The most popular Biblical girl name for babies in 2025 was Elizabeth, #17 among all girl names, and the most popular Biblical boy name was Noah, #2 for boys. Counting everyone alive, Mary leads the girls with about 1,715,483 people, and Michael, James and John lead the boys. This guide lists the 50 most popular Biblical girl names and boy names, with their meanings from Behind the Name, rare Biblical names that are still given, and how the names have changed.
A name counts as Biblical here when Behind the Name lists a Biblical usage for it, which covers 140 girl names and 465 boy names with a page on this site. Social Security records don’t say why parents chose a name, so this guide can’t tell which were chosen for religious reasons.
What Are the Most Popular Biblical Girl Names?
These are the 50 Biblical girl names given to the most baby girls in 2025, with their rank among all girl names. 9 of them are in the top 100. A meaning is shown when Behind the Name gives one; a name that is a spelling or short form of another shows that name’s meaning or the name it comes from.
| Name | Meaning | Rank in 2025 | Babies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth | my God is an oath | #17 | 6,760 |
| Chloe | green shoot | #23 | 6,203 |
| Abigail | my father is joy | #41 | 4,941 |
| Naomi | pleasantness | #47 | 4,644 |
| Delilah | delicate, weak, languishing | #51 | 4,137 |
| Hannah | favor or grace | #56 | 3,973 |
| Leah | weary | #58 | 3,880 |
| Sarah | lady, princess, noblewoman | #90 | 2,710 |
| Lydia | from Lydia | #92 | 2,692 |
| Anna | form of Hannah | #107 | 2,521 |
| Esther | star | #119 | 2,277 |
| Mary | form of Maria | #125 | 2,230 |
| Julia | – | #131 | 2,172 |
| Eva | form of Eve | #134 | 2,154 |
| Phoebe | bright, pure | #157 | 1,885 |
| Ruth | friend | #173 | 1,781 |
| Lia | – | #200 | 1,526 |
| Selah | – | #216 | 1,416 |
| Noa | – | #226 | 1,348 |
| Miriam | form of Mary | #246 | 1,262 |
| Rachel | ewe | #250 | 1,225 |
| Leia | form of Leah | #297 | 1,033 |
| Joanna | form of John | #306 | 997 |
| Rebecca | join, tie, snare | #350 | 872 |
| Sarai | my princess | #425 | 733 |
| Mariam | form of Maria | #505 | 589 |
| Eve | – | #519 | 577 |
| Priscilla | ancient | #544 | 555 |
| Hadassah | myrtle tree | #570 | 529 |
| Noemi | form of Naomi | #583 | 509 |
| Mara | – | #589 | 499 |
| Noah | motion | #624 | 468 |
| Martha | the lady, the mistress | #713 | 393 |
| Bethany | house of figs | #752 | 362 |
| Keziah | cassia, cinnamon | #767 | 354 |
| Judith | woman from Judea | #790 | 344 |
| Deborah | bee | #864 | 313 |
| Rebekah | form of Rebecca | #884 | 302 |
| Elisabeth | form of Elizabeth | #925 | 282 |
| Salome | peace | #1,042 | 239 |
| Moriah | seen by Yahweh | #1,093 | 221 |
| Claudia | lame, crippled | #1,096 | 219 |
| Susanna | – | #1,181 | 197 |
| Tabitha | gazelle | #1,308 | 171 |
| Dina | – | #1,327 | 168 |
| Magdalene | of Magdala | #1,345 | 165 |
| Devorah | form of Deborah | #1,354 | 163 |
| Jael | ibex, mountain goat | #1,393 | 157 |
| Damaris | calf, heifer, girl | #1,437 | 150 |
| Hosanna | deliver us | #1,480 | 145 |
What Are the Most Popular Biblical Boy Names?
These are the 50 Biblical boy names given to the most baby boys in 2025. 35 of them are in the top 100 boy names.
| Name | Meaning | Rank in 2025 | Babies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noah | rest, comfort | #2 | 20,358 |
| James | – | #6 | 11,945 |
| Elijah | my God is Yahweh | #7 | 11,111 |
| Lucas | form of Luke | #10 | 10,219 |
| Benjamin | – | #11 | 9,762 |
| Levi | joined, attached | #12 | 9,642 |
| Elias | – | #13 | 8,837 |
| Samuel | – | #18 | 8,334 |
| Ezra | help | #20 | 8,126 |
| Michael | who is like God? | #21 | 8,094 |
| Daniel | God is my judge | #22 | 8,085 |
| John | Yahweh is gracious | #23 | 8,027 |
| Ethan | solid, enduring, firm | #24 | 7,852 |
| Asher | happy, blessed | #28 | 7,456 |
| Joseph | he will add | #29 | 7,303 |
| Alexander | – | #30 | 7,230 |
| Matthew | gift of Yahweh | #32 | 7,003 |
| Luke | from Lucania | #33 | 6,948 |
| Thomas | twin | #34 | 6,917 |
| David | beloved | #35 | 6,794 |
| Gabriel | God is my strong man | #37 | 6,569 |
| Jacob | – | #43 | 6,152 |
| Isaac | – | #47 | 5,953 |
| Josiah | Yahweh supports | #54 | 5,509 |
| Isaiah | Yahweh is salvation | #57 | 5,267 |
| Caleb | dog | #58 | 5,217 |
| Ezekiel | God strengthens | #61 | 5,091 |
| Nathan | he gave | #63 | 4,975 |
| Joshua | Yahweh is salvation | #66 | 4,773 |
| Silas | wood, forest | #71 | 4,639 |
| Andrew | manly, masculine | #73 | 4,497 |
| Aaron | – | #80 | 4,041 |
| Jeremiah | Yahweh has uplifted | #88 | 3,840 |
| Jonathan | Yahweh has given | #89 | 3,822 |
| Micah | form of Micaiah | #90 | 3,817 |
| Adam | man | #101 | 3,501 |
| Eli | – | #104 | 3,418 |
| Jonah | dove | #128 | 2,828 |
| Malachi | my messenger or my angel | #134 | 2,692 |
| Nathaniel | God has given | #140 | 2,565 |
| Zion | citadel | #142 | 2,496 |
| Jude | form of Judas | #155 | 2,384 |
| Jason | to heal | #165 | 2,224 |
| Jesus | – | #173 | 2,078 |
| Felix | lucky, successful | #175 | 2,064 |
| Judah | praised | #178 | 2,050 |
| Emmanuel | God is with us | #179 | 2,035 |
| Jesse | gift | #184 | 2,002 |
| Peter | stone | #187 | 1,954 |
| Timothy | honoring God | #203 | 1,734 |
What Are Some Rare Biblical Names?
These Biblical names were each given to fewer than 100 babies of that sex in 2025, but at least 5, so they are still in use. They are picked from across the alphabet among those Behind the Name gives a meaning for:
| Girls | Meaning | Babies in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Asenath | devoted to the goddess Neith | 11 |
| Atarah | crown | 69 |
| Bernice | form of Berenice | 35 |
| Beulah | married | 20 |
| Dinah | judged | 34 |
| Elisabet | form of Elizabeth | 11 |
| Hagar | flight | 5 |
| Hester | form of Esther | 5 |
| Ivah | district of Babylon | 8 |
| Jerusha | possession | 8 |
| Jochebed | Yahweh is glory | 14 |
| Keturah | incense | 28 |
| Michal | brook | 33 |
| Persis | Persian woman | 5 |
| Prisca | ancient | 14 |
| Rahel | form of Rachel | 13 |
| Sapphira | sapphire or lapis lazuli | 43 |
| Sela | rock | 29 |
| Shiphrah | beautiful | 7 |
| Talitha | little girl | 42 |
| Tirzah | favorable | 62 |
| Vashti | thread | 12 |
| Yemima | form of Jemima | 5 |
| Zillah | shade | 15 |
| Boys | Meaning | Babies in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Abimael | my father is God | 46 |
| Aithan | form of Ethan | 40 |
| Anani | my cloud | 6 |
| Avner | form of Abner | 16 |
| Bartholomew | son of Talmai | 39 |
| Dawid | form of David | 5 |
| Eliud | God is grandeur | 18 |
| Esau | hairy | 37 |
| Gershom | a stranger there | 5 |
| Isaak | form of Isaac | 48 |
| Jahleel | God waits | 27 |
| Jehu | Yahweh is he | 31 |
| Judas | form of Judah | 20 |
| Lewi | form of Levi | 12 |
| Micha | form of Micah | 23 |
| Natan | form of Nathan | 61 |
| Peretz | form of Perez | 15 |
| Philippos | form of Philip | 6 |
| Shem | name | 10 |
| Tobiah | Yahweh is good | 21 |
| Uzziel | my power is God | 30 |
| Yoav | form of Joab | 8 |
| Zacchaeus | form of Zaccai | 58 |
| Zebulun | prince | 23 |
What Are the Most Common Biblical Names?
This table ranks the names by the estimated number of people alive in the US with each one, of all ages:
| Girls (people alive) | Boys (people alive) |
|---|---|
| 1. Mary (1,715,483) | 1. Michael (3,595,413) |
| 2. Elizabeth (1,143,984) | 2. James (2,933,167) |
| 3. Sarah (889,399) | 3. John (2,737,543) |
| 4. Rebecca (648,685) | 4. David (2,705,330) |
| 5. Deborah (609,725) | 5. Joseph (1,681,563) |
| 6. Rachel (507,807) | 6. Daniel (1,627,478) |
| 7. Hannah (441,086) | 7. Matthew (1,532,905) |
| 8. Anna (438,513) | 8. Thomas (1,456,153) |
| 9. Abigail (407,036) | 9. Joshua (1,196,609) |
| 10. Julia (313,571) | 10. Andrew (1,132,748) |
Which Biblical Names Are Rising and Falling?
These Biblical names gained or lost the most babies from 2015 to 2025:
| Rising girls | Rising boys | Falling girls | Falling boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delilah: 2,740 to 4,137 | Elias: 4,101 to 8,837 | Abigail: 12,422 to 4,941 | Jacob: 16,005 to 6,152 |
| Noa: 370 to 1,348 | Ezra: 4,339 to 8,126 | Elizabeth: 9,771 to 6,760 | Alexander: 14,584 to 7,230 |
| Naomi: 3,775 to 4,644 | Asher: 5,137 to 7,456 | Anna: 5,150 to 2,521 | Ethan: 15,103 to 7,852 |
| Phoebe: 1,119 to 1,885 | Ezekiel: 2,812 to 5,091 | Hannah: 6,434 to 3,973 | Michael: 14,504 to 8,094 |
| Selah: 690 to 1,416 | Silas: 3,191 to 4,639 | Sarah: 4,535 to 2,710 | Matthew: 12,785 to 7,003 |
| Ruth: 1,110 to 1,781 | Levi: 8,337 to 9,642 | Leah: 5,636 to 3,880 | Andrew: 10,147 to 4,497 |
Are Biblical Names Less Popular Than They Used to Be?
Yes. The share of all babies given a Biblical name was 24.5% in 1880, the highest on record. It fell to 16.1% in 1934, rose again to 23.3% in 1981, and has fallen almost every year since, to 12.7% in 2025, the lowest on record. The chart above shows every year; these are some of them:
| Year | Share of babies |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 19.2% |
| 1925 | 17.4% |
| 1950 | 19.8% |
| 1975 | 20.7% |
| 2000 | 19.5% |
| 2010 | 16.0% |
| 2025 | 12.7% |
The names by decade show how the top names changed.
Look Up a Biblical Name
- Type the name in the search box on the home page.
- Its page shows about how many people alive in the US have it, its meaning and origin, and a chart of babies by year.