Several days ago, Fred Clark of Slacktivist blogged about a sort of ‘biblical gap’ in baby names:
The annual list of popular baby names from the Social Security Administration is chock full of biblical names on the boy’s side — 13 out of the top 20. Less so on the girl’s side — only six of the top 20.
To even things out, he came up with 7 female names from the Bible that “deserve wider usage”: Tirzah, Jael, Deborah, Sophia, Susanna, Phoebe and Priscilla.
He also warned about 7 biblical names “to avoid”: Leah, Jezebel, Sapphira, Gomer, Lo-Ruhammah, Noah and Hoglah.
I agree with Fred that Tirzah and Phoebe are great-but-underused names, and that Hoglah and Gomer are probably not advisable for baby girls in English-speaking countries.
On the other hand, though, I don’t think Sophia necessarily deserves wider usage (the name is already quite trendy), and I think Leah is a great name, despite the not-so-hot definition and associations.
What do you think? What are the best and worst biblical names out there (for girls or boys)?
I gave my daughter the name “Tirzah” I love the name and hope it catches on.