Historic and Vintage Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 5 pages
of 5
Latin
"white, pure, sincere"
Candace, an ancient title of a dynasty of Ethiopian queens mentioned in the New Testament, is associated both with actress Candice Bergen and Sex and the City writer Candace Bushnell. Both spellings…
"of the Tiber"
The name of an important ancient Roman emperor, Tiberius might sound a bit heavy for a modern boy to carry, but with the rise of Atticus, Tiberius and brothers begin to feel more baby-friendly, much…
Greek variation of Sapphire, Hebrew jewel name
"sapphire"
Sapphira is a lovely name which unfortunately has an unsavory Biblical history. The New Testament Sapphira was killed by God for lying about a tax payment. There's a Willa Cather novel called…
"to rejoice"
Stately Gaius (pronounced GUY-us) was in the name of many ancient Romans, including Julius Caesar. Little-used before the year 2000, it now feels like a fresh possibility in the revival of Latin…
Aramaic
"son of consolation"
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…
Hebrew
"the province"
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…
Greek from Hebrew
"bountiful"
Biblical name from the New Testament. The Book of Philemon mentions Apphia as a Christian woman in Colossae.
Greek
"of Apollo"
A Biblical name deriving from the Greek god Apollo. Apollos was a 1st century Alexandrian Jewish Christian and contemporary of Paul the Apostle mentioned several times in the New Testament.
"stern"
The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. Nero was born Lucius Domitius…
Greek variation of Judah
"praised"
Though there were two apostles named Judas, everyone remembers the one who betrayed Jesus, and the name has been permanently shunned.
English variation of Hebrew Zebediah
"gift of God"
Zebedee is an adorable and unusual New Testament name--which may sound like but is not a contradiction in terms. Unlike some of the longer biblical Z -names, Zebedee has a more lighthearted…
Biblical place-name
Cana is well-known to readers of the Bible as the city where Jesus performed his first miracle. If other place names, both modern and ancient, real and mythical, can be baby names , why not Cana?…
Place name
"city of the ancient god Shalem"
Transferred from the geographical name, Jerusalem is a sacred city in many religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is given to around a dozen babies of each sex per year…
"eagle"
An evocative ancient word that's used as a first name in the New Testament, among other places. It's also the name of an eagle-shaped constellation. That said, contemporary interest in the name…
"kiss"
Rarely heard New Testament name -- he was a friend of Saint Paul -- that might conceivably stand up to modern usage.
"house of bread"
The Spanish name Belén is a well-established girl name, but parents have been slower to use the English equivalent. It is beginning to come into wider use, along with other New Testament place names…
"not exalted"
Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab in the Hebrew Book of Kings, has long had a bad girl reputation. But in the modern secular world, this is somewhat mitigated by the feminist perspective of her as a…
"fruitful"
Drusilla is an ancient Roman name, (probably) borne by descendants of Antony and Cleopatra, and is one of the 'illa' names that are ready for a comeback, especially with its cute short form Dru.…
Variation of Zachariah, Hebrew
"the lord has remembered"
A New Testament tax collector was called Zaccheus, the freshest spin on this biblical favorite. And it still gets you to Zac.
"wood; forest"
Sylvanus or Silvanus was the Roman god of the forest whose name is much more often found today in such variations as Sylvia, Sylvie and even Silas than in its original form. But if you're looking for…
