Aiden in all its spelling variations is the Anglicized version of the Irish Aodhán, which was originally a pet form of the Irish name Aodh (pronounced 'ee'), who was the old Celtic god of the sun and fire. St. Aidan was a famous seventh century Irish saint, noted for his kindness and generosity and for spreading Christianity.
 
Aiden has been a spectacular name success story—especially if you add all its various spellings together. Counted together, Aiden in all its versions is still a Top 10 boys' name.
 
The Aiden spelling has become the predominant version of the name in the US, followed by Ayden -- and then, in order of popularity, Aidan, Adan, Aden, Aydin, Aydan, Eiden, Aidyn, Eydan, Eyden, Adin, Aedan, and Aiyden. And then there's a pack of popular rhyming offshoots such as Brayden and Kaden.
 
Irish actor Aidan Quinn introduced the name to the US. The Aiden spelling was used by actress Tracey Gold and Rod Stewart for their sons.

Aiden

Once a popular choice in for boys in the Middle Ages and again during the 19th century, Aubrey has mostly been used for girls in the US since the 1970's. With its arty, surname-y, and sophisticated feel, however, it is rising up the UK charts for both boys and girls. 
Derived from the Auberi, an Old French variant of Alberich, Aubrey means "elf ruler". Up until the 50's, it was relatively well known for boys in the US, but with the release of the song "Aubrey" by Bread in 1972, the scales tipped. 
Despite this, there are still memorable male bearers of the name, including rapper Drake, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham; the 19th century illustrator Aubrey Beardsley; and the central character of John Polidori's novel The Vampyre. 
Used on only a tiny handful of boys each year in the US, in the UK, Aubrey is currently in the Top 250 for girls, but also the Top 600 for boys. This means it is given to boys 5 times more often in the UK, than it is the US. 
Gentle, cool and handsome, Aubrey fits in with the recent interest in softer boys names and in surnames-as-given-names. Plus, with Ellis, Mckenzie, Hadley, Casey, and Oakley in use, Aubrey might see further gains.

Aubrey

The poetic, soft-spoken Auden has recently started to be considered as a first name option, used for both sexes, appreciated for its pleasing sound as well as its link to the distinguished modern Anglo-American poet W.H. Auden.

Auden

Avery is a unisex name that is used four times as often today for girls as for boys. But while Avery's popularity is starting to soften for girls, it continues to get stronger for boys -- in keeping with our finding that gender neutral names are becoming more favored for boys than for girls. 

Avery

Barrett is one of many surname names that are up and coming for boys in recent years. Barrett joints Bennett, Beckett, and others in the trend of "-tt" ending boy names taking over the charts. 

Barrett first experienced a small bout of popularity in the 60s and 70s, but never quite cracked the Top 500. However, since 2000 Barrett has been rising quickly, and is now officially in the Top 200. 

Barrett has a pleasing sound and literary association with poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and would be a fresh way to honor a grandpa Barry.

Barrett

Benno is a cool name in its own right -- there was a tenth century Saint Benno -- though it is also used as a lively nickname for Benjamin. Saint Benno of Meissen is the patron saint of anglers and weavers and, strangely enough, alliteration.
 Benno came to attention in the U.S. via the father and son duo of Benno Schmidt Sr. and Jr. Senior was the venture capitalist who invented the term venture capitalist and Junior was the president of Yale University. Benno is also the appellation of a student character in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.

Benno

Bram has an unusual measure of character and charm for a one-syllable name; it started as a hipper-than-Abe diminutive of the biblical Abraham, but is also an independent Irish and Dutch name, made famous by Irish-born Dracula creator Bram (nee Abraham) Stoker. Bram is currently Number 16 in the Netherlands; Bram Howard was a character on The West Wing.
 Another route to Bram is Bramwell, as in early actor Bramwell Fletcher, who &mdash; speaking of horror movies &mdash; was noted for his mad scenes in the 1932 film The Mummy.

Bram

Attached to one of the heroes of Christopher Paolini's megapopular fantasy novel Eragon, this name sounds strong yet sensitive. 

Paolini's character is named after another bestselling fantasy author and artist, the uni-named Brom (which is actually his last name).
The word broom in the name's meaning refers not to something you sweep with but to a yellow bush or plant that grows wild and is considered invasive.

Brom

One of the most romantic of appellations, Caspian is a geographical name referring to the large salty sea between Asia and Europe. It's also the name of the hero of C.S. Lewis's beloved Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian. 
 
The name Caspian is ultimately derived from the Latin term Caspii, meaning "white." Caspii was the name of the people of Central Asia who were originally from Caucasus. 
 
Caspian is attracting a lot of attention from cutting-edge parents these days. It fits in with several trends as a name from classic children's literature, a water-related place name, and an ancient name with the trending Cas- beginning, ala Cassius and Cassian.

Caspian

Emery is one of the newly popular Em- names that has great potential, though right now for girls more than boys: it received a boost in 2009, a year after Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn used it for one of their daughters. 

Emery ranks on the Top 1000 for both boys and girls, but all the way up in the Top 100 for girls and down in the 700s for boys. Many <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/baby-name-trends-em-names-beyond-emily-and-emma">related names</a> are also trending for baby boys, from Emerson to Emrys to Amory to Emmett.

Emery

Evan has a mellow nice-guy image that has kept it popular, while it has been widely used in Wales since the nineteenth century. And interestingly—and surprisingly—enough, Evan charts highly for boys in France.
 Evan was derived from Iefan, a Welsh version of John. John is ultimately a derivative of the Hebrew name Yochanan, comprised of the elements yo, meaning "God" and chanan, "to be gracious." Evan is actually a Hebrew word itself, meaning "rock."
 
Jenny McCarthy has a son named Evan, and some other modern associations are former Senator Evan Bayh, novelist Evan Hunter, and the movie Evan Almighty. It is also sometimes used for girls, as in actress Evan Rachel Wood.

Evan

One of those simple, straightforward English surnames -- and with a presidential pedigree -- that's easy to translate into a first. It was recently chosen by both Kevin Costner and Jessica Alba for their sons, which can likely be credited for its spike in popularity in the past few years. Surname names and nature names like Hayes, which qualifies on both counts, along with occupational names all make up the new generation of stylish <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/502/english-names-for-boys">English names for boys</a> that go far beyond Harry and Edward.

Hayes

Ivor, a favorite choice for upscale characters in Brit Lit novels by authors like P.G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh, is an interesting and unusual name just waiting to be discovered by parents in this country. 
 Ivor Novello was the stage name of a popular Welsh actor and songwriter of the recent past who brought it to prominence in England.
 An equally appealing name is the related Ivo, which has the energetic impact of all names ending in 'o'.

Ivor

Milo is most commonly considered to be Germanic name derived from the Latin word miles, meaning "soldier." However, there is evidence to suggest it also may have independently spawned from the Slavic root milu, meaning "merciful." Milo predates brother name Miles, a variation that evolved when the name immigrated to the British Isles in the Middle Ages. Mylo is an alternate spelling.
 
Milo has long been a favorite <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys' name</a> on Nameberry, also getting some well-deserved appreciation in the wider world. Milo combines the strength of the ancient Greek Olympic wrestler of that name—a six-time winner of the Olympic games—with the debonair charm of a WWII RAF pilot.
 More recently, Milo has been associated with the dashing Milo Ventimiglia of This Is Us fame, and it has also been the name of characters in books Catch-22 and The Phantom Tollbooth, and on screen in Milo and Otis, Alias, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
 Ricki Lake, Camryn Manheim, Sherry Stringfield, Liv Tyler, Craig Ferguson, and Alyssa Milano are six celebrity parents who share our enthusiasm for Milo, as do many Nameberry baby namers.
 Milo is often heard in Ireland. Milo O'Shea was a renowned Irish character actor.

Milo

Nico is one of the great nickname names, full of charm, energy and effortless cool -- a neo Nick.
 Nico is commonly heard in Italy -- as a short form of Niccolo -- and also in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland and Spanish-speaking countries.
 As a unisex nickname name, Nico is associated with the German-born single-named Velvet Underground singer (nee Christa) promoted by Andy Warhol. And Nico Reilly was one of the female leads on the TV series Lipstick Jungle. But over 90% of the American babies named Nico are boys.

Nico

Noah is nearly a patriarch of popular baby names at this point, going from Old Testament graybeard to Top 10 name in 2009, hitting Number 1 in 2013, and now settled into second place in the US for five years. 

Noah was derived from the Hebrew name Noach, which itself came from the root nuach, meaning "rest." In the bible, Noah was deemed the only righteous man of his time, singled out by God to survive the great flood sent to punish the world. He built his famous ark, onto which he herded a pair of every animal.
 
A generation or two ago, Noah seemed far too antiquated to become a popular name. But now, along with brethren Abraham, Moses, and even Elijah, it's eminently baby-worthy. 
 
Noah's popularity is widely international, ranking highly in all English-speaking countries along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Noah is also a top name in countries as diverse as Belgium and Brazil, Norway and Chile.
 
Actor Rupert Graves and singer Michael Buble both have sons named Noah. Billy Ray Cyrus, responsible for the name Miley, crossed gender lines to call another of his daughters Noah. 
 
The feminine homonym Noa -- which isn't a form of the Biblical male Noah (it's a separate female name from the Old Testament) -- is currently the most popular girls' name in Israel. And Noah itself, with its vowel ending, is evidence of the trend toward softer sounds in boys' names, along with brothers Joshua and Asher.
While variation Noa is an actual girls' name drawn from a female figure in the Bible, it is sometimes used as a sleekened spelling of Noah.

Noah

Noel is British, fey, and sophisticated, connoting wit and creativity, much like namesake Noel Coward. Noel has also been a character on Felicity and Pretty Little Liars. Thanks to their association with Christmas, Noel and Noelle make ideal <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/577/names-for-december-babies">names for December babies</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/412/christmas-baby-names">names for Christmas babies</a>.

Noel

Soft and sensitive name often heard in Israel. 

Oren

Oslo, the capital city of Norway, makes for an intriguing new place name, especially with its bookended O's, as in Otto. One Berry has already used it and we predict others will follow.

Oslo

Quinn is an engaging Celtic surname that is still on the rise for girls but beginning to flag for boys. As a female name, Quinn is in the Top 100, used for over 3000 baby girls last year, but toward the bottom of the Top 500 for boys, given to 700 baby boys.
Pop culture was an important influence on Quinn's popularity for both genders. Quinn started leaning decidedly toward the feminine thanks to a female cheerleader character on the television show Glee. For boys, Quinn's popularity was influenced by "The Mighty Quinn," the name of a movie, a band, and a Bob Dylan song. 
 Sharon Stone has a son named Quinn. Other ideas for boyish names like Quinn: Quinton, Quincy, Finn.

Quinn

With its gentle sounds and earthy vibes, the name Rowan feels like a fusion of different styles. A word name, a surname, and a gender-neutral name, Rowan is rustic but trendy, blending the vibes of both Owen and Oakley. 
Just as it’s hard to fit Rowan into one category, it’s equally difficult to identify one definitive root. It could be considered an Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruadhán, meaning “little redhead” and it was used as an English surname before it became a given name. 
Alternatively, it could be linked to the rowan tree, whose name derives from Old Norse and means “to redden.” In folklore and mythology, rowan trees are seen as a symbol of protection and of life, adding extra meaning to Rowan. 
 To complicate matters further, some scholars identify Rowan as a girls’ name, deriving from Rowena and Rhonwen, meaning “famous friend” or “white spear.” This gives it solid credentials as a unisex name and lends it a slightly more rugged vibe. 
What is certain, however, is that Rowan has quickly become a stylish choice, chosen for over 3000 boys every year. Once an obscure name in the US, it rapidly climbed the charts during the 2010s and has now entered the Top 100 Boy Names for the first time. 
Rowan is popular in the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands too, but even more so among Nameberry users, where it ranks in the <a href=“https://nameberry.com/popular-names/nameberry/boys/allNameberry Top 1000”> Nameberry Top 30.</a> 
The most prominent bearer of the name is probably Rowan Atkinson, the British comic actor of Blackadder and Mr Bean fame. Other namesakes include the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Douglas Williams, and the Australian swimmer, Rowan Crothers. Pokémon fans and Sarah J. Maas readers might recognize it too as the name of a character in both the game franchise and in the Throne of Glass series. 
Gentle but powerful, stylish but not oversaturated, Rowan may well continue to climb the charts, so if you love Rowan but want to stray from the trends, Ruan, Sylvan, Lorcan, Lennox, Wren and Sloan might inspire you.

Rowan

Sleek and smart, with a hint of mystique about it, Silas is a recent addition to the US Top 100. Both mythological and Biblical in origin, Silas joins the ranks of Isaiah, Atlas, Elias, and Sebastian: polished and contemporary feeling names with plenty of history. 
The origins of Silas are debated or perhaps multiple. On one hand, it could a simplified form of the Latin Silvanus, meaning “of the forest.” 
In Roman mythology, Silvanus was the god of trees, and his name was originally bestowed on those who lived in forested areas or who worked with wood. This could bring either a hardy, outdoorsy ruggedness to the name or something more mystical, dark, and intriguing. 
On the other hand, Silas could be a Greek form of the Aramaic Seila or of the Hebrew Saul, meaning “asked for” or “prayed for”. 
Its Biblical roots can then be traced to either Saul, the first King of Israel, or to a companion of Paul the Apostle. Later venerated as a saint, Silas was a leading member of the early Christian community, who accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey. 
Given as an English name from the 17th century onwards, Silas has a rich literary history. Notably used by George Eliot in Silas Marner and by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, Sheridan Le Fanu, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, Willaim D. Howell, Neil Gaiman, and Mark Twain have also featured a Silas in their work. 
A longstanding favorite and <a href=“https://nameberry.com/popular-names/nameberry/boys”>one of the most searched names on Nameberry</a>, in the ‘real world’, Silas had mostly lingered towards the lower end of the US Top 1000 in the 20th century. 
It did gain some attention in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland in the 2000’s, but it took until the 2010’s for it to make significant moves in the US. Now, it is trending upwards and given to nearly 4000 babies each year. 
Based on its Nameberry popularity, its status as ancient but still fresh, and its similarity in sound or style to popular Elijah, Isaac, Lucas, and Samuel, Silas could continue to climb the charts. 
If you love it, but don’t want to be part of the crowd, you could consider one of Silas’s relatives, such as Sylvan, Sylvester, or Sylvius; alternatively, Linus, Rufus, Caius, Laurence, or Ozias might appeal as less popular options.

Silas

This gentle Scandinavian name, soft and sensitive, is being discovered in a major way by parents in the US. It's most closely identified with the nineteenth century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, but there have been modern fictional Sorens as well, in The Matrix Reloaded and the book series Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Charlie and Lola, and Underworld.

 In Scandinavia this name would be spelled as Sören or Søren, leading to it being pronounced "Sur-en". But with a plain old English "O", "Sorr-en" would actually be the correct (and more English-speaker friendly) pronunciation.

Soren

See the popularity graph below for the name Theo? It's been heading straight uphill since 2010, when it hopped back onto the Top 1000 after a 60+ year absence.
 
Now in the Top 100 in this form, Theo's popularity is even wider given its common use as a nickname for Theodore, which made the Top 10 for the first time in 2022. This might be the generation of Theos.
 
Theo's newfound popularity extends far beyond the US and the rest of the English-speaking world. It's currently a Top 100 name in Germany, Brazil, Scandinavia, and beyond, as well as being a popular choice for pets.
 Theo first made an impact as the name of the only son on "The Cosby Show," earlier it was associated with Vincent van Gogh's supportive brother Theo.

Theo

Theron is best known these days as the surname of actress Charlize, but it does have a long history as a first name, ranking in the Top 500 in the early part of the 20th century and only dropping out of the Top 1000 in the early 1990s.  Theon is a similar name made familiar by the popular series Game of Thrones: Might it and Theron rise in tandem?

Theron

Conjures up the rich brown colors of raw and burnt umber, but it may be too close to girls' Amber. 

Umber

Coraley's list "Soft but Masculine Boy Names" of 26 great name ideas: Aiden - Umber!