New Testament Names

  1. Jerusalem
    • Origin:

      Place name
    • Meaning:

      "city of the ancient god Shalem"
    • Description:

      Transferred use of the geographical name Jerusalem, which is a sacred city in many religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is given to around a dozen babies of each sex per year in the US.
  2. Herod
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "song of the hero"
    • Description:

      Greek name featured in the New Testament.
  3. Onesimus
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "beneficial, profitable"
    • Description:

      Rarely used these days, Onesimus was the name of an escaped enslaved man in the Bible who met St. Paul in prison. Its Greek sound is obvious, and its four syllables make it one that might be hard to wear in the twenty-first century.
  4. Sylvanus
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "wood; forest"
    • Description:

      Sylvanus or Silvanus was the Roman god of the forest whose name is much more often found today in such variations as Sylvia, Sylvie and even Silas than in its original form. But if you're looking for a genuine mythological or Ancient Roman name with a nature connection, this might be the perfect choice.
  5. Bethlehem
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "house of bread"
    • Description:

      The Spanish name Belén is a well-established girl name, but parents have been slower to use the English equivalent. It is beginning to come into wider use, along with other New Testament place names like Galilee and Nazareth.
  6. Cana
    • Origin:

      Biblical place-name
    • Description:

      Cana is well-known to readers of the Bible as the city where Jesus performed his first miracle. If other place names, both modern and ancient, real and mythical, can be baby names, why not Cana? Rhyming with Dana, it can work for either gender.
  7. Antioch
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "resistant, holding fast"
    • Description:

      The name of the capital city of ancient Syria, an important centre in early Christianity. Its founder Seleucus I Nictor named it after his father, Antiochus. Antiochus was the name of several early rulers and saints, including the patron saint of Sardinia.
  8. Magdala