Discover the Ultimate List of 99 Retro-cool, Hipster Vintage Boy Names!

  • By: Monica
  • Date: December 15, 2022
  • Time to read: 7 min.

When you’re sitting down to think about your baby’s name, you probably don’t want to spend a lot of time on it.

You’re not trying to pick out the name for the next president or get an idea for a new business or anything like that—you just want something that sounds good and feels right.

But what if you could have the best of both worlds? What if you could get the retro vibe you love, but with a modern twist?

What if you could be part of your baby’s heritage without feeling like they were named after your great-grandfather? And what if they didn’t have to be saddled with some ridiculous nickname like “Gramps”?

It’s no secret that hipsters love all things vintage. From clothes to furniture, they love the old-school look and feel. So it’s no surprise that some parents are choosing to give their children vintage-inspired names.

Old-fashioned boy names just never get out of style.

What’s an Old Fashioned Boy’s Name?

What’s an Old Fashioned Boy’s Name?

Old-timey boy names are the kind of names that are not often heard these days. They are classic, traditional, and nostalgic.

They are a throwback to a time when people were more formal and polite, yet still fun. Old-fashioned baby boy names are perfect for parents who want their sons to stand out from the crowd, yet still, be part of it.

Some parents even choose to give their child a name from their family tree, as it brings back memories of loved ones who have passed away.

50+ Vintage Baby Boy Names With Their Meanings

Vintage Baby Boy Names With Their Meanings

Here are vintage baby names to suit every kind of style. The following list of boy names includes some of the most popular vintage baby boy names of all time.

Aiden

Aiden

Aiden is Irish in origin and means “fiery one.” It is a cool retro boy name that hipsters love.

Almanzo

Almanzo is Dutch in origin and means “from the valley” and was popular in the 1890s and is still going strong today.

Amadeus

Amadeus is a vintage German boy name meaning “lovely/cupid.” It’s also the name of a famous play by Peter Shaffer about Mozart, and one of his operas. As for girls, Amadeus is a gorgeous classic name that means “lover of God.”

Atlas

This is a vintage boy name of Greek origin and means “bearer of burdens.”

Arthur

Arthur

This legendary boy name come from the Celtic term “art-vrig” meaning “bear king” or the ancient British name Artur.

August

A popular vintage boy name for boys during the 1950’s from Latin name Augustus meaning ‘great’ or ‘venerable’.

Barrett

It was popular vintage boy name in the 1990s and is still going strong today. Barrett is Irish in origin and means “strong”, check out our list of strong boy names here.

Basil

A Greek name that means “king.”

Baxter

Baxter

It was popular in the 1990s and is still going strong today. Baxter is English in origin and means “baker.”

Bensen

Bensen is Danish in origin and means “blessing.” It was popular in the 1950s and is still going strong today.

Benson

Benson is an old fashioned boy name of English in origin and means “son of Benjamin.”

Caleb

Caleb is another old fashioned boy name from a Hebrew name that means “dog.”

Camden

Camden

Camden is a cool vintage boy name that hipsters love. It was popular in the 1990s and is still going strong today. Camden is English in origin and means “town on the water.”

Cameron

Cameron is a vintage boy name of Scottish origin and means “crooked nose.”

Charles

It was popular in the 1920s and is still going strong today. Charles has English origin and means “man.”

Corbin

Corbin has English origin and means “crow.”

Cyrus

Cyrus

Cyrus is a vintage boy name of Persian origin and means “sun.”

Dante

Dante is a boy name of Italian origin and means “dark one.”

Dominic

Another cool retro name that was popular in the 1990s and is still going strong today. Dominic is of Latin origin and means “lord.”

Ezra

A boy name that was popular in the 1990s. Ezra is the Latin name Esdras with Hebrew origin and means “help.”

Felix

Felix

Felix has a Latin origin popularized in the 1950s meaning “happy.”

Guy

A baby boy name variation of Hebrew name Gai from English in origin and means “valley.”

Harland

This was popular in the 1950s and is still going strong today. Harland is English in origin and means “hare land.”

Harold

Harold is English in origin and means “army ruler” and was popularized in the 1940’s.

Hercules

Hercules

This is a vintage name that hipsters love. It was popular in the 1950s and is still going strong today. Hercules is Greek in origin and means “glory of Hera.”

Horatio

This vintage boy name comes from ancient Rome and means “glorious ruler.” It was popular in the early 1900s, but has been making a comeback in recent years.

Hugo

Latinized form of Hugh meaning “mind, intellect”. It was popular in the 1920s and is still going strong today.

Jack

It is a popular vintage name in the early 1900s and is still going strong today. Jack is English in origin and means “God is gracious.”

Jasper

Jasper

Jasper is a boy name of Dutch origin and means “bringer of treasure.”

Jethro

This is an old fashioned boy name of Hebrew origin that means “abundance”.

Joshua

Joshua is Hebrew in origin and means “Jehovah is salvation.”

Leland

Leland is a cool retro name that hipsters love. It was popular in the 1950s and is still going strong today. Leland is German in origin and means “meadow land.”

Leo

Leo

This is a strong name of Latin origin meaning ‘lion’.

Linus

This vintage name Linus comes from a Greek word meaning flax or linen. It’s a Greek name, meaning “humble,” that is now used as a surname and given name.

Malachi

Malachi is a vintage name for boys, and it means ‘messenger’ in Hebrew. It was popular in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Marius

It comes from the Latin word for ‘maroon’ or ‘purple.’ It’s also a unique-sounding boy’s name that would be perfect for parents who have a fondness for ancient Rome.

Milo

Milo

A name commonly considered to be Germanic name derived from the Latin word miles meaning ‘soldier’.

Mitchell

Mitchell is English in origin and means “who is like God?”

Nathaniel

Nathaniel is a vintage name for boys and girls, a slightly formal choice that’s still very much in style. It comes from the Old Testament story of King David’s father and means “God has given me life.”

Nero

The origin of the name Nero is Latin. The meaning of Nero is ‘black’ or ‘dark brown’.

Oliver

Oliver

This vintage name is a French-boy name that means “olive tree”.

Otto

From the German name variation of Otis meaning ‘wealthy.’

Quentin

It’s a French name that means “fifth son” and it was popular in the 19th century. Quentin Tarantino is one of the most famous bearers of this name.

Roberto

Roberto is Italian in origin and means “bright fame.”

Roland

Roland

French origin and means “famous in the land.”

Sebastian

A vintage boy name from Latin name means ‘venerable.’

Silas

Silas is a name that means “from the forest” or “woodsman” in Greek. This is another one of those rare boy names that hasn’t been used much since the 19th century and would be perfect for parents looking for something unique.

Tobias

A name chosen by many parents in the 1970s and 1980s. It is a German name that means “tobacco” or “tobacconist.” In Greek mythology, Tobias was a boy who risked his life to save a fish from being eaten by a bird.

Titus

Titus

Titus is Latin in origin and means ‘son of Titus.’

Wells

Wells is a vintage boy name that has been around for a while but is still not too common. It’s an English surname that means “from the well” and was used to describe someone who lived near water.

Vintage Boy Names with Latin Origins and Their Meanings

These retro names were popular baby boys with Latin origin from the 1990s to the 1950s. They’re unique vintage boy names which are classic without being dated, and they’re elegant without being stuffy.

  1. Amias – beloved

  2. Atticus – belonging to Attica

  3. Judah – thanksgiving or praise

  4. Cassius – hollow

  5. Leo – lion

  6. Magnus – great

  7. Lucian – light

  8. Ambrose – immortal

  9. Cassian – hollow

  10. Lucas – bringer of light

  11. Aurelius – the golden one

  12. Lucius – light

  13. Roman – strong, powerful

  14. Rufus – red-headed

  15. Julius – downy-bearded

  16. Caius – rejoice

  17. Calvin – little bald one

  18. Amadeus – loved by God

  19. Clementius – inclined to be merciful

  20. Barnabas – son of consolation

Vintage Baby Boys Names You Don’t Hear Anymore

Vintage Baby Boys Names You Don’t Hear Anymore

Baby names are a pretty big deal. Vintage baby names are a great choice if you want something classic but not too ordinary—and they’re perfect if you’re looking for a way to honor the past.

  • Marion

  • Grover

  • Effie

  • Aloysius

  • Abe

  • Zeke

  • Mason

  • Clayton

  • Dean

  • Joe

One of our favorite things about vintage names is that they tend to be less common than other types of names, which means your kid will stand out from the crowd when he’s at school.

There are plenty of reasons to choose vintage names for your baby boy—they’re often historical figures or literary characters that have been popular for decades; they were common during periods when people were having fewer children than now; they’re short and sweet (which is great if you want something shorter than most modern names), or they just sound cool!

Takeaway: Vintage Boy Names That’ll Last

We’ve assembled this list of retro-boy names that are old-fashioned in style but still modern enough to feel relevant right now.

Some of them have been around for centuries, some were popular in the past few decades, and some were only coined recently—but all are timeless classics that will make any parent proud!

We hope these old-fashioned boy names will help serve as an aid while brainstorming new baby name ideas and give parents an idea of what they might want to call their sons in years to come.