Boy Names

From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.

Clove is one of a whole tantalizing genre of spice names that might work for a boy. Clovis could be considered a long form.

The girls have Apple, Plum, Peaches, Cherry, and Berry: here's one variety of fruit suitable for a boy.

An evocative, windswept choice that is part of the third generation of western-influenced names, picking up where first Jesse and then Dakota left off, though with a slight feminine edge.

This softer version of Adolf is sadly still off-limits due to the connotations with Hitler.

Worthy sibling for Oak, Elm, Juniper, and Spruce.

Worldly, artistic and attractive Slavic version of the name of the Greek god of fertility and farming.

A possible Christmas name for a baby boy, if you find Noel too mundane. But we fear it doesn't sound very festive.

Woodsy names are fashionable for boys, as are surnames and occupational names, so Forester scores on all three. It can also be spelled Forrester.

A very Christmas-y Christmas baby name, that may avoid the Santa image by instead adopting the alternative spelling Klaus.

A traditional French male name that could, with American pronunciation, become an admirable word name.

Forget Patience and Charity: Here's a Colonial name (and sentiment) that seems perfect for modern times.

There's a whole quarry of rocky names parents are now considering: Slate, Flint, etc. , but this one is particularly hard-edged and problematic.

Ron Burgundy was Will Ferrell's fictional helmet-haired newsman, but this color name is much more suited to a girl.

An occupation name with a preppy, scholarly air, Author could fit in alongside Arthur and August or Chosen and Booker, in terms of sound and style. Author saw more usage that you might think in the first half of the 20th century, peaking in 1933 when it was given to nearly 60 boys. While some may have used it as an occupational and word name, others may have chosen owing to misspelling or misinterpreting the classic Arthur.

Many African tribes have a tradition of naming children for the day or time they were born -- Friday, Afternoon -- a practice finding new life in the Western world as word names become more popular.

This recently coined respelling of Cole darkens its image.

One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom.