Names Categorized "biblical places"

Abilene f Various (Rare)
From a place name mentioned briefly in the New Testament. It is probably from Hebrew אָבֵל (ʾavel) meaning "meadow, grassy area". It has occasionally been used as a given name in modern times.

Aphra f Various (Rare)
Meaning uncertain; possibly a variant of Afra 1, or possibly a variant of Aphrah, a biblical place name meaning "dust". This name was borne by the English writer Aphra Behn (1640-1689).

Ardath f English
From the name of a plain that appears in the apocryphal book of 2 Esdras (verse 9:26) in some versions of the Old Testament. This place name was used by Marie Corelli for the title of an 1889 novel, which is probably the reason it gained some currency as a given name just after this time.

Ardith f English
Variant of Ardath.

Ariel m & f Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Means "lion of God" in Hebrew, from אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film The Little Mermaid (1989).

Azel m Biblical
Means "reserved" in Hebrew. This is both the name of a minor character and a place name in the Old Testament.

Belén f Spanish
Spanish form of Bethlehem, the name of the town in Judah where King David and Jesus were born. The town's name is from Hebrew בֵּית־לֶחֶם (Beṯ-leḥem) meaning "house of bread".

Bethany f English
From the name of a biblical town, Βηθανία (Bethania) in Greek, which is probably of Aramaic or Hebrew origin, possibly meaning "house of affliction" or "house of figs". In the New Testament the town of Bethany is the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. It has been in use as a rare given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, in honour of Mary of Bethany. In America it became moderately common after the 1950s.

Bethel f English
From an Old Testament place name meaning "house of God" in Hebrew. This was a town north of Jerusalem, where Jacob saw his vision of the stairway. It is occasionally used as a given name.

Beulah f Biblical, English
Means "married" in Hebrew. The name is used in the Old Testament to refer to the land of Israel (Isaiah 62:4). As an English given name, Beulah has been used since the Protestant Reformation.

Canaan m Biblical
From כְּנַעַן (Kenaʿan), the Hebrew name of the ancient region of Canaan, which was possibly derived from a root meaning "low, humble". In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of Ham. He is said to be the ancestor and namesake of the Canaanite peoples.

Ceyhun m Turkish, Azerbaijani
From Arabic جيحون (Jayḥūn), from Hebrew גִּיחוֹן (Giḥon), which in the Old Testament is a river originating in the Garden of Eden. The river's name itself is derived from Hebrew גִּיחַ (giyaḥ) meaning "to burst forth". In Islamic tradition it is identified with the Amu Darya, a river in central Asia.

Ebenezer m Literature, English
From the name of a monument erected by Samuel in the Old Testament, from Hebrew אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר (ʾEven Haʿazer) meaning "stone of help". Charles Dickens used it for the miserly character Ebenezer Scrooge in his novel A Christmas Carol (1843). Currently the name is most common in parts of English-influenced Africa, such as Ghana.

Eden f & m Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight", or perhaps derived from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.

Edom m Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
From Hebrew אָדֹם (ʾaḏom) meaning "red". According to the Old Testament, Esau, who is described as having red skin, was given this name because he traded his birthright for a helping of red broth. The bible goes on to tell that Esau was the founder of the ancient nation of Edom, located to the south of the kingdom of Judah.

Gethsemane f Various (Rare)
From a biblical place name, the garden where Jesus was arrested, located on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. It is derived from Γεθσημανί (Gethsemani), the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "oil vat". It is very rarely used as a given name.

Gilead m Biblical
From 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.

Harel m Hebrew
Means "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).

Havilah m Biblical
Probably means "to dance, to circle, to twist" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is both a place name and a masculine personal name.

Israel m Jewish, English, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Greek
From the Hebrew name יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) meaning "God contends", from the roots שָׂרָה (sara) meaning "to contend, to fight" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament, Israel (who was formerly named Jacob; see Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him.

Ivah f English (Rare)
Possibly from the name of the city of Ivah in the Old Testament.

Jericho m English (Modern)
From the name of a city in Israel that is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain, but it may be related to the Hebrew word יָרֵחַ (yareaḥ) meaning "moon", or otherwise to the Hebrew word רֵיחַ (reyaḥ) meaning "fragrance".

Jordan m & f English, French, Macedonian, Serbian
From the name of the river that flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is יַרְדֵן (Yarḏen), and it is derived from יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning "descend, flow down". In the New Testament John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ in its waters, and it was adopted as a personal name in Europe after crusaders brought water back from the river to baptize their children. There may have been some influence from the Latin name Jordanes, notably borne by a 6th-century Gothic historian.... [more]

Judah m Biblical
From the Hebrew name יְהוּדָה (Yehuḏa), probably derived from יָדָה (yaḏa) meaning "praise". In the Old Testament Judah is the fourth of the twelve sons of Jacob by Leah, and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah. An explanation for his name is given in Genesis 29:35. His tribe eventually formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King David and Jesus were among the descendants of him and his wife Tamar. This name was also borne by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish priest who revolted against Seleucid rule in the 2nd century BC, as told in the deuterocanonical Books of Maccabees.... [more]

Lehi m Mormon
From an Old Testament place name meaning "jawbone" in Hebrew, so called because it was the site where the hero Samson defeated 1,000 warriors using only the jawbone of a donkey as a weapon. It is also used in the Book of Mormon as the name of a prophet who travels out of Jerusalem and settles in the Americas.

Moab m Biblical
Means "of his father" in Hebrew, a derivative of אָב (ʾav) meaning "father". In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of Lot. He was the ancestor of the Moabites, a people who lived in the region called Moab to the east of Israel.

Moriah f English (Modern)
From Hebrew מֹרִיָה (Moriya) possibly meaning "seen by Yahweh". This is a place name in the Old Testament, both the land where Abraham is to sacrifice Isaac and the mountain upon which Solomon builds the temple. They may be the same place. Since the 1980s it has occasionally been used as a feminine given name in America.

Nazarius m Late Roman
Latin name meaning "from Nazareth". Nazareth was the town in Galilee where Jesus lived. This name was borne by several early saints, including a man martyred with Celsus in Milan.

Nazzareno m Italian
Italian form of the Late Latin Nazarenus, which meant "from Nazareth, Nazarene". Nazareth was the town in Galilee where Jesus lived. According to the New Testament, the phrase Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum meaning "Jesus the Nazarene, king of the Jews", was inscribed on the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.

Ophir m & f Biblical, Hebrew
From the Hebrew name אוֹפִיר (ʾOfir), meaning unknown. This is the name of a son of Joktan in the Old Testament (where it is also used as a place name).

Ophrah m Biblical
Means "fawn" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of both a man mentioned in genealogies and a city in Manasseh.

Philadelphia f English (Rare)
From the name of a city in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation in the New Testament. The name of the city meant "brotherly love" from Greek φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love" and ἀδελφός (adelphos) meaning "brother". It is also the name of a city in the United States.

Sela f English (Rare)
From the name of a city, the capital of Edom, which appears in the Old Testament. It means "rock" in Hebrew.

Sharon f & m English, Hebrew
From an Old Testament place name, in Hebrew שָׁרוֹן (Sharon) meaning "plain", referring to a fertile plain on the central west coast of Israel. This is also the name of a flowering plant in the Bible, the rose of Sharon, a term now used to refer to several different species of flowers.... [more]

Sheba m Biblical
Probably from the name of the Sabaean people, who had a kingdom in the southern Arabian Peninsula and eastern Ethiopia. Sheba is a place name in the Old Testament, famous as the home of the Queen of Sheba, who visited King Solomon after hearing of his wisdom. This name is also borne by several male characters in the Bible.

Shiloh m & f Biblical
From an Old Testament place name possibly meaning "tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation.... [more]

Tekoa m Biblical
Possibly means either "stockade" or "horn, trumpet" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a both a city and a son of Ashhur.

Tirzah f Biblical
From the Hebrew name תִּרְצָה (Tirtsa) meaning "favourable". Tirzah is the name of one of the daughters of Zelophehad in the Old Testament. It also occurs in the Old Testament as a place name, the early residence of the kings of the northern kingdom.