Current Boy Name Crushes

Alaric is an ancient regal name that sounds modern enough to be considered. Alaric was a traditional name for the kings of the Ostrogoths, the most famous of whom was Alaric I, the King of the West Goths who sacked Rome in 410.

In this country, more recognizable with the Alistair spelling.

Related to the word bourgeois; actor Burgess Meredith put this surname in first place.

Cashel is one of the many appealing Irish names that have not yet emigrated to the US. Cashel was chosen by actor Daniel Day-Lewis and his writer-director wife Rebecca Miller for their son.

Corwin is an upstanding surname name that has been seen occasionally as a first in literature, but rarely in real life. But maybe with the recent acceptance of Darwin, that might change.

Beach boy name of the 1960s, Darrell is still a presence on the charts and may graduate into a stately surname name.

This old short form is more than a little dodgy now. In a recent film, Steve Carell's character is named Dodge, seen by one critic as symbolizing his risk-averse personality.

Eamon is one of the traditional Irish names that has not yet emigrated to the US. This Irish name pronounced ay-mon was popularized by early president of the independent republic Eamon de Valera (birth name George), who was born in the United States to an Irish mother and a Cuban father. Eamon definitely has possibilities as a successor to the epidemically popular Aidan/Aiden.

Formerly in style limbo, Edric has recently started to see more use by parents. It could be because it sounds medieval yet accessible - which George R. R. Martin took advantage of for several characters - or because it's an offbeat alternative to the more popular Ed-names.

Gibson is an undiscovered patronymic surname, with some appealing nicknames. It also brings to mind the popular brand of guitars.

Pleasant but uninspired surname name somewhat connected to writers Ellison and Coben. After three decades off the US Top 1000, it reentered in 2013, maybe because it's an unusual example of the trendy class of two-syllable n-ending boys’ names. Kevin Harlan is an NFL, NBA, and college basketball announcer for TV and radio.

Ibsen is a literary hero name possibility, after the great Norwegian dramatist, Henrik I. The name Ib is a short form of Jacob, so you might consider Ibsen as an honorific for or a twin of a Jacob.

Reeve is cool and dignified, sophisticated and modern — an excellent combination of assets, and a name being seen as a more masculine and distinctive alternative to Reese.

Rhett has been more tied to Gone with the Wind than even Scarlett, but now we're hearing rumblings of its finding new and independent favor among parents, perhaps emboldened by the growing popularity of Scarlett.

There's Rhys and there's Reese (now more popular for girls) and there's Reece, and we particularly like the traditional Welsh spelling, which entered the list in 2004, possibly influenced by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, of The Tudors, and Welsh-born actor Rhys Ifans.