Ezekiel m Biblical, EnglishFrom the Hebrew name
יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yeḥezqel) meaning
"God will strengthen", from the roots
חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name,
Ezekiel has been used since the Protestant Reformation.
Ezer m BiblicalFrom Hebrew
אָצַר (ʾatsar) meaning
"treasured". In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of Seir the Horite.
Ezra m English, Hebrew, BiblicalMeans
"help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Gabriel m French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning
"God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet
Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of
John to
Zechariah and
Jesus to
Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to
Muhammad.
... [more] Galahad m Arthurian CycleFrom earlier
Galaad, likely derived from the Old French form of the biblical place name
Gilead. In Arthurian legend Sir Galahad was the son of
Lancelot and
Elaine. He was the most pure of the Knights of the Round Table, and he was the only one to succeed in finding the Holy Grail. He first appears in the 13th-century French
Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Gale 1 f EnglishVariant of
Gail. It also coincides with the English word
gale meaning
"storm".
Gamaliel m Biblical, Biblical GreekMeans
"my reward is God" in Hebrew, from the roots
גָּמַל (gamal) meaning "to reward" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to a son of Pedahzur. It was also borne by a 1st-century Jewish priest and scholar, mentioned in Acts in the New Testament as a teacher of Saint
Paul.
Gedaliah m BiblicalMeans
"Yahweh is great" in Hebrew, from
גָּדַל (gaḏal) meaning "to grow, to become great" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of several characters in the Old Testament, including the governor of Judah appointed by Nebuchadnezzar.
Gera m Biblical, Biblical HebrewPossibly means
"a grain" in Hebrew. This is the name of several members of the tribe of Benjamin in the Old Testament.
Giacomo m ItalianItalian form of
Iacomus (see
James). Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was an Italian composer of operas.
Gideon m Biblical, Hebrew, English, DutchFrom the Hebrew name
גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning
"feller, hewer", derived from
גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew". Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world,
Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.
Gilead m BiblicalFrom an Old Testament place name meaning
"heap of witness" in Hebrew. This is a mountainous region east of the Jordan River. Besides being a place name, it is also borne by people in the Bible.
Gioachino m ItalianItalian form of
Joachim. A famous bearer was the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).
Giordano m ItalianItalian form of
Jordan. A notable bearer was the cosmologist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), who was burned at the stake by the Inquisition.
Giovanni m ItalianItalian form of
Iohannes (see
John). This name has been very common in Italy since the late Middle Ages, as with other equivalents of
John in Europe. The Renaissance writer Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) and the painter and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) were famous bearers of the name.
Giuseppe m ItalianItalian form of
Joseph. Two noteworthy bearers were Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), a military leader who united Italy, and Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), a composer of operas.
Habakkuk m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
חֲבַקּוּק (Ḥavaqquq), probably derived from the root
חָבַק (ḥavaq) meaning
"embrace". In the Old Testament this is one of the twelve minor prophets, the author of the Book of Habakkuk.
Hagar f Biblical, Biblical German, Biblical HebrewPossibly means
"flight" in Hebrew, though it could also be of unknown Egyptian origin. According to the Old Testament she was the second wife of
Abraham and the mother of
Ishmael, the founder of the Arab people. After Abraham's first wife
Sarah finally gave birth to a child, she had Hagar and Ishmael expelled into the desert. However, God heard their crying and saved them.
Haggai m BiblicalMeans
"festive" in Hebrew, from the root
חָגַג (ḥaḡaḡ) meaning "to hold a festival, to celebrate". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. He was the author of the Book of Haggai, which urges the exiles returning from Babylonia to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
Haggith f BiblicalMeans
"festive" in Hebrew, derived from the root
חָגַג (ḥaḡaḡ) meaning "to hold a festival, to celebrate". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of King
David's wives.
Hajar f Arabic, PersianArabic form of
Hagar. According to Islamic tradition she was a daughter of the king of Egypt, who became the second wife of
Ibrahim and the mother of
Ismail.
Ham m BiblicalMeans
"hot, warm" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, Ham is one of
Noah's three sons, along with
Shem and
Japheth. He was the ancestor of the Egyptians and Canaanites.
Haman m Biblical, Biblical HebrewMeaning uncertain, probably of Persian origin. In the Book of Esther in the Old Testament Haman, called the Agagite, is an adviser to the Persian king. He plots to have all the Jews in the realm executed, but is foiled by Queen
Esther.
Hamutal f BiblicalMeans
"father-in-law is dew" in Hebrew, derived from
חָם (ḥam) meaning "father-in-law" and
טַל (ṭal) meaning "dew". In the Old Testament this is the name of a wife of King
Josiah of Judah.
Hanan 1 m BiblicalMeans
"gracious" in Hebrew. This is the name of several minor characters in the Old Testament.
Hank m EnglishOriginally a short form of
Hankin, which was a medieval diminutive of
John. Since the 17th century in the United States this name has also been used as a diminutive of
Henry, probably under the influence of the Dutch diminutive
Henk. A famous bearer is the American former baseball player Hank Aaron (1934-2021).
Hanna 1 f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German, Dutch, Icelandic, Hungarian, Arabic, HebrewForm of
Ḥanna (see
Hannah) in several languages.
Hans m German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishGerman short form of
Johannes, now used independently. This name has been very common in German-speaking areas of Europe since the late Middle Ages. From an early period it was transmitted to the Low Countries and Scandinavia. Two famous bearers were Hans Holbein (1497-1543), a German portrait painter, and Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), a Danish writer of fairy tales.
Hansel m LiteratureAnglicized form of
Hänsel. This is the name of a boy in a German fairy tale, recorded in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm with the title
Hänsel und Gretel. In the tale Hansel and his sister
Gretel are abandoned in the woods by their parents, then taken captive by a witch.
Harel m HebrewMeans
"altar, mountain of God" in Hebrew. In the Hebrew Bible this word is applied to the altar in the temple in Jerusalem (
Ezekiel 43:15).
Hazael m BiblicalMeans
"God sees" in Hebrew, from
חָזָה (ḥaza) meaning "to see" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of a king of Aram in the Old Testament.
Heber 2 m BiblicalMeans
"comrade" in Hebrew, derived from the root
חָבַר (ḥavar) meaning "to join". In the Old Testament this name is borne by a great-grandson of
Jacob and also by the husband of
Jael.
Heber 3 m BiblicalForm of
Eber used in some versions of the New Testament (in the genealogy of
Jesus in the Gospel of Luke).
Heli 1 m Biblical, Biblical LatinLatin form of
Eli 1 used in the Old and New Testament. This form of the name is used in most English versions of the New Testament to refer to the father of
Joseph (husband of
Mary) in the genealogy in the Gospel of Luke.
Hezekiah m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
חִזְקִיָהוּ (Ḥizqiyahu), which means
"Yahweh strengthens", from the roots
חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strength" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This name was borne by a powerful king of Judah who reigned in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Also in the Old Testament, this is the name of an ancestor of the prophet
Zephaniah.
Hillel m Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical HebrewDerived from Hebrew
הָלַל (halal) meaning
"praise". This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament as the father of the judge Abdon. It was also borne by the 1st-century BC Jewish scholar Hillel the Elder.
Hodel f Yiddish (Rare)Diminutive of
Hode. This is the name of Tevye's second daughter in the musical
Fiddler on the Roof (1964), based on late 19th-century stories by Sholem Aleichem.
Hodesh f BiblicalMeans
"new moon, month" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, this is the wife of Shaharaim.
Hodiah f & m BiblicalMeans
"majesty of Yahweh" in Hebrew, from
הוֹד (hoḏ) meaning "majesty, splendour" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is (probably) the name of a wife of
Ezra in the Old Testament. It is also borne by a few male biblical characters.
Hosea m BiblicalVariant English form of
Hoshea, though the name is spelled the same in the Hebrew text. Hosea is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Hosea. Written in the northern kingdom, it draws parallels between his relationship with his unfaithful wife and the relationship between God and his people.
Hoshea m Biblical, Biblical HebrewFrom the Hebrew name
הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hosheaʿ) meaning
"salvation", from the root
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save". In the Old Testament at
Numbers 13:16,
Moses gives the spy Hoshea the new name
Yehoshuaʿ (see
Joshua), which has a related origin. This name was also borne by an 8th-century BC king of Israel, who was the last ruler of that state before it was conquered by Assyria.
Huldah f BiblicalMeans
"weasel, mole" in Hebrew. This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to a prophetess.
Iacob m Romanian, Biblical LatinRomanian form of
Jacob (or
James). This is also the form of
Jacob found in the Latin Old Testament (and the New Testament when referring to the patriarch).
Iago m Welsh, Galician, PortugueseWelsh and Galician form of
Iacobus (see
James). This was the name of two early Welsh kings of Gwynedd. It is also the name of the villain in Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603).
Iakob m Biblical Greek, GeorgianForm of
Jacob used in the Greek Old Testament, as well as in the Greek New Testament when referring to the patriarch. This is also the Georgian form of the name (referring to the two apostles named James as well as the patriarch).
Ian m Scottish, EnglishAnglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Iain, itself from Latin
Iohannes (see
John). It became popular in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland in the first half of the 20th century, but did not begin catching on in America until the 1960s.
Iben f Danish, NorwegianPossibly a feminine form of
Ib. It is associated with Danish
ibenholt meaning "ebony".
Ibragim m Chechen, Ossetian, KyrgyzChechen, Ossetian and Kyrgyz form of
Ibrahim. This is also a Russian form, used to Russify native versions of the name in countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.
Ibrahim m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Pashto, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Avar, Bosnian, Dhivehi, Albanian, Hausa, SwahiliArabic form of
Abraham, also used in several other languages. This form appears in the Quran.
Ichabod m BiblicalMeans
"no glory" in Hebrew, from the roots
אִי (ʾi) meaning "not" and
כָּבַד (kavaḏ) meaning "to be glorious". In the Old Testament this is the grandson of
Eli and the son of
Phinehas. He was named this because his mother despaired that "the glory has departed from Israel" (
1 Samuel 4:21).
... [more] Iddo m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
עִדּוֹ (ʿIddo), possibly derived from
עָדָה (ʿaḏa) meaning "to pass by". This is the name of a few characters in the Old Testament, including an obscure prophet who lived during the reign of
Solomon and the grandfather of the prophet
Zechariah.