Leonard is the name of several saints, including one who is the patron saint of childhood, and another medieval saint who's the patron of prisoners--known for freeing prisoners he deemed worthy of God. Popular from 1900 to 1930, Leonard is perhaps more notable for those who dropped the name when they entered show biz than those who kept it: former Leonards include Roy Rogers and Tony Randall. Two musical Leonards did keep their names though--composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein and poet-singer Leonard Cohen. Leonard Woolf was the husband and publisher of great English novellist Virginia Woolf. These days, modern parents tend to prefer Leo or the romantic Italian Leonardo, especially since Leonard does not get pronounced with the trendy "Leo" sound.

The long association to the Ford Motor Company doesn't stand in the way of this being a strong, independent, single-syllable name.

Despite the success of so many O-starting boys names--Oliver, Owen, Otis, Oscar--Oswald has not yet shown any signs of resurrection, though he does have the animating nicknames Ozzie/Ozzy and Oz. The name has some literary cred--in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's King Lear and a novel by H. G.Wells--and there was early cartoon character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Clifford is beginning to overcome a slightly stodgy intellectual image and showing signs of possible revival. Kids might or might not like the association with the big red dog. In England, the Clifford family was a powerful family in the Middle Ages. In this country, it was well used for most of the twentieth century, peaking at Number 57 in 1909, but a Top 100 name through 1950. Most prominent American bearers: playwright Clifford Odets and jazz trumpet great Clifford Brown.

Roland is a chivalrous old name made famous by the supposedly eight-foot-tall romantic hero and nephew of Charlemagne, celebrated in medieval poetry and song. It is more widely heard in the US now in its Spanish form, Rolando. You might want to consider rollicking short form Rollo, either on its own or as an abbreviation of Roland. Orlando is the graceful Italian form.

Despite all the "hanging," "dangling," and "pregnant" chad jokes of the 2000 election, this saint's name and remnant of the Brad-Tad era didn't get a boost in popularity. But Chad still holds some surfer-boy appeal for a number of modern parents.

Ned is a gently old-fashioned Nancy Drew-Bobbsey Twins-era short form for Edward that sounds cooler than Ed and is enjoying a small style renaissance.

A 1970s beach boy surfing buddy of Scott, Brad, and Chad, Todd is given to relatively few babies these days.

Donald has been used for centuries in Scotland, where the Macdonald clan is one of the most ancient and where there have been six early Scottish kings by that name. Donald was a Top 20 name throughout most of the early twentieth century.

Jared is an Old Testament name that has been popular for decades--it was revived in the sixties via TV westerns-- and is still an appealing option.

The "el-" sound is red-hot these days, and a myriad of place names and surnames give this name a wealth of possible namesakes. The main drawback is its kinship to the name of the hero of the Legally Blond series, Elle Woods, though that will fade with time.

In the past this was seen as a jokey Southern colonel name, but we have heard of some parents considering it as a path to the likeable Beau.

A strong, if slightly dated sounding choice, Ronald made the US Top 10 in the late 1930s through into the mid-1940s, before it became heavily associated with President Reagan, as well as with the McDonald franchise mascot. More recently, it has appeared in the Harry Potter series, borne by Ronald "Ron" Weasley, while others may immediately think of its rhyme, Donald. All of these factors may work against Ronald making a big resurgence, but popular nickname Ronnie might make others reconsider.

This Welsh surname was taken up as a first in the English-speaking world in the early twentieth century, originally as a nickname for someone gray-haired. The original Welsh nickname was Llwyd, pronounced LHOO-eed, and is the Welsh word for the color.

A phonetic variation of Shepherd, an occupational surname. Sam Shepard, the actor and playwright, is a notable figure to use this spelling for his last name.

Cool, solid, and often spiritual, Creed derives from the Latin word credo meaning "I believe". It appeared sporadically in the US Top 1000 back in the late 19th century, but remained only quietly used the 2000s. By 2016 it was back in the charts, and in a recent year more than 460 boys were given the name, placing it in the Top 700.

Floyd was a Top 100 name from the 1880s to the 1940s that somehow developed an almost comical hayseed persona along with a touch of retro jazz cool; it's beginning to appeal to parents with a strong taste for the quirky.

Cowboyish short form that's both macho and cool. Got prime time exposure on The West Wing.

Ferdinand is a traditional name among Spanish royal families and also appears in Shakespeare's The Tempest, borne by the handsome young prince shipwrecked on Prospero's island. Bold, daring, and poetic, it was a popular choice in the US in the 19th and early 20th century, but the 1938 movie Ferdinand the Bull has left it with a lingering clunkiness and it has been out of style since the 80s.

An update on Manfred perhaps, with a cool literary tie to Jane Austen's novel, Mansfield Park, Mansfield is an English surname, borrowed from a variety of places in England. It may be interpreted in two ways: as a blend of manu and feld meaning "man" and "open country or field" respectively, or as a mix of Maun (a Celtic river name), again with the aforementioned feld.