Two Letter Boy Names

A popular name in Denmark, in this country Bo has some cowboy swagger and a lot of substance in its minimal two letters. In Mandarin Chinese, Bo means "wave".

This evocative short name is suddenly chic — it was recently chosen by Jennifer Lawrence for her baby boy. JLaw's son's name honors Cy Twombly, the influential mid-century American artist. Born Edwin Parker Twombly Jr., both Cy Twombly and his father shared a nickname after baseball player Cy Young (himself born Denton True Young).

This may be a legitimate Hebrew name denoting power, but to any American kid, it will evoke ruby slippers and a yellow brick road. The full Hebrew name is Ozni, who was a grandson of Jacob in the Bible.

The name of the sun god of Egyptian mythology could only be used in combination with a longer name.

As Tyler has begun to recede, a number of parents, including the Wayne Gretzkys, have cut straight to the livelier short form.

Most familiar as the name of the titular character in The Life of Pi, in which it was short for Piscine Molitor Patel.

A river (in Italy), a writer (Bronson), a Teletubby: the Bo of the new millennium.

Ax makes a somewhat threatening short form of the popular Axel, given to more than 3000 baby boys last year. It can also be used on its own, though it usually isn't. There were, however, seven baby boys named Axe in the US in 2015.

Yu the Great founded China's first dynasty, but in this country "Hey, you!" would make this name utterly confusing, in an Abbott and Costello way.

A two-initial nickname occasionally used on birth certificates.

Io is most familiar to English speakers as a female name from Greek mythology, but in Japan it's used for both sexes.

A two-initial nickname occasionally used on birth certificates.

The sacred syllable of Buddhism, used when meditating. This short, sweet and spiritual choice has taken off in the last twenty years, and is in regular, though not highly popular, use in the US.

A two-initial nickname sometimes used on birth certificates — although these initials have a slang meaning you may prefer to avoid.

Musician Ry Cooder brought this short form into the lexicon -- his full name is Ryland -- and it feels more familiar now that more Ry- beginning names such as Ryder and Riley are, ahem, riding up the ranks. The Rye spelling makes it more of a word or a nature name and less of a nickname.

Animal names are booming, but this is one that's never been used — although Boaz, which means "ox" in Hebrew, is starting to see more use. With its connotations of strength, teamwork and perseverance, and cool X sound, well, why not? It would work especially well for a child born in the Chinese Year of the Ox (February 2021-January 2022). If you need a longer version an obvious option is Oxford, but there's also Oxley, Oxton, or a slightly different sound like Oakley or Oswald.

Si is an intriguing antique nickname for Simon and Silas, and we’ve also heard it as a short form of names that contain the "sigh" sound, like Josiah and Osiris.

A two-initial nickname occasionally used on birth certificates.

A two-initial nickname occasionally used on birth certificates.