User-created list
Rare Names - Below the top 1000! (boys)
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Wilfred
English
"desires peace"
Wilfred is one of those Old Man Names that still sounds fusty in the US but is fashionable in the UK. It comes with readymade short forms Will, Wilf, or Fred and might make an adventurous alternative…
Sven
Scandinavian
"youth"
Especially for parents of Scandinavian descent, Sven is an accessible and attractive name with an appealing mix of strength and swagger. It comes from the ancient Swedish tribe, the Sviars, who gave…
Herbert
German
"bright army"
Names ending in bert have long been in limbo, but with the return of Albert, maybe there's hope for Herbert. who could share the Bertie nickname. Herbert is a name that's been used by English…
Chester
Latin
"fortress, walled town,"
Chester is a comfortable, little-used teddy-bear of a name that suddenly sounds both quirky and cuddly. Chester was a Top 100 name in the US from the 1880s to 1929, gradually fading till it finally…
Clarence
Latin
"bright"
The name of the guardian angel in It's a Wonderful Life is rarely heard the rest of the year because of its studious, near-nerdy image, but this could change in the current naming climate. An English…
Glen
Scottish
"a narrow valley"
Former cool-boy name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents.
Glenn
Scottish
"valley"
Glenn appealed to a lot of post-World War II parents for its cool, leafy image, also calling up the Big Band sounds of Glenn Miller and the calm, composed image of actor Glenn Ford, whose name at…
Mordecai
Hebrew
"follower of Marduk"
Mordecai, although it has a noble heritage, has never caught on in this country, because of its rather weighty image. Nevertheless, with parents searching for rarer Biblical names that work as…
Ralph
English from German
"wolf-counsel"
Ralph has two diametrically different images: there's the suave Ralph Fiennes-type Brit (often pronounced Rafe), and then there's the Jackie Gleason blue-collar, bowling blowhard Ralph Kramden bus…
Nigel
Irish
"dark, black-haired"
A name that Yanks might see as overly British, but combined with the right surname, it does have a measure of Sherlock Holmesian dash via Nigel Bruce, who played the original Dr. Watson to Basil…
Gerard
English and Irish from German
"spear strength"
Gerard is currently in style limbo, after reaching peak popularity in the 1950s. With its strong meaning and gentle sound, it may be back in a generation or two. But for now, a boy called Gerard will…
Octavio
Spanish variation of Octavius
"eighth"
The most popular of the number names used by Hispanic parents, open to all. Octavia and Octavio are two Spanish baby names that are moving out into the wider world.
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…
Cornelius
Latin
"horn"
Cornelius, the New Testament name of a third century Pope and saint, is one of those venerable Latin names on the edge of consideration, despite the corny nickname alert. Cornelius has some magical…
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…
Vladimir
Slavic
"great ruler, peaceful ruler, ruler of the world"
Vladimir is a cultured and deep-rooted Slavic name associated in this country with cultural figures including piano virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz and the author of Lolita , Vladimir Nabokov. The name…
Guy
French
"wood"
The patron saint of comedians and dancers (also known as St Vitus) has a name that is both the ultimate everyman, and has a hint of British aristocracy. In the States, Guy was most popular in the…
Edmund
English
"fortunate protector"
The sophisticated Edmund and its nearly-identical French twin Edmond are coming out of mothballs now that Edward, inspired by Twilight, is once again a hot name. In fact, it's already a fairly…
Edmond
English
"wealthy protector"
The sophisticated Edmond and its nearly-identical twin Edmund are coming out of mothballs now that Edward, inspired by Twilight, is once again a hot name. Parents looking for an alternative might…
Lloyd
Welsh
"gray"
This Welsh surname was taken up as a first in the English-speaking world in the early twentieth century, originally as a nickname for someone gray-haired. The original Welsh nickname was Llwyd,…