Truly Timeless Boy Names

Boy Baby Names
#21

That’s my issue too. When it comes to popularity, I’m less inclined to look at names that were consistently in the top 100 or 200 and more likely to look at how much the name has varied in percentage of babies who received the name. In that respect, a name like [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] (4.6x as popular at its peak vs it’s lowest point) is just as timeless as [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] (4.62x as popular at its peak).

Some of the mega popular names get a little tricky since there’s much more in terms of variety of names now. If we look at [name_m]Joseph[/name_m], he’s never been higher than #5 and never lower than #24 but the percent of baby Josephs was 5.7x as high at its peak vs its lowest popularity. [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] peaked at #3 and has gone as #26, but the percentage has been more consistent.

It’s all hard to track, but I dint even know where you’d start with nicknames since there isn’t any database of everyone’s nn.

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#22

A lot of the nicknames actually rank in SSA. It’s quite clear when [name_u]Liam[/name_u] “replaces” [name_m]Bill[/name_m] as the go-to nickname for [name_m]William[/name_m].

https://www.behindthename.com/name/bill/top/united-states?compare=Liam&type=rank

#23

As a go to, sure, but multiple nicknames can and will coexist.

#24

What about [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] and [name_m]Henry[/name_m]?

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#25

Alexander is 100% timeless!

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#26

Thank you for pointing out [name_m]Anthony[/name_m]! I looked back in my stats, and, indeed, he did meet the requirements. I will add him! (There were so many more boys than girls that apparently some were easy to miss and mess up in my list, so I apologize.) :slight_smile:

But [name_m]Henry[/name_m] is there.

I 100% agree. :slight_smile:
It just happened to have sunk just low enough in the mid-20th century to have not made this list.

#27

I have to still say, one dip in a decade of one century shouldn’t outweigh the fact that it’s been popular for centuries all throught the world as well. [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] the Great, [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] [name_m]Hamilton[/name_m], etc.

#28

Oh, no! That’s not at all the point. This list was merely the relatively more popular timeless names. (I clarified that in the girls list and should have here as well.) As I said, the boys list rarely changed in all that time, so I kept it to the top 200. This is not a definitive list, but merely an observation based on some research I had done into names that had remained high on the charts since the beginning of records in the US. Certainly, we can all judge the timelessness of a name for ourselves. I never meant to imply that these are the only timeless boy names. :slight_smile:

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#29

Thank you so much for putting all of this together. I’m a bit late - I can’t believe I missed this one!

Such a shame that [name_m]Edward[/name_m] and [name_m]Victor[/name_m] in particular are dropping out of the top 200. Such timeless classics in my eye. I’d love to see a surprise comeback from either of them at some point in the future, but perhaps they need a little more time?

To answer your questions, I admit [name_m]Jack[/name_m] surprised me. It’s always felt like quite a young name to me, even though it has many notable wearers from older generations, and has been a staple name in pop culture (movies, books, etc) for many, many decades. I was also surprised to see [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] placing so highly in 2019. Contrary to [name_m]Jack[/name_m], [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] feels a lot older. I can’t think of any [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] under the age of 40! I wondered at first if it temporarily dropped sometime between the '80s and '00s, but according to your data, apparently not! Maybe it’s less popular in [name_u]New[/name_u] Zealand?

Some of these names I would consider. [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] is the name of my SO and a name I’ve grown very fond of, but I’ve never been a huge fan of naming children after their parents. Although I’m very unlikely to ever use this name on a child, it’s a stunning classic, and I haven’t gotten sick of hearing the name over the years. [name_u]James[/name_u] was once my #1 boy name, however, a negative association ruined it for me. Similar to [name_m]Samuel[/name_m], it’s a name I cannot use but I am always delighted when others do. I would seriously consider [name_m]Matthew[/name_m], but unfortunately SO doesn’t like it. :sob:

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#30

Of course!

It’s true. I was only a bit surprised myself, but surprised nonetheless. I think because I had imagined it was so much more often a nn for [name_m]John[/name_m] than a name on its own. But so it is apparently!

And, as for [name_m]Anthony[/name_m]…

I can only assume so. It is quite popular here, especially amongst Dads and teens. I would venture to guess its enduring popularity is aided by Italian and Hispanic families – in my area at least, it is very popular with them. (In fact, my mother’s family is Italian, and there the ‘Tonys’ abound, whether it’s [name_m]Anton[/name_m], [name_m]Antonio[/name_m], or the anglicized [name_m]Anthony[/name_m].)

Oh! And I can certainly understand your feelings about both [name_u]James[/name_u] and [name_m]Samuel[/name_m]. I definitely have experienced that with certain names, too.
I love [name_m]Matthew[/name_m]! Such an enduring and endearing classic, imo. It is unfortunate that your SO doesn’t see it. :confused: It is somewhat overused here, so I think it will gradually decline in popularity, but I think, as you said about [name_m]Samuel[/name_m], it is definitely one I’m not yet sick of hearing, though it is so common!

Thank you for your input! :slight_smile:

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