Names Ending in H for Boys

Biblical names are expanding (literally) as some parents move from Isaiah and Elijah to more elaborate choices with simple short forms, like Jedidiah and Zebediah.

If Holland works for a girl, why not Dutch for a boy? Gavin Newsom, Lt-Governor of California, kept up his geographical baby name theme when he called his 4th child Dutch William, (his other children are named Hunter, Montana and Brooklyn.)

This old school German name, more familiar these days as a surname, is a relative of the place name America.

Randolph is a timeworn classic that had its last hurrah in the 1940s, when Randolph (born George) Scott was starring in westerns, but then was probably done in by its tricky nickname Randy (which, strangely enough, was itself a Top 50 name in the fifties and sixties).

Like its better known cousin Jedidiah, Jebediah is one of those four-syllable Old Testament names that is being shorn of its long white-bearded image, with the help of its modern-sounding Jeb nickname.

One of the most familiar German names, with an upright Prussian image. Friedrich might just have been out for long enough to start coming back in.

Jireh is a spiritual name that has been rising significantly for both sexes in recent years, although still remains quite rare. Jehovah-Jireh was the location of the binding of Isaac, where Jehovah told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering.

Tobiah is the original Hebrew form of the better known Greek Tobias, to which it could make a distinctive alternative. With its ah ending, Tobiah fits in with other stylish Biblical names today, from Noah to Isaiah to Josiah and Zachariah. And of course, Toby is an adorable nickname.

Ulrich has ancient roots — it was derived from the Old High German name Uodalrich (also spelled Odalric). Ulrich was a common given name in medieval Germany, when it was associated with St. Ulrich of Augsburg. St. Ulrich is the patron saint of pregnant women and easy births.

This form of Theodoric, familiar via Marlene, is a possible German import. It is an Anglicized ancestor of Derek and all its variations. A noted bearer was acclaimed classical German baritone and conductor Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and there have been Dietrichs in Henry James's The Princess Casamassima,/em and more recently on the TV show Psych.

Might suggest speed, excitement, even danger, were it not for its best-known bearer, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.

Enosh looks like a respelling of the more popular Enoch, but it's actually a separate Biblical name, belonging to a son of Seth and a grandson of Adam in the Old Testament.

Also written as Michaiah, this name is used for several Biblical characters both male and female. Makes a fresh and distinctive twist on Michael, Michelle, or Micaela. Antiquated yet modern-sounding nickname: Cager.

Zechariah is actually the original Biblical form of the name more often found these days as Zachariah, probably because of the popularity of Zachary. People are going to have trouble getting Zechariah because they won't understand the Zech part. This name, in whatever form, begs to be shortened in the modern world to Zach (or Zac or Zack).

This rare alternative to cool Biblical Ozias or Uzziah is full of energy and comes with cool nickname Oz.

A biblical name -- he was the father of Abraham -- but the father's name is much less appealing than the son's, in both sound and meaning.

The brightest star in Ursa Major, this is one of the major navigational stars used by ships.

A seraph is a heavenly, angelic being from Ancient Jewish scripture. The Hebrew word literally translates to "the burning one." It can also be considered a diminutive of the name Seraphim.