Honor is a virtue name with direct Latin roots — from honos/honoris, meaning respect, dignity, and integrity. With 1,385 total SSA records and a 2021 peak, Honor is primarily used for girls in the US but appears regularly for boys as well, particularly in families with Irish backgrounds where the name Onóra has a long history. At rank 1,577 on the boys' side, it's a rare, meaningful choice with real philosophical substance.
The Virtue Name Tradition
Virtue names — Faith, Hope, Grace, Justice, Noble — have been given to boys and girls since the Puritan era in America, though their current wave leans heavily female. Honor carries perhaps the strongest connotation of any virtue name: it implies not just a quality to aspire to but a code, a commitment. Latin virtue names like Honor, Noble, and Justice have a directness that appeals to parents who want naming to carry genuine moral weight rather than just aesthetic appeal.
Honor for Boys: The Historical Precedent
Military culture has long associated honor with masculinity , the honor code, dying with honor, honor guards. Honor as a boys' name in the American South and in Irish-heritage families carries this more explicitly masculine association. The Irish form Onóra (feminine) and the Welsh Ynyr point to different cultural traditions around this sound. Honor for a boy reads as both unconventional and deeply principled , a combination that appeals to parents seeking names with genuine backbone.
The Counter-Reading: The Gender Read
In the contemporary US context, Honor reads as a girls' name to most people encountering it fresh. A boy named Honor will spend some time clarifying. For families who are comfortable with that , either because they embrace gender-neutral naming or because they come from a cultural tradition where Honor is masculine , this is a non-issue. Honor versus Noble for a boy who wants a virtue name: Noble reads more firmly masculine in current American usage.