One of the most exciting things about planning for a baby is picking out the perfect name for your little bundle of joy. However, there’s an abundance of names and trends to pick from, so where do you start? If you want out advice, we suggest names that are timeless and classic, and none are more fitting than old-fashioned men’s names.
According to nameberry.com, hundreds of vintage boys names including ‘Hubert’, ‘Oswald’, ‘Waldo’, and ‘Irving’ have become extinct and are unlikely to be used by parents anytime soon, but that could be all about to changes, as – just like fashion trends- everything old is new again.
There are many old-fashioned boys names hat have popped up periodically over the years. The name ‘John’, for example, was the most popular boys name from 1880 to 1924 before its popularity dwindled away. The experts at babycenter.com say since then, the usage of the name ‘John’ has increased and decreased, despite maintaining an overall decline in popularity. In the last 5 years its popularity has peaked once more, but it has never returned to the level it had in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In 1940 the top 10 baby names were ‘James’, ‘Robert’, ‘John’, ‘William’, ‘Richard’, ‘Charles’, ‘David’, ‘Thomas’, ‘Donald’ and ‘Ronald’, infoplease.com reports. While the names ‘Donald’, ‘Ronald’ and ‘Richard’ have faded away with time, the remaining monikers are still favoured by parents. ‘William’, for example, is ranked only one spot behind where it was in the 1940s; as for the other seven names – in 2010 they were all still in the top 65 boys’ names in the USA.
Today, most names that we call old-fashioned are actually timeless, classic names that age just as well as the people who bare them. Given that some ‘Old man Names’ haven’t been in circulation for some time, some people still find the old names bizarre to hear and this adds an eccentric touch to any such name choice.
Based on our inspection of popular baby name sites ohbabynames.com and nameberry.com, the 20 most popular old-fashioned names for baby boys are:
20. Albert –
Pronunciation: AL-bərt
Origin: English, French, German
Meaning: Noble, bright, famous
Famous Namesakes: Albert Einstein and Albert Arnold Gore (Al gore).
Most Popular In: Denmark and Spain
19. Arthur –
Pronunciation: AHR-thər
Origin: Celtic, English
Meaning: Strong as a bear
Famous Namesakes: King Arthur
Most Popular In: England, Wales, France and Belgium
18. Calvin –
Pronunciation: KAL-vin
Origin: French
Meaning: Little Bald one, non-conformist
Famous Namesakes: Calvin Klein, Calvin Harris
Most Popular In: United States of America

17. Charles –
Pronunciation: CHAHRLZ
Origin: English, French, German
Meaning: Free man
Famous Namesakes: Charles Dickens, Charlie Chaplin, and Prince Charles of Wales
Most Popular In: England, the United States, Canada, Australia and France
16. Chester –
Pronunciation: CHEHS-ter
Origin: English and Latin
Meaning: fortified place
Famous Namesakes: Admiral Chester Nimitz, President Chester A. Arthur
Most Popular In: England
15. Frank –
Pronunciation: FRANK or FRAHNK
Origin: English
Meaning: France, Frenchman, Free man
Famous Namesakes: Frank Sinatra
Most Popular In: Sweden
14. George –
Pronunciation: JOHRJ
Origin: English, French, Greek, and Latin
Meaning: Farmer, earth worker
Famous Namesakes: George Washington, George W Bush, and George Orwell.
Most Popular In: Scotland and Australia
13. Harry –
Pronunciation: HAIR-ee
Origin: English
Meaning: Ruler of the home
Famous Namesakes: Prince Harry Duke of Sussex, Harry Houdini. Most Popular In: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia, Ireland and Sweden
12. Henry –
Pronunciation: HEN-ree
Origin: English, French, and German
Meaning: Ruler of the Home
Famous Namesakes: King Henry VIII, Henry Ford
Most Popular In: England, Australia, Canada and the United States
11. Louis –
Pronunciation: LOO-ess
Origin: French, German
Meaning: Famous Warrior
Famous Namesakes: Louis IX of France, Louis Mountbatten, Louis Tomlinson
Most Popular In: France, United Kingdom, United States of America
10. Norman –
Pronunciation: NOR-mən
Origin: English, German
Meaning: Northman (Viking)
Famous Namesakes: Norman “Norm” Nixon
Most Popular In: United States of America
9. Oliver –
Pronunciation: AHL-ə-vər
Origin: English, German, Latin, Nordic
Meaning: Elf-army; Ancestral relic, Olive tree (peace)
Famous Namesakes: Oliver Cromwell, Oliver Stone
Most Popular In: England, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Sweden

8. Theodore –
Pronunciation: THEE-ә-dawr
Origin: French, Greek
Meaning: God’s gift
Famous Namesakes: Theodore Roosevelt
Most Popular In: United States of America and England
7. Alfie/Alfred –
Pronunciation: AL-fee
Origin: English
Meaning: Little elf
Most Popular In: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
6. Edward –
Pronunciation: EHD-werd
Origin: English
Meaning: Guard of Riches, Protector of Wealth
Famous Namesakes: Edward Estlin Cummings, Prince Edward Earl of Wessex
Most Popular In: Australia
5. Andrew –
Pronunciation: AN-droo
Origin: English, Greek Scottish
Meaning: Manly, Brave
Famous Namesakes: Andrew (“Andy”) Warhol, President Andrew Johnson
Most Popular In: United States, Scotland, Canada and Ireland
4. Leo –
Pronunciation: LEE-oh
Origin: Latin
Meaning: Lion
Famous Namesakes: Leo Arnaud
Most Popular In: Italy
3. Frederick –
Pronunciation: FRED-ə-rik
Origin: English, French, German
Meaning: Peaceful leader
Famous Namesakes: Sir Frederick Grant Banting, Freddie Prinze
Most Popular In: England

2. Vincent –
Pronunciation: VIN-sәnt
Origin: French, Latin
Meaning: Conqueror, to win
Famous Namesakes: Vincent Van Gogh, Vin Diesel
Most Popular In: Italy Spain
1. Jack –
Pronunciation: JAK
Origin: English
Meaning: God is gracious
Famous Namesakes: Jack Nicholson, Jack Lambert
Most Popular In: Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, Australia, Canada and Australia
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