Vintage boy names
A name earns a place here by having left and, in a few cases, started coming back: common on American birth certificates a century ago, scarce for most of the decades since, and now either still in the trough or in the first stage of a revival. That gap is the whole difference between this page and the classic list — a classic never went away, and every name below did.
- ArthurAR-thurBrittonic
Traditionally glossed as bear, though the origin is disputed. The revival case in one word: back in the U.S. top 100 at #87 after decades in the wilderness.
- WalterWAWL-turGermanic
Ruler of the army; commander of the host. Walt Whitman and Walter Cronkite, and Walt as the everyday half.
- OtisOH-tissEnglish
Son of Ode; ultimately wealth, fortune. Otis Redding is most of the case for using it.
- ErnestUR-nistGermanic
Seriousness; vigour in earnest. Hemingway carried it, and Wilde got a whole play out of the pun.
- HaroldHA-ruldOld English
Army ruler. Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, briefly.
- HowardHOW-erdEnglish
Disputed: high guardian, brave of heart, or keeper of hogs. A ducal English surname long before it was a first name.
- RalphRALFEnglish
A wolf compound — counsel or fame, plus wolf. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Ralph Ellison.
- RaymondRAY-mundGermanic
Counsel and protection: the wise protector. Raymond Chandler gave it a permanent noir tint.
- LeonardLEN-erdGermanic
Brave as a lion; lion-strong. Leonard Bernstein and Leonard Cohen, and Lenny underneath.
- StanleySTAN-leeEnglish
Stony clearing; stony meadow. Stanley Kubrick made the sound serious again.
- AlfredAL-fridOld English
Elf counsel; wise counsellor. Alfred is the only English king history calls the Great.
- AlbertAL-burtGermanic
Noble and bright. One physicist made it a shorthand for genius, which is a heavy thing for a small boy but a good name regardless.
- BernardBUR-nardGermanic
Brave as a bear; bear-hardy. George Bernard Shaw preferred the middle one, and used it.
- NormanNOR-munEnglish
North man; a Norseman. Norman Rockwell painted the century this name belongs to.
- VernonVUR-nunEnglish
Place of alders. Mount Vernon gave it a firm American footing that it has never quite cashed in.
- WarrenWOR-inEnglish
A game park, an enclosure for breeding game; also a Norman place name. Chief Justice Earl Warren, and Warren Buffett.
- RogerROJ-erGermanic
Famous spear. Roger Federer and Roger Ebert keep the name in the air; American parents do not.
- FrankFRANKGermanic
A Frank; free. Frank Sinatra, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Ocean — one syllable, three eras.
- VirgilVUR-jilLatin
From the Roman family name Vergilius; the meaning is not recoverable. Rome's great poet, and the designer Virgil Abloh.
- HomerHOH-merGreek
Traditionally glossed as hostage, though the derivation is not secure. One epic poet and one cartoon father, fighting it out.
- WilburWIL-burGermanic
Traditionally glossed as will or desire, plus fortress. Wilbur was the elder of the two Wright brothers.
- WoodrowWOOD-rohEnglish
Row of houses by a wood. Wilson's presidency lifted it onto the American charts and then let it fall away again.
The hundred-year rule, and which of these come back first
Names feel old when your grandparents had them and fresh when your great-grandparents did. That is the mechanism behind every revival on this page: three or four generations of distance is enough for a name to stop sounding like an elderly relative and start sounding like an heirloom. Arthur got there first and is back in the top 100; Theodore, its close neighbour in the 1910s, is now at #4. Otis and Walter are visibly moving. Vernon, Norman and Wilbur are not yet, which is precisely the argument for taking one now.
The ones that return share a shape: two syllables, a hard opening consonant, and a short usable nickname — Walt, Art, Ernie, Lenny, Frank needs none. The ones that stay down tend to end in a soft -on or -an, or to be welded to one twentieth-century figure. One warning worth taking seriously: Arthur sits on this list and on the classic list, because it is the rare name that both faded and never entirely lost its footing. If a name still reads as your own father's rather than your great-grandfather's, it is not vintage yet — give it a decade, or pick from the uncommon list instead.