20 Biblical Baby Names and Their Meanings

In Genesis 5:2, God began the tradition of naming men and women: “He created them male and female and blessed them. And He named them ‘Mankind’ when they were created.”

Created in the image of God, Adam continued God’s tradition by naming the woman God created for him, as recorded in Genesis 3:20: “Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.”

Matthew 1:21 describes the angel Gabriel explaining where Jesus’ name came from and its meaning, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins.”

Again, in Matthew 1:23, he explains the meaning of Jesus’ name, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel (which means “God with us)”.

Likewise, in Luke 1:13, we see God choosing John the Baptist’s name while he was still in the womb.” But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.’”

At times, too, God has changed people’s names according to His will and plans for their futures, like in Genesis 17:5, when He explained, “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.”

Whereas Abram means “high father," Abraham’s name change indicated the new call on his life to be “father of a great multitude.’

In Genesis 17:15, yet another name change occurred when “God also said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.’”

In changing her name, God changed the meaning from “My lady, my princess” to “Princess of the multitude,” matching Sarah’s name to the enlarged call upon her life.

Again, in Genesis 35:10, God changed a name to reflect His call on a person’s life, “God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.’ So He named him Israel.”

Furthermore, in Numbers 13:16, we read of Moses following God’s example of changing names according to His will and calling on a person’s life. “These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun, the name Joshua).”

In the New Testament, Jesus follows in God’s footsteps, renaming men according to His call on their lives. “And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter).” ( John 1:42)

Surprisingly, although many of us believe God changed Saul’s name to Paul, we don’t find it spelled out anywhere in scripture. Perhaps Saul changed his own name, which meant “demanded, death; to Paul, which means small or little, representing the change of his heart and his importance after receiving Salvation.

Like Paul, if our heart change doesn’t reflect our given name at birth, there is hope, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Photo credit: ©Vladimir Zapletin

BibleStudyTools.com offers a rich resource of 1,000 Bible names and their meanings for expectant parents to draw from, with beautiful names for both baby girls and boys. The following are twenty with their meanings.

Although some of the meanings are brief, perhaps for many, the character of the namesake is more of a driving force in naming their children after the person than the literal meaning.

10 Baby Boy Bible Names and Their Meanings

1. Jacob means “that supplants, meaning to take the place of,” reflective of Jacob’s robbing of his brother Esau’s birthright and blessing as the oldest son. Even so, God was gracious to him, blessing him and changing his name to Israel.

2. Benjamin means “son of the right hand,” describing his beloved position as the youngest son to his father Jacob, and the younger brother of Joseph.

3. David means “well-beloved,” reflective of the description of his relationship with God, as written in 1 Samuel 13:14, “But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

4. Jonathan means “given of God,” perhaps reflective of the gift of friendship this son of King Saul gave to David? 1 Samuel 18:1 describes where their friendship began: “After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. “

5. Samuel means “heard of God, asked of God,” describing possibly how God heard his mother’s pleas for a baby, along with Samuel hearing God call his name. 1 Samuel 3:4 describes what happened when God called Samuel’s name: “Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’”

6. Daniel means “judgment of God; God my judge,” although he was not a judge, but a man of courageous faith and trust in God, fearlessly facing the lion’s den. Daniel 6:21-22 records what happened to him there. “Daniel answered, ‘May the king live forever! My God sent His angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.’”

7. John means, “the grace or mercy of the Lord,” likely descriptive of both John the Baptist and the Apostle John, who described himself in John 13:23 as, “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.”

8. Timothy means “honor of God; valued of God,” a young man in the Bible who was a close companion of the Apostle Paul, the son of a Jewish mother and Greek father, who accompanied him on missionary journeys.

9. Philip means “warlike,” a man whom Jesus called in John 1:43, “The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

10. Gabriel means “God is my strength,” and is the name of a prominent angel in the Bible, appearing in both the Old and New Testaments, delivering important messages from God, as he did to Mary in Luke 1:26, “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee.”

1. Genesis means “beginning,” and gains its meaning from the first book in the Bible, as Genesis 1:1 describes, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

2. Deborah means “word, thing, bee.” Deborah’s words mattered as she served as a judge in Israel. Judge 4:5 says, “She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.”

As well, Judges 5:7 describes when, “Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.” deliverer, worshipper, prophetess, intercessor.

3. Hannah means “gracious, merciful, He who gives,” in reference to the story of Hannah in the Bible and how she asked God for a baby. 1 Samuel 1:27-28 describes her gracious response to God for His gift of Samuel. “’I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.’ And he worshiped the Lord there.”

4. Esther means “secret, hidden,” indicative of her secret-agent-like assignment to infiltrate the palace by marrying the King and save the lives of her people. Esther 4:14 describes, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

5. Naomi means “beautiful, agreeable,” and in the Bible, was the mother-in-law of Ruth, who, after the deaths of her own sons, led her to marry Boaz. Although not blood-related, Naomi became the great-great-grandmother of King David, which leads to the direct lineage of ancestors to Jesus.

6. Lydia means “from the region of Lydda,” a prominent, generous supporter of the early Church, found in Acts 16:14-15, “One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my house.’ And she persuaded us.”

7. Priscilla means “ancient,” and her name is found in Romans 16:3 and Acts 18, as part of a Bible power couple who were tentmakers and co-workers in Christ with Paul. She was married to Aquila, a hospitable host who invited him into their home, and a woman devoted to early Christian ministry.

8. Phoebe means “shining, pure,” and is mentioned in Romans 16:1-2 as a deacon or deaconess of the church in Cenchreae, possibly a letter carrier for the Apostle Paul, and reader to the followers, explaining its meaning

9. Anna means “gracious, one who gives.” Her biblical namesake is found in Luke 2:36-38: a godly, devoted woman who waited to see the Messiah and helped spread the word about Jesus after His birth. “There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”

10. Chloe, whose name means “green herb, tender shoot,” is mentioned only once in the Bible, in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 1:11. Her name seems to suggest she was a prominent Christian, possibly a businesswoman, who alerted Paul to issues occurring in the church, possibly in Corinth or Ephesus, including quarrels and spiritual leadership She is believed by some to be a householder or a prominent Christian woman.