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Boys names with a historical/classical leaning

68 replies

Salacia · 26/01/2024 12:30

Starting to think about potential baby names now I’m in my second trimester (had a difficult time getting here so it doesn’t quite seem real yet! Trying to be cautiously optimistic).

DH and I both share a love of history (pretty much any period but particularly Ancient Rome and medieval Europe) and I’ve always thought it would be a bit of a source of inspiration for names.

Girls names aren’t an issue - lots of ideas (Livia, Julia, Theodora, Octavia, Joan, Matilda, Eleanor, Rosalind, Emmeline etc etc) but for boys names the names are either rather generic (Henry, William, John etc) or a bit too out there (especially as DH went to a public school and is very keen to avoid any of the stereotypically posh classical names - certainly no Ptolemy (we’re both in agreement there!)).

I like Felix, Rufus, Marcus, Alban - any other suggestions for names in a similar style?

OP posts:
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GrandDuchessOfBillericay · 26/01/2024 16:37

Tristan
Duncan
Eric
Lucas
Marcus

cordeliachaseatemyhandbag · 26/01/2024 16:27

Apollo
Geronimo
Leonardo
Raphael
Calvin
Kelvin
Arthur
Richard
Fernando
Dante
Marco
Percy
Howard
Cecil
Troy
Newton
Edison
Julius
Antony
Augustus
Nero
Cornelius
Ptolemy
Jupiter
Ivor
Earl
Samson
Benjamin

Ormally · 26/01/2024 16:07

Constantine
Always liked Marcus (but influenced by an early boyfriend) - no fan of Mark though.
Tristan

Onelife2024 · 26/01/2024 16:02

Felix, Rufus, Marcus and Alban are great.

Other ideas-

Cyrus
Atticus
Otto
Milo
Maxim

DuchessOfSausage · 26/01/2024 16:02

Marcus is on my list mostly from Marcus Aurelius
In my youth, Marcus would have been the privately educated young man my friend had a crush on. Now I'd think Marcus Rashford, and it just seems a regular name.

Another suggestion: Hereward.

Salacia · 26/01/2024 15:00

Thank you everyone so far - definitely a few to add to my list/use as a springboard!

OP posts:
Salacia · 26/01/2024 14:59

DuchessOfSausage · 26/01/2024 14:03

The names you have listed seem very ordinary apart from Alban.
I'd go for something more unusual. How about something like Horatio, Aurelius or Zeno

Thanks for the suggestions, I like Aurelius (Marcus is on my list mostly from Marcus Aurelius) but the character on plebs is all I can visualise now!

I’m trying to balance my tendency to the more unusual alongside DH’s much more restrained taste so we find something we both like. I’m also conscious that I have a tendency to shorten names to the first syllable Horatio would definitely be out…

I actually love the older Saxon names Aethelred, Athelstan etc but I’m not brave enough to use them (maybe for a pet!). I could see DH going for Alfred in that theme (but then I don’t like Alfie).

OP posts:
Mumofgirls2017 · 26/01/2024 14:58

Not sure these would be fitting but

apollo
magnus
hector
atticus
casper
silas
victor
leonard
wilfred
orson
cyrus
rupert
vincent
ralph
francis

Salacia · 26/01/2024 14:49

HarlaEB · 26/01/2024 12:42

Cuthbert

I have Cuthbert and Oswald in my list due to a fondness for Northumberland - think DH would take some convincing though!

OP posts:
justsayingthat · 26/01/2024 14:12

Zadok

DuchessOfSausage · 26/01/2024 14:03

The names you have listed seem very ordinary apart from Alban.
I'd go for something more unusual. How about something like Horatio, Aurelius or Zeno

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 26/01/2024 13:00

Luke.
Matthew.
Barnabas.
Marcus.
Paul/Saul.
Zachariah.

AdaColeman · 26/01/2024 12:59

Cornelius
Aloysius
Rufus
Anthony
Claude
Paul
Philip
Atticus
Reginald

Doublebiscuit77 · 26/01/2024 12:57

Cassius (not as out there these days!), Anthony, Otto, Francis, Robin, Alfred, Malcolm, Edmund, Cedric, Hector, Roland/Rollo, Maximilian, Claudius, Julius, Peter, Augustus.

HarlaEB · 26/01/2024 12:42

Cuthbert

OccasionalHope · 26/01/2024 12:41

Julius
Alexander
Anselm
Magnus
Victor
Roger
Ferdinand

TragicMuse · 26/01/2024 12:40

Vespasian
Augustus
Trajan
Alexander
Jason
Brutus

Forgottenmyphone · 26/01/2024 12:38

Francis
Troy
Louis
Franklin

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