We all know that John, David, Matthew, Paul, Mary, Eve, and Rebekah are in the Bible, but here are some names from the Good Book that just might surprise you.
I’ve been a Christian for a long time, and I was shocked recently to discover several well-known names in the Bible that I didn’t know were there. I thought it might be interesting to see if others were similarly in the dark. I conducted several surveys on Yahoo! Answers. Each survey had a long list of names (some from the Bible and some not) that respondents were to classify as either in the Bible or not in the Bible.
Based on my own knowledge and the survey results, here is a list of boys’ names you’re probably familiar with but that you may not know are biblical:
- Alexander — You probably know of Alexander the Great, but did you know he shared his name with four men in the New Testament? Among them was a son of the man forced to carry Jesus’ cross. (Chosen as biblical by 41% of respondents)
- Julius — While Julius Caesar does not appear in the Bible, there is a Roman centurion named Julius. He was with Paul when Paul got shipwrecked, and he prevented the other Roman soldiers from killing Paul. (Chosen by 41%)
- Ethan — Ethan is mentioned in 1 Kings as being a man famous for his wisdom. He was also a composer, having authored Psalm 89. (Chosen by 36%)
- Nicolas — One of the first seven deacons in the early Christian church was Nicolas, a man from Antioch who had converted to Judaism. The much more famous St. Nicholas lived 200 years later. (Chosen by 41%)
- Jason — The most famous Jason is certainly from Greek mythology, who sought the Golden Fleece. The biblical Jason was a Christian in Thessalonica who was taken to court for sheltering other Christians in his house. (Chosen by 32%)
- Stephen — He was one of the first seven deacons and the first Christian martyr, stoned to death for preaching about Jesus. (Chosen by 45%)
- Linus – He’s not just a blanket-toting tot from Peanuts. The biblical Linus was a Christian in Rome and a friend of Paul and Timothy. (Linus was apparently the most surprisingly biblical name on the list, chosen by only 15% of respondents.)
- Felix — This corrupt Roman governor of Judea kept Paul imprisoned for two years. According to the Bible, he frequently sent for Paul to appear before him, hoping Paul would offer him a bribe to be released from prison. Instead, he was treated to the pleasure of hearing Paul preach. (Chosen by 35%)
And the girls’ names that might surprise you:
- Lois — Before she was the mother in Family Guy, way before she was even Superman’s girlfriend, Lois was in the Bible. Paul writes of her that she had “sincere faith,” and she influenced her daughter and grandson toward the same. Her grandson grew up to become the young preacher Timothy (important enough to have two books of the Bible named after him). (Chosen as biblical by 18% of respondents)
- Julia — She was a Christian living in Rome and a friend of Paul. (Chosen by 41%)
- Anna — Catholics are familiar with St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, but her story appears only in the Apocrypha. The biblical Anna was a prophetess who met baby Jesus on his first trip to the temple. (Chosen by 50%)
- Rhoda — This Christian servant girl was the first to see Peter after an angel helped him escape execution. (Chosen by 18%)
- Chloe — She was a Christian woman living in Corinth. (Chosen by 27%)
- Phoebe – This deaconess had been of such great assistance to Paul that he sent her to help the church in Rome. (Chosen by 32%)
- Susanna — Centuries before she was beloved by the banjo-wielding Alabaman, another Susanna accompanied Jesus and the twelve disciples as Jesus traveled around preaching. The Bible says she helped to support them out of her own means. (While Susanna was classified as biblical by 59% of respondents, many who identified themselves as Christians failed to recognize Susanna, so she is thus included here.)
- Lydia — After hearing Paul preach, Lydia converted to Christianity and began hosting congregations of believers in her home. (Chosen by 41%)
- Drusilla — Though she’s most famous now as Cinderella’s stepsister, the biblical Drusilla was married to corrupt governor Felix. Though I’m not sure the name could ever overcome its evil stepsister associations, it is quite pretty, and it would be an intriguing route to the nickname Dru/Drew. (Chosen by 25%)
Other Biblical names that were recognized less than half of the time include Demetrius (41%), Augustus (41%), Jadon (41%), Adah (41%), Priscilla (41%), Rufus (30%), Sapphira (27%), Claudia (25%), Clement (20%), and Javan (18%).
Biblical names that were recognized with 100% accuracy were Mary, Paul, John, Peter, David, and Matthew.
Non-biblical names that were most often mistakenly categorized as biblical were Damien (32%), Christopher (32%), Cassandra (32%), Norah (32%), Anthony (36%), Catherine (36%), Theresa (41%), Lilith (41%), Raphael (45%), and Zachary (55%). Of course, many of these are saints’ names, so the mistake is understandable. Lilith and Raphael appear in Christian mythology or tradition, though they are not in the Bible. Zachary, the one most often miscategorized as biblical, is not found in the Bible, but the related names Zacharias, Zaccheus, and Zechariah are.
I should note that the survey was not conducted scientifically. The surveys were posted in the Baby Names section of Yahoo! Answers, and each survey received between 20 and 22 responses. Respondents may have included a disproportionate number of females, younger people, and people who know a lot about names. Participants were not allowed to look up names, but they were allowed to guess.
If you would like to see a link to the survey questions, here is the girls’ names survey, the boys’ names survey, and the mixed-gender survey.
Are there any names on the list that surprised you? Do you know of any other names that we might not expect to be found in the Bible?
This is a very interesting post. I’m not Christian, but I do adore some of the Biblical names here. Julius and Susanna, especially. I wouldn’t use anything overtly Biblical, though, since I’m not of that religion, and my boyfriend wouldn’t have anything overt anyway. He’s a lapsed Catholic who has major problems with the faith, so it’s not a choice for me.
I think of Lydia as quite Biblical, though. I’m surprised people didn’t know that! Ditto Adah and Clement. Clement is actually my boyfriend’s grandfather’s middle name, after his (the grandfather’s) uncle. As such, it’s also his (my boyfriend’s) cousin’s confirmation name. I think it’s quite nice, actually, but Clem stinks.
I knew most of these, but then, I’m a severely lapsed Roman Catholic.
Lois is one that always surprises me. But then, St. Paul is my least favorite person in the bible/book of the bible, so that may be why. I just cannot get into his squawkings.
Funny, I’ve always liked Anastasia & Drusilla better than Cinderalla, as far as their names go, anyway.
And I would use these, Wiccan or not: Julius, Linus, Susanna & Lydia as well as Augustus, Priscilla, Rufus! & Clement and have to confess Sapphira is a huge GP for me. If I could guarantee Sappho wouldn’t end up her nickname, I’d use it!
Raphael is the only “non Biblical” name there I would use. Rafael is a family name for me and I think he is awesome!
This was a great post, Emmy Jo, really awesome!
Hi Emmy Jo! Another awesome post! Where did you get the idea for this one? It was really interesting! The most surprising ones for me were: Felix, Julius, Ethan, Jason, Linus, Lois, Priscilla, Drusilla, Augustus, Demetrius and Rhoda. I think Ethan was the biggest suprise – I really can not picture an Ethan in the Bible. It seems way too modern!
I was a bit surprised Zachary wasn’t in the Bible.
My favorites were: Alexander, Julius, Nicolas, Linus, Lydia, Susanna (I prefer the extra “h”, I think), Anna, Phoebe, Sapphira, and Demetrius!
Asher is another unexpected Bible name. He was the son of Jacob and Leah’s maid, Zilpah (according to Behindthename.com) Asher seems like a very modern choice.
great post!
Many of these aren’t overtly Christian or Jewish names. A lot are Greek and Roman names that just happen to be in the Bible, so they’d be fine choices for parents of any religion (or none at all).
Cat — I, too, was surprised that so few recognized Lydia as biblical. And Stephen. While some of these names come from minor characters, Stephen has a fairly important story attached to him.
Lola — Funny you feel that way about Paul. I’ve always felt that I wouldn’t really like him if I met him in person. Is that a horrible thing to say about an apostle? I suppose not, since he isn’t God after all. I have a ton of respect for him, but I think our personalities would clash. I’d get on much better with St. Peter.
Eva — I got the idea for this when I discovered that a Jason was in the Bible. I had always associated it with the Argonauts and the 1980′s, but not Christianity. Asher’s a good suggestion — with the preponderance of Ashleys and Ashtons, it does feel very modern. What about Jared? Does that feel biblical to you?
Funny how so many of those names have in more modern times acquired associations which I’m sure are very different from their Biblical roots. My favourite for comedic value would have to be Priscilla; I can’t shake the Queen of the Desert connotations; which don’t exactly scream piousness. On the other hand, it would be interesting to see in which version of the Bible these names first appeared; presumably they weren’t all to be found in these forms in the Hebrew texts, but crept into some of the translations?
Interesting post. I’m a pastor’s kid and I attended private Christian schools for elementary and middle school, so it’s not a surprise that I recognized most of these.
I can’t believe that people didn’t recognize Lydia! It may be because I insisted on having that story in Acts read to me a lot; I loved hearing my name applied to someone other than myself. I’m also surprised that many didn’t guess Stephen, he’s such an important Biblical character. And Rhoda’s one of my favorite Biblical women! Her story cracks me up. She saw Peter at the gate, and ran in to tell everyone–without letting Peter inside! People don’t realize how funny the Bible can be.
The ones I didn’t recognize on the boys list were Jason, Demetrius, and Linus, but I would’ve got the entire girls’ list right!
I love Drusilla, but she was also Caligula’s sister – and that was just weird.
And I’m with Lach. I want to love Priscilla, but that movie! It’s a stumbling block.
If Jared was on your survey, I think I would have said no. But now that I think of it, it does seem a bit Biblical. Jared seems more Biblical than Ethan, Nicolas, Felix, etc.
Jared is a nice name. I really want to like it, but for some reason, I can’t! When I was in the 4th grade, I read this book (I don’t even remember the title or what it was about), but there was a character named Jared and he had a unibrow and was apparently really ugly. So whenever I think Jared, I think unibrow! haha
I think Jared would be a good choice for some one else though. It’s very usable, and not that popular. The more I say it though, the more I like it!
Eva, is the book you’re talking about “The Wish?”
Anyways, great survery! I didn’t know Jadon was biblical.
I didn’t even think of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. I thought Priscilla Mullins Alden first and after that my brain goes to Priscilla Presley. Nothing beyond those two, for me! Just goes to show, even with the movies I watch, I still miss some.
I Just re-watched “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” two days ago and fail to see why the movie is a stumbling point. Maybe it’s because I have cross dressing friends; it just doesn’t bother me? It couldn’t possibly be the guys that starred: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce & Terence Stamp? I laughed, I cried, I still like Priscilla. How many people really remember the bus was Priscilla anyway? Nah, It has to be the subject. Cross dressing makes a LOT of people uncomfortable. But I wear menswear, why not ladieswear for the guys?
Have I mentioned that I’m thrilled to see the 20 something guys painting their nails? Okay /rant. I still like Priscilla. (pri-cilla, not priss-illa, too)
I like these,
Alexander
Julius
Linus
Felix
Phoebe
Susanna —I do prefer it spelled with an H though
Drusilla -I really like this. I can care less if it was the evil-step sister’s name. The other one was named Anastasia, which is also a perfectly usable name. I love the possible nickname option of Dru.
Thank you all for your kind words about the name Drusilla. I named my daughter Drusilla (born in 2000) and we call her Dru. I think the name is beautiful and it gives me chills when it rolls off my tongue. I’m sorry to report that I do not get much support for it “out in the field.” It is unfortunate that it has a lot of associations to overcome. But I don’t care as I have never been one to follow the crowd!
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