Three Syllable Names for Boys

Best known as the name of a Pilgrim aboard the Mayflower.

Resolved

Candice Swanpoel and Hermann Nicoli gave this uncommon Portuguese name to their son in 2016. It's the Portuguese word for the red-fan parrot, putting it in the fashionable bird name category.

Anaca

Levison is a surname-derived masculine name with English origins, coming from the patronymic form meaning 'son of Levi.' Levi itself has Hebrew roots, meaning 'joined' or 'attached.' As a first name, Levison is uncommon and distinctive, offering a formal alternative to the more widely used Lewis or Levi. It carries a sophisticated, scholarly quality while maintaining the trendy pattern of using surnames as given names. Though rare in popularity rankings, Levison has appeal for parents seeking a traditional-sounding name with both Jewish and English heritage connections. The name offers the friendly nickname options of Lev or Levy.

Levison

<a href="https://nameberry.com/unique-names">Unique name</a> chosen by Peaches Geldolf for her son in 2012.

Astala

One of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names">middle names</a> of Dwayne Wade's son Zion.

Airamis

Rider Strong used this variation of the Portuguese surname Barreto as the middle name for his son Indigo.

Baretto

Common Spanish surname, used by Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem as the middle name for their children Leo and Luna. 

Encinas

Hubertus

The name Merkaba comes from Merkabah Mysticism, a type of Jewish mysticism that was practiced during the first century.

Merkaba

Ravello is an Italian town on the Amalfi Coast. It's a popular travel destination and was a favorite spot for many notable creatives, including Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, and Tennessee Williams. 
 
With its cool -o ending, sharp V sound, and slight similarity to Rafael, Ravello could work as a bold but not outrageous choice. In fact, two celebrities have already picked it: Woody Harrelson used it as the middle name of his daughter Makani in 2006, and British reality TV star Lucy Mecklenburgh gave it as a middle to her son Roman in 2020. 
 
The exact meaning of the name is unknown, but theories include that it emerged from the Latin rebello meaning "revolt" or "wage war" or from the Italian rivellino (likely derived from Latin), referring to a type of fortification also known as a ravelin.

Ravello

Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman invented this name for their son Jonathan's middle. It's a combination of Anne's paternal grandfather's name, Roseline, and Adam's mother's maiden name Banks.

Rosebanks

An uncommon biblical name, Abaddon is the name of an angel of abyss in the New Testament. A totally cool name for a fictional character perhaps, though on a child it might be too reminiscent of the phrase "a bad 'un" or the word "abandon".

Abaddon

Old Testament male name and biblical place name.

Havilah

In the Old Testament, Merari is one of Levi's sons.

Merari

Philetus

This Roman name is featured in the New Testament as that of the governor of Judea.

Pontius

The bell-shaped flower Aletris is also known as Colic Root, Blazing Star, Unicorn Root, and Stargrass. Its roots have medicinal properties and are used to aid digestive and muscle problems. Its name derives from Greek aletris — an enslaved woman who ground corn — because of the mealy texture of the flowers.

Aletris

An edible plant used in seed and spice form.

Caraway

As a name, it's linked to Sir Mulberry Hawk, a character in Charles Dicken's Nicholas Nickleby.

Mulberry

Meadowlark Lemon, known as the "Clown Prince" of the Harlem Globetrotters, played professional basketball for an astonishing 40 years. Lemon's original name was Meadow, as was his father's and his grandfather's, but he legally changed it to Meadowlark. 

Meadowlark

Three-syllable boy names carry a certain gravity and formality: They're mostly full names rather than short forms. 

 today -- Benjamin, Theodore, Oliver -- have three syllables, often with friendlier short forms such as Ben, Theo, and Ollie.

 too: Consider word name Victory, Spanish nature name Jacinto, and the papal (really) Zepherin.

pair best with one or two-syllable surnames

, but if you love a three-syllable name for your son and have a longer last name, you can always choose one with a shorter version. Zachary Zantopoulos is more approachable as Zach Zantopoulos.

 of more than 5000 male names with three syllables, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

Three-syllable names for baby boys, including popular three syllable boy names such as Benjamin and Theodore and unique three-syllable baby names for boys, including Templeton and Zoticus. (Page 654)

5000+ Three-Syllable Boy Names