I have a 3 y.o. son, and he is wild about trains. We’ve been careful not to feed him a steady diet of Thomas the Tank Engine – in fact, he’s only recently discovered the other Little Blue Engine That Could. But as I watch the show – over and over and over again – I can’t help but note that Thos and his fellow engines have appealing monikers.

First, there’s Thomas himself. A saint’s name, a surname, one of those rare choices that can translate into any language (Tamihana in Maori; Tuomas in Finnish!) and a perpetual Top 100 choice.

In fact, until 2006, it had spent better than a century in the Top 50. (It charted at #51 that year.)

If you’re a trainspotter, naming your Thomas fan’s new little brother, or just looking for a boy’s name with a built-in birthday party theme, here are others, plucked from the series, to consider:

• Edward
• Henry
• James
• Oliver
• Fergus
• Arthur
• Duncan
• Peter (though the engine’s full name is Peter Sam)

And while the Thomasverse is remarkably male, there are even a few choices for girls:

• Annie
• Clarabel
• Henrietta
• Daisy

Though it must be said that the female characters are rarely the main focus of the action.

So there you have it. All aboard!