Enoch

All I have to say is don't knock the name Enoch. Enoch (pronounced: EE-nok) is a Biblical-Hebrew name that means 'dedicated'. Personally, I think that it is a wonderful meaning for a rather unheard of name but by the looks of things, that might be changing.

The name Enoch is mentioned in the bible as a major figure in the Old Testament and was the son of Jarod, the father of Methuselah and the great-grandfather of Noah (who has a book, the Book of Enoch, that is important to the Jewish mysticism) and there also happens to another Enoch in the Bible that is the son of Cain. This might have been where the initial popularity of the name came from, it was just outside the top 200 in 1800, at #202 with 60 boys given the name. On the charts, this was its peak.

Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson as portrayed by Steve Buscemi
on Boardwalk Empire

But it seems that Enoch might be having a resurrection as the last time it was on the charts was 1976 at #983 but in 2011 it made its first reappearance on the charts at #933 with 211 boys given the name. I don't think this has as much to do with the biblical connotations (though I am sure there are a few that selected it for that reason) but more to do with the fact that the name has reamerged in popular culture thanks to the fantastic show 'Boardwalk Empire' whose main character is Enoch Thompson (based on the real Enoch Johnson). The character is of course a 'gangster' but he is a fantastically complex character but I do take expection to the fact that when, in the first season, Margaret says she will name her unborn child after him, he says that she shouldn't, that the kid should be so unlucky as to receive the name. The name might even rise higher on the charts if Miss Peregrine's Home For Perculiar Children (where Enoch is a character) is definately made into a film, and with Tim Burton reportedly at the helm, this will make the film a natural box-office success.

Overall, this name is a winner in my opinion and with the fantasic nickname 'Nucky' attached to it, I can see it quite at home with other vintage names such as Edith and Wallis.