About half of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock on the Mayflower in 1620 were Puritans who had left England to escape religious persecution. Puritans rejected the use of saints' names and instead used Hebrew names from the Old Testament. They wanted to prove, through their children's names, that they were separate from, and more pious than, members of the Church of England. They often chose elaborate, multi-syllable names, like Ezekiel and Obadiah. Shortening a name would have been a sign of disrespect for the Bible, and so nicknames weren't used. The names of angels, like Michael and Gabriel, weren't used, because they were considered too holy for humans to bear. Sometimes Puritan parents would open the Bible to a random page and use the first name they saw. Even the names of wicked Biblical figures, like Jezebel and Cain, were given to babies. 

Old Testament Boys' Names

Aaron

Abel

Abner

Abraham

Abram 

Adam 

Amos

Asa

Asher

Azariah 

Benjamin

Boaz

Cain

Caleb

Daniel

David 

Ebenezer

Eli

Elijah

Elisha

Esau 

Ethan

Ezekiel

Gideon

Gomer 

Hiram

Ichabod

Isaac

Isaiah

Ishmael

Israel

Jabez

Jacob 

Japheth

Jared

Jedidiah

Jeremiah

Jesse

Jethro

Jonah

Jonathan

Joseph

Joshua

Josiah

Judah

Laban

Lemuel

Levi 

Malachi

Meshach

Micah 

Mordecai

Moses

Nathan 

Nathaniel 

Nehemiah

Noah

Obadiah

Phineas

Reuben

Samson 

Samuel

Seth 

Solomon

Tobiah

Uriah

Zachariah 

Zephaniah 

Old Testament Girls' Names

Abigail

Adah

Bathsheba

Deborah 

Delilah

Dinah

Esther

Eve 

Hannah

Jemimah

Jezebel

Judith 

Keturah

Keziah 

Leah

Marah

Miriam

Naomi 

Orpah

Rachel

Rebekah 

Ruth 

Sarah

Susannah 

Tamar

Zillah

Zipporah

Virtue Names

Eventually, Old Testament names became common, and naming a child Hannah or Jedidiah was no longer a symbol of extreme piety. The Puritans began to use religious terms, like Faith, Hope, and Patience, for both boys and girls:

Abstinence

Acceptance 

Amity 

Assurance

Beloved 

Called 

Charity 

Chastity

Christian

Clemency

Comfort 

Constance 

Contemplation 

Deliverance

Dependence 

Desire

Diligence

Donation 

Experience

Faith

Faithful

Felicity 

Forsaken

Farewell

Given

Godly

Grace

Gracious

Handmaid

Helpless

Honor

Hope

Hopeful

Humility

Imagination

Increase

Joy

Just

Justice

Lament

Love

Magnify

Merciful

Mercy

Meek

Mild

Miracle

Obedience 

Patience

Peaceable

Perseverance 

Piety

Pity

Pleasance 

Providence 

Prudence 

Purify

Redeemed

Refrain

Rejoice 

Reliance

Remember

Repentance 

Replenish

Resolved 

Restore

Silence

Steadfast 

Supply

Temperance

Thankful

Tribulation 

Truth

Unfeigned

Unity 

Verity

Victory 

Virtue

Phrase Names 

Aside from single-word names, multi-word phrases and even entire Bible verses were sometimes used: 

Abuse-not

Aid-on-high

Be-courteous

Be-faithful

Be-steadfast

Be-strong

Be-thankful

Die-well

Do-good 

Fare-well

Faint-not

Faith-my-joy

Faith-on-high

Fear-God

Fear-not 

Fly-debate

Free-gift

Free-grace

From-above

Give-thanks 

God-help

Good-gift 

Hate-bad

Hate-evil

Hate-ill

Have-mercy

Help-on-high

Hope-for

Hope-still 

If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned 

Jesus-came-into-the-world-to-save

Joy-again

Joy-in-sorrow

Kill-sin

Learn-wisdom

Live-well

Love-God

Make-peace

More-fruit 

Much-mercy

Safe-deliverance 

Safe-on-high

Search-the-Scriptures 

Seek-wisdom

Sin-deny

Sorry-for-sin

Stand-fast-on-high

The-peace-of-God

Weep-not