Philosopher Names

Albert has acquired a new gloss as one of the top royal baby boy names, a considerable upgrade from its serious, studious image (think Einstein, Schweitzer).

The great philosopher's name is commonly used in Greek families, and is one that could work for daring, philosophy inclined American ones.

Atticus, with its trendy Roman feel combined with the upstanding, noble image of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a real winner among boy names. Atticus entered the US Top 1000 in 2004 and is a firm Nameberry favorite.

Ayn is a nonconformist name associated with controversial Russian-born writer and philosopher Ayn Rand, (born Alisa) author of The Fountainhead, who adopted it when she moved to the US in 1926.

The Brits say BARK-lee, but we pronounce it the same as the name of the California college: either way it's quite pretentious and of another era.

This name of famed philosopher, mathematician and Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell becomes slightly more plausible with the French pronunciation, bare-TRAHN. Another noted bearer is French director and screenwriter Bertrand Tavernier.

David is an enduring worldwide classic, used from ancient times to the present day.

Highly unlikely philosophical choice.

The sophisticated Edmund and its nearly-identical French twin Edmond are coming out of mothballs now that Edward, inspired by Twilight, is once again a hot name.

One of the most familiar German names, with an upright Prussian image. Friedrich might just have been out for long enough to start coming back in.

Gabriel has become a biblical favorite, an angelic choice that's lighter and less patriarchal than some of his Old Testament brethren. Derived from the Hebrew name Gavri’el, Gabriel is taken from the elements gever, meaning "strong," and ’el, in reference to God.

Distinguished actor Hume Cronyn (who shared his father's name) put this unusual choice in the lexicon.

In the US, Emmanuel has held steady around the Top 200 for a quarter century now, but this variation has dropped off the Top 1000 for three of the past seven years. It was Number 974 in 2016.

Manly almost to the point of macho.

Usually adding an e to the end of a name makes it more feminine, but Locke is at most recent count used only for baby boys. Still, this stylishly strong one-syllable name is theoretically gender-neutral.

As heavy as a marble bust of Beethoven.

Martin is one of those names like Arthur and Vincent and George that is in the process of throwing off its balding middle-aged image to start sounding possible again, used in full without the dated Marty nickname.

German philosopher and revolutionary socialist Karl Marx will be most people's immediate association with this uncommon name. The author of The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital is widely considered to be the father of international communism.