett (Morecock, 16), Merriall (Saltonstall, 22), Tomazin (Carpenter, 35), Dyonis (Taylor, 48), Constant (Wood, 12), Michelaliel (Monnings, 3), Cesara (Covell, 15), Annis (Almy, 8), Geo (Cocke, 25), Theophilus (Jones, 3), Thomaxin (Manson, 14), Remembrance (Tybott, 28), Salomon (Martin, 16), Ephraim (Howe, 9), Obediah (Hawes, 6mo)

Any of these names peak your interest? I'll do a follow up post for other passengers on other Puritan/Pilgrim ships and the origins of some of these names. 

Name of the Day: Hezekiah

If you've never heard this name before, you might be surprised to learn that as of 2013, this name is #889. Not overwhelming high, but for a name of little known significance and obscurity in the Bible (as opposed to names like Noah and Jacob) in a more secular world, it can be surprising that Hezekiah even made the top SSA 1000 and has been in it consecutively since 2006. What makes the name Hezekiah so appealing to parents these days?

Etymology

The Hebrew name חִזְקִיָּ֫הוּ , which was trascribed as Hezekiah, or sometimes Ḥizkiyyahu or Ḥizkiyyah, is of Hebrew origins. The name stems from the verb root חַזֵּק "strengthen",  הַחֲזֵק "seize", הִתְחַזֵּק "take courage". As a noun, the root חֶזְקָה means "strength" or חֲזָקָה "seizing". The root חָזֵק as an adjective means "strong." Generally, the name mostly likely means something along the lines of "strengthened by YHWH" or "God gives me strength." 



López, Vincente. King Hezekiah Flaunting His Wealth. 1789. Museu De Belles Artes De València, Valencia. Delling in the Word. WordPress, 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2014.


The first recorded use of Hezekiah was in the 2 Kings in the Bible. His mother was Abijah (also called Abi), daughter of the high priest Zechariah, and his father was Ahaz, king of Judah and descendant of King David. When his father died, Hezekiah inherited the throne and became king at the age of 25. He ruled over Jerusalem for 29 years [2 Kings 18]. In accordance with David, he was faithful to the Lord. Hezekiah destroyed pagan places of worship and images of gods and goddess. He repaired the Temple as a his first act as king and then destroyed idolatrous worship. Because of his reign, Passover pilgrimages resumed, and he invited all the tribes of Israel to take part in the Passover festival. However, all but the tribes of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun refused to come. Hezekiah is one of the few kings praised highly and is generally considered a good and just king. He married Hepzibah. 

Namesakes

Other famous bearers of this name include Hezekiah, American rapper and producer born Hezekiah Davis III in Pennsylvania, Hezekiah Niles, an American publisher of Balitmore weekly magazine Weekly Register in the nineteenth-century, and Chaim Hezekiah Medini, a rabbinical scholar also of the nineteenth century.

When the US government began recording the popularity of names, Hezekiah made the cut at #588 in 1880 and hit its peak at #436 in 1891. After that, it began to decrease after 1924, when it dropped completely out of the Top 1000. The name didn't come back into style until 2006. In the UK and Australia, Hezekiah has never received quite the same love as it has in this country, never even making the top lists. 

International variants of Hezekiah: Ezekia (Albanian), Ezechiáš (Czech), Hizkiha (Danish), Hizkia (Dutch), Hiskia (German, Finnish, Swedish), Ézéchias (French), Ezekyas (Hatian Creole), Ezékiás (Hungarian), Ezechia (Italian, Romanian), Hiskía (Icelandic), Ezechias (Latin), Hetekia (Maori), Eskias (Norwegian), Ezequias (Portuguese), Ezequías (Spanish)

Nickname Options:

Zeke, usually considered the nickname for the important prophet Ezekiel, a related name of a similar meaning ("God strengthens"), and a popular alternative to the trendy Zack. End-of-the-alphabet names are all the rage as of right now. Currently Zeke stands at #858 in the US but has only been in the charts since 2012. People like Zeke Moreno and Zeke Steggall have made the name more mainstream. With many parents feeling Zeke as a tired nickname for Ezekiel, could Zeke be revamped with Hezekiah? 

Kiah, never having quite the same popularity as Zeke, Kiah is an older nickname more popular during Puritan and colonial times. It is also a nickname for Zedekiah, an even rarer Biblical name. Kiah is a zippy but still substantial nickname for Hezekiah. Its a distinctive choice with an effeminate flare.

Other options include Easy, Hez, Hezie, Kai, Key, Kez, and Ky. 

People who like Mordecai also like...

Hosea, Amos, Zephaniah, Amedeo, Keziah, Winifred, Johanna, Elisheba


Another beautifully quirky name that is becoming more mainstream. If you are looking for an offbeat-sounding name that has historic meaning, a name that is familiar without being overused, or a name that hosts an interesting collection of nicknames, Hezekiah might be one to keep in mind.

Pious Puritan Pilgrims of the Mayflower

Good afternoon, name hunters! This is Mandy Dee in her first blog post about names. Today's post is about Pilgrim and Purtian names along with some history behind the whole ordeal. Hope you enjoy and find names just as fascinating as I do!

To start out, in the early seventeenth century, many English citizens (as well as a few Dutch) left their Anglican world to escape persecution. They were puritans and separatists, or those who wanted to "purify" or "separate" from the Church of England for it's Catholic similitude. Over a hundred passengers boarded the Mayflower, sailing off to the New World and landing on the noteworthy Plymouth Colony in Cape Cod, off the coast of modern-day Massachusettes. Over the next hundred years (and many more years to come), English settlers came to Colonies in hope of a better life– which is basically what our country is founded on. These people were very conservative and believed in the Puritan or Protestant work ethic, which is to work hard, save your money, and invest in a quality education. Also, these people were highly religious and belived in virtues, hence the virtuous names. A list below are names from those passangers as well as many settlers in the New World.
Side Note: Some of the names below come from a genealogy book my grandfather received, detailing the lives of my ancestors in the 13 Colonies, so some of the names cannot be found on the passenger list for the Mayflower. 

Boys:
Aaron
Ambrose
Amos
Bartholomew
Christopher
Degory
Edmund
Edward
Elias
Francis
George
Gilbert
Giles
Henry
Isaac
James
Jasper
John
Jonas
Jonathan
Joseph
Matthew
Myles
Nathaniel
Oceanus
Peregrine
Peter
Resolved
Richard
Robert
Rodger
Samuel
Solomon
Stephen
Thomas
William
Wrestling
Zedekiah

Girls:
Abigail
Alice
Ann
Catherine
Constance
Damaris
Desire
Dorothy
Elinor
Elizabeth
Ellen
Hannah
Hepzibah
Humility
Jemima
Joan
Love
Lydia
Maria
Mary
Priscilla
Remember
Ruth
Rose
Sarah
Susanna
Truelove

Along with these names, last names are quite possible for naming your child, including Bradford, Brester, Carver (as opposed to the ever-popular Carter), Fletcher, Gardiner, and Ely. I recommend last names as boy names if you are planning to go this route, although one last name, Story, could be possible for a little girl. In all, many of these names can still be heard today and some are even new gems just waiting to be discovered!