This name of a legendary Welsh prince could serve as a more original alternative to Adam or Aidan, though it does sound a tad chemical. 

Adeon

He was the legendary son of Venus, hero of Troy and Rome, and broke the heart of Queen Dido of Carthage. Sure, its more challenging than Charlie - but if you're looking this name up, that's probably part of its appeal. 

Aeneas

Equally strong, dramatic and romantic, this name of an old kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and a modern Spanish community as well, would give a boy an instant pedigree.


Aragon

Arden is a gender-neutral name that's sleek and stylish but always seems to bob just below the surface of popularity, despite ticking all the boxes with its fashionable two-syllable, N-ending shape and its awesome nature-inspired meanings. In the 2021 US statistics, 41 percent of the babies named Arden were boys to 59 percent girls.

 A locational surname name deriving from several places in England, there are multiple legitimate derivations for this name. One is from Old English earn "eagle" + denu "valley", while another is from the Celtic ard meaning "high".

 For literature lovers: Arden is the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It (Shakespeare's mother's name was Mary Arden), and it also appears in the name and titular character of a poem by Tennyson, Enoch Arden.

Arden

Avalon, an island paradise of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend--it was where King Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds-- and also the colorful capital of the California island of Catalina-- makes a heavenly first name. Actress Rena Sofer and British musician Julian Cope used it for their daughters.
 Avalon manages to blend the appeal of Ava and Evelyn, while sounding more interesting and unique.

Avalon

Amadé

Araluen

Athos

Brandt

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

Corin was used by Shakespeare in As You Like It, an unusual name that could make a more distinctive alternative to Corey or Colin. It is a name used in the illustrious Redgrave family of actors.

Corin

Strong but gentle Irish last-name-first. Could bring to mind long-running rock group Duran Duran. 

Doran

Dugan is an open, friendly, and cheery Irish surname that would be suited to a dark-haired boy. 

Dugan

Dalin

Eaton's similarity to Eton gives it an upscale Old School feel, though in the U.S. a name that sound like eatin' could have teasin' potential.  Eaton could also sound like the much-more-familiar Ethan with a tough-guy accent.

Eaton

Frey is the handsome Norse fertility god, a worthy namesake. Frey remains rare in the US even as the similar Freya picks up in popularity. 

Frey

Gaétan

Hylas

Hélin

Iago, the villain of Shakespeare's Othello, was so treacherously evil that his name has hardly ever been heard offstage. Try the much-more-benign Inigo.

Iago

Itzan

Izan, pronounced with the same vowel sounds and emphasis as Ethan, ranks among the Top 20 <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys' names</a> in Spain, where it's been popular for two decades. The US is starting to catch onto this energetic variant, as Izan was amongst the fastest-rising boy names of 2023 and one of the newest additions to the US Top 1000.

Izan

Used more for girls in Europe, but definitely sounds masculine enough for a boy here. 

Izar

An Ancient Greek name with a huge dose of literary credibility. Laertes was the father of Odysseus in Greek mythology, who therefore pops up in Homer's The Odyssey. Laertes is even more familiar to English speakers as a central character in Shakespeare's Hamlet, the impetuous son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia who ends up (spoiler alert!) killing Hamlet with a poisoned sword. Laertes is almost never used as a baby name today, but we think it has lots of potential. Variant Leart is slightly more popular -- it was given to 6 boys in 2016 -- and some may find it more approachable.

Laertes

The father of Oedipus in Greek mythology, a king of Thebes and husband of Jocasta. After hearing a prophecy that he would be killed by his son, Laius left the infant Oedipus for dead. The boy survived and years later he killed Laius in a quarrel on the road.


Laius

Lucan is a rarely heard Irish name, a Luke form with the trendy an ending. 

Lucan

Malcolm is a warm and welcoming Scottish appellation (originally Mael-Colium) that fits into that golden circle of names that are distinctive but not at all odd. A royal name in Scotland, Malcolm is also a hero name for many via radical civil rights activist Malcolm X. 
 Malcolm was the name of four Scottish kings — including the son of Duncan who succeeded to the throne after Macbeth murdered his father — and has been a standard in that country.
 Denzel Washington named one of his sons Malcolm, as did Harrison Ford.
 Actor Malcolm McDowell is one current bearer. Other namesakes are writer Lowry; bestselling author and trendspotter Gladwell; Sex Pistols musician McLaren; and actor Jamal Warner. There have also been several Malcolms on TV — e.g., in Malcolm in the Middle, Firefly and in the Outlander series. There were no fewer than three characters named Malcolm in the Harry Potter books.

Malcolm

Maren is one of the many twenty-first-century takes on Mary--but we find the more classic Marin spelling preferable.  When spelled Maren, the pronunciation seems more clearly to resemble Mary, with the emphasis on the first syllable.  Marin, the spelling also used for the beautiful coastal county north of San Francisco, is often pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, as in Marie.

Maren

Matiz

Metias

Moran

Nimue (Lady of the Lake) is the ruler of Avalon in the Arthurian legend. Nimue plays a pivotal role in many stories, including giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father. 

Always an unusual choice, this name went to three magical girls in England and Wales in 2013.

Related names include Nimue, Viviane, Vivien, Elaine, Ninianne, Nivian, and Evienne.

Nimue

An old name wrapped in myth and legend, Pelleas is most familiar as the male lead in Debussy's opera Pelleas et Melisande, based on a play by the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck. Pelleas, sometimes spelled Pellias or some other way, is also the name of one of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.

Pelleas

This ancient name makes an intriguing alternative to River.

Riven

Renn

Rovan

Torak

TDay's list "Literary and Bohemian Influences" of 37 great name ideas: Adeon - Torak!

Literary and Bohemian Influences

Unique names with a mainly literary, but also fantasy/bohemian/exotic influence. Mostly guilty pleasures, I'd never give my kids these names, save a select few.