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Biblical characters by the numbers

This page uses a scholarly dataset to explore the people named in the Bible: how many there are, how often they appear, which names they share, and the periods in which their stories are set.

Rows of small clay name tablets arranged in long lines beside an open genealogy scroll

How many people does the Bible name?

2,996named individuals in the 66-book Bible
174of them women, about 5.8%
1,653named in a single verse and nowhere else

The TIPNR dataset identifies 2,996 named individuals in the 66-book canon: 2,822 classified as men and 174 as women. It separately lists 54 people who are mentioned but never named, including Timothy's father and Lot's two daughters. Those 54 are not included in the total of 2,996.

For who is named most often, see Who is named most often in the Bible?, which ranks the dataset and includes a person lookup.

Most are named only once

1,653 of the 2,996, or 55.2%, are named in a single verse and never again. Of these, 1,073 appear in 1 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, books that contain long genealogies and lists of returning families, priests, temple gatekeepers and David's warriors. Seventy-four are women. These lists preserve the names of many people not mentioned elsewhere.

The most common names

Names were often shared. 476 names are each borne by more than one person, and 1,766 people share their name with someone else. Zechariah is the most common, the name of 29 different people, followed by Shemaiah with 26 and Maaseiah and Meshullam with 20 each. In many Hebrew names, the ending -iah contains a shortened form of the divine name; Zechariah is commonly understood to mean "the LORD remembers."

The names borne by the most different people
  1. 1Zechariah29
  2. 2Shemaiah26
  3. 3Maaseiah20
  4. 4Meshullam20
  5. 5Azariah19
  6. 6Shimei16
  7. 7Hananiah15
  8. 8Joel14
  9. 9Shallum14
  10. 10Benaiah12
  11. 11Jonathan12
  12. 12Malchijah12

Periods assigned in TIPNR

More people are named from the divided monarchy, the centuries of the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah, than from any other period: 1,039. Exile and return follows with 739, much of it the lists of Ezra and Nehemiah. The New Testament names 214 people, 35 of them women.

Named individuals by the period they lived in
MenWomen
  1. Before the floodBefore the flood: 19 menBefore the flood: 4 women23
  2. The patriarchsThe patriarchs: 225 menThe patriarchs: 26 women251
  3. Egypt and the wildernessEgypt and the wilderness: 310 menEgypt and the wilderness: 21 women331
  4. The conquest and the judgesThe conquest and the judges: 84 menThe conquest and the judges: 10 women94
  5. The united monarchyThe united monarchy: 275 menThe united monarchy: 28 women303
  6. The divided monarchyThe divided monarchy: 997 menThe divided monarchy: 42 women1,039
  7. Exile and returnExile and return: 732 menExile and return: 7 women739
  8. The New TestamentThe New Testament: 179 menThe New Testament: 35 women214

Periods as TIPNR assigns them. Two people have no period stated.

The books that name the most people

1 Chronicles names 1,280 individuals, more than any other book by far; 886 of them appear only in the genealogies of its first nine chapters. Nehemiah names 446, Ezra 319 and Genesis 295. At the other end, Ecclesiastes, Nahum, Habakkuk and 2 John each name one individual, and Lamentations none. Names shared with a tribe or the nation, such as Judah, are left out of these counts, as they are from the rankings.

The 15 books that name the most individuals
  1. 11 Chronicles1,280
  2. 2Nehemiah446
  3. 3Ezra319
  4. 4Genesis295
  5. 52 Chronicles247
  6. 6Numbers186
  7. 72 Samuel162
  8. 82 Kings146
  9. 91 Kings139
  10. 10Luke136
  11. 11Acts118
  12. 12Jeremiah117
  13. 13Matthew93
  14. 141 Samuel66
  15. 15Judges65
Every book: individuals named, and who is named most
Individuals named in each book, and the one named in the most verses there. Names shared with a tribe or the nation are left out of both.
BookIndividuals namedNamed most
Genesis295Abraham 164
Exodus58Moses 261
Leviticus13Moses 80
Numbers186Moses 216
Deuteronomy24Moses 35
Joshua62Joshua, son of Nun 151
Judges65Gideon 47
Ruth19Naomi 20
1 Samuel66King Saul 241
2 Samuel162David 225
1 Kings139Solomon 139
2 Kings146Elisha 49
1 Chronicles1,280David 157
2 Chronicles247Solomon 74
Ezra319Ezra the scribe 13
Nehemiah446Tobiah the Ammonite 12
Esther42Mordecai, Esther's cousin 50
Job12Job 50
Psalms38David 86
Proverbs8Solomon 3
Ecclesiastes1David 1
Song of Solomon5Solomon 7
Isaiah43Hezekiah, king of Judah 30
Jeremiah117Jeremiah the prophet 115
Lamentations0No individual
Ezekiel24Pharaoh Hophra 12
Daniel16Daniel the prophet 67
Hosea18Tiglath-pileser 2
Joel2Joel the prophet 1
Amos10Amos the prophet 7
Obadiah2Joseph, son of Jacob 1
Jonah2Jonah 16
Micah14Moses 1
Nahum1Nahum the prophet 1
Habakkuk1Habakkuk 2
Zephaniah7Josiah, king of Judah 1
Haggai6Haggai 9
Zechariah18Joshua the high priest 6
Malachi3Moses 1
Matthew93Jesus 166
Mark47Jesus 88
Luke136Jesus 103
John34Jesus 253
Acts118Paul 152
Romans50Jesus 70
1 Corinthians18Jesus 60
2 Corinthians10Jesus 51
Galatians10Jesus 34
Ephesians3Jesus 43
Philippians8Jesus 37
Colossians14Jesus 24
1 Thessalonians4Jesus 18
2 Thessalonians4Jesus 12
1 Timothy8Jesus 14
2 Timothy31Jesus 12
Titus7Jesus 4
Philemon12Jesus 9
Hebrews23Jesus 22
James7Jesus 2
1 Peter7Jesus 19
2 Peter7Jesus 8
1 John2Jesus 12
2 John1Jesus 3
3 John3Demetrius 1
Jude10Jesus 6
Revelation10Jesus 15

Named family relationships

David has the most children named in the Bible, 21, and the most wives named, 9. After him come Caleb son of Hezron, with 19 children named, and Heman the singer, with 16. These count names only: the text often says that someone had sons and daughters without naming them.

Most children named
  1. 1David21
  2. 2Caleb, son of Hezron19
  3. 3Heman the singer16
  4. 4Jacob (Israel)13
  5. 5Ishmael, son of Abraham13
Most spouses named
  1. 1David9
  2. 2Caleb, son of Hezron6
  3. 3Jacob (Israel)4
  4. 4Esau4
  5. 5Hezron, son of Perez4

What the numbers cannot tell you

  • Who is who is a judgement. Whether two verses name one person or two is decided by the scholars behind TIPNR. Another careful reader could divide a few names differently, and the totals would move slightly.
  • Periods are broad. Each person is placed in one period as TIPNR describes them; someone who lived across two is counted in the first.
  • Families are as recorded. Children and spouses are those TIPNR links by name, including a few links it marks as uncertain.
  • Unnamed people are not in the totals, except for the separate count of those referred to without a name.

How this was made

The source. TIPNR, Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References, from STEPBible.org, based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.01, in its release of 18 September 2026. Every entry it lists as a man or a woman, with at least one verse naming them, is counted as a named individual. The figures are computed from the dataset, never estimated by an AI model, and the short descriptions TIPNR includes are not used. This page was made with AI assistance and human review.

Periods come from TIPNR's description of each person, grouped into eight: before the flood, the patriarchs, Egypt and the wilderness, the conquest and the judges, the united monarchy, the divided monarchy, exile and return, and the New Testament. Shared names are counted by the form TIPNR uses to head each entry. Books count a person when at least one verse in the book names them.

The data. Every named individual, with their period, verses, chapters, books and family counts, is in characters.json, derived from TIPNR and shared under the same CC BY 4.0 licence; please credit STEPBible.org and Tyndale House Cambridge.

Corrections are welcome through the contact page; corrections to who is who belong with STEPBible, who maintain the source.

Sources
  1. TIPNR, Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References, STEPBible.org, based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge, licensed CC BY 4.0. Release of 18 September 2026. Changes made here: counts derived from its entries and reference lists; no entry was altered.

Questions people ask

How many people are named in the Bible?

The TIPNR dataset identifies 2,996 named individuals in the 66-book canon: 2,822 classified as men and 174 as women. It also lists 54 people who are referred to but never named.

How many women are named in the Bible?

174, about 5.8% of the named individuals.

What is the most common name in the Bible?

Zechariah, borne by 29 different people, followed by Shemaiah (26) and Maaseiah and Meshullam (20 each).

Which book names the most people?

1 Chronicles, which names 1,280 individuals; 886 of them appear only in the genealogies of its first nine chapters.

Who had the most children in the Bible?

By children named in the text, David, with 21. Many people are said to have had children who are never named, so this counts names, not families.

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