X is an undeniably cool letter when it comes to baby names, but names that start with X are limited – Xavier, Xanthe, and, uh… — and names that end with x such as Max and Alex have become overused in recent years.

The solution, for the x-loving baby namer, may be to find a name that carries an x in the middle.  Here, a wide range of choices to consider:

Abraxas – This unusual and powerful name is derived from Persian mythology, and dates back to ancient Egyptian Gnostics who worshiped Abraxas as the Supreme Being.

Alexa and Alexis – Among the most popular names on this list, these creative and sophisticated-sounding names are variations of the Greek Alexander family and mean “defending men.”

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Yesterday we did a rundown on the divide between the girls’ names that are stylish to the point where it feels like they must be popular and those that are actually, statistically widely used.  It’s especially hard to distinguish when it comes to the names we see appearing so often in berry posts and blogs.

So here we do a similar analysis for the boys, with some similarly surprising results, especially when it comes to those berry faves,…names such as Theo.  It’s easy to be fooled if you live in a place where there are more Atticuses than Aidens in your neighborhood playground.

Once again, the numbers in parentheses represent how many babies were given that name in the most recent U.S. Count.

Abner (162) is stylish, while Abraham (1,899) is popular

Ace (395) is cool; Chase (6,397) is hot

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There’s something undeniably cool and, well, jazzy, about many of the distinctive names of jazz musicians.  Take the ultimate example, the personification of cool –Miles Davis– who imparted an eternally silky, seductive veneer to his name, as did Quincy Jones.

The inimitable Ella Fitzgerald gave her name a jazzy edge long before Ella was anywhere near the top of the pop lists.  Names like Ray and Roy, Cecil and Percy and Dexter all take on an appealing funkiness and rise to another level when looked at in the context of jazz.

And then there are the great unique specimens—Bix, Django, Eubie, Thelonius—all exceptionally cool baby names–that might appeal to the intrepid jazz aficionado.

The surnames of jazz immortals can be considered as well, just as they have by a few celebs—model Helena Christensen’s Mingus, and Woody Allen’s Bechet, for example.  The middle name of Wynton Marsalis’s son Jasper is Armstrong; Cynthia Nixon’s boy Max has Ellington as a middle.

GIRLS

ABBEY Lincoln

ALBERTA Hunter

ANITA O’Day

BILLIE Holiday

BESSIE Smith

BLOSSOM Dearie

CARMEN McRae

CASSANDRA Wilson

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