Obviously, boys were severely discriminated against in my last blog post (mostly because I can’t think of good first/middle combos). So I’ve decided to rectify the situation by dedicating an entire blog post to boys’ names. I’m not going to try to come up with combinations, since it’s just too hard. So here are the names jockeying for second place*:
Simon
A biblical name that means “listener.” I think this one has a nice vintage feel. It’s rapidly moving up my favorites list, and may even be my second favorite boys’ name (after Rory).
Benedict
Means “blessed”, which I like. Name of the former pope, which (whom? Having a grammar moment here) I also like. Also, Benedick is the male lead in my favorite play Much Ado About Nothing (I changed the ending for obvious reasons). Bennett, the English medieval form of Benedict, might be a possible substitution.
Arlo
Reminds me of Arlo Guthrie. Has that “folksinger” kind of image but isn’t over-popular like Dylan is (although Bob Dylan is so awesome I might go ahead and use it anyway if I ever have a boy).
Cash
After Johnny Cash of course. I love both his music and his life story. I’m not a big fan of word names though, so I might use it as a middle name instead of a first name.
Rupert
Apparently, this is a German variation of Robert, and means “bright fame.” I mostly like it because it reminds me of the character Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Because of that, it makes me think of a British librarian. However, a future son of mine might not share my enthusiasm for that associated image, which is why I’m on the fence about it.
Gilbert
I’m not sure what I think of this one, but I associate it with Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables, so I thought I’d include it. Also, apparently the “G.” in G.K. Chesterton stands for Gilbert.
Frederick
Means “peaceable ruler.” I like the nickname Fred.
Raymond
It means “wise-protector”, which I like.I like the nickname Ray, but I don’t think I’d use it as a stand-alone name. I’m not crazy about Raymond though. Plus, having a Rory AND a Ray could get confusing.
Lincoln
After Abraham Lincoln, of course! This might be my third favorite boys’ name (behind Rory and Simon). The only downside is the nickname “Linc/k” which reminds me of the video game character one of my cousins was obsessed with when he was four.
*Minus Anthony and Daniel, which are names I love but are really popular. Maybe by the time I have kids they’ll be less so.
aedunnblog 
My associations with some of the names in this post:
Associating Benedict with Benedict Cumberbatch seems too easy.
Cash makes me think of James Cash Penney, the founder of J.C. Penney.
Rupert Grint played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, though the name Rupert also makes me think of seventeenth century Germany for some reason.
Frederick makes me think of several historical German rulers, most prominently Frederick II “the Great” of Prussia.
Raymond is one of my middle names, so finding it in this post was kind of a pleasant surprise, haha.
Also, I don’t know if you’ve already come across it during your recent onomastic exploration, but I really like the website Behind the Name (www.behindthename.com).
Thanks for the recommendation- I hadn’t seen that one! And I was going to include Benedict Cumberbatch in the post, but I forgot to. That’s funny about one of your middle names being Raymond (not the name itself, just the coincidence of me including it and you seeing it). I guess Rupert does sound kind of German, although I will always associate it with English librarians, lol. And James Cash Penney just makes me think his parents really, really, liked money!!