# Need ideas for boys' names. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391 "2009-06-10T23:10:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jormundgondir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@jormundgondir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jormundgondir)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/61 "2009-06-13T02:08:30Z")
Peregrine Sprague Wolfgang Huckleberry Harlan Hamish Hiram Julius Thelonious ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/62 "2009-06-13T03:13:30Z")
Richard. Anglo-Saxon roots. It remains the best boys’ name ever. And it’s not very common anymore. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/63 "2009-06-13T03:16:49Z")
Richard has been ruined (for me at least) by Dick Nixon & the portrayal of Coeur de Leon in _The Lion in Winter._ ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/64 "2009-06-13T03:21:44Z")
Amos Linus Magnus Ulysses ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/65 "2009-06-13T05:42:58Z")
I second Amos. **Ataraxy** beat me to it! I’ve always liked that one. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/66 "2009-06-13T06:36:04Z")
Beowulf of the Geats ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/67 "2009-06-13T10:37:53Z")
Actually, if you were to consider Irish names, I put Cahal into the fray. (Usual spelling Cathal, but it’s pronounced more like Cahal). I’d heard it before, but a recent episode of Grand Designs reminded me of it. Declan is a lovely name, but very popular in Britain and Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/68 "2009-06-14T08:49:46Z")
**Roman** ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/69 "2009-06-14T22:58:08Z")
Callum is one of my favorite boy names lately, and only partially because of Callum Keith Rennie. It also goes really well with Declan, which has already been suggested. According to the NameVoyager (which is super fun to play with; it graphs the popularity of any name that’s ever been in the US top 1000 since about 1880) Callum and Declan both have risen in popularity in the US in the past few years- Declan is the more popular of the two. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/70 "2009-06-14T23:30:45Z")
Joslyn Beverly Hilary Shirley Waverly Anne (As I have found out from this thread.) Were once boy names. There are a few others that escape me You could go ultra obscure and name him [Hilarion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilarion). I have a female cousin named Hilarian. It is actually a very lovely name. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t ever have to tell anyone her last name as she is the only one within 3000 miles, if not the entire continent. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/71 "2009-06-15T04:42:40Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > My son’s name is Dashiell; after Mr. Hammett, of course. Dashiell was my first choice if my daughter had been a boy. However, we decided that we couldn’t use it for my son, because we ended up naming my daughter Dorothy. I didn’t want to condemn my kids to become Dot and Dash. (Although I do think that those would be great names for a kids’ book series - Dot and Dash Morse, the mystery twins.) ---
**Author:** ![kitemaker\_chuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kitemaker\_chuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitemaker_chuck)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/72 "2009-06-15T05:46:52Z")
Well, a few I can think of… Izentefsi (Izen rhymes with “mizzen”) Izen-tef-see Yehtgeisht (Yet-guysht) Boewobtawnt (Boe rhymes with toe) Boe-wob-tawnt ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/73 "2009-06-15T07:19:15Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Were once boy names. There are a few others that escape me Tracey is another one. In fact Ice-T who plays a tough macho detective in Law and Order SVU has the first name of Tracey. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/74 "2009-06-15T07:29:27Z")
My son’s name is Raphael. Based on my audience, I’ve been known to claim that he was named after the angel, the painter or the Ninja Turtle (in fact, he was named after his grandfather). ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/75 "2009-06-15T11:36:56Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > Tracey is another one. In fact Ice-T who plays a tough macho detective in Law and Order SVU has the first name of Tracey. Oooh, yes! Tracey and Stacey. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/76 "2009-06-15T11:38:35Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > My son’s name is Raphael. > > Based on my audience, I’ve been known to claim that he was named after the angel, the painter or the Ninja Turtle (in fact, he was named after his grandfather). His grandfather was a ninja turtle?!!! Just remembered another boy-now-girl name: Florenz. ( My grandfather’s middle name and my middle name, except with the ‘ce’ ending. Francis ( boy) Frances ( girl) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/77 "2009-06-15T21:28:39Z")
> [@Oni no Maggie](#): > > He tends to prefer Old Testament names generally. Aaron Although I have an ulterior motive for suggesting it! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/78 "2009-06-16T18:19:16Z")
I caution against names that seem to be the other gender. I went through school with a boy named for his father, Theada. On the first day of school every year, the teacher asked the same question. “Theada, where is she?” From about the 4th grade, on through high school, kids love to make jokes out of other kids’ names. When you have a short list, think about unfortunate mocking the name might invite. A distinguished name is a very cool thing, and maybe always having to spell it out is a small price to pay. How far should you push the envelope? Maybe Ethelred and Constantine are over the edge. How long is your last name? Federico Chesterton Winklehurst is hard to squeeze into a blank on some forms. If your last name is Bax, go ahead and give him a long name. If you have a very common surname, for Heaven’s sake give him an unusual first name. Our former mayor gets calls from collection agencies, because another Kevin Smith is a no-goodnik who’s always in trouble. Another guy I know spent the night in the pokey because the other David E. Smith on the Air Force base was AWOL. If you name your baby after a celebrity, it might be great. Or, the star might be arrested for beating up his girlfriend, or worse. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/79 "2009-06-16T19:56:22Z")
> [@kitemaker\_chuck](#): > > Well, a few I can think of… > > Izentefsi (Izen rhymes with “mizzen”) Izen-tef-see > > Yehtgeisht (Yet-guysht) > > Boewobtawnt (Boe rhymes with toe) Boe-wob-tawnt If you’re going to just make up names, why not make up ones that will be easy to pronounce? ---
**Author:** ![BR1989](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@BR1989](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BR1989)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/80 "2009-06-17T03:43:08Z")
I really like the name Victor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391.md?page=3)