Hey berries!
So a while ago I posted my gigantic list of favorite girls names and got a lot of great feedback. Time for my boys list! [name]Don[/name]'t worry though-this one is tiny. Oh! And I’m not pregnant, just a name nerd.
Names:
[name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name]
[name]Graham[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
[name]James[/name]
[name]Luke[/name]
[name]Prosper[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name]
[name]William[/name]
Thanks guys!
Quirk
[name]Benjamin[/name] - quite popular, but nevertheless a handsome classic.
[name]Ezra[/name] - I absolutely adore this one, but it seems it is quite popular in the US? Virtually unheard of here in [name]England[/name], though.
[name]Gabriel[/name] - also not as popular here as in the US, I like this one, although not as much as I like [name]Ezra[/name] and [name]Benjamin[/name].
[name]Graham[/name] - for me, this name is a curiousity. It’s not odd, and I don’t dislike it - I think it’s something about the back-to-back vowel sounds in the middle which intrigues me. Thanks to a lot of American movies, I think “crackers”.
[name]Henry[/name] - just ridiculously handsome. I love it!
[name]James[/name] - a classic.
[name]Luke[/name] - another classic, I love that it is only one syllable, yet still has a soft sound. You might also like [name]Luca[/name] (a blend of [name]Luke[/name] and [name]Ezra[/name]!).
[name]Prosper[/name] - I adore this, so much. I love virtue names in general, especially the more unusual, and [name]Prosper[/name] and Courage are my favourites for boys.
[name]Samuel[/name] - I really like the sound of this classic, although I prefer [name]Samson[/name] and [name]Solomon[/name].
[name]William[/name] - a classic, but I personally am not a huge fan. It’s nice enough, I just don’t really love any of the nicknames, and sometimes I find that it sounds whiney - that is probably just me, though!
If I were to name children from your list :
[name]Ezra[/name] [name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]Henry[/name] [name]Samuel[/name]/[name]Prosper[/name]
[name]Prosper[/name] [name]Luke[/name].
[name]Hi[/name], Quirk!
[name]Benjamin[/name] - My brother’s name. Can’t go wrong with it! I’d argue it is the perfect boy’s name, comparable to something like [name]Elizabeth[/name] or [name]Caroline[/name] on the girl’s side. Great, strong, fun name.
[name]Ezra[/name] - This one is a sneaky name that is really growing on me! I think it sounds handsome and unique without trying too hard. It is strong with that Z sound, yet soft with the -a ending. Paired with a handsome classic (think [name]Ezra[/name] [name]Nathaniel[/name]) I think it could be amazing!
[name]Gabriel[/name] - Such a Biblical classic. I do tend to think that [name]Gabriel[/name] sounds a bit young, but [name]Gabe[/name] (like [name]Nate[/name]) is such a fun, playful nickname that I’m won over. Really sweet name that should be paired with a strong classic, like [name]Gabriel[/name] [name]Christopher[/name].
[name]Graham[/name] - So handsome and charming! This is a great vintage name with modern - surname - appeal. I prefer this spelling over, say, [name]Graeme[/name], but either way is so perfect. I really like this!
[name]Henry[/name] - Oh, my favorite! I don’t mind that it is becoming popular again, as it is the epitome of classic and class, I think. It is a fun name whether used on its own or nicknamed to something like [name]Harry[/name]. Not a huge fan of the [name]Hank[/name] nickname, though! I really don’t think you can go wrong with [name]Henry[/name]…
[name]James[/name] - Huge family name for me, and I love it! [name]Every[/name] [name]James[/name] in my family goes by [name]Jim[/name] - you can probably guess how old they all are! - but I like [name]James[/name] alone or nicknamed to something playful like [name]Jamie[/name]. It’s an underused classic as a first name, and I think it would be really great to bring back a generation of [name]James[/name]’ who actually go by “[name]James[/name],” don’t you?
[name]Luke[/name] - This feels like a nickname, so I would prefer it be [name]Lucas[/name], but then again I have a hard time taking [name]Lucas[/name] seriously as a vintage classic anymore considering its recent rise to fame. I do love the name, and I think it is strong and fun, but I see [name]Lucas[/name] and [name]Ethan[/name] better as siblings than [name]Lucas[/name] and [name]Henry[/name]. A shame!
[name]Prosper[/name] - Really cool name, but I don’t know if it could hold its own as a first name. I honestly love it to pieces as a middle name, though, and I think it has a vintage virtue feel that would really appeal! If used as a first name, I could see [name]Prosper[/name] with siblings called [name]Blythe[/name], [name]Felicity[/name], or even [name]Remember[/name].
[name]Samuel[/name] - I think [name]Samuel[/name] was a little overdone in the last generation - mine! - but it is handsome and strong. It has never been my favorite, but [name]Sam[/name] is a great nickname, like [name]Ben[/name]. In fact, this was almost my brother’s name (he was going to be [name]Ben[/name], [name]Sam[/name], or [name]Max[/name]).
[name]William[/name] - It’s a great classic, and I love it! [name]Will[/name] and [name]Liam[/name] are great nicknames, too, and you can’t mess up with a [name]William[/name], really!
You’ve got awesome names - exactly my style. [name]Love[/name] most of them, really, especially [name]Henry[/name], [name]Benjamin[/name], [name]Ezra[/name], [name]William[/name], [name]Graham[/name], and [name]James[/name]!
[name]Lemon[/name] 
[name]Benjamin[/name] - Such a great classic, I do know a lot of [name]Ben[/name]'s though. I think [name]Benjamin[/name] is fantastic.
[name]Ezra[/name] - Sorry, not a fan. The first thing I read about [name]Ezra[/name] was one the Nameberry Heresies blog, and now all I can think of when I see it that it is a typo.
[name]Gabriel[/name] - [name]Love[/name] so much! Really handsome.
[name]Graham[/name] - I have just recently started to love [name]Graham[/name], and I also love nn [name]Gram[/name].
[name]Henry[/name] - Brilliance. I don’t think you can go wrong with [name]Henry[/name].
[name]James[/name] - I love [name]James[/name], I think [name]James[/name] sounds so friendly and happy.
[name]Luke[/name] - Really like, prefer some of your others, but I think [name]Luke[/name] is a good, solid classic.
[name]Prosper[/name] - Wow, this is quite different to your other choices, I love it though! Definitely my favourite virtue name for boys.
[name]Samuel[/name] - Not a fan of nn [name]Sam[/name] but I think [name]Samuel[/name] as a whole is great.
[name]William[/name] - Another really good classic, good nn potential, I love [name]Liam[/name], another you can’t o wrong with!
I think my favourites are [name]Graham[/name], [name]Gabriel[/name], [name]Prosper[/name] and [name]Henry[/name]
[name]Love[/name] your list!
~[name]Elena[/name]
I think [name]Samuel[/name] and [name]Luke[/name] are my least favorites at this point. Still keeping them on the list, though. My whole idea on a list is that you should be flexible. If I had a son with any of these names, then I am confident I would like their name. So, some of these aren’t my favorites, but I’ll probably need to compromise, so there’ll all staying. Currently, my favorites are [name]William[/name] [name]Ezra[/name] (or [name]Ezra[/name] [name]William[/name]) and [name]Benjamin[/name] [name]Prosper[/name]. Thank you [name]Lemon[/name] for [name]Ben[/name] [name]Prosper[/name].
Quirk
UPDATE: [name]Lyle[/name] and [name]Trevor[/name]…Thoughts? I still love my classic names like [name]William[/name] and [name]Benjamin[/name] and [name]James[/name]. But lately I’ve been thinking about branching out a bit. I still want English-sounding, recognizable names. I’m looking for a bit more unusual ones, though. And ideas? I guess I’ll start categorizing into two groups.
Classic:
[name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]William[/name]
[name]James[/name]
[name]Luke[/name]
[name]Gabriel[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
More Unusal:
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Prosper[/name]
[name]Graham[/name]
[name]Lyle[/name]
[name]Trevor[/name]?
Thanks!!
@ Quirk
[name]Trevor[/name] feels decidedly more modern and popular - perhaps even trendy? - than your other selections, and thus it seems rather out of place. I’m not sure I’m really loving that one, to be honest. What do you think of [name]Wesley[/name]?
Now, [name]Lyle[/name] is a really cool vintage name that fits beautifully with your other names! I think of [name]Lyle[/name] the Crocodile, but it is still a fun name, for sure! [name]Lyle[/name] [name]Frederick[/name], [name]Lyle[/name] [name]Rupert[/name], [name]Lyle[/name] [name]Patrick[/name], or [name]Lyle[/name] [name]Sebastian[/name] would be nice…
[name]Lemon[/name]
[name]Ah[/name], I think I see what your saying about [name]Trevor[/name]. It kind of sounds like a last name name now doesn’t it? Hm… Loving [name]Lyle[/name], though! [name]Rupert[/name] is great!! I also like [name]Hugo[/name]. (Obviously not with [name]Lyle[/name].) Thank you for the suggestions!
Quirk
Oh! And [name]Wesley[/name] is unusable. I’ve only ever known one [name]Wesley[/name] and he was awful!! I like [name]West[/name], though. It’s different form my other names.
Names:
[name]Benjamin[/name] - it’s nice, but not very special
[name]Ezra[/name] - I can’t say why, but I don’t like it
[name]Gabriel[/name] - I love this name, it has such a serene air about it. I also like [name]Gabe[/name] as a nick name.
[name]Graham[/name] - nice, but nothing special
[name]Henry[/name] - same
[name]James[/name] - I like it, it’s a proper, manly name and if you want you can always call him [name]Jamie[/name] as a nickname
[name]Luke[/name] - nice, but nothing special
[name]Prosper[/name] - I like it, although more for the sound than for the meaning. I’m not a big fan of calling your child words instead of names
[name]Samuel[/name] - such a lovely name, which offers the tremendously awesome nickname [name]Sam[/name]. A name that fits a judge and a rockstar(as [name]Sam[/name]).
[name]William[/name] - a good name. Great nicknames available([name]Bill[/name], [name]Will[/name], [name]Liam[/name]).
Same versatility as [name]Samuel[/name] in terms of fitting jobs.
So my favourite are:
I guess I’m rather traditional when it comes to boy’s names ;D