Uncommon boy names
Every name here passes one test: an American reader knows it on sight — from a novel, a saint, a poet, a president's cabinet — and will go years without meeting a boy who has it. That is the whole distinction between this page and the rare list, where the names are unfamiliar as well as scarce. These are familiar and unused, which is a different and much easier thing to wear.
- BarnabyBAR-nuh-beeEnglish
Son of encouragement. The English form of Barnabas, and about the friendliest three syllables available.
- Bartholomewbar-THOL-uh-myooAramaic
Son of Talmai — a patronymic, not a description. An apostle, with Bart and Tolly on the bench.
- Ignatiusig-NAY-shusLatin
A Roman family name of probable Etruscan origin. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuits and fixed the name in Catholic use.
- RupertROO-pertGermanic
Bright with fame — the German shape of Robert. Prince Rupert of the Rhine rode with it through the English Civil War.
- PercyPUR-seeEnglish
From the Norman village of Perci. A great English surname first, then Percy Bysshe Shelley.
- CedricSED-rikEnglish
No attested meaning: Walter Scott appears to have mangled the Saxon name Cerdic in Ivanhoe, and the mistake outlived him.
- BasilBAZ-ilGreek
Kingly, royal. BAZ-il in Britain, BAY-zuhl in America, and the herb is named for the same root.
- GilesJYLZEnglish
Young goat. One syllable, medieval, and the patron saint of Edinburgh's high kirk.
- DesmondDEZ-mundIrish
From south Munster. Archbishop Desmond Tutu carried it well past Ireland.
- CyrusSY-russPersian
Traditionally read as sun, though the Old Persian derivation is disputed. Cyrus the Great built the first Persian empire.
- ByronBY-runEnglish
At the cattle sheds, which is a very plain root for a name one poet made entirely romantic.
- QuentinKWEN-tinFrench
Fifth — the Roman name for a fifth child, filtered through a French saint.
- ThaddeusTHAD-ee-usGreek
Genuinely uncertain; no derivation is secure. One of the twelve apostles, and Thad for every day.
- PhineasFIN-ee-usHebrew
Probably "the Nubian", borrowed into Hebrew from Egyptian. P. T. Barnum was a Phineas.
- Dashiellduh-SHEELEnglish
Origin unrecorded. Dashiell Hammett wrote the hard-boiled detective into existence and lent the name out afterwards.
- ConradKON-radGerman
Bold counsel: brave in the giving of advice. Joseph Conrad wore it as a surname; it works better in front.
- LeopoldLEE-uh-poldGermanic
Bold of the people. Mozart's father, and the Dublin day of Leopold Bloom.
- Obadiahoh-buh-DY-uhHebrew
Servant of Yahweh. A minor prophet with the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible and one of its best names.
- EnochEE-nokHebrew
Dedicated; initiated. Two syllables, unmistakably biblical, and almost nobody is using it.
- ReubenROO-bunHebrew
Traditionally glossed "behold, a son". Jacob's firstborn, and yes, the sandwich.
- MalcolmMAL-kumScottish
Devotee of St Columba. Four kings of Scotland, and Malcolm X.
- MauriceMOR-issLatin
Moorish; dark-skinned. Ravel composed under it, Sendak drew under it.
Recognition without competition
This is the most underrated position in naming: a name everyone can spell from hearing it, that no other child in the class has. Malcolm, Desmond and Reuben cost a boy nothing at all — no repeating, no correcting, no explaining — and still put him alone in the register. Compare that with a name outside the current U.S. top 100 that nobody has heard of, where the same scarcity is paid for in daily friction. Both are legitimate. Only one is free.
Two things to check before you commit. First, the short form, because it is what he will actually be called: Bartholomew becomes Bart, Ignatius becomes Iggy or Nate, Thaddeus becomes Thad, and if you dislike the nickname you dislike the name. Second, the association — several of these have exactly one famous bearer, and a name with a single owner borrows his reputation. If both check out, pair the long formal name with something short in the middle; the middle names guide has the rhythm rules, and the classic list is where to look for the plain second name that balances a Leopold.