Rare Classic Boy Names

Looking for classic boy names that are also unusual?

Way beyond the Williams and Henrys you hear every day are dozens of rare baby names for boys that achieve this golden combination.  These names have deep roots and have been used for centuries, yet are given to only a handful of boys each year.

These rare classic boy names include choices from ancient cultures and the Bible, names sailing out of style (so long, Sherman) along with those heading in: Welcome, Boaz, Casper, and Finnian!

Here, more than 100 classic boy names you’ll find hiding below the US Top 1000 according to the latest figures, ordered from those given to the most babies in 2019 (Lev, just shy of the Top 1000 with 205 boys) to the least (Anselm and Humphrey, with just 6):

LevDuncanLeifUlyssesRalphHarrisErnestBoazMontgomeryPierreAbnerBenedictSidneyGilbertGuyClarenceEdmund and EdmondNormanCasperCliffordEamonJethroFinnianBernardWolfgangLuciusVladimirKarlIshmaelOzias and OsiasLutherGlenn and GlenOrenThorOctavio and OctaviusArnoldGerardMonroePhineasMyronEwanLinusCorneliusNigelOrsonDashiellLeopoldLloydStellanJulesMorrisFitzgeraldObadiahChesterLeanderAngusConstantineTobinIgnatiusRoscoeFloydWoodrowSylvesterBasilNiallCliveValentineZachariasGarethHerbertClementConanCosmoBorisPercyMahlonOdysseusClaudeRudolphSampsonUrbanBartholomewShermanEsauJupiterRufusRemusCatoHubertOberonQuintusRandolphHomerHorace and HoratioRupertAloysiusPeregrineRomulusBalthazarHerculesWaldoBarnabyAnselmHumphrey

Revived classic boy names

Since we first published a list like this, using the 2012 data, these formerly rare classic boy names have risen into the US Top 1000. This makes them pretty stylish, and not quite so unknown anymore.

AlistairAmbroseAmiasArchieAtlasAzariahCaspianClydeEnochEphraimGordonGreyIraMagnusMordechaiOtisRobinShepherdThaddeusWallace