Biblical or Hebrew.

The origin of the name Aaron is debated—some say it was derived from Hebrew, while others claim it originated in Ancient Egypt. In the Old Testament, Aaron, the older brother of Moses who was appointed by God to be his brother's spokesman, was the first High Priest of the Israelites. The Hebrew version is Aharon—in Yiddish it can be Aaran—and the name appears in Arabic as Haroun or Harun.

Abel, the name of Adam and Eve's unfortunate younger son, compensates with positive connotations: capable, competent, ready and willing.

The name of a son of Aaron in the Old Testament. Avihu is a variant form.

This neglected Biblical name--it was the name of the commander of Saul's army and appears twice in the New Testament--is ready to flee Dogpatch. It was regularly used in the nineteenth century, but was pretty much demolished by the long-running hillbilly comic strip L'il Abner, which began in 1934 and ran through 1977. A more respectable namesake is Abner Doubleday, who has been credited with inventing baseball.

Abram was Abraham's original name in the Bible; it's more user-friendly but with a bit less gravitas. And it does offer that cool nickname Bram, as well as the friendly Abe. After some early American usage, in 1936 Abram completely disappeared for nearly forty years, until its return in the 1970s.

Amal is the name of a male figure in the Bible, a member of the tribe of Asher. Not, in this case, Mrs. George Clooney.

Amos is a robust biblical name that's being discovered by a new generation of parents in a major way.

Ananias is a New Testament name of three different figures. The two good ones were a high priest and a disciple of Paul. The not good Ananias was the husband of Sapphira who conspired to deceive the apostles and was struck dead.

A rare and rather lovely Biblical option belonging to several minor characters in the Old Testament.

Avdel is an obscure Old Testament name with a straightforward feel and sound and the fashionable A initial. One to consider if you want a highly unusual yet not difficult Hebrew or Biblical name.

An Old Testament warrior whose name still sounds tough.

Barnabas, whose birth name was Joseph, was one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem, who undertook missionary journeys with Paul the Apostle, His name is a bit Old World compared to the update Barnaby, but could gain some attention as boys' names ending in 's' are enjoying a comeback.