Ariel is a male Biblical name, seen there as the messenger of Ezra, and also used as a symbolic name for the city of Jerusalem, while Shakespeare used it for a (male) sprite in The Tempest.
 For girls, Ariel enjoyed a considerable burst of popularity with the 1989 release of Disney's The Little Mermaid: in 1991 it peaked at #66. 
 Although its wave has crested, Ariel is still a name any little girl would love. It is also associated with the poetry of Sylvia Plath and with the Chilean-American writer Ariel Dorfman. The popular historian Ariel Durant was born Ida Ariel Ethel.
 In Israel, Ariel is used as much or more for boys, but in the US, more than three times as many baby girls as boys are named Ariel. Read more about Ariel and other <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/disney-princess-names">Disney Princess Names</a> in our featured blog.

Ariel

Bright, fresh, and sunny, Ayla is a fashionable choice for girls. Reminiscent of other trending names such as Layla, Isla, and Ava, Ayla has recently found its place in the Top 100. 
At first glance, Ayla appears to be short, sweet, and simple – a modern invention, perhaps – but don’t be deceived. Like many names, it has different pronunciations and various origins, making it an exciting and international choice. 
In Turkish, Ayla is pronounced “Eye-luh”, meaning “halo” or “moonlight,” whereas in Hebrew, it could be a modern take on the Biblical “Elah” meaning “terebinth tree,” from “Alon” meaning “oak tree”, or, from “Ayelet” or “Ayala” meaning “doe, deer, gazelle.” 
Alternatively, Ayla is a literary name, created by Jean. M. Auel, for her novel Clan of the Cave Bear.” Pronounced “Ay-luh,” the independent heroine inspired American parents to use the name, and following the release of the film adaptation in 1986, it leapt straight into the Top 600. 
Internationally popular, Ayla ranks highly in the UK, Sweden and Azerbaijan, and is on the rise in France and Belgium. 
 In the US, over 2500 girls are given the name each year, meaning it has more than doubled in usage over the last decade. 
Notable namesakes include the American singer, Ayla Brown and the Turkish politician and activist, Ayla Akat Ata. A popular choice among influencers too, “The Flo Fam”, “Sunkissed Mama,”, and “The Prince Family” all have daughters called Ayla. 
As lovely as the name is, in its own right and as an alternative to a Top 10 choice, it may be worth keeping in mind how similar Ayla’s sounds are to those high-ranking names. This couldlead to confusion between Ava/Isla/Ayla, or to Ayla feeling more popular than it actually is. 
If you do love Ayla but want to stand out from the crowd a little more, you could consider Mira, Eira, Liora, Alara, Miray, or Aviya for their similarity in sound or feel.

Ayla

A rarely used Biblical place-name with a soft and pleasant sound. 

Bethel

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.
 Eden entered the Top 1000 in 1989, and got a real bump in visibility when Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross used it for one of her twin girls. There have been also Edens on the old soap opera Santa Barbara and the shows Heroes and Extras.
 Pronounced ED-en, Eden is also a Hebrew name for boys, though as EE-den it's gaining ground in the US for boys, now given to one boy for every four girls.

Eden

Eila is a Hebrew name heard in Israel, due for wider consideration thanks to sound-alike sister Isla, as in actress Fisher. Either way you spell it, the name is simpler than it looks: Pronunciation is I, as in the letter, followed by la. 
 
An unlikely contemporary name star? Absolutely. But along with other simple names like Ava, Eve, and Ivy, a star nonetheless.

Eila

Eliora is a melodic name ripe with vowel sounds. 

Eliora

Eliška is warm and friendly, in the Misha, Sasha mode.

Eliska

Eliya may be thought of as a female variation on the popular Biblical boys' name Elijah or a spelling variation of the popular girls' name Aliyah.  It may not rank among the US Top 1000 and it may cause some spelling and pronunciation confusion, but it does have genuine roots as a name.

Eliya

Esther was derived from the Old Persian word stāra, meaning "star." In the Old Testament, Esther, originally named Hadassah, was the captured Jewish wife of the King of Persia who risked her life to save her exiled people from annihilation. This story is celebrated by Jews on the holiday of Purim, so that it has traditionally been given to girls around that time.
 
One of the major female figures in the Bible, quiet, studious Esther was in the Top 50 a hundred years ago and stayed in the Top 100 until 1935. It is now on the ascent again, appealing to parents—Ewan McGregor is one—seeking an underused biblical name with a strong history and serious image.
 Judy Garland played two memorable Esthers--in Meet Me in St. Louis and A Star is Born; Esther Summerson is a main character in Dickens' Bleak House and Esther Greenwood is the autobiographical character's name in Sylvia Plath's A Bell Jar. Someone who glamorized the name is champion swimmer-turned-movie-star Esther Williams.
 Madonna adopted Esther as her Kaballah name.

Esther

Idalah is a town in Zebulon that makes a distinctive first name for a modern girl. Where the boys get most of the ancient yet unusual Biblical names, Idalah is one for the girls' side.

Idalah

Ilana is a name with seemingly endless variations, well used in Israel, sometimes chosen for little girls born on the holiday of TuB'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees. 

Ilana

Jemima, the name of a strong and beautiful Biblical daughter of Job, has long been among the chicest choices of aristocratic Brits, most recently ranking at #231 there in 2017. But despite its lovely sound and peaceful meaning, this attractive name hasn't ranked in the US Top 1000 since 1893, no doubt due to the problematic association with racial stereotyping, exemplified by the Aunt Jemima brand of pancakes.
 Jemima was well used by the Puritans, as was that of her sister, Keziah. Some other famous namesakes are Beatrix Potter's Jemima Puddle-Duck and characters in Chitty, Chitty, Bang Bang, Cats, and Thackeray's Vanity Fair. A real-life bearer is Jemima Kirke, who plays Jessa on Girls--and who happens to have a sister named Domino and a son named Memphis. Jemimah is a variant spelling, as seen in the Antonia Fraser crime series Jemimah Shore Investigates.

Jemima

Most modern parents would drop the Jo, leaving the superpopular Ella. 

Joella

Strong but sweet, Leah is a classic name that doesn’t feel dull or dusty. It’s got plenty of dignity, grace, and pluck, making it a solid choice in the 21st century.
Leah was most likely derived from the Hebrew word le’ah, meaning “weary,” though it could also be inspired by the Akkadian word littu meaning “cow.” 
While these meanings might not appeal to everyone, the Biblical namesake, Leah, is considered an important matriarch in The Old Testament. A mother of 7 children and the ill-favored wife of Jacob, Leah teaches resilience, compassion, hope, and faithfulness. 
Beyond the Biblical narrative, weariness can be associated with having worked hard, and cows can be seen as symbols of abundance and nourishment. Besides, <a href=“https://nameberry.com/list/415/baby-names-with-animal-meanings”> names with animal meanings</a> are in at the moment. 
For the last two decades now, Leah has been gaining a considerable following, outranking former Old Testament favorites, such as Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel. Given to over 4000 girls every year, short but substantial Leah strikes the balance between the likes of Amelia and Eliana and those such as Mia and Lily. 
Actress Leah Remini, footballer Leah Williamson, and playwright Leah Purcell are current bearers of the name, while in pop culture, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, the TV shows “Supernatural” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” and Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Poisonwood Bible all feature fictional Leahs. 
Loved in the US and across the pond in Sweden, Norway, and Ireland alike, Leah looks set to remain as a 21st century classic for a while yet. 
With that in mind, if you love Leah but were looking for something that’s not such a staple, you could consider another Biblical name, such as Dinah, Lois, Keziah, or Zillah, or perhaps just something similar in sound, like Leia, Lyra, or Celia.

Leah

Lilah may be a simple spelling variation of Lila—or you might think of it as a shortening of Delilah or an Anglicization of the Hebrew Lilach, which means lilac.  Whatever the root, it's a beautiful and stylish name. The final h adds balance or creates needless complications, depending on your viewpoint.

Lilah

An interesting and rhythmic name often heard in the Native American community; in fact,in the Gold Rush era in California and Nevada, it was so common that it became a generic English term for a Native American woman.
 The great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson's birth name was actually Mahala, though she grew up being called by her nickname, Halie.

Mahala

Retro short form of Marina, now dated to the era of the Hitchcock movie that made it famous. In the UK, it's one of the hottest vintage names of the moment, perhaps inspired by British singer Lily Allen, who gave it to her second daughter in 2013. It's also a character name on the hit TV show Girls.

Marnie

The name of our first First Lady still has something of a prim and proper image, academic and efficient. That quiet, traditional, and tasteful gestalt is exactly what makes Martha appealing to some parents today.
 The New Testament Martha, sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, was a solicitous housekeeper who looked after the material welfare of Jesus when he was a guest in her home. For this reason Martha has since been identified with domestic labor and hospitality and is the patron saint of housewives, waiters, and cooks (a la Martha Stewart, who shares her name with her mother).
 Martha has been a royal name in Scandinavia, the subject of Beatles song "Martha My Dear," and is also associated with the New England island Martha's Vineyard. Livelier foreign forms that have been used in this country include Marta, Martine, and Martina.
 Modern dancer/choreographer Martha Graham would make a notable namesake for a dance aficionado.

Martha

A simple but unusual name with roots in disparate cultures, Neri appears in the Bible as a male name and is still sometimes used for boys as well as girls. The appeal of Neri are its deep roots combined with its simple, upbeat, modern feel, ala Peri and Rory.

Neri

Neriya

Cute, nickname-y, and international, à la Romy or Demi. Spelling it Orly turns it into a busy French airport. 

Orli

Phoebe is the Latin variation of the Greek name Phoibe, which derived from phoibos, meaning "bright." In classical mythology, Phoebe is the by-name of Artemis, goddess of the moon and of hunting. The masculine version of Phoebe is Phoebus.
 
A mythological, biblical, Shakepearean, and Salinger name, the warm and captivating Phoebe was given a boost in popularity by one of the Friends.
 
In the New Testament, Phoebe is a church deaconess. Shakespeare used the name (spelled Phebe) for a rustic denizen of the forest in As You Like It, Phoebe Pynchon was a cheerful young girl in Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables, while Phoebe is Holden Caulfield's sympathetic, precocious ten-year-old sister in Catcher in the Rye.
 Bill and Melinda Gates used Phoebe for their daughter.

Phoebe

All the old ae/ay <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/479/middle-names-for-girls">middle names for girls</a> are back--Kay, Fay, Mae/May, --and Rae is one of the coolest, used as such by celebrities as Mark Wahlberg and Daniel Baldwin. Even more popular in the celebrisphere is the jazzy Ray spelling: among those who used it as their daughters' middles are Bruce Willis, Dermot Mulroney, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, Uma Thurman and Lee Lee Sobieski. 
 But Rae is perfectly capable of standing on her own, as in Rae Dawn Chong; it was in the Top 500 in the first two decades of the twentieth century.

Rafia

Ruth, with its air of calm and compassion, was the third most popular name in the 1890s, remaining in the Top 10 through the 1920s. It's still in use today as some parents tiring of Rachel and Rebecca are giving Ruth a second thought. Some see such Old Testament <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ names</a> as Ruth and Esther rising on the heels of boy equivalents Abel and Moses.
 The biblical Ruth was the loyal and devoted daughter-in-law of Naomi who, when electing to leave her people and stay with the older woman, speaks the famous lines, "Whither thou goest, I will go."
 Ruth has had numerous notable namesakes, from Supreme Court justice Ginsburg to crime writer Rendell to sexologist Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

Ruth

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.
 Sheba is probably more ready for prime time than the long-form mother name, although Bathsheba, which means "seventh daughter," has a rich Biblical and literary history. 
 The Queen of Sheba was a monarch of the ancient kingdom of, yes, Sheba

Sheba

Talia is derived from the Hebrew elements tal, meaning "dew," and yah, in reference to God. In the mythology of one ancient sect, Talia was one of ten angels who attended the sun on its daily course. The occasionally homophonous name Thalia has unrelated Greek origins.
 
In tandem with the longer-form Natalia, this pretty Russian-flavored girls’ name has been rising in the popularity charts in the US.
 
A prominent bearer is Talia Shire, doomed to go down in cinema history as Rocky's mousy girlfriend Adrienne, along with actress Talia Balsam, aka the former Mrs. George Clooney. Most recently, Talia was attributed to YouTube star Talia Joy Castellano, a young girl battling cancer who passed away at age 13.
 
Talia is also an Australian Aboriginal name meaning "near water".

Talia

Zorah, the Old Testament home of Samson, is both soft and substantial. 

Zorah

meggblack's list "Beautiful Girls Names From The Bible" of 28 great name ideas: Ariel - Zorah!

Beautiful Girls Names From The Bible

Some unusual, traditional and stunning names from the bible for a gorgeous baby girl! There's more to bible names than the common Anne, Elizabeth or Mary