Names That Refer To God
Names whose recorded literal meaning invokes God — mostly Hebrew theophoric names, tiny sentences of praise: Samuel ('God has heard'), Nehemiah ('Yahweh comforts'), Uriel ('God is my light').
| Save name | Name & meaning | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yəhōḥānān — “God is gracious” | 8,027#23 | Up 4 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
mîḵāʾēl — “who is like God?” | 8,094#21 | Down 9 rank positions in five years | 1957 | ||
Yoséf — “(God) shall add” | 7,303#29 | Down 3 rank positions in five years | 1956 | ||
daniyél — “God is my judge” | 8,085#22 | Down 8 rank positions in five years | 1985 | ||
ʔĕlîšeḇaʕ — “my God is an oath” | 6,760#17 | Down 1 rank positions in five years | 1990 | ||
YHWH — “Yahweh” | 4,773#66 | Down 13 rank positions in five years | 1989 | ||
ʔĕlîšeḇaʕ — “my God is an oath” via Elizabeth | 212#1,113 | Up 62 rank positions in five years | 1930 | ||
yōnāṯān — “God has given” | 3,822#89 | Down 19 rank positions in five years | 1988 | ||
šəmûʾēl — “'God has set' or 'God has placed'” | 8,334#18 | Up 7 rank positions in five years | 2001 | ||
mikhaél — “who is like God?” | 661#465 | Down 129 rank positions in five years | 1969 | ||
Yəhōḥānān — “God is gracious” via John | 8,748#15 | Up 6 rank positions in five years | 1927 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” | 222#1,087 | Up 460 rank positions in five years | 1932 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” | 88#2,130 | Up 228 rank positions in five years | 1927 | ||
Yoséf — “(God) shall add” via Joseph | 230#994 | Down 266 rank positions in five years | 1936 | ||
Yōḥānān — “God is gracious” | 616#489 | Down 155 rank positions in five years | 1990 | ||
Elishéva — “my God is an oath” via Isabel | 10,666#7 | Steady | 2010 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” | 70#2,522 | Down 560 rank positions in five years | 1951 | ||
gaḇrīʾḗl — “God is my strong man” | 6,569#37 | Up 1 rank positions in five years | 2008 | ||
Eliyahu — “Yahweh is my god” | 11,111#7 | Down 3 rank positions in five years | 2011 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” | 1,380#221 | Up 43 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
daniyél — “God is my judge” via Daniel | 550#549 | Down 101 rank positions in five years | 1987 | ||
theo- — “god” | 304#880 | Down 86 rank positions in five years | 1988 | ||
Yoséf — “(God) shall add” via Joseph | 4,126#53 | Up 34 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Yəhōḥānān — “God is gracious” via John | 682#458 | Down 70 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
theós — “god” | 13,355#4 | Up 19 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Yōḥānān — “God is gracious” via Sean | 399#682 | Down 230 rank positions in five years | 1971 | ||
Netan'el — “God has given” | 2,565#140 | Down 15 rank positions in five years | 2002 | ||
yo'él — “Yahweh (is) God” | 1,633#219 | Down 12 rank positions in five years | 1985 | ||
mîḵāʾēl — “who is like God?” via Michael | 163#1,234 | Down 78 rank positions in five years | 1960 | ||
Yōḥānān — “God is gracious” | 439#636 | Down 129 rank positions in five years | 1973 | ||
Sophía — “wisdom, especially divine wisdom” | 8,252#9 | Up 8 rank positions in five years | 2015 | ||
ʔĕlîšeḇaʕ — “my God is an oath” via Elizabeth | 16#6,887 | Up 83 rank positions in five years | 1916 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” via Jane | 330#824 | Down 105 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
yōnāṯān — “God has given” via Jonathan | 246#951 | Down 141 rank positions in five years | 1964 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” via Jeanne | 75#2,391 | Up 173 rank positions in five years | 1939 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” | 30#4,600 | Down 893 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
ʔĕlîšeḇaʕ — “my God is an oath” via Elizabeth | 45#3,404 | Up 103 rank positions in five years | 1961 | ||
mîḵāʾēl — “who is like God?” via Michael | 130#1,406 | Down 358 rank positions in five years | 1957 | ||
Yəhōḥānān — “God is gracious” via John | 2,240#163 | Down 10 rank positions in five years | 2004 | ||
gaḇrīʾḗl — “God is my strong man” via Gabriel | 459#633 | Down 275 rank positions in five years | 1998 | ||
Elishéva — “my God is an oath” | 1,746#177 | Down 20 rank positions in five years | 2006 | ||
Eliyahu — “Yahweh is my god” via Elijah | 8,837#13 | Up 41 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
šəmûʾēl — “'God has set' or 'God has placed'” via Samuel | 428#647 | Up 8 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
mīḵāyᵊhū — “who is like Yahweh” | 3,817#90 | Up 16 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” | 997#306 | Down 50 rank positions in five years | 1984 | ||
daniyél — “God is my judge” via Daniel | 78#1,962 | Down 193 rank positions in five years | 1960 | ||
Yəhōḥānān — “God is gracious” via John | 61#2,295 | Down 340 rank positions in five years | 1928 | ||
Yôḥānāh — “God is gracious” via Jane | 142#1,503 | Down 75 rank positions in five years | 1977 | ||
natale — “birthday (of the Lord)” | 2,028#144 | Down 59 rank positions in five years | 2006 | ||
Y'ḥezqēl — “God strengthens” | 5,091#61 | Up 3 rank positions in five years | 2022 |
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Every name here has a documented root whose literal meaning matches this theme. Each name’s subtitle gives its documented root and meaning. Where it says "via", the name is a recorded form of another name (Maggie of Margaret) and the meaning is the base name's. Roots are extracted from etymologies on Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Ranks come from official birth card-application data; "—" means fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, a genuinely rare pick rather than an invalid one. The dot marks whether the stats shown are for the girls' or boys' use of the name.