From the time we wrote our very first name book, we’ve both been totally charmed by the unique verve and spirit of  names ending in the letter ‘o’.  And, over time, our love for them has only increased.  We’re glad to see that more and more people seem to be agreeing with us; lately there’s been an infusion of newly popular choices–and, surprisingly, this is beginning to be true for girls as well as boys.

Here are some of the currently coolest boys’  names, many of then reflecting the ever-growing globalization of baby names:

ALDO, ARLO & ARNO

BRUNO

COSMO & COSIMO

ENZO

HORATIO

HUGO

INDIO & INDIGO & INIGO

LASZLO

LEO

MATEO /MATTEO

MILO

ORLANDO

OTTO

RIO

ROCCO

ROMEO & VALENTINO — two choices previously considered uberly-romantic, now sudden celebrity faves

THEO

VIGGO

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A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the favorite girls' names on a Nameberry Message Board thread--led by the lovely Beatrix, Penelope and Clementine--and now it's time to look over at the boys' side.

The most striking result is the strong showing for the good old traditional, timeless classics, with many votes for William, Henry, Charles, James, Edward, Joseph, George, and Thomas, and a resurgence of interest in Theodore (#2!--perhaps because of the popularity of nickname Theo), Frederick, and Peter.  Does this mean that parents are still (or once again) looking at safer, more conservative choices for their sons than their daughters?  Is it somehow a reflection of the cloudy economic climate?

Some smaller trends noted: a preponderance of names starting with the vowel E–Elliot (in its various spellings), Edward, Emmett, Everett, Ethan, Ezra, Elias; and the characteristic nameberry love of some quirkier choices, several not found in the Top 500 of the Social Security list–Gideon, Amos, Emmett, Dexter, Atticus, Asa, Harvey, Callum and Cullen–and some not even on the list at all–Dashiell, Archer, Malachy, Laszlo, Ambrose.  It takes time for the rest of the world to catch up!

So here, as of today, are your top choices:

WILLIAM and HENRY–tied

THEODORE

OLIVER

CHARLES

JAMES

GIDEON

AUGUST

MILO, NATHANIEL

NOAH, ELIOT/ELLIOT/ELLIOTT, EDWARD, EMMETT, JASPER

JUDE

LUKE, BENJAMIN, DASHIELL, EVERETT, OWEN

And then:

LEVI

ETHAN

GEORGE

GRAYSON

CALVIN

DESMOND

FELIX

HUGO

FREDERICK

SEBASTIAN

ADAM

DECLAN

Followed by:

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