By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 31 pages
of 31
Efi is a short, crisp masculine name with multiple cultural origins. In Greek tradition, it often serves as a diminutive for Efstratios or Efthimios, names meaning 'good army' and 'cheerful'…
Native American, meaning unknown
Singer Shania Twain is said to have chosen this name, pronounced as Asia, for her son to honor her father's Native-American culture.
English, German, Norse, Danish tree name
"red, brown"
Strong, straight, and leafy, one of the new tree names used mostly as middles.
Modern invented name
If you're not finding Nemo unusual enough, consider the even more eccentric Emo, which may have been invented by comedian Emo Philips.
Ras is a concise masculine name with multicultural significance. In Ethiopian culture, particularly in the Amharic language, 'Ras' was a prestigious title meaning 'head' or 'chief,' historically…
Ern is a masculine name that originated primarily as a shortened form of Ernest, though it can occasionally derive from other names like Vernon. With Germanic roots, Ernest means 'serious' or…
Teb is an extremely rare masculine name with uncertain origins. It may function as a shortened form of longer names like Tebaldo (Italian variation of Theobald, meaning 'bold people') or could have…
English, diminutive of Philip
"lover of horses"
The original Pip was the main character in Great Expectations (full name Philip Pirrip). Cute for a tike, maybe too cute for an adult.
Diminutive of Fiorenzo, Italian
"flowering"
Quirky Italian baby name that works for any gender.
Rik is a masculine name with Germanic and Scandinavian roots, functioning as a short form of names containing the element 'ric' or 'rik' meaning 'ruler' or 'power,' such as Richard, Frederik, Erik,…
Gan is a concise masculine name with multiple cultural origins and meanings. In Chinese, Gan (甘) can mean 'sweet' or represent other characters with different meanings depending on the tone and…
French
"joyful"
The meaning of this word flipped from "cheerful" to "homosexual" during the twentieth century, and it's now almost certainly too loaded to sit comfortably as a baby name. Which is a shame as…
English diminutive of Gerard, Gerald, or Gethin, German
"spear strength; ruler with the spear; dark, swarthy complexion"
An oldy-world feeling nickname-name, used for a number of names such as Gerard (said with a sound G) and Gethin (said with a hard first consonant). In the US, it may be associated with the General…
Gib is a concise masculine name with historical depth, typically functioning as a diminutive of Gilbert. Gilbert derives from Germanic elements 'gisil' (pledge, hostage) and 'beraht' (bright),…
Xil is an extremely rare masculine name with several possible origins. It may be a shortened form of names like Axil or Maxil, or could have roots in various indigenous languages. In some contexts,…
Gun is a concise masculine name with varied origins across different cultures. In Scandinavian countries, particularly Sweden, it functions as a short form of Gunnar, meaning 'warrior' or 'bold…
Short form of Guillermo, Spanish form of William
"resolute protection"
It's tempting to think of Gui as the Spanish form of Guy, but it's short for Guillermo.
Gye is an extremely rare masculine name with multiple possible origins. It may derive from an English surname, a variant of Guy (from Germanic origins meaning "guide" or "wood"), or have Korean…
Hil is a compact masculine name with multiple cultural origins. It may function as a diminutive of Hilbert, Hilary, or similar names derived from the Germanic element "hild" meaning battle or strife.…
English, diminutive of Robert
"bright fame"
A Robert nickname out of use for hundreds of years, but now sounds cooler than Bob or Rob for a modern boy.
