240+ Unusual Biblical Baby Names

240+ 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.

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Biblical Baby Names 

Unique Names

  1. 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.
  2. Ozias
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "salvation"
    • Description:

      Everyone says they want an unusual name — well, if you truly do, this is one with Biblical cred that fits the bill, with the added attraction of the user-friendly nickname of Oz or Ozzie. Ozias is the name of several minor figures in the Bible. Osias is another spelling.
  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. 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.
  5. Azrael
    • Origin:

      Hebrew, variation of Azriel
    • Meaning:

      "help of God"
    • Description:

      This is the name of Angel of Death in Jewish and Muslim tradition, not a great start for an innocent child -- or a great role model for a teenager.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Jericho
    • Origin:

      Biblical place-name
    • Description:

      A biblical place name with trumpeting verve and strength.
  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. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Amon
    • Origin:

      Hebrew, Arabic, Greek from Egyptian
    • Meaning:

      "the hidden one; invisible"
    • Description:

      In Egyptian mythology, Amon is a major god associated with creation and the air. He was later fused with the Sun god, Ra, and became Amun-Ra.
  17. Abaddon
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "ruin, destruction"
    • Description:

      Uncommon biblical name. It's the name of an angel in the New Testament.
  18. Hiram
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "brother of the exalted one"
    • Description:

      Hiram is the kind of forgotten biblical name that adventurous parents who wish to move beyond David and Daniel are beginning to reconsider--even though it has bits of its old stiff-collared image clinging to it, along with a little hillbilly feel as well. The name belonged to an Old Testament king of Tyre who helped David and Solomon plan and build the temple in Jerusalem, and was a favorite in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, though a couple of well-known bearers dropped it--Ulysses S. Grant was orignially Hiram Ulysses Grant, but he didn't like having the initials H.U.G., and country singer Hank Williams was also born Hiram. With its definite funk factor, and its friendly nickname Hi, Hiram would make a distinctive choice.
  19. Kenan
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "possession"
    • Description:

      The biblical character Kenan was a great-grandson of Adam and a direct ancestor of Noah. As in Christianity, Kenan is honored in Islam.
  20. 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.