Jeremiah

Jeremiah, which is now just outside the Top 50 --is a solid Old Testament prophet name that has gradually taken the place of the now dated Jeremy, Gerard and Gerald, joining other currently popular biblical 'iah' names like Josiah and Isaiah. In the Bible Jeremiah is a famous prophet whose story is recorded in the book named after him.

Dickens used the name in two of his novels--Little Dorrit and A Tale of Two Cities-- and other fictional Jeremiahs have been spotted in such movies and TV shows as "Oz," "Zoey101" and "The Princess Diaries." Leonard Bernstein composed a work called Jeremiah Symphony.

Caveats: Once-logical nickname Jerry sounds like the family dentist, and some may make the Jeremiah bullfrog association.

A related, more unusual biblical option: Jeriah.