Boys Names I Love 1

If you're tired of Oliver, you might consider this energetic three-syllable surname instead, so you could have a little Tolly instead of an Ollie.

The extra p makes Tripp more of a name and less of a Trip. Usually a nickname of a boy who's a third, but Tripp is sure to get more attention in its own right now as the name of Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol and Levi Johnston's son.

Honor and bravery are certainly virtues any parent would want to encourage, and this word itself is obscure enough that it manages to sound like a real name.

Walker is both a Waspy surname name—as in the W in George W. Bush—but it also has a gentle ambling quality and a creative connection to such greats as writer Walker Percy and photographer Walker Evans, whose father was also named Walker.

Wells is a newly-famous baby name thanks to pregnancy guru Rosie Pope, who uses it as the short form of the buttoned-up Wellington, name of her youngest child.

West is the most fashionable of what you might call the direction names, with North and East (or Easton and Easter) coming up behind, and South not yet on the map.

If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.

New to the US Top 1000 in 2015, Wilder is on many parents' possibility lists, one of the new generation of bad boy names growing in popularity. Wilder got a big boost in interest through Goldie Hawn's grandson, born in 2007, via son Oliver. 

Willoughby is an energetic last-name-first route to the popular short form Will, livelier than any of the two-syllable options. It could be picked up by parents attracted to the Willow sound for girls.

Wolf is a name with a split personality. It can be seen as one of the fierce animal names, like Fox and Bear and Puma, with a touch of the werewolf, or it can be viewed as a quieter, Wolf Blitzer kind of name, fairly common in German (where is pronounced Vulf) and Jewish families, sometimes as a short form of Wolfgang, or even Wolfram or Wolfhart.

Wylie is a friendly, nonchalant rodeo name with an almost irresistible charm; parents may pick up on its pleasant similarity to the more popular, unisex Riley. Although more masculine, we see Wylie as working as well for boys and girls (Richard Anderson used it for his daughter in 1999). Wylie (or the interchangeable Wiley) can also be an original and authentic way to honor an ancestral William. We don't, however, recommend you spell the name the way Corey Parker did: Wylei. Why lay?

Xen and Zen, both pronounced the same way, are two hip new spiritual word names from Buddhist practice. Among the celebrity set, Corey Feldman has a Zen and Tisha Campbell Martin's son is Xen.

On paper, with its stylish ties to fashion legend Yves Saint-Laurent (born Henri), Yves looks great, but the pronunciation--EVE-- could lead to gender confusion. German variation Ivo might be cooler and clear up the issue.

An alternative transcription of Tzvi, the latter of which is a Top 100 pick in Israel. It's a cool, sharp-sounding micro name which would make for a great distinctive alternative to Levi.