Vintage Nicknames for Boys

Thad is a tad too slight to stand alone as a name, though as a short form of the imposing Thaddeus it's as serviceable as Ted or Ed.

Sixties-style short form that sounds cool again -- though the unscrupulous Pete on "Mad Men" is not a character to emulate.

As seen on SNL, Pat is the ultimate androgynous name. Stick with long form Patrick, and make sure everyone calls him Patrick.

A heck of a lot cooler than Larry.

Just the kind of old-fashioned nickname coming back into style.

Old-man name, soft as a fraying gray cashmere cardigan, that would be even cuter for a girl.

The Biblical Abijah might be temporarily lost to time, but this antiquated short form could move with it into the modern era.

As its parent name Roland comes back into style (yep, it’s happening), could there be an uptick in baby Rollies? Certainly as a pet form.

Welsh for "lion", or a nickname for Llewelyn. Could make a cooler substitute for the blander Lou.

Hoke is a surname name with a Southern feel, thanks to Morgan Freeman's character in the Oscar-winning movie Driving Miss Daisy. Parents may have passed this name by because of the similarity to hokey and hokum, slang for exaggerated or contrived. But there's at least one distinguished bearer: Chicago journalist Hoke Norris, famous for his coverage of the Civil Rights movement.

Surname from a landscape feature, associated with author Gore Vidal and Bill Clinton's Vice President Al Gore. Its alternative meaning - as in gory - may explain why it's never made it into the charts.

A nickname that sounds like a nickname.

Why did 5 sets of parents chose to name their sons Dock in 2016? We may never know.

The Biblical Simon has been rediscovered and this appealing short form, an alternative to Sam, might be a way to make your Simon even more special.

Efficient feel.

Bartholomew is one vintage name with Biblical antecedents that hasn't risen again in the modern world, perhaps because short form Bart, as in Simpson, would be too difficult for a contemporary boy to bear. But antique nickname Bat might work better. Might.

Retro nickname for Charles that has the potential for revival, a la Hal, Ike, and Gus.

Once a birth order name, now might work as a cool x-ending nickname. But be warned that it sounds very close to an unfortunate slang term.

Many emotional, virtuous word names are coming back into style, but Happy is one that is unlikely to be revived.

The cool clipped Des may be the part of the name wave of the future, with midcentury names like Des and Vic and Stan riding back into style on the heels of big brothers Max and Sam and Ray.