In order to discern why someone would do this I asked the parents why they felt it was a benefit to their children to name them after famous Bible characters.
The answer I got from them all was that the parents, through naming their children after the Bible characters, would give the children something to live up to as they grow up.
The reason I felt no need to name our own children after famous Bible characters was that I saw no special blessing that came from doing so. The names of the prophets were not magic mantras that automatically created in the child a drivenness to follow Christ.
Notice when someone speaks of the prophets in considering a name for their child they only mention the good things of the prophets and never mention the failings.
The prophets were all flawed men used by God despite themselves. If we are going to identify our children with the prophets then we must also identify their flaws to have an accurate view of what God had to do in them. It was not the prophets who were great, it was God Who worked in them.
If I were going to name my child after the best name of all carried by the greatest sacrificial entity that they should follow I would name them Jesus.
Since, in my own thinking I could not name a child after Jesus because I associate only one person with that name. Even though the name "Jesus" was a common name during His time it still sits in a special position for me associated with Christ. No man can measure up to Jesus Christ so why name a child after any man from the Bible, unless they just like that name.
I have known many Christians who think naming a child after a prophet would cause that child to be so enamored with the prophet that they ultimately end up walking as that prophet walked. This never made sense to me because every human being chooses their own way, no manipulation or mantra will change who they are inside. Everyone must make their own choice to follow Christ.
However, in every single case I have known where the children were named after prophets of the Bible, the children with these names did not walk after Christ but they did walk in pride often against the word of God, even while calling themselves a Christian. I have lived most of my life on the West Coast where many if not most people walk in rebellion against the Bible while claiming to be Bible-believing. Their assertion that they believe the Bible is based almost entirely on emotions rather than an authentic dedicated walk to obey Christ.
My suggestion about those who name their children after prophets of the Bible is not to associate the character of the child with the prophets, but rather encourage the child to follow Christ forging their own walk in the shadow of our Lord and Savior.
I guess I view naming children after prophets is a way of boasting about the name and expecting the child to enhance that boast by becoming what the parents want them to become. It's sort of like saying; "I want you to be more like so and so." I remember hearing this when I was a small child, "why can't you be more like your brother", at six years old I was hurt and frustrated with this because I knew I was me and it was alright to be me.
I would never expect my children to walk after any man, they must choose to follow Christ, not men. And, they must deny themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit when they have repented and desired to be cleansed by Him.
My advice to all born-again believers is to follow Christ, not any man. The name of a person is the title they call him, it is superficial, but when Christ changes someone it is all about Him working in their lives.
I consider naming a child after Biblical characters as a form of "name dropping", the idea that the child will live up to the expectations of the parents to glorify them is repugnant to me.
I have loved my children despite themselves, even with my correction and rebuke to them as they grew up, my goal was that they follow Christ and live as He wanted them to live. It was done with love and dedication to Christ. What they did with my desire for them to become born-again and become Christ-like was entirely up to them.
In many cases, I see Christian parents who did their best even with their flaws and warts only to be rejected because the children resented authority, especially the Authority of Christ.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.'"
Any "work" we do to manipulate others' perception of us is not blessed by God. All our works must be to honor Him in obedience to His Word and not men.
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