The meaning of Bible names: 40 names and where they come from
Forty biblical names with their Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek form, what each one means, and where the Bible itself explains a name. Disputed etymologies are marked as disputed.
By Ruth Callaway · Bible literacy teacher, MA in Religious Studies · Reviewed by Daniel Mercer
Published · Updated
Key takeaways
- Most Hebrew names are short sentences: Daniel is 'God is my judge', Elijah is 'Yahweh is my God', Nathanael is 'God has given'.
- When the Bible explains a name, it is usually giving a wordplay rather than a technical etymology, as with Moses in Exodus 2:10 and Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:20.
- Several very familiar names have no agreed origin, including Mary, Ruth, Rebekah and Aaron.
- The element -el means God and the element -yah or -iah is a short form of Yahweh, which is why so many biblical names end that way.
- Greek and Latin names in the New Testament, such as Peter, Paul, Stephen and Timothy, follow different rules from the Hebrew ones.
In this article
Biblical names are, for the most part, compressed sentences. Daniel is a claim: God is my judge. Elijah is another: Yahweh is my God. Once you know two elements — el, God, and the shortened yah or yahu for Yahweh — a large share of Hebrew names becomes readable. This article lists forty names with the original form, the meaning, and where the name appears, and it marks the ones where scholars disagree.
Two things to know before the tables
When the Bible explains a name, it is usually making a wordplay, not doing linguistics. Exodus 2:10 has Pharaoh's daughter name the child Moses "Because I drew him out of the water", linking the name to the Hebrew verb mashah. Lexicons also note the Egyptian element mes, "son of", which appears in names like Thutmose. Both facts are real. The narrative is offering a meaning that fits the moment, which is how names work in Hebrew storytelling.
The clearest case is 1 Samuel 1:20:
When the time had come, Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of Yahweh.”
The Hebrew verb for "asked" is sha'al, which is not actually the root of Shemu'el. The name reads more naturally as "name of God" or "God has heard". Hannah is making a pun on the circumstances, and the narrator lets her.
Where the origin is disputed, we say so. For several extremely common names, including Mary, there is no consensus. Any list that gives you a single confident meaning for every name is guessing and not telling you.
Names from the Hebrew Bible
| Name | Original form | Meaning | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam | Hebrew adam | Human being, humankind; the narrative links it to adamah, ground | Genesis 2 |
| Eve | Hebrew Chawwah | Linked in Genesis 3:20 to life; "mother of all the living" | Genesis 3 |
| Noah | Hebrew Noach | Formed from a root meaning rest; Genesis 5:29 explains it instead by a verb meaning to comfort | Genesis 5 |
| Abraham | Hebrew Avraham | Genesis 17:5 explains it as father of a multitude; the earlier form Abram means exalted father | Genesis 17 |
| Sarah | Hebrew Sarah | Princess, noblewoman; renamed from Sarai in the same chapter | Genesis 17 |
| Isaac | Hebrew Yitzchaq | He laughs; tied in the text to Sarah's laughter | Genesis 21 |
| Rebekah | Hebrew Rivqah | Disputed. No agreed etymology | Genesis 24 |
| Jacob | Hebrew Ya'aqov | Heel-holder or supplanter, per Genesis 25:26 and 27:36; possibly originally "may God protect" | Genesis 25 |
| Israel | Hebrew Yisra'el | Genesis 32:28 explains it as striving with God; the ending -el is God | Genesis 32 |
| Rachel | Hebrew Rachel | Ewe | Genesis 29 |
| Leah | Hebrew Le'ah | Disputed. Proposals include weary and wild cow | Genesis 29 |
| Judah | Hebrew Yehudah | Praise; Genesis 29:35 has Leah say "This time I will praise Yahweh" | Genesis 29 |
| Joseph | Hebrew Yosef | May he add; Genesis 30:24 has Rachel say "May Yahweh add another son to me" | Genesis 30 |
| Benjamin | Hebrew Binyamin | Son of the right hand; Genesis 35:18 contrasts it with Benoni, son of my sorrow | Genesis 35 |
| Moses | Hebrew Mosheh | Disputed. Exodus 2:10 links it to drawing out; lexicons also point to Egyptian mes, son | Exodus 2 |
| Aaron | Hebrew Aharon | Disputed. No agreed Hebrew etymology; an Egyptian origin has been proposed | Exodus 4 |
| Miriam | Hebrew Miryam | Disputed. Suggestions include bitterness, rebellion and an Egyptian root meaning beloved | Exodus 15 |
| Joshua | Hebrew Yehoshua | Yahweh is salvation | Exodus 17 |
| Deborah | Hebrew Devorah | Bee | Judges 4 |
| Naomi | Hebrew No'omi | Pleasantness; Ruth 1:20 has her ask to be called Mara, bitter, instead | Ruth 1 |
| Ruth | Hebrew Rut | Disputed. Often linked to re'ut, companionship, but not established | Ruth 1 |
| Hannah | Hebrew Channah | Grace, favor | 1 Samuel 1 |
| Samuel | Hebrew Shemu'el | Name of God, or God has heard; the text puns on sha'al, to ask | 1 Samuel 1 |
| David | Hebrew David | Probably beloved, from the same root as dod | 1 Samuel 16 |
| Jonathan | Hebrew Yehonatan | Yahweh has given | 1 Samuel 14 |
| Solomon | Hebrew Shelomoh | From shalom, peace | 2 Samuel 12 |
| Elijah | Hebrew Eliyahu | Yahweh is my God | 1 Kings 17 |
| Isaiah | Hebrew Yesha'yahu | Yahweh is salvation | Isaiah 1 |
| Daniel | Hebrew Daniyyel | God is my judge | Daniel 1 |
| Esther | Hebrew Hadassah is her other name, myrtle | Disputed. Esther is usually traced to a Persian word for star, and sometimes to the name Ishtar | Esther 2 |
| Michael | Hebrew Mikha'el | Who is like God? — a question, not a statement | Daniel 10 |
| Gabriel | Hebrew Gavri'el | Man of God, or God is my strength | Daniel 8 |
| Immanuel | Hebrew Immanu'el | God with us; Matthew 1:23 translates it in the text itself | Isaiah 7 |
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Names from the New Testament
The New Testament mixes three languages. Some names are Hebrew or Aramaic in Greek dress; others are ordinary Greek or Latin names belonging to people in a Roman province.
| Name | Original form | Meaning | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesus | Greek Iesous, from Hebrew Yeshua | Yahweh saves; Matthew 1:21 gives the reason: "for it is he who shall save his people from their sins" | Matthew 1 |
| Mary | Greek Maria, from Hebrew Miryam | Disputed, exactly as with Miriam above | Luke 1 |
| John | Greek Ioannes, from Hebrew Yochanan | Yahweh has been gracious | Luke 1 |
| Peter | Greek Petros; Aramaic Kepha | Stone or rock. John 1:42 translates the Aramaic into Greek in the verse | John 1 |
| Andrew | Greek Andreas | From aner, man; conventionally rendered manly | Mark 1 |
| Philip | Greek Philippos | Lover of horses | John 1 |
| Thomas | Aramaic Te'oma | Twin; John 11:16 supplies the Greek equivalent, Didymus | John 11 |
| Matthew | Hebrew Mattityahu | Gift of Yahweh | Matthew 9 |
| James | Greek Iakobos | The same name as Jacob; the English form travelled through Latin and French | Mark 1 |
| Barnabas | Aramaic, form disputed | Acts 4:36 translates it as Son of Encouragement; how the Aramaic yields that is debated | Acts 4 |
| Paul | Latin Paulus | Small. A Roman family name, carried alongside his Hebrew name Saul | Acts 13 |
| Stephen | Greek Stephanos | Crown, wreath | Acts 6 |
| Timothy | Greek Timotheos | Honoring God | Acts 16 |
| Lydia | Greek Lydia | Woman of Lydia, a region of Asia Minor; a place-based name | Acts 16 |
| Martha | Aramaic | Lady, mistress of the house | Luke 10 |
| Phoebe | Greek Phoibe | Bright, radiant | Romans 16 |
What a name meaning is not
A name meaning is a fact about a word. It is not a prediction, a personality profile, or a statement about anyone's future. The Bible itself is blunt about this: in Genesis 25, Jacob's name is explained as supplanter and he becomes the ancestor of a nation; Naomi asks to be called Bitter and the book ends with a grandson in her lap; Judah means praise and the man who bears it proposes selling his brother.
Where the Bible does treat a name as significant, it says so explicitly and gives the reason in the verse — as in Matthew 1:21 for Jesus, or Genesis 17:5 for Abraham. Everywhere else, a name is a name.
If you are choosing a name rather than studying one, the companion article is Bible names for babies.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What do most Hebrew Bible names mean?
Most are short sentences about God. The element el means God and the ending yah or yahu is a short form of Yahweh, which is why names such as Daniel, Michael, Elijah, Isaiah and Jonathan all read as statements.
Does the Bible explain the meaning of names?
Sometimes, and usually as wordplay rather than technical etymology. Genesis 17:5 explains Abraham, Exodus 2:10 explains Moses, 1 Samuel 1:20 explains Samuel and Matthew 1:21 explains Jesus.
What does the name Mary mean?
There is no agreed answer. Mary is the Greek form of the Hebrew Miriam, and proposed origins include bitterness, rebellion and an Egyptian root meaning beloved. Any source giving one confident meaning is overstating the evidence.
What does the ending -el mean in Bible names?
It is the Hebrew word for God. Daniel is God is my judge, Michael is Who is like God, Gabriel is God is my strength, Nathanael is God has given, and Immanuel is God with us.
Does a Bible name reveal a person's destiny?
No, and the Bible itself works against that idea. Jacob means supplanter and becomes the ancestor of Israel; Naomi means pleasant and asks to be called bitter. A name meaning is a fact about a word, not a forecast.
Scripture text: World English Bible (WEB), public domain. Prayers, introductions and reflections: original text by this site, not affiliated with any denomination. Devotional content; it does not replace medical, psychological or legal advice.
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