New trend: biblical names

Celebs turn to the Good Book for baby names

By Gayle White

Cox News Service

Hollywood is a long way from Puritan New England, but celebrities are harking back to an old tradition: biblical baby names.

Consider:

Robert De Niro's son Aaron.

Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin's little girl, Delilah Belle.

Annie Potts' Isaac Harris.

Albert Brooks' two-for-one Jacob Eli.

Not to mention all the Elijahs, Hannahs and Jacobs in Beverly Hills preschools.

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt and Moses Paltrow-Martin are among the newest additions to the rolls of Scripture-based baby monikers.

Judith Tropea, author of "Classic Biblical Baby Names," says she thinks the trend shows that people want names that are "meaningful, spiritual and have lasted through the course of time."

Tropea, who lives in New Jersey, is expecting her third son. Matthew is 8; Daniel, 6.

She's considering Noah for the newest addition.

Tropea has some suggestions that go way beyond the obvious in scriptural appellations.

For her:

Damaris -- a woman who listened to Paul as he preached about Jesus in Athens.

Elisheba -- wife of Moses' brother Aaron.

Kezia -- Job's second daughter.

Tirzah -- the youngest of five sisters who protested Moses' division of Canaan based on sons. God agreed with the girls.

Zipporah -- given to Moses as a wife.

For him:

Aeneas -- a paralyzed man healed by Peter in the name of Jesus.

Gaius -- a popular name among Christians in Rome.

Nicanor -- an early disciple of the church in Jerusalem.

Othniel -- the first judge of Israel after Joshua's death.

Zuriel -- a Levite ruler during the exodus from Egypt.

I've been pushing Keziah and Tirzah for years! I also love Damaris. The Pilgrims used Damaris quite a bit.