Were Biblical names already in use when the Bible was being written, or did they originate from it?

by rayzorium

Or a mix of both?

koine_lingua

I'm assuming you're asking about names that are still in common use - like Joseph, David, Jonathan, etc.?

I mean, these names weren't just made up; they have traceable Semitic etymologies, and quite a few of them are attested in the pre-Biblical period (yet for many others, there just isn't enough "data" to compare it with).

You're probably best off looking at the sort of "nicknames" that appear in the New Testament. Things like "Thomas" ("twin") and "Peter" (which comes from a Greek translation of the Aramaic word for "rock") were pretty idiosyncratic names that certainly only became popular because of Christianity.