Science Namesakes

Isaac has shaved off his biblical beard and leaped into the upper echelon of popular boys' names, outrunning cousin Isaiah. A favorite of the Puritans, Isaac has never dipped below Number 400 on the US list of top boy names.

Manly almost to the point of macho.

A tributary of the River Clyde in Scotland, called in Scottish Gaelic Abhainn Cheilbhinn: caol ("narrow") or coille ("wooded") + abhainn ("river"). As a surname, it derives from the name of the river.

Kip Thorne, nobel laureate and long-time colleague of Stephen Hawking, is just one of several Kips who don't have a longer name.

Max was derived from Maximilian, a Latin name that originated from the Roman family name Maximus. The character name Max in the children's classic Where the Wild Things Are had an impact on baby namers. Max is a widely used name internationally.

This name once seemed a bit grand and pompous for an American baby boy, but a significant number of parents are now preferring it as a substantial platform for the nickname Max, among them Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, who chose it for their twin son.

Gives middle-aged Neil a new lease on life.

A classic old Norman name popular for a thousand years and favored for kings (Richard Nixon was named for Richard the Lionhearted), as well as the hoi polloi (as in every Tom, Dick and Harry), Richard was the sixth most popular US boys’ name in 1925, and was still Number 8 in 1950, but is now much less popular.

A solid classic with plenty of history, Thomas strikes the balance between strength and gentleness. A favorite in the UK, a staple in France, and Australia, and never absent from the US Top 100, Thomas feels like a safe bet and a name that fits into any era.

Vera was the height of fashion in 1910, then was for a long time difficult to picture embroidered on a baby blanket. Now, though, it has come back into style along with other old-fashioned simple names such as Ada and Iris.

Walter was seen as a noble name in the Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Walter Scott era, but it then spent decades in baby name limbo. Now quite a few independent-minded parents are looking at it as a renewable, slightly quirky, classic, stronger and more distinctive than James or John, second only to William among the handsome classic boy baby names starting with W.