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Unusual Biblical Baby Names

Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Sun May 04 2025
Unusual Biblical Baby Names

The Bible is full of names, and many that were once considered unusual—Moses, for example, and Delilah—are now familiar on playgrounds throughout the US. So if you're looking for unique bible baby names, you have to look a lot harder, but they're still there.

Instead of Delilah or Moses, you might try Zillah or Moab. Along with Zillah and Moab, other unusual biblical baby names worth considering include Boaz, Gaius, Jericho, Joah, Keturah, Omri, Tirzah, or Zipporah. Biblical names that are unique in the US but common elsewhere in the world include Boaz, Linus, and Adah.

Old Testament names that are still rare include Haman, Joram, and Adino for boys; Bilhah, Zibiah, and Sherah for girls. New Testament names rare in the modern world include Joses and Philemon for boys; Apphia and Tryphena for girls.

Here are hundreds of unique biblical baby names for boys and girls from both the Old and New Testaments, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

RELATED:

Biblical Baby Names 

Unique Names

  1. Ozias

    • Origin:

      Greek, Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "my strength is God"

    • Description:

      A cool Biblical option that entered the US Top 1000 for the first time ever in 2024, Ozias gets extra points for its user-friendly nicknames Oz and Ozzie or Ozzy. Given to around 280 boys in 2024, it is five times more popular than it was in 2014.
  2. Abel

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "breath"

    • Description:

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

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "flax"

    • Description:

      Can Linus lose its metaphorical security blanket and move from the Peanuts page onto the birth certificate? We think it has enough charm and other positive elements going for it for the answer to be yes.
  4. Azriel

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "God is my help"

    • Description:

      Azriel is more masculine than Ariel, more unusual than Israel. Also spelled Asriel and Azrael, Azriel is the name of the Angel of Death in Jewish and Muslim traditions.
  5. Ephraim

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "fruitful, fertile, productive"

    • Description:

      Ephraim is an Old Testament name we would place high on the list of neglected Biblical possibilities, solid but not solemn.
  6. Adriel

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "God is my master"

    • Description:

      This biblical name is getting wider notice. While Adrian has had its time in the limelight since the late 70s, parents are beginning to look for fresher alternatives. In the Bible, Adriel was the husband of Merab, a daughter of King Saul. Adriel, like other names ending in -el like Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel, is also the name of an angel. The angel Adriel is known as the Angel of Death. Adriel entered the charts in 2002, and has risen now into the Top 200.
  7. Lazarus

    • Origin:

      Latinized Greek variation of Hebrew Eleazar

    • Meaning:

      "God is my helper"

    • Description:

      Lazarus is a name that looks as if it could possibly be raised from the dead, just like its biblical bearer. Look for it in the next wave of Old Testament revivals that transcend their long-bearded images, the way Noah, Moses, and Abraham have for this generation.
  8. Boaz

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "swiftness"

    • Description:

      Now that such Old Testament patriarchs as Elijah and Moses fill the playground, Boaz seems downright baby-friendly, having more pizzazz than many of the others, perhaps as a successor to Noah.
  9. Ariel

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "lion of God"

    • Description:

      Ariel is a male Biblical name, seen there as the messenger of Ezra, and also used as a symbolic name for the city of Jerusalem, while Shakespeare used it for a (male) sprite in The Tempest.
  10. Lael

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "belonging to God"

    • Description:

      Although this is an ancient Old Testament name, it has a pleasant contemporary feel that might appeal to today's parents, who might just as easily use it for a girl.
  11. Enoch

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "dedicated"

    • Description:

      A major figure in the Old Testament, Enoch was the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah whose Book of Enoch provides a focal point for ancient Jewish mysticism. Another Enoch was the son of Cain. "Enoch Arden" is a famous poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. On the negative side, British politician Enoch Powell gave the infamously racist Rivers of Blood anti-immigration speech, taking the name out of consideration for many parents in the UK.
  12. Zimri

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "my music, my praise"

    • Description:

      This unusual and spunky biblical name was one of the Kings of Israel as well as one of Judah's grandsons and has a wonderful meaning. We'd like to see Zimri being used more, and we think it has potential — "traveling lite" names, or 2 syllable names ending in -i, such as Zuri, Ezri, and Rafi are red-hot right now.
  13. Junia

    • Origin:

      Latin, Feminine variation of Junius

    • Meaning:

      "born in June"

    • Description:

      Juno is hot, June is showing signs of a comeback along with other month and day names, whereas Junia, the name of the the first century Christian referred to by the apostle Paul as an apostle (and who may have been male), is yet to be discovered.
  14. Azrael

    • Origin:

      Hebrew, variation of Azriel

    • Meaning:

      "help of God"

    • Description:

      This is the name of Angel of Death in Jewish and Muslim tradition, but that isn't putting contemporary parents off. With its cool letter Z and popular -ael ending, Azrael has been in the US Top 1000 since 2019 and has continued to rise since then.
  15. Zebedee

    • Origin:

      English variation of Hebrew Zebediah

    • Meaning:

      "gift of God"

    • Description:

      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 usability, with its gleeful ee-ending. And Zeb makes a fabulous nickname.
  16. Sapphira

    • Origin:

      Greek variation of Sapphire, Hebrew jewel name

    • Meaning:

      "sapphire"

    • Description:

      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.
  17. Mordecai

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "follower of Marduk"

    • Description:

      Mordecai, although it has a noble heritage, has never caught on in this country, because of its rather weighty image. Nevertheless, with parents searching for rarer Biblical names that work as alternatives to Malachi and Matthew, Mordecai has seen increased interest in recent years and was given to 74 boys in the US in 2024.
  18. Zebulon

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "exaltation or little dwelling"

    • Description:

      An Old Testament name with a Puritan feel and post-Zachary possibilities--one of several routes to the cool nickname Zeb.
  19. Ichabod

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "the glory is gone"

    • Description:

      Ichabod, an eccentric Old Testament name, is forever tied to the character of Ichabod Crane -- and worse, the teasing possibilities of "icky bod." Even its original meaning is a negative. Skip Ichabod, as if you were ever tempted.
  20. Jericho

    • Origin:

      Biblical place-name

    • Description:

      A biblical place name with trumpeting verve and strength.