Names That Mean Jehovah

Not long ago, Peppa may have been at risk for confusion with the name Pepper. But thanks to the British children's TV series Peppa Pig, Peppa is now a household name. If your household contains preschoolers, that is.

Some people may prefer this spelling to clarify the name's connection to John, but it could be one h too many, exemplified by its steady decline over the past two decades.

Sef is a rising short form of Jozef in the Netherlands, where it outranks its parent form.

Despite its biblical pedigree and popularity in Israel, it has far too many ties to the lethal submachine gun to find many fans here.

Biblical names are expanding (literally) as some parents move from Isaiah and Elijah to more elaborate choices with simple short forms, like Jedidiah and Zebediah.

There is much disagreement about the origin, meaning, or even existence of this name. Some sources cite Jesiah as the name of several minor Biblical figures, others say it's a variation of Josiah, still others call it a modern conflation of Josiah and Jesse.

The German, Scandinavian and Czech variant of Joseph, borne by several notable European artists and athletes, as well as the brutal Soviet dictator Josef (or Iosif) Stalin.

Jose is as widespread in the Hispanic community as Joseph and Joe are elsewhere in the U.S., though its numbers here are starting to decrease somewhat. Jose is one of those Spanish baby names that has never crossed over into the Anglo naming culture.

This alternate spelling of Yusuf leads the way in Spain, where it is among the 100 most popular baby names. In the US, streamlined Yusuf reigns.

An alternative to the formerly male Ariel, which is now in the grasp of "The Little Mermaid."

Like many spelling variations of popular names, Jonathon's star rose and is now falling along with that of the original Jonathan. Jonathon occupied the very last spot on the boys' US Top 1000 in 2016, at Number 1000. Parents in search of an Old Testament boys’ name today tend to look for more original choices, from Ezra to Abraham to Moses.

Sleekened spelling.

Eliyahu is the Hebrew form of the increasingly popular Biblical prophet name Elijah, also found in forms Elias and Eli. There were 100 boys given the name Eliyahu in the U.S. in 2012. Its upside is that it's one of the most distinctive forms of the name, but that final yahoo may prove difficult.

Fien is a popular enough girls' name to make the Top 100 in The Netherlands. Dutch parents love nickname-names taken from the last vs. the first syllable of a name, like Sanne for Susanne or Lotte for Charlotte.

The "Tz" beginning of Tzofia represents the Hebrew letter tzadi, which is pronounced more like ts. So Tzofia sounds like Sofia with a light t at the beginning — intriguing, but a difficult sound for a native English speaker to reproduce. While Tzofia is a distinct name from the megapopular Sophia and Sofia, many people will hear it as a cognate and pronounce it the same...or like Zofia.

Neriah is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah as the father of Baruch and Seraiah ben Neriah. According to the Talmud, Neriah and his sons are all prophets. The name is traditionally associated with Hanukkah, the festival of lights.

Seosaimhín is the Gaelic form of Josephine, most notably borne by traditional Irish singer Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich.

Short form of Yonatan heard throughout Israel.

Cute nickname with multicultural appeal — in addition to Yoav, Yovi could be short for names such as Yovan and Yovani.

The Hebrew version of Joel has a pleasant, almost jolly sound.