Old fashioned/vintage boys names that aren't "sissy"?

[titch]

Backstory: My husband I love vintage, not-too-common names and have a little girl named Agatha to prove it :-) We also have a list of gorgeous antique names ready for use if we have a baby girl. We are finding boys names much harder and when I posted our current list in here I got some feedback suggesting that some of the names just didn't "go" with Agatha and/or weren't in that same vintage style.

So my question is; what boys’ names do you think fit the criteria of being vintage/antique/old fashioned, not too common (but not too out there either) and go well with Agatha? The one sticking point is that many vintage male names sound a bit "sissy" (for want of a better word, I don't really believe they are sissy). So names like Cecil and Cedric - while I can see that they fit most of my criteria, they are just too prissy for us to use. (Perhaps if I was living in a stately home in England I would be braver!)

Please could you suggest some strong vintage boys names that aren't surnames? Thank you!

[esrever88]

I love, love Agatha!! It's one of my top contenders for this new one if she's a girl.

Some old-fashioned, but not "prissy" names (in my view, anyhow):

Cyprian
Hiram
Miles
Roscoe
Silas
Warren

[holey]

I'm not sure whether you're going more for vintage-classic or vintage-quirky, but I'm guessing vintage-quirky. Some of these suggestions are more classic than others:

Titus
Cyrus
Frederick
Clement
Alonzo
Walter
Franklin
Bertrand

[titch]

Aw thanks esrever, we are so glad we chose the name Agatha.

From your list Silas is the one I like best. I really like that it has literary links too.

I probably should have said that we like English-sounding names for the most part. I know Agatha is originally Greek but culturally has that English vibe.

That's a good question holey! I would say we went vintage-quirky with Agatha but are leaning towards vintage-classic with boys names. It's so hard to find old classic names that aren't too popular though! Frederick would be my pick from your list. I also really like Clement (and think its great with Agatha) but not sure I could convince DH.

[lori johnson]

If it would be of any help, Nameberry classifies Agatha as an "Edna" name.

Additional three-or-more-syllable "Edna" names with a similar formal and clunky-cool feel ...

01. Archibald --------------- 01. [Agatha]
02. Bartholomew ----------- 02. Dorothea
03. Cornelius --------------- 03. Eudora
04. Ignatius ---------------- 04. Harriet
05. Leopold ----------------- 05. Josephine
06. Mortimer ---------------- 06. Matilda
07. Theodore ---------------- 07. Winifred

Source: "Beyond Jennifer & Jason" book [1994] by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran


P.S. As a quirky-vintage-name-lover myself, I'm inspired by your use of the name Agatha for your firstborn .

[titch]

Thanks Lori! I didn't know Agatha was an "Edna" name but it makes sense. I like a few of the names in your list but, with the exception of Archibald and Theodore, suspect they'd be too "out there" for my hard-to-please husband.

[rollo]

Jules is perfect He is adventurous, manly, handsome and has a great personality
also
Barnaby He is just adorable and cute and cuddly
and
Sterling A man with style

best wishes,

rollo

[caroline147]

This is exactly what I look for in boys' names, and it's definitely hard to find. I feel like Edmund (my absolute favourite) manages to hit the mark. I'd also second the suggestions of Frederick, Theodore, Bertrand and Bartholomew. Other options:
Clifford (esp nn Ford, or even Cliff)
Ernest
Albert
Alfred
Alasdair/ Alastair
Arthur
Conrad
Duncan
Hector
Hugh/ Hugo
Jonas
Otto
Piers/ Pierce
Vincent
Winston

Good luck! Agatha is a lovely choice

[mischa]

Agatha and brother...

Leo
Basil
Rupert
Horatio
Tobias
Oscar
Oliver
Maxwell
Solomon
Walter
Jasper
Henry
Eli
Cyrus
Simon
Phineas
Gideon
Cornelius
Timothy
Thaddeus
Peter
Cassius
Rufus
Virgil
Sebastian
Stuart
Tristan
Nigel
Julian
Graham
Edmund
Colin
Felix
Otis
Benedict
Ignatius
Laurence
Vincent
Hugo
Frederick
Harvey
Randolph
Oswin
Conrad
Clarence
Dexter
Bernard
Lionel
Duncan
Calvin
Richard
Gregory
Boniface
Bartholomew
Jerome
Roland
Victor
Reuben
Reginald
Winslow
Raymond
Preston
Winston
Truman

[niteowl13]

Some of these may already have been mentioned, but it might be good to know that someone else also likes the name
With Agatha as a sister, one of these would be nice:
Augustus or Augustin
Edmund
Bertram
Byron
Orson
Walden
Alistair
Stellan
Leon
Moses
Rufus
Rupert
Grover
Quincy
Abel
Noble