Names That Mean Jehovah

Jose is as widespread in the Hispanic community as Joseph and Joe are elsewhere in the U.S., though its numbers here are starting to decrease somewhat. Jose is one of those Spanish baby names that has never crossed over into the Anglo naming culture.

Fifi is a perfect name -- for a French poodle. But Fifi may seem more child-friendly as names like Coco and Lulu rise. Fifi in its fluffiness also balances the seriousness of such full names as Josephine or Federica.

Quintessentially sweet and innocent unisex name of the 1960s and 70s, now gone the way of hot pants and disco balls.

Streamlined version of the classic boys' names, sometimes a short form of Jonathan, which is in fact an entirely different name from John attached to a different Biblical personage. Jon feels more modern than the traditional John, but some may find it an overly slight variation on an already slim name. Jon Snow is a popular character on HBO's Game of Thrones.

Yusuf is the Arabic form of Joseph, used in the Middle East, as well as internationally from France and the US, to the UK, Turkey and Azerbaijan - where, as of 2023, it ranked in the Top 100.

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.

Sleekened spelling.

Fien is a popular enough girls' name to make the Top 100 in The Netherlands. Dutch parents love nickname-names taken from the last vs. the first syllable of a name, like Sanne for Susanne or Lotte for Charlotte.

Short form of Yonatan heard throughout Israel.

There is much disagreement about the origin, meaning, or even existence of this name. Some sources cite Jesiah as the name of several minor Biblical figures, others say it's a variation of Josiah, still others call it a modern conflation of Josiah and Jesse.

Greek variation of Joseph used in the New Testament. Joses is one of those names that feels at once novel and familiar, perhaps because it also sounds like Moses. An intriguing option.

Rarely used in the last two centuries, but might be worth dusting off and holding up to the light.

Josie and Josey read as feminine names, but a handful of boys are given this form as a first name each year. Josey is also heard as a pet name for Joseph.

As a male name, Joni is a nickname for Jon or Jonathan, akin to Johnny or Jonny. It's more commonly used as a girl name, where it originated as a nickname for Joan.

Gioele is among the Top 50 names for boys in Italy, though the Italian version would cause pronunciation and spelling problems for English speakers. In the US, UK, or Australia, stick with the sleek and simple Joel.

Some people may prefer this spelling to clarify the name's connection to John, but it could be one h too many, exemplified by its steady decline over the past two decades.

The German, Scandinavian and Czech variant of Joseph, borne by several notable European artists and athletes, as well as the brutal Soviet dictator Josef (or Iosif) Stalin.

The "Tz" beginning of Tzofia represents the Hebrew letter tzadi, which is pronounced more like ts. So Tzofia sounds like Sofia with a light t at the beginning — intriguing, but a difficult sound for a native English speaker to reproduce. While Tzofia is a distinct name from the megapopular Sophia and Sofia, many people will hear it as a cognate and pronounce it the same...or like Zofia.

Like many spelling variations of popular names, Jonathon's star rose and is now falling along with that of the original Jonathan. Jonathon occupied the very last spot on the boys' US Top 1000 in 2016, at Number 1000. Parents in search of an Old Testament boys’ name today tend to look for more original choices, from Ezra to Abraham to Moses.

An extra zesty variation of Uzi, but not one that comes recommended — it’s strongly associated with the submachine gun.