Oregon Trail era names - boys

Napoleon

Greek

"lion of the new city"

Overly ambitious choice, recently borne by the hapless hero of cult movie hit Napoleon Dynamite.

Ned

English, diminutive of Edward

"wealthy guardian"

Ned is a gently old-fashioned Nancy Drew-Bobbsey Twins-era short form for Edward that sounds cooler than Ed and is enjoying a small style renaissance. Usage of Ned in literature goes back to a Ben…

Newton

English

"new town"

Named after Isaac. Or Wayne.

Niel

Niel is a masculine name that serves as a variant spelling of Neil or Neal. It has ancient Celtic origins, derived from the Irish name Niall, which possibly means "champion" or "cloud." This concise…

Noble

Latin

"aristocratic"

With parents beginning to show an interest in virtue names for boys, this Puritan favorite just might be revived, for what could be more admirable than nobility in terms of having strength of…

Norman

English

"northerner, Norseman"

Norman, perhaps because it sounds so much like the word 'normal', conjures up the image of a normal-looking guy with a normal kind of job-- not necessarily an image many modern parents seek for their…

Norris

French

"northerner"

Somehow more modern and likable than Morris or Doris.

Obadia

Obadia is a variant of the biblical name Obadiah, derived from Hebrew origin meaning "servant of God" or "worshipper of Yahweh." In the Old Testament, Obadiah was a prophet whose writings form a book…

Orin

Variation of Oren or Oran, Hebrew, Irish, Scottish

"laurel, light, song, little green one"

Orin is one of a variety of similarly-spelled names that have a soft and sensitive image. The Orrin spelling has been known nationally via Republican Senator Hatch. Orin is the name of a character in…

Orson

Latin and English

"bear cub"

In the past, Orson has felt like a one-person moniker, tied to film director Orson Welles, who dropped his given name of George in favor of his more distinctive middle. While the Citizen Kane creator…

Orvin

Orvin is a masculine name with Germanic roots, likely derived from either Old English elements meaning "friend of spears" or Scandinavian origins related to names like Orvar. It may also be connected…

Osgood

Teutonic

"divine creator"

This name seems to foresee a future CFO. Not a bad thing. Osgood Perkins is the name of both the father and son of actor Anthony. Oz is the enlivening nickname.

Oswald

English

"divine power"

Despite the success of so many O-starting boys names --Oliver, Owen, Otis, Oscar--Oswald has not yet shown any signs of resurrection, though he does have the animating nicknames Ozzie/Ozzy and Oz.…

Othniel

Hebrew

"lion of god, or strength of god"

Othniel is mentioned in the Bible and Tanakh (in the Book of Judges) where he is the first of the biblical judges mentioned. Othniel was related to Caleb, which might make these two names a nice…