Walter

Walter was seen as a noble name in the Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Walter Scott era, but has long been in baby name limbo. Now a few independent-minded parents are looking at it as a renewable, slightly quirky, classic, stronger and more distinctive than James or John.

A favorite Norman name, Walter was extremely popular in medieval England (when it was pronounced 'Water'), and in this country from the 1870s through the 1940s. Plus there are all those great Walters and Walts to consider, from Whitman to Disney to Cronkite to Mondale to Payton to Matthau to the ultimate fantasizer Walter Mitty, not to mention (Walter) Bruce Willis.

Actor Rainn Wilson named his son Walter.