Biblical Baby Names Are Making a Comeback
Gwyneth Paltrow with baby Apple in 2004. Paltrow heralded the biblical name trend when she named her second child Moses. Image by Getty Images
By Anne Cohen January 3, 2014
Are you expecting a little bundle of joy in 2014?
If so, you better revisit your Hebrew school notes. According to BabyNames.net, the biggest new name trend isn’t fruit-related (read: Apple Paltrow-Martin) or experimental (North West…).
No. 2014 will be the year of the Biblical name – Welcome Caleb and Levi! How do you do, Naomi and Ruth!
After years of Blue Ivy and Bear Winslet, why this sudden return to tradition? In an interview on FoxNews, Julie Andrews (not the one of Maria von Trapp or Mary Poppins fame, though in this case, the name seems fitting), columnist for BabyNet.com, explained why the old is now new:
“We”ve had Biblical names in the past, but then we sort of went away from that and into this trend of really being creative, trying to win the competition for most original and even inventing names,” Andrews said. ” But now we’re really coming away from that, we’re coming back to history and tradition. There’s so much lore and stories about biblical names, and we’re looking for that bedrock and foundation of things that we know and are familiar with – there’s a lot of comfort in that.”
And just like that, Adriel is the new Ace Knute. After all, even Gwyneth Paltrow named her second child Moses.
For inspiration, check out this list of potential names, from Abel to Zachary.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
