Isaac

Although the meaning of the name Isaac is not certain, it is most often said to mean "he laughs." In the Old Testament Isaac was the son of Abraham, the husband of Rebecca, and the father of Esau and Jacob. Isaac was popular among the Jews of the Middle Ages and beyond, and the Puritans of the 17th century. Today the name is used by both Jews and Christians, and is currently enjoying a popularity spike throughout the English-speaking world. Isaac has been a top 100 name for boys in the U.S. since 1995. Famous Isaacs include Sir Isaac Newton, and Isaac Asimov.

Samuel

Samuel is a Biblical name, which comes from the Hebrew Shemuel, and means "God has heard." Samuel was a judge and a prophet of the Old Testament, and he anointed both Saul and David king. Samuel was popular with the Puritans of the 17th century, and with the Prostestant Noncomformists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Samuel remained popular throughout the 20th century, rarely falling out of the top 50 names for baby boys in the United States. Samuel remains just as popular today, not just in the U.S. and England, but through nearly all of the English speaking world, as well as in France, Spain, and Sweden. Samuel brings with it the nicknames Sam and Sammy. Famous Samuels include Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and Samuel Morse. The Samuel most in-the-news lately has been Samuel Alito, whose confirmation hearings may have caused many people to feel a strong need for a Sam Adams.

Priscilla

Priscilla is a Biblical name; it appears in Acts in the New Testament. Priscilla is a Latin name which comes from the Roman family name Priscus, which means "ancient." Because Priscilla appeared in the New Testament, the 17th century Puritans liked it. Priscilla was popular again in the 19th century, probably largely because of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's classic poem, The Courtship of Miles Standish. Throughout the 20th century, Priscilla was quietly in use, though not really popular, remaining in the top 200 or 300 names for girls, with no apparent effect from the fame of Priscilla Presley. In the years since the turn of the century, Priscilla has begun to slide a bit farther down in popularity, into the top 400.

Tobiah

Tobiah is Biblical name. Its origin is Hebrew, and it means "God is good." Tobiah appears in the Old Testament as an Ammonite opposed to Nehemiah. The more familiar Tobias comes from this name.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah means "appointed by God," or "God has uplifted." Jeremiah is a Biblical name; he was a prophet and the author of the Book of Jeremiah, and probably the author of the Book of Lamentations. Jeremiah was a popular name with the Puritans of the 1600's, and in general with Christian fundamentalists. In 1971 the band Three Dog Night had a huge hit with the song Joy to the World, which many people identify by its attention-grabbing first line, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog." Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, Jeremiah began to gain popularity, moving from #629 in the U.S. in 1969 to #68 in 1977. The name began to lose popularity again in the 80's and 90's, but remained in the top 200 name for U.S baby boys, and has begun to climb in popularity once again since the year 2000, as parents once again looked to classic and Biblical (or musical, perhaps) names for their children.

Seth

The name Seth is an Old Testament name; Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve. It comes from a Hebrew word that means "placed" or "appointed." Seth was a popular name among Puritans, especially if the baby had had an older sibling who had died (in such a case, Seth was a reference to the fact that the Seth of the Old Testament who was born after Abel died at the hands of Cain.) After the Puritan days the name slipped in popularity quite a bit, but never fell completely out of use. Seth is currently enjoying a major popularity revival, having spent a large part of the last two decades in the top 100 names for baby boys in the U.S. If you are expecting a baby boy I definitely recommend this name. It's common and known enough to not be considered "odd," but not overused enough that your child would be in a classroom with several other Seths (well, probably not, anyway.) Besides, I really like it, and that ought to be reason enough.

Eva

Eva has (at least) three sources. One is as a form of the name Eve. Another other is as an English form of the Gaelic name Aoife, and another is an English form of the Irish name Éabha. Despite being a derived form of another name (in either case,) Eva has become quite popular as a name in its own right, and was particularly popular in the U.S. in the first 3 decades of the 1900's. Unlike many other names that were popular during that era, however, Eva has not become "old-fashioned" and is still in regular use. Eva is sometimes pronounced EE-vah, and sometimes pronounced AY-vah. Very occasionally Eva is pronounced EH-vah, but this is rare in English-speaking countries.

Aaron

Aaron is a biblical name; Aaron was the brother of Moses. It has been said that the origin of this name is Hebrew, and that it means "high mountain" or "mountain of strength." In fact, the meaning and origin of the name are uncertain. No one really knows for sure where it came from or what it means. What we do know is that the name has nearly always been in use as a Jewish name, and has been used by Christians as well since the 17th century. Currently Aaron is a popular name in nearly all English speaking countries. In the U.S. Aaron has been a top 100 name since the 1970's, and might be due for a drop in popularity soon as parents start to consider it over-used.

Judah

Judah is a biblical name, from a Hebrew name (Yehudah) which means "praised." Judah is known in the Old Testament as one of the sons of Jacob. It was the Tribe of Judah that led the Exodus from Egypt. Another well known Judah, Judah the Maccabi, was a Jewish warrior who led a rebellion agains the Greeks. His story is celebrated during the festival of Chanukah. Interestingly, Judah had not appeared at all in the U.S. top 1000 names for baby boys in all of the 20th century until 1998, when it was just barely enough to make the list. Since then, it has climbed steadily, and seems poised to possibly make it into the top 500. Why the sudden rise in popularity? I have no idea.

Zachary

By request, we now have Zachary. Zachary means "God has remembered." It started out as the Hebrew name Zechariah, which became Zachariah in the New Testament (the Greek form.) Probably the most famous Zachary was Zachary Taylor, who was the 12th president of the United States. Interestingly, in the case of this name, Ask Oxford seems to be more than a little wrong, because they state that Zachary is "out of fashion" currently, and is simply "familiar" in the U.S. because of Zachary Taylor. In fact, Zachary has been a top 100 name for boys in the U.S. since 1976, and was in the top 20 from 1992 through 2002. It might be out of fashion elsewhere, but in the U.S., at least, it seems to be right in style. Zachary is a fairly versatile name, insofar as it brings with it the short form Zack or Zach, both of which have been used as given names in their own right to some extent. It seems to be dropping just slightly in popularity, which makes it still a good choice as a name for a new baby--it's not terribly over-used and doesn't look like it will become so, if the current trend continues. Zachary's biblical connection, historical connection, versatility, along with the fact that it sounds good, and looks good on paper, should all contribute to keeping this name in use, if not in fashion.

Jacob

Jacob is the English version of the Hebrew name Yaakov. Jacob was of course a very important person in the Old Testament, and the name Jacob means "holder of the heel," and "supplanter." The story there is that the biblical Jacob was born holding onto his twin brother Esau's heel, and later "supplanted" him--basically by being pretty tricky, when you come right down to it. First he persuaded Esau to trade his inheritance for a bowl of soup (mmm mmm good but surely not that good,) and later Jacob tricked their blind father into giving him instead of Esau. The lesson here might be that resourcefulness is an important asset to survival, because Jacob went on to have twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob is at a peak in popularity right now, having held the number one spot for more than five years. It's never really been an unpopular name, anyway, having always been in favor with Jewish families. If you name your baby Jacob he will most likely go through school with a few other Jacobs, so you might want to look for something a little less popular. If you have your heart set on the name though, go ahead. It's fine. Just pair it with a less common but still "normal" middle name, preferably one with a lot of nickname potential, like Robert or William, and there you go: the perfect baby name. The most usual nickname for Jacob is Jake, but since that name has also been given as a first name in its own right, I'll deal with it seperately at some point in the future.

Tabitha

Tabitha is of Aramaic origin, and means "roe," or "doe," or "gazelle." The name Tabitha appears in the New Testament--she was restored to life by St. Peter. Consequently, this was a very popular name with the Puritans from the 17th to the 19th centuries. After the age of the Puritans, Tabitha became a very rarely-used name, until the 1960's, when it came back into use, inspired mostly, if not 100%, by the birth of the character Tabitha on television's Bewitched in 1966. Currently the use of the name is slowly declining once again, but it remains in the top 500. All the sources I check make a point of saying that the Greek version of this name is Dorcas, so I guess I'll mention it too, even though I can't think of how this information might be useful. It would be difficult to find a more versatile name than Tabitha in terms of what it can be used for. It's a good choice for a baby girl--actually a better choice than it was at the height of its popularity, since Bewitched isn't so popular as it was. But it also works well for a wide range of fictional characters, from authentically-named Puritan to fantasy rpg characters. In addition, it's a fine name for a cat, particularly since the obvious nickname is Tabby.

Jada

Jada is really two names, sort of. The one that isn't used much--if at all-- is the masculine version. It comes from the Old Testament and according Behind the Name it is Hebrew for "He knows." Jada appears amongst all the begats in Chronicles, and is the son of Onam, and the father of Jether and Jonathan. The other version of Jada, (if you do want to consider it two names, rather than one rediscovered name given to the opposite gender,) is a derivative of Jade, which means just what you think it means--the precious stone jade. In this case Jada is almost exclusively a girl's name, while (interestingly) Jade is sometimes (rarely) given to boys. Jada has been gaining in popularity steadily since the early 1990's, and is currently a top 100 name. A major difference between Jade and Jada though is that while Jade can be looked at as a "classic" name--as "gem" names such as Pearl and Ruby--come into and go out of fashion fairly regularly, Jada is probably more of a "fad" name. Jada could possibly become a classic name, but it's more probable that when Jade goes out of fashion, Jada will as well. Jade will almost certainly come back into fashion at some point, while Jada might, but might not. Jada is a good name for a fantasy character--whether fictional or in a role-playing game. It'd also be a good name for a fictional character who is born between the 1990's and now. An alternate spelling, Jayda, is also used.

Matthew

Matthew comes ultimately from the Hebrew name Mattathia,which means "gift of God." The apostle Matthew was author of the first gospel of the New Testament. According to Ask Oxford's name dictionary, the name Jonathan comes from the same root, only reversed, so Matthew and Jonathan might be perfect names for a pair of twin boys. The name was used in the Middle Ages, and several surnames, including the obvious "Matthews" are derived from it. Matthew is currently going through a popularity spike; it has been a top 10 name since the 1970's. For this reason it might be a little too popular to be a good choice right now--then again, if you don't mind that your child might be in school with several other Matthews, there's no reason not to use the name anyway. Pair it with a somewhat less common middle name, and you're good to go. Matt is the common nickname for Matthew, but since it's also a short from of Matthias, and also has been given as a name in its own right at times, I'll deal with Matt as a seperate name at some point.

John

From John the Baptist to King John to John Lennon to John Kerry, if I need to tell you how popular this name has been through the ages, you just haven't been paying attention. Everyone from saints to kings to popes to pop singers have been named John. Actually, the Hebrew name was more like "Johanan," but since John is the version used in the Authorized Version of the New Testament, and is the English form, that is the name we know best. Due to its extreme popularity over so many centuries, "john" has picked up at least two seperate meanings as a word rather than just being a name. "John" is a recognized synonym for a toilet, and, probably because of the habit of calling anonymous men "John Doe," prostitutes commonly refer to their customers as johns. Despite these bad associations, the name is still a reasonably good choice for a boy's name. One common nickname for John is Johnny, or its alternate spelling Johnnie, both of which are also used as names in their own right.

Stephen

Stephen comes from the Greek Stephanos, which means "crown," or "garland." Stephen is a saint's name (Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr; the story is told in Acts in the New Testament.) Stephen was a very popular name with the early Christians, and has been reasonbly popular in English speaking countries since at least the 12th century. In the United States, Stephen has remained steadily in use at least the top 150 names for baby boys, sometimes rising into the top 50. The name would probably be more popular if not for its sound-alike variant spelling, Steven; the two have to share their popularity, and the short form for both of them, Steve, is often given as a name in its own right. Stephen is a classic old name that is always a good solid choice for a baby boy.

Mark

Mark comes from the Latin name Marcus, which probably derives from the Roman god of war, Mars. We are familiar with the name Mark from the New Testament, as well as American writer Mark Twain. There was also King Mark in Arthurian legend, and according to the Ask Oxford Concise Dictionary of Names, King Mark's name was probably of Celtic origin, from a word that meant "horse." Although it has recently fallen out of the top 100 names for boys in the U.S., Mark has been quite popular in the U.S. for over a century. Its status as a saint name and important biblical figure, and its simplicity, probably guarantee its continued popularity. You won't win any points for originality if you name your baby boy Mark, but its still a fine choice.

Ruth

Ruth comes from Hebrew and means "friend" or "companion." We know Ruth from the Old Testament, but some of us also think of Babe Ruth when we hear the name (or Baby Ruth, if we happen to be hungry at the time.) Ruth was a popular name with the 17th century Puritans, and was extremely popular from about 1890 through the 1920's in the U.S. It started to lose popularity, slipping out of the top 100 in the 1960's. I was fairly surprised to find that it is still ranks in the top 400 in the U.S. It may owe much of its continued level of use to the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. The meaning of Ruth makes it an ideal name for a dog, cat, or other pet.

Thomas

I really like the name Thomas a lot. My mother had a cat named Thomas--we called him "Sir Thomas" most of the time. My boyfriend's first name is Thomas, so that's another reason to like the name a lot. Thomas is a wonderful name to give a baby boy--in my opinion, because it has that versatility thing going for it. The child you name Thomas can grow up to be a casual Tommy or Tom, or he can use the more formal Thomas. I love names that allow a person to choose who they'd like to be. According to Behind the Name, Thomas is derived from "Te'oma," meaning "twin." I find this pretty darn interesting because I've started to really like the search engine Teoma, and now I'm going to have to remember to look up how they got that name. Some sources say that Thomas is from Hebrew. Behind the Name says it's a Greek form of an Aramaic name. Aramaic was a language that was very similar to Hebrew, and was likely the language spoken by Jesus Christ, so that's reasonable. Thomas was one of the apostles, and gave us the phrase "doubting Thomas." Thomas is a saint name. This name is one of those classic names that might never go out of style. In the U.S. it's currently at a sort of "low point" in popularity--meaning, it fell out of the top 20. Not much of a "low" there. The name is popular in pretty much all countries with a high Catholic population, so that is part of the reason for its popularity. Again, a name I would definitely recommend.