By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 255 pages
of 255
Croatian, Czech, Slovak
"happy, willing"
A cool Slavic name with an upbeat meaning, but beware the association with a former Bosnian Serb politician Radovan Karadžić, convicted in 2008 of crimes against humanity during the Bosnian War.
Greek
"star lover"
Variant of Astrophel
Arabic, North African
"slender"
Form of Sufyan mainly found in North Africa
English word name
"month name"
Parents are beginning to turn away from springtime months like April and June and are moving toward the cooler and crisper three-syllable September, October, November, and December.
English surname
"Cyneburga's meadow"
Kimberley is a town in South Africa associated with diamonds and with wealth and luxury in general. It was name for Lord Kimberley, whose surname derived from an English place name. Used for boys in…
Finnish
"first"
Ensio derives from the Finnish word ensimmäinen , meaning "first one."
Finnish diminutive of Isak
"laughter"
A nickname for Isak, the Nordic variation of Isaac.
Variation of Kaleva, Finnish
"ancestor of the Finns"
Kalevi is a variant form of Kaleva, the name of a character from Finnish legend — the ancestor of all Finns. Although both are masculine names, Kalevi may be better suited for non-Finnish boys, since…
Finnish and Scandinavian variation of Zebulon, Hebrew
"exaltation; little dwelling"
You lose the zippy Z with the Nordic form of Zebulon, but the softer nickname Seb is nice.
Canadian place name
This Canadian city name would make a unique but very wearable choice for a son or daughter. Cal is a good nickname — skip Gary.
French surname
"from the laurels"
DeLorean is an Anglicized variation of the French surname Deslauriers, originally used for someone who lived near laurel. DeLorean is best known as the name of a 1980s sports car, ingrained in the…
Latin
"best"
Extremely rare, but seen as a baby boy name every once in a while, influenced by Transformers character Optimus Prime.
Masculinization of Yolanda, Spanish from Greek
"violet"
One of the few masculine names that derived from a feminine one.
Variation of Malachi, Hebrew
"my messenger"
A creative take on Malachi used in the 2000 horror movie Lost Souls .
"son of Matthew"
Could make for a strong and stylish honor name for an ancestral Matt.
"man of victory"
A much rarer alternative to Alexander that also gives you the oh-so-cool nickname Nico. Nicander derives from the Greek name Nikandros "man of victory", which belonged to a 2nd century BC poet and…
Spanish
"good fortune"
Ventura started life as a shortening of Bonaventura, Spanish for good luck or good fortune, but now stands on its own. It has a pleasant sound and the stylish 'V' ending, but Angelenos would…
Yoruba
"person of story"
Enitan's origins are in the Yoruba language of Southwestern Nigeria. It has a lovely meaning, referring to a person of notoriety.
Swahili
"born on Thursday"
In many African cultures, it is traditional to name children based on the day of the week they were born. For the Swahili people of eastern Africa, Khamisi is used for boys born on Thursday.
Chewa
"be strong"
This strong (literally) African name comes from the Chewa language of southern Africa.
