Victorian Boy Names from the 1800s
- Ludwig
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"famous warrior"Description:
As heavy as a marble bust of Beethoven.
- Gwilym
Origin:
Welsh variation of WilliamMeaning:
"resolute protection"Description:
The Welsh version of William is almost unheard-of across, but it's fairly straightforward and could make a good heritage choice or alternative honor name.
- Godfrey
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"God's peace"Description:
Godfrey was very popular in the Middle Ages, but today you're more likely to hear it as a surname than a first name. It has a solid, old-man charm, but a couple of possible deal-breakers: the first syllable being God, and no obvious nickname. Goff, maybe? For a different feel, we also like the Italian artist's version Giotto.
- Geoffrey
Origin:
Anglo-Saxon from FrenchMeaning:
"pledge of peace"Description:
In the US, this spelling is less common than mid-century favorite Jeffrey, and it has faded from popularity faster. This more British spelling is the usual form for historical figures like Geoffrey Chaucer and the Welsh historian Geoffrey of Monmouth, and as such it may feel more rooted and enduring.
- Hartley
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"stag meadow"Description:
Hartley, in these days of Harleys and Hammers, feels unnecessarily buttoned-up. We'd recommend the simpler and warmer Hart.
- Dudley
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"Dudda's meadow"Description:
It's easy to love a name that rhymes with "cuddly" and is also attached to the surname Do-Right -- once you ignore the "dud" connection.
- Cuthbert
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"famous, brilliant"Description:
Years ago we might have said that this name was unthinkable, but with old-fashioned names being so popular right now (consider Atticus, Leonidas, Arthur, Jasper, Augustus etc) what's to stop Cuthbert from becoming more wearable? Bertie is a cute (and very fashionable) nickname option for this grand old name.
- Randolph
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"shield-wolf"Description:
Randolph is a timeworn classic that had its last hurrah in the 1940s, when Randolph (born George) Scott was starring in westerns, but then was probably done in by its tricky nickname Randy (which, strangely enough, was itself a Top 50 name in the fifties and sixties).
- Herman
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"soldier, warrior"Description:
It's hard to believe now that Herman was once, at the turn of the last century, a Top 50 name, remaining in the Top 100 until 1935, and even harder to imagine it making a comeback. But then again, our parents thought the same thing about Max and Jake. Consider the French Armand or Spanish Armando instead. Notable bearers include writers Herman Melville and Hermann Hesse--and then there was TV's Herman Munster.
- Redvers
Origin:
English surnameMeaning:
"from Reviers; place of rivers"Description:
A popular name during the Victorian period, given in honor of Sir Redvers Buller, a British Army general awarded the Victoria Cross for his services during the Boer War. The name comes from a Norman surname, de Reviers, describing someone who lived in the town of Reviers. The town name may mean "place of rivers".
- Redvers
Origin:
English surnameMeaning:
"from Reviers; place of rivers"Description:
A popular name during the Victorian period, given in honor of Sir Redvers Buller, a British Army general awarded the Victoria Cross for his services during the Boer War. The name comes from a Norman surname, de Reviers, describing someone who lived in the town of Reviers. The town name may mean "place of rivers".
- Baden
Origin:
German "son of Bade"Meaning:
"son of Bade"Description:
If Braden and Caden, why not Baden?
- Willie
Origin:
Diminutive of WilliamDescription:
There have been many great Willies (Mays, Nelson, Wonka), but a boy with this name could never ever go to England. Most people will also assume it is short for the more traditional William, which might be the best avenue for achieving this nickname.
- Shadrach
Origin:
AkkadianMeaning:
"command of Aku"Description:
Derived from Aku, the name of the Babylonian god of the moon. In the Old Testament Shadrach is the Babylonian name of Hananiah, one of the three men cast into a furnace before being saved by God.
- Temple
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"dweller near the temple"Description:
Rather formal word name that has been used occasionally over the years, most notably for the autism activist and animal expert Temple Grandin.
- Wright
- Ely
Origin:
Russian variation of EliMeaning:
"ascended, uplifted, high"Description:
Russian form of Eli mainly used today by families with Russian Jewish heritage.
- Feodore
- Thompson
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of Tom"Description:
Thompson is not as popular as Jackson or Harrison, but a novel way to circumvent Junior for the son of a Thomas.
- Livingstone