Biblical Place Names
Updated Fri Feb 02 2024
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Biblical place names relate not to the people in the Bible but the physical places. As place names become more mainstream, parents are searching for ones with meaning and history, such as those in the Bible.
The Bible has many name-worthy settings, from Ariel to Zion. Along with Ariel and Zion, other Biblical Place Names in the US Top 1000 include Bethany, Canaan, Eden, Jericho, Jordan, Judah, and Shiloh.
More unique place names from the Bible that may be worth considering include Abilene, Lydda, Bethel, and Zebulun. Can these ancient place names work as contemporary baby names? We say yes.
The Bible place names for babies here are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
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- Eden
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"place of pleasure, delight"Description:
Eden is an attractive, serene name with obvious intimations of Paradise, one of several place names drawn from the Bible by the Puritans in the seventeenth century.
- Zion
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"highest point"Description:
Zion has taken off in recent years, especially after singer Lauryn Hill used it for her son in 1997 and incorporated the name into a hit song. It combines a user-friendly Ryan-Brian sound with the gravitas of religious significance. The Hebrew pronunciation is 'tzeeyon'.
- Shiloh
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"tranquil"Description:
Haunting biblical and Civil War place-name; now unisex—especially after the mega-high-profile Brangelina couple picked it for their daughter. It debuted in the Top 1000 for boys in 2015.
- Judah
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"praised"Description:
Judah is the strong, resonant Old Testament name of the son of Jacob who was the ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel, and from whom the word Jew is derived. Some of the names' popularity might be attributable to the similarly named Jude Law.
- Jordan
Origin:
English from HebrewMeaning:
"flowing down"Description:
Jordan became one of the top unisex baby names in the heyday of basketball's Michael Jordan, and is still among the most popular unisex names starting with J. The name was originally given to those baptized in holy water brought back by Crusaders from the River Jordan, the only river in Palestine, and the one in which Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
- Jericho
Origin:
Biblical place-nameDescription:
A biblical place name with trumpeting verve and strength.
- Ariel
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"lion of God"Description:
Despite its distinguished pedigree and popularity in Israel, Disney's Little Mermaid cartoonized Ariel in the US, at least in some people's minds. But it was used for a male character in Shakespeare's The Tempest centuries ago.
- Bethany
Origin:
Biblical place name and HebrewMeaning:
"house of figs"Description:
Bethany is a lyrical name that still strikes many parents as a fresher, more substantial substitute for the overused Brittany/Brittney or the more antiquated Beth.
- Carmel
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"garden"Description:
Carmel is a biblical place-name heard much more frequently in Ireland than in the U.S. and is considered a particularly Catholic name. It is given in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and is the name of a mountain ridge on the Mediterranean near Haifa in Israel, mentioned in the Old Testament, famous for its lush vegetation and said to have been often visited by Mary and the Infant Christ.
- Abilene
Origin:
English from HebrewMeaning:
"grass"Description:
Abilene is a rarely used place name, mentioned as such in the New Testament, that combines the cowboy spunk of the Texas city with the midwestern morality of the Kansas town where Dwight D. Eisenhower spent his boyhood. Abilene is a much more untrodden path to the nickname Abbie/Abbie than the Top 10 Abigail.
- Canaan
Origin:
Biblical place name, HebrewMeaning:
"The Promised Land; humble, low"Description:
Pronounced KAY-nan, this Old Testament place name has a strong modern feel that blends in with on-trend choices like Carter, Colton, and Kayson, but also with Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Tobias. Associated in the Bible with "The Promised Land", it is also the name of one of Noah's grandsons.
- Galilea
Origin:
Feminine variation of Galileo, after "Galilee"Meaning:
"Galilee"Description:
Like the masculine form Galileo, Galilea is a variant of Galilee, a region in Northern Israel of great Biblical significance. Given the current popularity of soft Italian girls’ names, this name’s long historical roots, its beautiful sound and the potential for cute nicknames (Leia, Lil, Ally, etc) it’s no surprise that this name has been on the rise in recent years.
- Azazel
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"scapegoat"Description:
In the Hebrew bible, Azazel is the name of the place where the scapegoat bearing the Jews' sins during Yom Kippur,was sacrificed. In Christian and Islamic traditions, Azazel is the name of a fallen angel.
- Beulah
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"married"Description:
In the Bible, Beulah is a place, not a person, applied to the land of Israel by the prophet Isaiah. The land of Beulah has sometimes been considered a reference to heaven. Beulah began to be used as a given name in England at the time of the Reformation and was used by the seventeenth century Puritans.
- Moriah
Origin:
Biblical place name; HebrewMeaning:
"the Lord is my teacher"Description:
Where Abraham took his son Isaac to sacrifice him. Taylor Hanson chose this as the middle name for his son Viggo, his fourth child, but most will see it as a girls’ name. Make life simpler and spell it Mariah.
- Zair
Origin:
Biblical place-nameDescription:
In the Bible, Joram and "all his chariots" pass over Zair.
- Ephron
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"fawn-like"Description:
Ephron was the Old Testament son of Zohar who sold his field and cave to Abraham to use as a family burial ground. Ephron is also a Biblical place-name, a mountain range that formed the northern border of the land of Judah.
- Sheba
Origin:
Hebrew, short variation of BathshebaMeaning:
"daughter of an oath"Description:
This biblical place-name for the region now known as Yemen started to feel fresh again as the name of the heroine of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal, played on screen by Cate Blanchett.
- Bethel
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"house of God"Description:
A rarely used Biblical place-name with a soft and pleasant sound.
- Sinai
Origin:
Biblical place name, HebrewMeaning:
"hatred"Description:
A sacred place to the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions, Mount Sinai is where Moses received the Ten Commandments and also the name of the peninsula on which the mountain stands.