13 Unusual Biblical Girl Names

Jemima, the name of a strong and beautiful Biblical daughter of Job, has long been among the chicest choices of aristocratic Brits, and has since shifted to be used more generally too, replacing Gemma/Jemma as a way to nickname "Jem". In a recent year, it featured in the England and Wales Top 500.

Dinah is a charming, underused Old Testament name with a rich literary and musical resume. In the Old Testament, Dinah was the beautiful daughter of Jacob and Leah and while some conflate her with the Biblical Adinah, they are in fact different figures.

Classic name used by the Romans, the Puritans, and the Bard, but pretty much taboo today due to the objectionable connotations of both its front and back ends.

Keturah, the Old Testament name of Abraham's second wife, is a possibility for anyone seeking a truly unusual and interesting biblical name; certainly a lot more distinctive than that of Abraham's first wife, Sarah.

A fairly common Hebrew name without much crossover potential.

Galilee is a highly unusual place name, Galilee being a large region in northern Israel, the home of Jesus during at least thirty years of his life, and also where he cured a blind man. The Sea of Galilee gets its name from the area.

An important biblical name, being the wife of Moses in Exodus. Has a number of spelling variations, including Tziporah, Zipora(h), Zippora(h), Tzipor and Tzipori. The Yiddish forms are Tzeitl and Tzertel.

An Old Testament name, Bithiah is a bit like Tabitha, Keziah, and Beulah in sound, but heard far less often. In the Bible, Bithiah is the name of one of Pharaoh's daughters, often depicted as the one to take Moses out of the Nile. Used occasionally in the US, it was given to 19 girls in a recent year — the highest number on record.

Appearing on a minor character in the Old Testament, Atarah is the wife of Jerahmeel and a descendant of Judah. Also spelled Atara, it has confidence and succinctness and may appeal to those who like Atlas, Amara and Elara. The name was chosen for 60 girls in the US in a recent year, while Atara was given to almost 50.

Deriving from the Greek word phos meaning "light", Photine is a rare choice with a Biblical link. The name of the Samaritan woman in "Jesus and the Woman at the Well" (John 4), Photine is associated with Jesus's mercy and love, and with spreading the word of God.

A distinctive Biblical place name, Kephirah could make an interesting alternative to the more familiar Keziah, Keturah, and Sapphira. Also spelled as Chephirah (and sometimes Kefeera, Kfira, Kephira, Kefirah, Kefira, and Kephyra too), it derives from the Hewrew kephir which can mean both "young lion" and "walled village".

Also spelled Kephirah, Kfira, Kephira, and Kefirah, Chephirah is an Old Testament, Biblical place name, mentioned in the Book of Joshua. It likely derives from the Hebrew kephir meaning "village" and "young lion", and is sometimes seen as a feminine form of Kfir. It might be worth noting however, that the name is also close to Hebrew word for "heresy".

A rare name from the Old Testament, Zebidah appears in the Bible as the wife of King Josiah and the mother of Jehoiakim. While it has yet to see widespread use, Zebidah combines a number of current trends: a spiky letter Z, a lesser known Biblical option, and boyish-nicknames-for-girls, including Zeb, Zebbie, Zippy, Ziggy and Zed — though Zadie and Zia could be others.