Boy name list

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…

Oscar

English or Irish

"God spear, or deer-lover or champion warrior"

Oscar is one of the most stylish Old Man Names of our era. While it's softened slightly in popularity over the past 20 years, that may be considered a very good thing. In the nineties and the…

Richard

German

"dominant ruler"

A classic old Norman name popular for a thousand years and favored for kings (Richard Nixon was named for Richard the Lionhearted), as well as the hoi polloi (as in every Tom, Dick and Harry),…

Aidan

Irish

"little and fiery"

Aidan was originally a pet form of the Irish name Aodh (pronounced 'ee'), the name of the old Celtic god of the sun and fire. The name was borne by numerous early Irish saints, one of whom was noted…

Gregory

Greek

"vigilant, a watchman"

The Greek name of sixteen popes and fifteen saints, the gregarious Gregory became big in the United States with the emergence of admirable actor Gregory Peck (born Eldred) in the late 1940s. From…

Aurelio

Italian; Spanish, variation of Aurelius

"the golden one"

Aurelio is an energetic Italian and Spanish name, with an attractive golden aura. Derived from the Latin aureus , it's a relative of rising star Aurelia and the Roman Aurelius. A Top 200 name in…

Orlando

Italian variation of Roland

"famous throughout the land"

Orlando, the ornate Italianate twist on the dated Roland, with a literary heritage stretching back to Shakespeare and before, has appealing book-ended o's, and is open to combination with almost any…

Bernard

German

"strong, brave as a bear"

Bernard is obviously a saint's name, but how did it get to the big, benevolent dog? The eleventh century monk, patron saint of mountain climbers, who lived in the Alps, was famed for setting up safe…

Gerald

English and Irish from German

"ruler with the spear"

Both a saint's name and a presidential one via Gerald Ford—who was born Leslie—Gerald is a quintessential 1930s-40s name, when it ranked as high as Number 19. Hence all those nice middle-aged and…

Rodion

Russian from Greek

"song of the hero"

Well used in Russia, this is a distinctive and undiscovered choice here. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoyevsky.

Thorald

Thorald is a masculine name of Norse origin, combining the elements 'Thor,' the name of the god of thunder in Norse mythology, and 'ald' meaning 'rule' or 'power.' This ancient name was brought to…