There are many reasons why you might be looking for biblical baby names that start with D for girls. You might already have an older child with a Bible-inspired name that starts with the letter D, and you now need a matching name for his or her soon-to-arrive sister. Or perhaps you want to honor Grandma Deborah, without actually naming your daughter Deborah. Or maybe you just love the robust sound of the letter D.
Whatever your reasons, here are eight biblical girl names that start with D:
If you want to give your baby girl a biblical D-name, Deborah is one of the most obvious choices. It's a true biblical classic, even if it currently feels a bit outdated due to overuse in the 1950s and 1960s. Its biblical bearer, the Old Testament prophetess Deborah, was one of the major biblical judges and the only female judge, lending this D-beginning name plenty of female-power wattage.
Note that while the Bible talks about "judges", the biblical characters weren't really judges in the modern sense. Instead, they were charismatic people who served as military leaders in times of crisis, in the period before the monarchy was established in Israel.
With its lovely lilting sounds, aural association with the word "delightful" and similarity to names like Layla and Lyla, Delilah sounds like a winner. But then there's the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, where the beautiful Delilah seduces the legendary Israelite warrior and judge Samson, only to betray him later by cutting his hair, the source of his superhuman strength (Judges, 16).
For a long time, Delilah's reputation as a biblical villain kept this pretty name from rising on the charts, but that's no longer the case. Today, Delilah is a hugely popular baby name choice in the US, and the fact that the vast majority of Americans consider themselves Christians (Pew Research Center, 2021) suggest that also Christian parents are naming their daughters Delilah. But, undoubtedly, that's not happening because of Delilah's biblical background, but rather, in spite of it. So, if you're after a biblical name because you want your child to have a namesake she can look up to, there are other options.
The next name on our list comes from the New Testament. Damaris, borrowed from an Athenian woman converted by the apostle Paul, is perfectly wearable but has never really caught on in the US. To be fair, Damaris appears only once in Scripture, in Acts 17:34, so she's not exactly a major biblical character. But still, she's one of the good guys, so you could at least consider her name.
If you have a penchant for vintage names, here's a girl's name that's old-fashioned, biblical, and up for grabs. The only hitch is that since Dinah had her heyday in the 1950s, it might not be old enough to give off those retro-cool vibes modern parents are yearning for.
That being said, biblical girl names that start with D are not a dime a dozen, and at least this has a solid biblical backbone as the daughter the patriarch Jacob and his first wife Leah.
The biblical Dorcas, also called Tabitha, was an early Christian who made things like clothing for the needy in Joppa. As a baby name, Dorcas was in steady low-key use until the mid-1950s but then disappeared from view. Unfortunately, despite its upright biblical bearer, Dorcas will probably not be making a huge comeback anytime soon because of its similarity to the modern slang word "dork", which is hard to overlook.
Have a look at the current list of the top 1000 girl names in America, and you'll find biblical place names aplenty. Eden and Shiloh are among the most popular representatives of this intriguing new category of baby names, but you sure don't have to go with a well-trod option. If you're open to the idea of giving your baby girl a more unusual biblical place name, and you want to keep the D theme, try Dannah. In the Bible, Dannah is mentioned in Joshua 15:49, and Easton's Bible Dictionary describes it as a city in the mountains of Judah about 8 miles south-west of Hebron.
In the Bible, Dor is mentioned a handful of times as a place name. As a contemporary given name, it crops up as boys' name in Israel but hasn't had much success in English-speaking countries, which is understandable given its similarity to the word "door". However, it's not completely unheard-of in the US, and government records show that not only American boys but also some girls have been tagged with this unusual D-name.
To the uninitiated, Delaiah may look like a misspelled version of Delilah, but it's actually a proper name, and a biblical one at that. But before you get all excited that there's a biblical name that resembles Delilah but doesn't come with a gruesome backstory, know this: in the Bible, Delaiah is actually a masculine name. That being said, names like Amariah and Neriah also belong to men in the Bible but count as girls' names in the contemporary U.S.
In fact, the bigger problem here might be its close proximity to the word "delay".
Has nothing clicked yet?
The list of biblical girl names that start with D is not huge, so it's quite possible you still haven't found that perfect moniker for your baby girl. So, where do you go from here?
If it's the sound of the letter D that appeals to you, you might want to check out biblical girl names that start with B, or scroll through our list of biblical girl names that start with T. Obviously, B and T are not D, but they all feel like phonetic sisters.
Also, if you're willing to expand your search to include non-biblical names as long as they have a spiritual edge, our huge list of Catholic girl names includes a couple of pretty D-names you might want to consider.
And, finally, let's not forget that it's perfectly possible your doctor got your baby's gender wrong, in which case you should actually be looking at biblical boy names that start with D.