Madelyn's list "H- Boys" of 3 great name ideas: Howard - Humphrey!

H- Boys

** denotes a name related to the universe. ss denotes a name that is also a species specification. p denotes a name that is also a plant.

Howard, once hugely popular in the Top 50 from the 1870s to early 1950s, hitting Number 24 in 1920 -- has been stuck in Dad-Grandad limbo for decades, but is showing some signs of stirring back to life. Along with such formerly-fusty names as George and Harold, Howard may soon feel baby-appropriate, perhaps with the short form Ward, or the clunky-cute Howie.
Howard was the surname of an early English noble family, gradually metamorphosing into a first name in the nineteenth century. Derived from either the Germanic Hughard meaning "high guardian", the Old Norse Hávarðr meaning "brave heart", or perhaps even the Middle English term for a sheep herder.
 
 Notable Howards include tycoon Howard Hughes, director Howard Hawks, politician Howard Dean, and media figure Howard Stern. In literature, there is Ayn Rand's iconic architect Howard Roark, protagonist of The Fountainhead.
 Strange trivia item: Vampire novelist Anne Rice's given name is Howard Allen. She has said her mother "had the idea that naming a woman Howard was going to give that woman an unusual advantage in the world." 
 
Given to 226 boys in a recent year, Howard might appeal to those looking for alternatives to Edward, an unexpected way to nickname Hal, or something similar in style to Stanley, Rufus, and Bernard.

Howard

Huell

Humphrey is an old name that might have faded completely were it not for that Bogie flair. A royal name in Britain, where it's used somewhat more frequently, Humphrey might just have some life beyond Bogart here, especially with the recent interest in the names of Golden Age Hollywood stars. His first name was the maiden name of his mother, Maud Humphrey, a well-known illustrator who used baby H. as a model.
 Humphrey was brought to England by the Normans and was made famous by Duke Humphrey, the fifteenth century Duke of Gloucester and youngest son of Henry IV, a noted patron of literature, who appears in Shakespeare's Henry IV. In other literature, Humphrey Wasp is a character in Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, and the eponymous hero of Tobias Smollett's early novel Humphrey Clinker. In James Joyce's Finnegans Wake Humphrey Climpden Earwicker represents the everyman.
 Bottom line: An interesting name with a noirish edge.