Timeless Boys' Names


Plenty of boys' names have stayed popular for centuries. Think John, Charles, Robert, and Henry. These names have always ranked within the top 500. However, as with girls' names, they don't have to always be popular to count as classic.

Instead, a timeless classic boys' name must:
  1. Have experienced widespread, consistent use and/or roots dating back 500+ years (Alfred and Ira sound too vintage for this list)
  2. Translate into multiple languages through variants and/or usage (excluding "timeless" names like Wesley)
  3. Be instantly recognizable and, hence, not too obscure (ruling out Barnaby and Enoch)
This list is not perfect; you may not agree about all the names below qualifying as classics. What I can say for sure, though, is that these names are all easy to pronounce and have never sharply peaked or plunged:

  • Abel
    1. Biblical roots, English-speaking use since Protestant Reformation
    2. International variants (i.e. Hebrew Hevel) and usage (i.e. Armenia)
    3. Second son of Adam and Eve in Old Testament
  • Abraham, Abram
    1. Biblical roots, English-speaking use since Protestant Reformation
    2. International variants (i.e. Yiddish Avrum) and usage (i.e. Mexico)
    3. Abram/Abraham of the Old Testament, Former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
  • Adam
    1. Biblical roots, English-speaking use since Middle Ages, never out of top 500
    2. International variants (i.e. Portuguese Adão) and usage (i.e. Tunisia)
    3. First man in the Bible, actor Adam Sandler
  • Albert
    1. Medieval roots, English-speaking use since 19th century
    2. International variants (i.e. Finnish Alpertti) and usage (i.e. Poland)
    3. Queen Victoria's husband, German physicist Albert Einstein
  • Andrew, Andy
    1. Biblical roots, English-speaking use since Middle Ages
    2. International variants (i.e. Ukranian Andrii) 
    3. Apostle in the New Testament, multiple saints and kings, former U.S. Presidents Andrew Jackson and Johnson, American pop artist Andy Warhol, English composer Andrew Lloyd Weber
  • Anthony, Antonio
    1. Ancient Roman roots, English-speaking use since 14th century
    2. International variants (i.e. Basque Antton) and usage (i.e. Brazil)
    3. Multiple saints, Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, Anthony of Bridgerton








What names would you add to this list?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Edith

Image
Once upon a time, the elements ead and  gyo  untied to create a female name meaning "rich in war." That meaning made the name a perfect fit for medieval royalty; saints and queens, including St. Eadgyo of Wilton and Eadgyo Swan-Neck, had riches in a time when many people did not.  Right before the twelfth century, the Norman Conquest occurred. William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II, whose sister Eadgyo became queen and supported the cult of Edward the Confessor. Not only did Queen Eadgyo survive the Norman Conquest, but her name also continued in usage. As of the twelfth century, Eadgyo became Edith in Modern English.  Edith was one of the few Anglo-Saxon names to survive the Norman Conquest and, thus, the only one to be popular throughout the Middle Ages. She continued to be popular until the seventeenth century, after which she dropped out of the English top 50. The Middle Ages were long over, so was the name Edith.  Over a century later, in 1837, Queen...
Read more

Names Inspired by Wyatt

Image
As with many masculine surname-names, Wyatt has plenty of history, associating itself with outlaw Earp and ranking in the charts almost every year since 1880. However, it was never popular until the last few decades; Wyatt has only been a top 100 staple since 2004. Wyatt Earp gave his name a rustic cowboy charm as well as reminding parents of its history. Alongside being a modern traditional, Wyatt has a distinctive sound with one dominant spelling. Finally, despite its roots as a surname, Wyatt feels more like a first name and is almost fully masculine in usage.  Parents who find Wyatt too popular, or those searching for brother names or simply more names to love, will find this list useful. Here are multiple names below the top 100 inspired by Wyatt: Atticus Famously connected to Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird , this name hails to Alabama. Nothing rhymes or sounds like Atticus, either, and it has a bit of history despite being more popular today (but still below the top 2...
Read more