Two Syllable Names for Boys

Gatlin has risen into the Top 1000 in recent years on the strength of its association with the Olympic champion sprinter Justin Galtin as well as the Gatlin Brothers of Nashville fame. The name has the same root as gadabout, thus the meaning related to wandering.

Gatlin

Popular enough in the Indian community to have made it onto the US Top 1000 every year from 2001 to 2014 and now again in 2023, possibly inspired by Jamaican activist Leachim Semaj (born Michael James). If you didn't catch it yet, Semaj is James spelled backwards.

Semaj

Devon, spelled like the lovely seaside county in Britain that inspired the name, has crashed since its heyday around the Top 100 in the 1990s. Despite its use as a female name, for example for Devon on the TV show The 4400, Devon continues to be far more popular for boys than for girls.

Devon

Kaius is a K-ization of the Latin Caius, the name of an ancient poet, introduced by style maven Rachel Zoe. More recently, it was used by Derek Jeter for his son.
 
The draw of Kaius over Caius is the easy shortening to Kai. The nickname-ability of Kaius has propelled it up the charts, where it now outranks the original Caius.

Kaius

This variation of Ivan, itself a form of John, entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2022. Double As are trending across the states, such as Saanvi and Aarush, and Ivaan is running right along with them — all the way into the Top 1000 in 2022.

Ivaan

Kellan Lutz is the attractive young actor who plays Emmett Cullen in the Twilight series.

Kellan

Yaseen is a masculine name of Arabic origin, derived from 'Ya Sin,' which is the 36th chapter of the Quran. The name carries deep spiritual significance in Islamic tradition, as this chapter is often referred to as the 'heart of the Quran.' While the exact meaning is debated by scholars, some interpret it as referring to 'O human being' or consider the letters to have mystical significance. Yaseen has gained popularity among Muslim communities worldwide as a meaningful spiritual choice. The name offers a balance of religious significance with a contemporary sound. Its pronunciation (yah-SEEN) flows easily across cultural boundaries, making it both accessible and distinctive in multicultural settings.

Yaseen

This Italian name could have a whole new life when viewed as a color name, however, it is traditionally a masculine form of Carmen, pronounced with three lilting syllables. Both provide an arty, distinctive feel, though in different ways.

Carmine

A tributary of the River Clyde in Scotland, called in Scottish Gaelic Abhainn Cheilbhinn: caol ("narrow") or coille ("wooded") + abhainn ("river"). As a surname, it derives from the name of the river.

 As a given name, it first entered usage in the 1920s in the UK, inspired by renowned British physicist, mathematician and engineer William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who worked at the University of Glasgow for over fifty years. When he was ennobled by Queen Victoria in 1892, he chose the honorary title Kelvin, after the river which flows past his laboratory. The unit of absolute temperature kelvin (K) is also named in his honor.

 In the US, Kelvin caught on as a first name in the 1950s – no doubt influenced by Kevin, which was really taking off in popularity around the same time, as well as Calvin and Melvin, which were falling out of use. It peaked in the early 1960s and has been dropping steadily since, but remains in the Top 1000 today.

Kelvin

This phonetic version is occasionally used and removes any confusion about whether the X is fully pronounced or not.

Zavier

This geographic Scottish surname is more often spelled Brody in the US. Both forms have seen decreasing popularity, which may be linked to its association with club-hopping Hills star Brody Jenner.

Brodie

Ernest is one of those sober, so-far-out-they're-beginning-to-be-reconsidered Great Uncle names. Ernest recently received a big style boost when Britain's Princess Eugenie chose it for her second son.
 
Ernest was a Top 40 name from 1880 to 1926, and despite trending downward from there, hung onto the Top 1000 until 2019. But we may see the rise of Ernest again before long.
 Ernest is probably the only name a whole play was based on—Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest—in which one character says, "There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. I pity any poor woman whose husband is not called Ernest."
 The most famous bearer of the name is novelist Ernest Hemingway—unless you want to count Bert's friend Ernie.
 Changing the spelling to Earnest makes it a male virtue name.

Ernest

There's only one Trenton, New Jersey, but it's a widely used name, more for its fashionable -on ending than the reference to the city. Since 2007, however, Trenton has been on a steady decline. Trenten is another popular spelling. Two NFL players, Trent Richardson and the late TJ Jackson, have Trenton as first name.

Trenton

Although Ulysses is the more recognizable spelling — the Latin name for epic Greek hero Odysseus, as well as the first name of US President Grant — Spanish Ulises is the more popular choice in the US. Ulises was at its highest in the early 2000s, and has since been on a downswing.

Ulises

Pronounced KAY-nan, this Old Testament place name has a strong modern feel that blends in with on-trend choices like Carter, Colton, and Kayson, but also with Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Tobias. Associated in the Bible with "The Promised Land", it is also the name of one of Noah's grandsons.
 
The actual meaning of Canaan is disputed, with some scholars suggesting it simply means "lowland", while others believe the name refers to the "lowness and humbleness" that faith requires. 
 
Canaan entered the US Top 1000 in 2015, peaked in 2016 when it reached #667, then fell back down the rankings, disappearing from the popularity charts in 2023. It is still given to nearly 200 babies each year however, suggesting that it could easily return to the Top 1000 in years to come.

Canaan

A variation of Landon, this form has a slightly softer look to it, but it is the less favored of the two. The name itself comes from a surname and a place name meaning "long hill", which likely refers to a ridge in the landscape. 
 
The Landen spelling entered the US Top 1000 back in the late '90s, nearly 40 years after Landon appeared in the charts for the first time. It peaked back in 2008, when it reached #199, but has since declined to the latter end of the rankings. Given to 302 boys in a recent year, for every one Landen, there are 12 boys named Landon. 
 
Landen recently came in Number 1 on a list of names of voters that tilt the most red. According to voter registration figures, over 80 percent of the voters named Landen vote Republican.

Landen

This surname has a modern yet old New England feel, perhaps because of the association with the transcendental teacher and reformer Bronson (born Amos Bronson) Alcott, father of Louisa May. (One-time sitcom star Bronson Pinchot's full name is Bronson Alcott Pinchot.)  A more muscular image comes via tough guy Charles Bronson.

Bronson

Straightforward single-syllable name, though children named Lyle may get tired of hearing "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile". Lyle was at the height of fashion in the 1920s, which makes him due for a comeback right about now. The double L certainly gives it a fashionable sound.

Lyle

Rarely, if ever, heard outside the Jewish community.

Shlomo

Soft yet solid, Cedric was invented by Sir Walter Scott for the noble character of the hero's father in Ivanhoe, presumed to be an altered form of the Saxon name Cerdic ("bounty"), or the Brythonic name Caratacus ("loved"), though surname Sedgewick ("sword place", "place of victory") may have provided inspiration too. A truly literary choice name was later also given to Little Lord Fauntleroy, the long-haired, velvet-suited, and lace-collared boy hero of the Frances Hodgson Burnett book, who became an unwitting symbol of the pampered mama's boy.
 Since then that stereotype has been broken partly by the Harry Potter character, Cedric Diggory, played by Robert Pattinson in the movies, and by general renewed interest in other old-fashioned names, like Cecil, Conrad, Stanley, and Clyde. As such, Cedric has been dipping in and out of the US Top 1000 in recent years and in the latest count, in was given to around 240 boys.
 
A major favorite in France back in the 70s and 80s when it made the Top 10, some noteworthy Cedrics have included comedian and actor Cedric the Entertainer, footballer Cédric Soares, and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala.

Cedric

Two-syllable boy names are the most prevalent in the complete lexicon of male names in Anglophone cultures, with more than 15,000 choices on this complete list of every boys' name on Nameberry with two syllables.

, with the top two boy names Liam and Noah having two syllables each. Other common choices include Henry, Jackson, and Ethan.

 with two syllables include Orson, Roscoe, and Altan. Click here for a hand-curated list of the 

full list of over 15,000 two-syllable male names

, ordered by their current rank on Nameberry.

Two-Syllable Boy Names with meanings, origins, and popularity, including top two syllable names for boys and unique boy names with 2 syllables. (Page 37)

15,000+ Two-Syllable Boy Names