Names play a variety of roles in the Bible. They sometimes relate to the nominee's role in a biblical narrative, as in the case of Nabal, a foolish man whose name means "fool".^[1] Names in the Bible can represent human hopes, divine revelations, or are used to illustrate prophecies.^{[2][clarification needed]}

Most popular names

During the period 330 BC – 200 AD, the most common male names in Judea or post Kingdom of Israel were:^[3]

• 1. Simon/Simeon
• 2. Joseph/Joses
• 3. Lazarus
• 4. Judah
• 5. John
• 6. Jesus
• 7. Ananias
• 8. Jonathan
• 9. Matthew/Matthias
• 10. Manaen
• 11. James
• 12. Michael

During this period, the most common female names were:^[3]

• 1. Mary
• 2. Salome
• 3. Shelamzion
• 4. Martha
• 5-6. Joanna and Sapphira (equally common)
• 7. Berenice
• 8-9. Imma and Mara (equally common)
• 10–12. Cyprus, Sarah, and Alexandra

Lists