Names That Mean Jehovah

While Elliott and Elliot are well-established for boys, parents are now considering both these boy names for girls, too.

Despite its biblical pedigree and popularity in Israel, it has far too many ties to the lethal submachine gun to find many fans here.

Short form of Yonatan heard throughout Israel.

Sleekened spelling.

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

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.

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.

Not long ago, Peppa may have been at risk for confusion with the name Pepper. But thanks to the British children's TV series Peppa Pig, Peppa is now a household name. If your household contains preschoolers, that is.

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.

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.

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.

Josepha is less heard in this country than in other parts of the world, seen as a slightly awkward feminization a la Ricarda and Benjamina. In the U.S., Josephine or Joanna is the more usual feminine form of Joseph, though you might consider Josepha if you want to break rank.

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.

Jonathan variation that is common among Jewish baby boys in Israel.

Peppi ranked in the Finnish Top 50 from 2007-2012, where it was used for hundreds of baby girls each year. In Finland, Peppi is used as the translation for Pippi in the Pippi Longstocking books.

An alternative to the formerly male Ariel, which is now in the grasp of "The Little Mermaid."

Sef is a rising short form of Jozef in the Netherlands, where it outranks its parent form.