4 Letter Boy Names

This name, with its great meaning, has seen a notable rise for boys since the mid-2010s. It debuted on the US charts for girls in 2021, while for boys, it was one of the fastest rising choices of 2024, when it entered to Top 1000 for the first time having climbed more than 280 places. 

Azai

This phonetic spelling of Drew feels particularly distanced from the original classic Andrew. Jrue, along with other phonetic "Jr" names such as Jream, is on the rise in the US — even cracking the Top 1000 in 2022. 

Jrue

A common unisex name in Israel, more properly written as Ya'el, Yael rose more than 200 places in 2023 to become one of the fastest-rising boys' names of the year in the US.

Yael is among the -ael ending names that make up a mini-trend, perhaps thanks to their resemblance to several angel names. Other rising -ael names include Azrael, Isael, and Mael.

Yael

Dane is a more masculine Dana alternative, with added style edge. Dane has been on the US Top 1000 for more than seventy years, having entered the list in 1945.
 Dane makes a great middle name, as evidenced by January Jones' use of it for son Xander Dane.

Dane

Always the top spelling of the name; Neil peaked in the 1950s, but then enjoyed a second coming following the fame of such Neils as astronaut Armstrong and singers Sedaka, Diamond, and Young. Now semiretired. 

Neil

Bear has suddenly lumbered onto the baby name landscape. Perhaps inspired by British adventurer Bear Grylls (born Edward Michael), first celebrity chef Jamie Oliver used it as the middle name for his boy Buddy, and Alicia Silverstone called her son Bear Blu, followed by Kate Winslet's Bear Blaize.

The name Bear is part of a current trend normalizing once aggressive animal names like Wolf, Hawk, and Fox. Bear now ranks in the Top 1000 in both the US and England.

Bear

This nickname for popular and traditional Joseph has a long history of being used as a given name all on its own. Nonetheless, everyone will always assume that Joey is short for the longer form. It might be nice for a potential son to have the option of a more professional and classic name to fall back on.

Joey

Eren ranks among the Top 50 boys' names in Turkey, among the Top 1000 in England and Wales, and is virtually unknown in the US. With a sound that's similar to Aaron or Erin, it may be mistaken for one of those more familiar choices but does make an easily-translated and attractive name. Eren entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022, with parents potential inspired by the character Eren Yeager in the popular Japanese manga series Attack on Titan.

Eren

Izan, pronounced with the same vowel sounds and emphasis as Ethan, ranks among the Top 20 <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys' names</a> in Spain, where it's been popular for two decades. The US is starting to catch onto this energetic variant, as Izan was amongst the fastest-rising boy names of 2023 and one of the newest additions to the US Top 1000.

Izan

Originally a nickname for a third-generation son, as in Thurman Thackeray III, Trey is now being given to others, and it has also expanded to Treynor and Treyton. The name also is popular among basketball fans: It's another word for a three-point shot.

Trey

Now that such Old Testament patriarchs as Elijah and Moses fill the playground, Boaz seems downright baby-friendly, having more pizzazz than many of the others, perhaps as a successor to Noah.
 A name that was used by the seventeenth century Pilgrims and is still heard in Israel, but is a rarity in the U.S., Boaz is associated with the Jewish holiday Shavuot, as that is when the Bible story of Ruth is read in the synagogue, and Boaz was Ruth's wealthy and generous second husband, making it logical for Boaz to sometimes be given to boys born at that time.
 
Familiar but underused in the US, it is a popular choice in The Netherlands where it ranked in the Top 50 in a recent year. The pronunciation varies slightly in Dutch and it would be heard as BO-ahz.
 Extra added attraction: one of the all-time great nicknames; Bo.

Boaz

Likely borrowed from Kale or Cale, both short forms of the Biblical Caleb, Kael may also be used as an Anglicization of the Irish Cáel or as a Spanish form of the Breton Gaël. As such, it could mean "dog" or "whole heart" via Caleb, "slender" via Cáel, and "Gaelic" via Gaël,
 
 It was a fast rising choice in the US in 2025 when it jumped 536 places up the charts to re-enter the Top 1000, having been absent for several years.

Kael

Nael - or Naël as it is often spelled - originated as a French diminutive of names ending in -nael, though in recent years, it has risen up the charts as a standalone choice. A Top 100 name in France, it is also popular in Belgium and Switzerland, where it fits in beside Léo, Sacha, Lou, Noé, and Ben.
 
Traditionally deriving from Nathanael, meaning "gift of God", or Gwenael, meaning "blessed and generous", Nael could also be a variation of the Arabic and Turkish name Nail. Meaning "winner", "brave" or "attainer", Nail (as Naïl) is also familiar in France, and can be alternatively spelled as Nayel, Naail, and Nael. 
 
Rarely used in the US before the 2010s, Nael entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2025 when it was given to 263 boys. It has additionally charted in the Top 500 in the Netherlands, the Top 100 in Puerto Rico, and the Top 1000 in England and Wales, reflecting its more international appeal.

Nael

Koa and Noah are both contemporary favorites, so it was only a matter of time before Koah caught on too. Likely used as a variation of the Hawaiian Koa (meaning "warrior"), it may also be seen as a variant of the Hebrew Koach (meaning "strength"), or the Maori Koa (meaning "happy").
 
The name debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2025 when it was given to 260 boys, while Koa was given to 1281 in the same year. As such, Koa is almost five times more popular. 
 
This form was chosen by content creators Julia and Jacob Petersen in 2026, for their son, Koah Psalm.

Koah

The popular single-named alternative singer (born Bek) has given this cool nature-meets-surname name a new lease of life. Another notable bearer is Beck Weathers, a Texan pathologist who survived the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which was covered in the book and film Into Thin Air.

 Outdoorsy yet refined, Beck still sits below the radar but could follow brother Beckett up the charts.

Beck

Leif is one of the most recognizable <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/173/scandinavian-names">Scandinavian names</a>, thanks to Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson, and is still one of the best, with a pleasant aural association with the word leaf. 
 Leif Erikson, son of explorer Eric the Red, was the first European to land in North America--some five hundred years before Columbus. Centuries later, the name became associated in the U.S. with 1970s teen idol Leif Garrett, the name peaking on the charts at Number 654 in 1970, dropping off completely in 1987. It climbed back onto the Top 1000 in 2014.
 Pronounced LAYF or LIFE in its Scandinavian milieu, Leif and Lief are sometimes pronounced as Leaf in English-speaking countries. Joaquin Phoenix was for a time known as Leaf, in keeping with the <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a> of his siblings.

Leif

Celestial and space-age, Halo is a contemporary choice that first appeared in the US stats for boys in 2008. Currently more popular for girls, it is nevertheless on the rise across the board.
 
One on hand, Halo is spiritual choice, associated with angels, holy people, and saints. On the other, it's connected to astronomy and science, where it's used to describe the ring of light around the sun or moon, created by refraction. But it could also be considered a pop-culture name, inspired by the Halo video game franchise in which Halo rings are huge structures used as weapons.
 
Actress Halle Bailey chose the name for her son in 2023 and her decision seems to have been influential. Halo appeared in the England and Wales Top 1000 for the first time the same year, while in the US, it was one of the fastest rising boy names of 2024. Given to 226 boys, it climbed more than 450 places.

Halo

A little bit of Crew, a little bit of True, plus a K initial equals a recipe for one of the fastest-rising boy names of the year.

Krue

One of the fastest-rising Indian boy names of the past few years, Veer is a straightforward choice with visual appeal and a striking V initial. Sleek and simple, Veer has joined the US Top 1000 boy names for the first time in 2023, given to over 200 baby boys. It has also seen steady usage in the UK since the 2000s and currently ranks in the Top 600.
 "Veer" was the name bestowed on the Indian politician and freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar by his followers, it is the name of a spiritual and aesthetic concept in Indian art and it has been used as the title of several Indian movies. It's also used to describe a move in American football and occasionally, as a diminutive of the feminine Vera or the masculine Vira.

Veer

With its sharp Z initial and similar sound to Ryan, Zion has shot up the charts in singer Lauryn Hill used it for her son in 1997. Following on in its footsteps, spelling variant Zyon entered the Top 1000 in 2019 and was given to around 270 babies in a recent year. 
 
Combining an on trend sound with religious significance, the name comes from the Old Testament in which it is the name of a citadel in Jerusalem. It is also used to refer a Jewish homeland and heaven, and is the source of the word Zionism. 
 
While the Zion spelling is currently used 10 times more often than Zyon, time will tell if this gap narrows in coming years as more parents consider alternative spellings to popular names, or decide on this option to side step the political associations of the classic form.

Zyon

Four letter boy names have topped the popularity list for several years now, with Liam taking over for longtime favorite Noah.

 boys' names with four letters in the US Top 100

 include Levi, Ryan, Ezra, Owen, Luke, Jack, Evan, Axel, Jace, and Jose.



John and its short form Jack, two of the top male names of all time, both have four letters. Other

 include Abel, Adam, Amos, Carl, Eric, Mark, and Paul.

 on our recommended list include Beau, Cove, Elio, Ford, Hart, Huck, Land, Nico, Otis, Pike, Rafi, and Shaw.



View our entire list of boy names with four letters here, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry. 

Four letter boy names including meaning, origin, and popularity, with top four letter boy names Noah and Jack and unique four letter names for boys (Page 7)

1900+ Four Letter Boy Names