Old Names

A cool Biblical option that currently sits just outside the US Top 1000, Ozias gets extra points for its user-friendly nicknames Oz and Ozzie. Given to around 200 boys in 2023, it has quadrupled in use since 2013.

Deriving from the Hebrew Uzziah, Ozias is the name of several minor figures in the Greek and Latin Bible, most notably the king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. It also has a literary connection in the form of the wonderfully named Ozias Midwinter from Wilkie Collins' 19th century sensationalist novel Armadale. Several characters in the novel describe the name as 'horrible', claiming that 'no sane human being would assume such a name as Ozias', but we - and a growing number of parents - would disagree.

Though often Anglicized as Phoebe, Phebe has separate roots. It originated as a variation of Afua, an Akan day name, and commonly used among enslaved people in America.

Philippa is a prime example of a boy's name adapted for girls that was common as crumpets in Cornwall, but rarely heard stateside. That was before the advent of royal sister-in-law Philippa Middleton, who goes by the lively nickname Pippa.

An old name still occasionally heard in the U.K., but still and perhaps forever a foreigner in the U.S. Can be spelled Ranulf.

Now seen as the chap in the smoking jacket in a 1930s drawing-room comedy, Reginald has actually been on the US popularity list every year since 1880.

This name, once considered overly powerful due to the superhuman strength of the biblical figure, is now an option for parents in search of an unusual route to Sam. But you really don't need that p: Samson will do.

Sleek and smart, with a hint of mystique about it, Silas is a recent addition to the US Top 100. Both mythological and Biblical in origin, Silas joins the ranks of Isaiah, Atlas, Elias, and Sebastian: polished and contemporary feeling names with plenty of history.

In the Plymouth Colony of the seventeenth century, Thankful was the third most popular of the abstract word names. It disappeared after 1700 and has virtually no chance of returning.

Shades of Thurston Howell, the effete millionaire castaway on Gilligan's Island.

Once aristocratic British surname yet to be revived. Vince Vaughn recently gave his son the same double initials as his own when he named him Vernon Vaughn.

With Violet in vogue, this vibrant international variation has been on the rise since the 2010s. Vintage and floral like its more popular sister, Violetta has a slightly softer sound and a touch of extra flair. Given to 135 girls in a recent year, it also gets you to nicknames Etta, Vita, and Lettie.