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These ones don't sound biblical to me.

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Felix
Linus
Nicodemas
Rufus
Claudia
Drusilla
Julia

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I plan to avoid biblical names as much as possible. The exception being names like Felix and Julia, which existed long before the Bible. But yes, it does detract from the name imo.

Abner = Lil Abner, or an old grandpa on a farm (country / 'hickish')

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Cyrus = normal, vaguely historical vibes, makes me think Greek but I don't think of it as Biblical

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Ephraim = definitely sounds Biblical but I don't know the character, and in practice I'd consider it more 'country/hickish' (again picturing an old grandpa on a farm, but more dignified and not as comedic as Abner). If anyone was named this I'd assume it was after a dead relative.

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Felix = I had no idea this was Biblical, I think of a cat primarily, otherwise just a name, possibly a trendy one. Very similar to Milo

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Hiram = just country and old-man to me. Halfway between Ephraim and Abner.

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Ichabod = all I can think of is Ichabod Crane. It makes me think of 1800's American small towns, vaguely spooky because of Sleepy Hollow, not any Biblical association.

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Ira = also just country/Southern and 'grandpa'. But it's simpler than the others so it seems to have a broader age range... still older but could also be middle-aged.

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Jared = I don't think of this as Biblical at all, it's just a generic guy name like Jason, Jackson, Dan, Cody, etc. Jared is a little 'smoother' than a lot of those names (not as a name, but in the sense that I picture a guy named Jared to be a little more attractive and charismatic than the average dude, but still well within the realm of 'average dudes'.)

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Linus = Peanuts, that's all I think of. Otherwise I'd think it's maybe another one of those country grandpa names. But it's mostly just Peanuts. Maybe a name for a dog.

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I'd recognize them all as biblical names, since I'm very interested in those and even considered writing a thesis on biblical names or name changes.
Apart from Nicodemas which is actually just a version of Nicodemus and not literally biblical.

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I try to find categories of my associations. It's a non-english perspectiv on the english useage.
I named Cyrus and Nicodemus twice.

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very biblical:
Abner
Cyrus
Ephraim
Hiram
Ichabod
=> I'd most likely not coose a name of this category because some people might be prejodiced towards the child (or me) - thinking we might be fanatics or fundamentalists

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religious, but not too weird:
Damaris
Rhoda
Tirzah
Nicodemus

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I know, their in their origin is biblical, but they seem normal to me:
Ira
Jared
Tobias
Judith

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Names, that just happen to be mentioned in the bible, but aren't religious (jewish or christian origin):
Cyrus
Felix
Linus
Rufus
Claudia
Julia
Drusilla
Nicodemus

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Variants of biblical names:
Nicodemas (seems religious to me)

This message was edited 3/12/2023, 6:34 AM

It's funny to me that religious parents might intentionally name a kid after the governor who jailed Paul, just because they're determined to use a biblical name but want something fashionable. I am sure that has happened.

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Julia - no
Rufus - no
Felix - no
Linus - no, I think of Peanuts comic
Cyrus - idk, I do think of a saint
Urban - my only reference for this as a name is the popes
Ichabod - yeah, biblical, in a way that sounds comically Puritan
Ephraim - yeah, biblical, old-fashioned
Abner - yeah, biblical, old-fashioned
Hiram - yeah, biblical, old-fashioned
Ira - yeah, biblical, somewhat old-fashioned
Jared - yeah, biblical, relatively current sounding
Tobias - yeah, biblical, slightly old, classic sounding
Claudia - yeah, in a vaguely Catholic way
Drusilla - yeah, biblical, but I don't notice unless I'm looking for it
Damaris - yeah, but in a modern sounding obscure name way
Nicodemas - yeah, biblical, in a way that seems infamous
Rhoda - eh, vaguely biblical, but I have to reach for it
Tirzah - yeah, biblical, mostly just recognizably Hebrew though
Judith - yeah, the biblical one seems infamous and badass

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I hate/love Nicodemas. Ephraim, Abner, Hiram, Tobias sound religious maybe, but I think it's mostly their old-timey vibe that stands out. I don't like or dislike any of the others specifically because they're religious, although?? I may think of them as connected to religion or religious people - ex. I wouldn't assume Judith's parents weren't secular, but there's no way that name doesn't sound religious imv. I like Tobias and Tirzah a lot, and it's partly just because I like the initial T sound, but I think I would be avoiding them if religious names bothered me.

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Ok so, least religious or biblical sounding to me...
Julia, Rufus, Felix, Linus, Rhoda

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On the fence about...
Cyrus, Urban, Claudia, Drusilla, Damaris

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I feel these are the most recognizably biblical names...
Ephraim, Hiram, Ira, Abner, Tobias, Jared, Ichabod, Nicodemas, Tirzah, Judith

This message was edited 3/12/2023, 10:59 AM

Abner: Pretty religious for jews, very religious in an american-christian setting.
Cyrus: Not religious.
Ephraim: Very religious both for jews and christians.
Hiram: While it was in use among christians in the united states, it was barely in use among jews, and only used in the 20th century in the land of israel among zionists.
Ichabod: I wouldn't say it's religious since it's a bad meaning and a very minor biblical character, but it is a very "hebrew" name.
Ira: in my head it's used mostly among less-religious american jews, as a substitute for Isaac and Israel.
Jared: it is biblical, but not super religious IMO.
Linus: Since I'm a jew, I can't classify latin names as biblical.
Nicodemas: While again, this is a character from the christian bible, he does appear in the Talmud. I imagine only pretty hardcore christians would use a "heavy" name like that.
Tobias: very religious imo.
Judith is very biblical, despite the fact the book of Judith is apocrypha.
Tirzah: Very religious, and also a biblical place name.

A Latin name like Julia isn't religious because it happens to be in the Bible!

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Names I don't think of as Biblical at all, their occurrence in the Bible is merely a coincidence to me: Felix Cyrus Linus Nicodemus Rufus Urban Claudia Drusilla Julia Rhoda Damaris Urban

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Names I recognize as Biblical, but common/secular enough that they don't sound religious: Abner Judith Ephraim Ira Jared Tobias
These are no more religious-seeming than Jacob or Noah or Sarah or Rachel, only somewhat less commonplace.

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Names I recognize as Biblical, that seem like they'd be used by people who read the Bible, or maybe by Jewish Israelis who speak Hebrew (?): Maybe Tirzah. That's it.

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Ichabod is just Legend of Sleepy Hollow, for English speakers. Not a Bible name. Considering the meaning, I think nobody would use it as a Biblical / religious name. Although I don't know the story with an Ichabod in it, so I could be wrong of course

This message was edited 3/11/2023, 10:54 PM

I’d recognize some from the Bible like Tobias, but none of these strike me as religious.

Most of them wouldn't make me think Biblical. A few do, but not like I could pinpoint who they were in the Bible, but sound like a Biblical name and might make me think "Oh, it's a Biblical name that I just don't remember." I think Ephraim, Nicodemas, Damaris and Tirzah sound Biblical.

Most of them yes I'd recognise, I don't like them more or less and it wouldn't change if I'd use it