Old fav boys

James

English variation of Jacob, Hebrew

"supplanter"

James is one of the classic Anglo-Saxon names, a stalwart through the ages that is more popular—and yes, stylish—than ever today. It recently came out Number 1 in a poll of America's favorite boys'…

William

German

"resolute protection"

William is one of the most enduring of classic names for boys. It's also among the most popular boys' names, as American parents see it as being ideally conservative yet contemporary, and hands-down…

Isaac

Hebrew

"laughter"

Isaac has shaved off his biblical beard and leaped into the upper echelon of popular boys' names, outrunning cousin Isaiah. A favorite of the Puritans, Isaac has never dipped below Number 400 on the…

Charles

French from German

"free man"

Charles derives from the Germanic name Karl, meaning "man" or "free man", and is a royal name in multiple European countries. A famous early bearer is Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards and…

Vincent

Latin

"conquering"

Vincent is a name with a complex image. After being quietly used for centuries, it is suddenly seeming stylish, along wih other V names. Even the nickname Vince has been given a reprieve via actor…

George

Greek

"farmer"

Iconoclasts though we may be, we like Fred, we like Frank, and we like George, which was among the Top 10 from 1830 to 1950, when the number of little Georges started to decline. Solid, strong, royal…

Arlo

Irish or English

"between two hills"

Quirky cool Arlo is now well and truly back. Last year it broke into the US Top 200 boy names and consistently ranks among the most popular boy names on Nameberry. Along with its Irish and English…

Riley

English, Irish

"rye clearing; courageous"

Riley — one of the most popular unisex names — is trendier now for girls though for boys it's a classic, ALWAYS ranking in the US Top 1000. In fact, after a decade of softening, Riley has recently…

Louis

French, German

"renowned warrior"

Kate and William shocked the world when they announced that they'd named their third child Louis, or Prince Louis Arthur Charles, to be more precise. But we've been predicting a comeback for this…

Duke

English rank of nobility

While John Wayne and Duke Ellington are worthy role models, the reason Duke is currently enjoying a revival and returned to the Top 1000 in 2013 as one of the year's fastest-rising boys’ names is…