Name Help: Classic Boy Names That Aren’t Already Taken

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed.

We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight!

Lauren writes:

Help, please!

I’m the youngest of five kids, married to the youngest of four. We’re the last of our siblings to start a family and it feels like they’ve used ALL OF THE GOOD NAMES.

Especially for boys.

If not our families, then our friends have already taken the ones that we could seriously consider using.

Our style is pretty traditional. My favorites are Henry, Theodore, and Charles. My husband likes William and James. These are all already the names of our nephews/cousins/close friends’ kids.

Joseph is a family name on both sides, but it could really only be a middle. (There’s a Joseph III in our new baby’s generation already.)

Names we also like but are already taken: Alexander, August, Benjamin, Daniel, George, Jack, Lucas/Luke, Miles, Nathaniel, Nicholas, Patrick, Ryan, Samuel, Thomas, Zachary.

My husband is Matthew, and we know we don’t want a junior. Also, our last name sounds like Kella-her, but is spelled differently, so Oliver is out, too.

We’re not due until January, but our name list is empty!

Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new son!

And oh, this is tough. As joyful as big families can be, they do make naming a little more of a puzzle.

Let’s tackle this from two angles.

First, are the classic names you love really off-limits?

I agree that you probably wouldn’t name your son William if your sister or his brother has a two year old named William.

But if it’s his cousin, the one who moved across the country after college and you only see every few years? Or your old college roommate, who you adore, but last saw at a wedding in 2019?

Maybe those names should be on the table. The parents aren’t leaving your life, but the repetition is not likely to cause a problem.

I know good friends who met when they both had toddler boys named Max And extended families where names repeat, but a mix of age and distance means that there’s never really any confusion.

So your first task is this: think about which names it would be really awkward to repeat. Consider the possibility that your family might have, say, a 16 year old Lucas and a baby Luke without any issues.

Second, let’s think about how to broaden your list.

Right now, you’re looking for names that are both current and classic.

By definition, that will always be a tiny, limited list.

But you can turn more than one dial.

In brief, you could choose names that read slightly less classic, but still fit with

STILL CURRENT, NOT QUITE AS CLASSIC BOY NAMES

BENNETT

Does the Benjamin in your lives rule out Bennett? It’s a surname derived from Benedict; any of the three names could easily be shortened to Ben. So it feels traditional, even if surname names tend to be a little more modern.

BLAKE

Because your last name is a little longer, a short, strong first name could be great.

ISAAC

There aren’t a ton of Biblical names on your list, but I think Old Testament Isaac is less in the Nehemiah/Ezekiel camp and closer to Henry/Miles.

JUDE

This New Testament name is rising throughout the English-speaking world, an alternative to Jack with much of the same appeal. Bonus: a built-in lullaby, thanks to The Beatles.

HAYES

Hayes sounds polished and preppy. Like Bennett, it’s a surname name – though it’s even more recently risen in use. It’s an alternative to Miles or Henry.

OWEN

We don’t think of Owen as traditional, necessarily – but it is. The much-married King Henry VIII had a great-grandfather by the name.

REID

Another surname name, Reid feels traditional-ish. It’s also spelled Reed, but the “ei” spelling is more popular. Again, it sounds particularly good with a longer last name like Kella-her.

SILAS

A name with deep roots, New Testament Silas comes from the Latin Silvanus, ultimately from silva – the forest. It’s quite stylish at the moment, a brother for Theo or Will.

STILL CLASSIC, NOT QUITE AS STYLISH BOY NAMES

ANTHONY

Tony is solidly in dad-name territory, but Anthony, used in full, has a very different image.

JESSE

There’s something cuddly about Jesse. It fits right in with casual-cool names like Theo and Jack. If it hadn’t been very popular circa 1980, it would be big now.

JONATHAN

Another name that caught on in the 1980s, Jonathan feels like an alternative to Theodore and Alexander today.

MALCOLM

When it comes to overlooked classics, Malcolm always comes to mind. It’s solid, traditional, and nickname-rich, without needing a nickname at all.

MICHAEL

Nowadays, Mike is somebody’s dad – or maybe grandpa! But Michael? Use it without a nickname, and it feels fresh and modern.

PETER

It’s a storybook name, the boy’s answer to Alice. And it’s a rock solid classic, too – pun intended. That R ending ought to make it fit right in with Carter and Hunter and Asher, too.

SIMON

Simon sounds smart, a little serious, and very traditional, too.

THOMAS

Theodore is white hot, but Thomas, somehow, we’ve neglected. Say it in full – Thomas – and it fits right in with Miles and James. But Tommy feels delightfully old school and I think Tom still has potential, too. But just like James is no longer automatically Jim, I don’t think you’d have to shorten Thomas – and that’s why it works so well.

So how do you decide where to turn the dial?

There’s a style gap between Simon/Thomas/Michael and Silas/Bennett/Owen. Either set could be a brother for Henry, but Simon doesn’t sound as much like a brother for Bennett, right? (I mean, they could be. But it’s not my immediate thought.)

If you’re stuck, it might help to think about girls’ names.

I know, I know … imagining a future sibling for your firstborn is potentially overwhelming!

But do you find yourself drawn to the most classic of classics for girls – Mary, Elizabeth, Helen, Katherine? (Though I realize you’ll surely have the same repetition problem here.) Or do you find yourself eager to consider slightly more modern/stylish names for girls – Sienna, Autumn, Maeve?

Because if your girls’ name list feels a little more adventurous, I’d suggest you consider the Bennett/Silas category more strongly.

But if you’re Team Mary and Katherine? Then I’d focus on choices like Peter and Thomas.

Readers, over to you – what advice do you have for choosing a classic boys’ name when the most obvious choices are taken?