One Syllable Boy Names

They're short, they're spunky and they'd be perfect for the middle name spot. These are some one syllable boy names that stood out to me.
  1. Bear
    • Origin:

      Animal name
    • Meaning:

      "bear"
    • Description:

      Bear has suddenly lumbered onto the baby name landscape. Perhaps inspired by British adventurer Bear Grylls (born Edward Michael), first celebrity chef Jamie Oliver used it as the middle name for his boy Buddy, and more recently Alicia Silverstone called her son Bear Blu., followed by Kate Winslet's Bear Blaize. It's part of a current trend normalizing once aggressive animal names like Wolf and Fox. Bear is now Number 218 on Nameberry and in the Top 900 in England.
  2. Beck
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "small stream"
    • Description:

      The popular single-named alternative singer (born Bek) has given this cool nature-meets-surname name a new lease of life. Another notable bearer is Beck Weathers, a Texan pathologist who survived the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which was covered in the book and film Into Thin Air.
  3. Blue
    • Origin:

      Color name
    • Description:

      Among the coolest of the cool color names, particularly popular with celebs as a unisex middle name.
  4. Clark
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "scribe, secretary, cleric, scholar, clerk"
    • Description:

      Clark seemed to have been Gone with the Wind, but parents looking for a short, strong boy's name are now beginning to appreciate its cool combination of Gable charm with Superman power.
  5. Clay
    • Origin:

      English word name; diminutive of Clayton
    • Description:

      Clay is a rich, earthy one-syllable name with a southern-inflected handsome-rogue image, featured on soap operas and reality TV. Its longer forms are Clayton and Clayborne.
  6. Clint
    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Clinton
    • Description:

      As flinty and steely as Mr. Eastwood.
  7. Cloud
    • Origin:

      Nature name
    • Description:

      Like Sky and Sunshine, this fluffy name from the hippie 1970s has floated back onto the naming radar.
  8. Cove
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "small bay"
    • Description:

      Cove is an up-and-coming nature name whose cool sound and peaceful image saw it rising for both sexes... until COVID-19 hit. It remained steady in use for boys in 2021, but actually increased for girls, although it remains a seriously rare and distinctive choice for either gender.
  9. Cross
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Meaning:

      "cross"
    • Description:

      Evocative word name that's refreshingly straightforward. Overtones of Christianity and penalty. More subtle option: Cruz.
  10. Chord
    • Coast
      • Dean
        • Origin:

          English
        • Meaning:

          "church official"
        • Description:

          Dean may sound to some like a retro surfer boy name, but it is once again climbing up the popularity chart in the USA. For decades it was associated with Dean (born Dino) Martin; more recent representatives include Dean Cain, Dean McDermott and Dean Koontz -- not to mention Jared Padalecki's dreamy Dean Forester in Gilmore Girls.
      • Finch
        • Origin:

          English word and nature name
        • Meaning:

          "to swindle"
        • Description:

          It feels like Finch should be a modern bird name that's as popular as Wren or Lark, but that's not the case - so it's one to consider if you're looking for a nature name that's familiar but rare.
      • Flint
        • Origin:

          English
        • Meaning:

          "born near outcrop of flint"
        • Description:

          Flint is one of the new macho names on the rise today, part old-school tough guy, part rebel. You won't find a tougher, steelier-sounding name; it's part of a genre on the rise along with cousins Slate, Stone and Steel.
      • Fox
        • Origin:

          Animal name
        • Description:

          Fox is one animal name backed by a longish tradition, and then popularized via the lead character Fox Mulder on X Files. Fox is simple, sleek, and a little bit wild, and could make an interesting middle name.
      • Frost
        • Origin:

          English
        • Meaning:

          "freezing"
        • Description:

          Long heard as a last name, as in venerable poet Robert, U.K. talk show host David, British actress Sadie and old Jack Frost, Frost has suddenly entered the scene as a possible first, along with other seasonal weather names like Winter and Snow.
      • Gage
        • Origin:

          French
        • Meaning:

          "oath, pledge"
        • Description:

          Gage was part of the craze for one-syllable surnames, with associations to tasty green gage plums and the mathematical gauge.
      • Gale
        • Origin:

          Nature name
        • Description:

          Gale for boys is more a storm name than a short form of Abigail. Since Gale has resurfaced as the name of Liam Hemsworth's daring character in The Hunger Games, it has new force for boys.
      • Gene
        • Origin:

          Diminutive of Eugene, Greek
        • Meaning:

          "wellborn, noble"
        • Description:

          Like Ray, a formerly funky nickname name that is newly cool. Comedian Amy Schumer used it for her son.
      • Gray
        • Origin:

          Color name, also diminutive of Grayson
        • Description:

          The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Gray (or Grey), is one exception, which could make for a soft and evocative--if slightly somber-- choice, especially in the middle. Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney recently named their son Leo Grey.