I cite these names as “guilty pleasures”, mainly because I don’t know if they’re usable or not. Which of the following do you find usable, if any?
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I don’t think I would balk at seeing an [name]Atlas[/name], [name]Constantine[/name], [name]Hector[/name], [name]Nicola[/name], [name]Ren[/name], [name]Valentine[/name], or [name]Viggo[/name].
I find these usable:
[name]Orpheus[/name]
Faramir
[name]Sherlock[/name]
[name]Viggo[/name]
[name]Ulysses[/name]
[name]Thorin[/name]
[name]Aurelian[/name]
[name]Constantine[/name]
[name]Galileo[/name]
[name]Valentine[/name]
[name]Hemingway[/name]
[name]Ren[/name] and [name]Nicola[/name] are girl names.
[name]Atlas[/name] is the only absolutely not in my opinion. I’d advice against [name]Loki[/name] as he was a horrid horrid “man”. I’m on the fence with [name]Ichabod[/name].
I think these are usable (not necessarily by me…, but usable):
[name]Atlas[/name]
[name]Constantine[/name]
[name]Hector[/name]
[name]Ren[/name]
[name]Thorin[/name]
[name]Ulysses[/name]
[name]Valentine[/name]
[name]Viggo[/name]
[name]Every[/name] single one is usable, (well, maybe not [name]Loki[/name] or [name]Sherlock[/name]) especially if paired with something more solid and sedate. It diminishes the whimsy/ shock value while letting the beautiful qualities of the unusual name shine.
I.e. [name]Viggo[/name] [name]Alexander[/name]-- smashing. [name]John[/name] [name]Ptolemy[/name]-- excellent. [name]Nicola[/name] [name]Ren[/name] = ?
[name]Edit[/name]: [name]Ottilie[/name]‘s right about [name]Nicola[/name] (Niccolo is the boys’ name), but [name]Ren[/name] spelled thusly is a Japanese male name; [name]Rin[/name] is the girls’ name.
The ones that I would definately use are:
[name]Atlas[/name]
[name]Constantine[/name]
[name]Orpheus[/name]
[name]Viggo[/name]
[name]Love[/name] them and could see them used for little boys.
[name]Atlas[/name] I would not use this it seems too superhero to me
[name]Aurelian[/name] No
[name]Constantine[/name] Yes, very nice
Faramir A little too fanciful reminds me of Arabian Nights, the genie in a bottle etc
[name]Galileo[/name] Very nice and very usable
[name]Hector[/name] [name]Stuffy[/name] vintage usable if that is your style, sisters would be [name]Gertrude[/name] and [name]Maude[/name]
[name]Hemingway[/name] Very nice
[name]Ichabod[/name] No
[name]Loki[/name] No
[name]Nicola[/name] Not for a boy
[name]Orpheus[/name] [name]Don[/name]'t like the sound, too much of an ‘awf’ sound coming through as in awful
[name]Ptolemy[/name] Mn spot if you like the classics
[name]Ren[/name] Girly
[name]Sherlock[/name] Go for [name]Locke[/name] instead
[name]Thorin[/name] Is this a cross between [name]Thor[/name] and [name]Thorn[/name]?
[name]Ulysses[/name] Mn spot
[name]Valentine[/name] Very nice
[name]Viggo[/name] Sounds like something you would eat
[name]Thorin[/name] is a character in The Hobbit 
I’m surprised so many people are saying [name]Nicola[/name] is strictly a girls name… I’ve never heard of it used on a girl before.
[name]Atlas[/name] is on top of my boy’s list of names that I [name]WILL[/name] use. I also like [name]Thorin[/name] and [name]Galileo[/name].
I think that [name]Valentine[/name] and [name]Ren[/name] are most wearable, but they’re all definitely fine.
Let me argue for [name]Ulysses[/name] here!
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The spelling variant “[name]Ulises[/name]” is ranked at around 500 in the US. So, it’s not nearly as obscure as you’d think, and people are definitely using it. There are quite a few [name]Ulysses[/name] running about, if under the alternate spelling! I’ve only ever heard it among Latinos (and that’s where that [name]Ulises[/name] spelling-variation comes from), but I just want to point out that it’s not as wild as naming your child [name]Odysseus[/name] or something. Lots of little boys have this name and wear it handsomely. Mine certainly does!
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[name]Even[/name] though Latinate/[name]Roman[/name], it has a very Western European feel because of [name]Ulysses[/name] by [name]James[/name] [name]Joyce[/name]. Likewise, there’s [name]Ulysses[/name] [name]Grant[/name] in the States. It’s a name that’s familiar worldwide with a wonderful history and connection to mythology and literature. Dapper and dignified, yet funky.
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You have some pronunciation options. Most people tend to prefer yoo-LISS-eez, as it sounds less [name]Roman[/name] this way. This is the way I tend to say it, too. But, yoo-LISS-uhs, works, too!
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You can be super geeky chic with a name like [name]Ulysses[/name], or brawny and into sport! It works from a nerdy angle because of the brilliant modernist novel, and from a jock angle because it’s a variant of [name]Odysseus[/name].
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HAVE YOU [name]READ[/name] THE ODYSSEY LATELY?? OR [name]ULYSSES[/name]? Great books. Distinguished namesakes.
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We call him Uly, sometimes (yoo-lee), which sounds really girly and odd in theory, but in practise is actually quite adorable. It’s a nickname everyone’s taken to. Yet, no one forces it.
[name]Ulysses[/name]’ name was going to be [name]Ulysses[/name] [name]Anselm[/name] for the longest time, but family talked me into giving him a more plain middle so he’d have it as a backup. The way it’s going, I don’t think that will ever be necessary.
Like [name]Blade[/name], I think most of your names are usable, especially [name]Ptolemy[/name] (guilty pleasure of mine, too) and [name]Constantine[/name]. Think about all the people you’ve met with out-there names. Did it freak you out, or did you just go, “Whoa. Cool. Moving on now.” I think that’s how it tends to be in real life most of the time. As long as the name has a history and is on the edge of familiar, it’s not a hindrance and is definitely usable.
The only ones that would really get a laugh out of me are [name]Ichabod[/name] (though I find it delightfully eccentric and I want to believe it could work if used in just the right combination) and [name]Hemingway[/name]. [name]Hemingway[/name] to me is trying way too hard.
[name]Nicola[/name] - how about [name]Nikola[/name], like Tesla?
[name]Loki[/name] also gets the heave-ho - sort of the jackal of Norse mythology? Looks like the gods tied him up in the entrails of one of his sons, for his wickedness. Yikes!
[name]Sherlock[/name] is a one-man-name, but pretty cool nonetheless. [name]Atlas[/name] is too much for my taste, but some people seem to love it.
I’m not in the States, and I don’t think [name]Ulysses[/name] ranks {I’ll have to check} here in the UK, but I love, love, love that your son is named [name]Ulysses[/name]! It’s such an awesome name!
[name]Ulysses[/name] was given to three boys in [name]England[/name] and [name]Wales[/name] in 2011 
Thank you, I guess that makes me feel like it’s more usable
So much of the UK/US lists overlap that I forget we occasionally have huge divergences! [name]Ulysses[/name] might definitely be less usable in the UK. I think here, at least, there’s a culture of weird naming.
I would be game for using:
[name]Atlas[/name]
[name]Aurelian[/name]
[name]Constantine[/name]
[name]Thorin[/name]
[name]Valentine[/name] (though, I would go with [name]Valentin[/name]/ Valentín first)
And I think these are usable, though not ones I’d use myself:
[name]Hector[/name]
[name]Hemingway[/name]
[name]Nicola[/name] (I know a couple guys named [name]Nikola[/name] I think it’s awesome, but I don’t feel like I can use it)
[name]Ren[/name]
[name]Viggo[/name] (I mean, [name]Taylor[/name] [name]Hanson[/name] did it…)
Which leaves:
Faramir (sounds cool… not sure how practical it’d be)
[name]Galileo[/name] (I love [name]Leo[/name] pronounced like Léo, but the whole thing is a bit much for me)
[name]Ichabod[/name] (I remember, for some reason, starting to call my brother [name]Ichabod[/name] when we were kids… my friend morphed it to “Icky-bod” and we discussed how this actually would be a horrible name to live with. I know a guy named Ekhi (‘ekky’, if that helps?), though, and I [name]LOVE[/name] that.
[name]Loki[/name]- I don’t get this one at all. I’ve seen it a lot siiiiince a movie came out, but I don’t ‘get it’
[name]Orpheus[/name]- um, no. Totally not usable. I actually think I’d be mortified to live with this name. Some people would probably not care but at least as a first name, I wouldn’t do it.
[name]Ptolemy[/name]- not awful… it’s pretty awesome compared to [name]Orpheus[/name] in terms of livability, but I think it’d still be a rough go having this as your name.
[name]Sherlock[/name]- No way. It isn’t inherently bad, but with the expression, “No sh*t, [name]Sherlock[/name]” this would be absolutely brutal.
[name]Ulysses[/name]- It’s doable, I guess, objectively-speaking. Subjectively, I would not be impressed if this were my name.
PS sorry I was inconsistent with the dashes and parentheses! I got half way through and didn’t notice I had switched.
If I had to use one of these names for a son, i would go with viggo, by a mile. If I had to use a second one… [name]Constantine[/name] or [name]Ulysses[/name].
My top name for a boy is [name]Aurelian[/name], so I definitely think that’s usable
The ones I [name]DON[/name]'T think are usable:
Faramir
[name]Galileo[/name]
[name]Ichabod[/name]
[name]Loki[/name]
[name]Ptolemy[/name]
[name]Sherlock[/name]
[name]Valentine[/name]
[name]Viggo[/name]
I think they’d just be really hard to pull off.
Also, [name]Nicola[/name] can be used for a boy as well. Go for it. ([name]Nikola[/name] Tesla, anyone?)
I think they’re pretty much all usable to a degree. I’d be a bit questionable about [name]Sherlock[/name] (too strong an association to Mr. [name]Holmes[/name]), [name]Ren[/name] (seems feminine, and means ‘person’ in Chinese), [name]Nicola[/name] (too feminine- [name]Nico[/name] or [name]Nicolas[/name] or [name]Nikolai[/name] would be fine), [name]Loki[/name] (could be usable, but not the kind of mythological character that I’d want to be named after), [name]Ichabod[/name] (also usable, but not one I like), [name]Hemingway[/name] (usable also, but very very last namey to me, maybe as a MN for someone whose a huge fan of [name]Ernest[/name]), [name]Galileo[/name] (usable, but very strong associations would keep it off my list).
Without even the slightest hesitation (at first glance, without researching any of them), I think these would be no problem:
[name]Viggo[/name]
[name]Ulysses[/name]
[name]Thorin[/name] (I really like [name]Theron[/name], moreso than [name]Thorin[/name])
[name]Orpheus[/name]
[name]Hector[/name]
Faramir
[name]Constantine[/name]
[name]Aurelian[/name] (my favorite from your list- also really like [name]Aurelio[/name])
[name]Atlas[/name]