Classic Boy Names

Names that have never really left. They rise and fall within a band rather than disappearing, which makes them the safest choice on the site and the hardest to say anything surprising about.

Rankings for

297 names, most popular first in the United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Reed Reed is a boy's name of English origin meaning "red" — a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion.
English #418 in US
Conrad Conrad set its American peak in the most recent year on record, 2025, on 770 births — a name birth records carry from 1880 reaching its high point a hundred and forty-five years later.
German #419 in US
Julius Julius means downy-bearded, and the family claimed descent from Venus — the Julii traced themselves to Iulus, son of Aeneas, which is the genealogy Virgil wrote the Aeneid to dignify.
Latin #424 in US
Nehemiah Nehemiah is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord comforts".
Hebrew #429 in US
Pablo Pablo is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," the Spanish form of Paul.
Spanish #431 in US
Lewis Lewis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior," the English form of Louis.
English #433 in US
Moshe Moshe is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, the original form of Moses.
Hebrew #435 in US
Frederick Frederick is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "peaceful ruler."
Germanic #436 in US
Mario Mario is a boy's name from a Roman family name of uncertain meaning, and the video game character was named after a real landlord — Mario Segale, who owned the warehouse Nintendo rented in Seattle.
Italian #438 in US
Sergio Sergio means servant, from a Roman family name that is probably Etruscan — and Virgil gave the Sergii a Trojan ancestor, which is the Aeneid doing genealogical work for Rome's aristocracy.
Italian #441 in US
Valentino Valentino is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "strong" or "healthy".
Latin #444 in US
Prince Prince is a boy's name taken from the title, from the Latin princeps — literally "the one who takes first place".
Latin #447 in US
Pedro Pedro means stone, and the name records a nickname Jesus gave — Simon was renamed Cephas in Aramaic, which Greek translated as Petros, so the pun on rock survives through three languages.
Spanish #456 in US
Johnny Johnny is a boy's name, the pet form of John, meaning God is gracious.
English #458 in US
Rocco Rocco is a boy's name of Germanic origin, generally read from a root meaning rest or repose.
Germanic #459 in US
Esteban Esteban is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "crown," the Spanish form of Stephen, whose bearer was the first Christian martyr.
Spanish #461 in US
Edgar Edgar is a boy's name meaning wealthy spear, and it is one of very few Old English names still in wide use.
English #487 in US
Sean Sean is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "God is gracious," the Irish form of John by way of Norman French.
Irish #489 in US
Arjun Arjun is a boy's name of Sanskrit origin meaning "bright", "white" or "silver".
Indian #490 in US
Frank Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man" or "Frank."
Germanic #514 in US
Moses Moses is explained in Exodus as drawn out of the water, but the name is more likely Egyptian — mose means born of, and it is the second half of Thutmose and Ramose, where the god's name sits in front.
Hebrew #515 in US
Marcos Marcos means dedicated to Mars, and the god behind it was not only a war god — Mars presided over agriculture too, which is coherent once you notice that farming and fighting were the same men's seasonal work.
Spanish #516 in US
Lawrence Lawrence is a boy's name meaning from Laurentum, an ancient Italian town linked to the laurel.
Latin #518 in US
Philip Philip is a boy's name from Greek elements meaning lover of horses.
Greek #527 in US
Erik Erik is a boy's name meaning ever-ruler or sole ruler, from Old Norse.
Scandinavian #545 in US
Augustine Augustine means venerable, and it began as a title rather than a name — the Senate voted Octavian the style Augustus in 27 BC, and everything since descends from that vote.
Latin #547 in US
Armando Armando means army man, and it is the same name as Herman — one Germanic compound that reached Spanish through the Visigoths and English through the Normans, ending up unrecognisably different.
Spanish #556 in US
Andy Andy means manly, and the Greek root is the ordinary word for a man — so Andrew is one of the few apostles carrying a Greek name rather than a Hebrew or Aramaic one.
English #565 in US
Roberto Roberto means bright fame, the Italian and Spanish form of Robert, and both halves of the compound mean roughly the same thing — which is normal in Germanic naming rather than a redundancy.
Italian #569 in US
Enrique Enrique means ruler of the estate, and the home in it is territorial rather than domestic — the Germanic element named the land a lord held, not the house he lived in.
Spanish #571 in US
Seth Seth is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "appointed" or "placed," given to Adam and Eve's third son after Cain killed Abel.
Hebrew #581 in US
Maximilian Maximilian is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "greatest."
Latin #590 in US
Gregory Gregory is a boy's name from the Greek for watchful or alert.
Greek #593 in US
Roland Roland is a boy's name meaning famous land, and its bearer is the hero of France's national epic — a knight who dies at Roncevaux because he is too proud to blow his horn for help.
Germanic #609 in US
Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
Germanic #614 in US
Dominick Dominick means of the Lord, and it was given to children born on a Sunday — dies dominica is the Lord's day, and the name records the day of birth rather than a hope for the child.
Latin #624 in US
Gustavo Gustavo has no settled meaning, and the two accounts disagree on the language — a Norse staff of the Geats, or a Slavic name reshaped by Swedish, and neither has carried the field.
Italian #626 in US
Arturo Arturo means bear, probably — but Arthur is one of the unsolved names, with a Celtic word for bear and a Roman family name both proposed and neither established.
Italian #627 in US
Nathanael Nathanael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has given," and it is the same name as Nathaniel with the spelling closer to the Greek.
Hebrew #633 in US
Raul Raul means wolf counsel, and it is the same name as Ralph and Rudolph — one Norse compound that entered Spanish, English and German separately and ended up looking like three different names.
Spanish #634 in US
Shane Shane is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious," and it exists because English speakers wrote down how Ulster pronounced Seán.
Irish #635 in US
Leonard Leonard is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "lion-strong," and its saint is the patron of prisoners and of women in labor.
Germanic #637 in US
Julio Julio means downy-bearded, and France ranks it 517th — above the United States at 641st, which is not where a Spanish form of a Roman family name would be expected to lead.
Spanish #641 in US
Sam Sam is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has heard," a short form of Samuel.
Hebrew #647 in US
Phillip Phillip is a boy's name meaning lover of horses, the doubled-l spelling of Philip.
Greek #651 in US
Lionel Lionel means little lion, and it entered English through Arthurian romance — Sir Lionel is a knight of the Round Table, and the name was rare before the stories carried it.
French #659 in US
Valentin Valentin is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "strong" or "healthy," the French form of Valentine.
French #660 in US
Ahmad Ahmad is a boy's name of Arabic origin meaning "most praiseworthy".
Arabic #671 in US

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