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Christian names starting with E

Browse Christian and biblical names starting with E, with meanings, origins, and faith context.

E carries the strongest Old Testament prophet concentration in the catalog. The Hebrew prefix El, meaning God, produces a cluster of theophoric names where the divine name is built into the name itself. Elijah (Eliyahu, "my God is Yahweh"), the ninth-century BC prophet who confronted Ahab and Jezebel and was carried up in a whirlwind. Elisha (Elisha, "God is salvation"), his successor. Ezekiel (Yechezkel, "God will strengthen"), the exilic visionary of the wheel within a wheel. Ezra (Ezra, "help"), the post-exilic scribe who taught the Law to the returning Jewish community.

On the New Testament side, Elizabeth (Elisheva, "my God is an oath") is the elderly mother of John the Baptist who recognized Mary at the Visitation. Emmanuel (Imanu-El, "God with us") is the prophetic name given in Isaiah 7:14 and applied to Jesus in Matthew 1:23. Esther rounds out the cluster from the wisdom-and-history books, the hidden queen whose courage saved her people from genocide.

Enoch (Hebrew Chanok, "dedicated") is the Genesis 5 patriarch who walked with God and was taken up. Emma is the catalog's outlier here: Germanic in origin, not biblical, but a longtime Christian-heritage choice in modern American naming.

10 names Meanings and origins Christian context

Elijah Elijah is a Hebrew name meaning my God is the LORD. Hebrew Elisha Elisha is a Hebrew name commonly understood as God is salvation. Hebrew Elizabeth Elizabeth is a Hebrew-rooted name often understood as my God is an oath or God is my abundance. Hebrew, Greek Emma Emma is a Germanic name usually connected with the idea of whole or universal. Germanic Emmanuel Emmanuel is a Hebrew name meaning God with us. Hebrew Enoch Enoch is a Hebrew name often connected with dedicated or trained. Hebrew Esther Esther is a biblical name often connected with star, though its origin is debated. Persian or related ancient Near Eastern origin Eve Eve is a Hebrew name meaning "living" or "mother of all living." Hebrew Ezekiel Ezekiel is a Hebrew name usually understood as God strengthens. Hebrew Ezra Ezra is a Hebrew name commonly connected with help. Hebrew

E names in 2026

Elijah is the E cluster's current peak. The Old Testament prophet sat outside the US Top 100 for most of the 20th century, then climbed steadily into the Top 10 by the late 2010s. Elijah currently ranks #7 in the 2025 SSA data, his strongest position on record.

Ezra and Ezekiel are riding the same comeback wave at smaller scale, both inside the Top 100 in the most recent release after spending most of the 20th century outside the Top 500. Elizabeth carries the cluster on the girls' side with rare durability: the name has held a US Top 30 position every year since 1880, a 145-year run unmatched in the SSA dataset.