Cool Classic Boy Names Below the Top 1000

The name of three hundred saints, a mustard, and your own baby boy. Coleman was off the US Top 1000 list for much of the 1960s and 1970s, but it was a mainstay before and has been for most years since. It could be an interesting way to honor a Colin or Cole.

With the new trend of boys' names rising on the heels of their popular sisters, the unusual-yet-familiar-feeling Emilian might become better known thanks to its relationship to Emily and Emilia/Amelia. Rather than being two branches of the same tree, Emilian and Emily are actually one tree while Emmett and Emma hang on a whole separate tree. But all have a lot of modern appeal, and Emilian may be a more attractive and intriguing male form than Emil. There was a St. Emilian.

Esau is one of the neglected E-beginning boys' biblical choices--it's been off the popularity lists since 1902! The name of Jacob's twin brother, son of Isaac and Rebecca, Esau could make an ideal twin choice, if you don't mind its meaning and the difficult story in the Bible behind the name, as convoluted and full of drama, tragedy, and reconciliation as any soap opera

Monroe is a presidential surname which feels fresher than Jackson, Lincoln and Taylor. Marilyn Monroe is a famous female namesake, but her smart Scottish surname feels equally usable for either sex. Plus, we think old man nickname Moe would sound both cool and adorable on a baby boy today!

Caesar, the name of the greatest Roman of them all, is rarely used outside Latino families, where the Cesar spelling is preferred —as in activist Chavez and Dog Whisperer Millan. Its original meaning is debated — either "long-haired", "blue-gray" (as in eyes), or "cut" (because Julius Caesar was supposedly born by cesarian section) — it came to be the title to denote all Roman emperors and it is from the name Caesar that many other European royal titles are derived, including Kaiser and Tsar.

Amory is the kind of executive-sounding surname name that became popular in the 1990s. Amory Blaine is the protagonist of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, This Side of Paradise.

Reese Witherspoon's Deacon has opened this churchy direction for occupational names. It reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Levin, known in the U.S. mostly as a surname, is a Top 100 boys' name in Germany. There have been saints with variations of this name, whose meaning relates to love.

A familiar name in the Nordic countries that hasn't yet gained popularity in the English speaking world. But it could, now that Old Norse names like Thor and Odin are on the rise. It derives from Torbjörrn, which seems less likely to translate outside Scandinavia. But if you're looking for Danish names for a baby boy, Torben could be a choice that's both accessible and unusual.

The ancient name Horace sounds fustily fuddy-duddy, and yet, with the resurrection of Homer, and the new interest in old Roman names...who knows.

The most popular of the number names used by Hispanic parents, open to all. Octavia and Octavio are two Spanish baby names that are moving out into the wider world.

Beau is now in now in the Top 200 boys' names, and this is a more elaborate way to get there. Comic power couple Jordan Peele and Chelsea Peretti named their first son Beaumont Gino in July 2017. Monty is another possible nickname. As French baby names go, this one might provide the perfect balance of effete and approachable.

A great uncommon English-Arabic crossover choice, easily pronounceable internationally.

A variant form of the surname MacLaine or MacLean, Macklin feels more wearable as a first name: a cool and current way to nickname Mack.

Biblical name with a patina of antiquity.

This would be an intriguing choice for an illustrator's child, thanks to Norman Rockwell and Rockwell Kent.

Akiva has a distinguished scholarly pedigree and a lovely meaning. Its softer sound is very on trend for masculine names at the moment and is in line with more familiar monikers like Ezra, Elijah and Theo.

Dignified first name of poet W. H. Auden, less exposed than his currently stylish surname.

A common surname often used as a first among the Amish.

Known as a British royal family line as well as a style of architecture, this name has a forbidding solemnity; schoolmates might also confuse it with tutor.