Names That Mean Man

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 grammarian.

Cassander is the masculine form of Cassandra, and the name of an ancient king of Macedon from the 3rd century BC. It could make a nice alternative to Alexander or a refreshing way to honour a female relative named Cassie/Cassandra/Sandra.

Montgomery is an increasingly popular name for boys, especially in the UK, and now it's being used for girls as well in the US, where more than 50 baby girls were named Montgomery last year.

Franz is the German equivalent to Francis, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a Franz outside of countries with Germanic origins. In America the name is often associated with celebrated author Franz Kafka, who was born in Prague.

How often do you see a name from Madagascar that is so wearable in English? Kendry has a great meaning to boot and is possibly a great name for a Christmas baby. What's not to love?

A peppy nickname name associated with Lolo (born Lori) Jones, American track and field champ.

Whitman, a namesake surname for poet Walt, would be much more suited to a boy, probably because of that "man" part. Whit or Witt makes an uplifting short form which can be used on its own.

This short form has been pretty much replaced by Frankie, however, it could fit in with other clunky but charming names, like Peggy, Bess, and Enid.

One of the most popular native language names for boys in Hawaii, Makoa joins Nakoa and Koa as Hawaiian boys' names finding a wider audience in the US. Given to 125 boys in the US in a recent year, 85% of whom where born outside of Hawaii.

While not generally thought of as unisex, this is a male name that, like Perry and Barry, has occasionally been used for girls over the years.

Forsythe is a rare and intriguing surname name, most likely derived from the Old Gaelic name Fearsithe, meaning "man of peace." It may instead come from a bygone place name meaning "fairy meadow" or "fairy mound", from Gaelic fer "grass" or for "hill, mound" plus sithe "fairies."

A popular spelling variation of Adriana.

Karoline is the form of the classic Caroline commonly used in Germany and throughout Scandinavia, where it is popular. It's an acceptable if not traditional spelling variation, given to nearly 100 baby girls in the US last year, versus almost 3000 named Caroline.

Rising fast for boys both as a stand-alone name and as a nickname to Cassius or Cassian, Cash also has potential to cross over to the girls' side — either as an edgy word name, or as a diminutive of names such as Cassia and Cassandra.

As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now.

Mythological name with a fabulous meaning. Sure it's weighty, but so is Aphrodite; Andy is an easy nickname choice to make this name more wearable in the classroom.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Frances or Francesca

Francie is one of the most neglected nicknames for Frances, despite having more style value than Franny and Fanny and being more unique than Frankie. We'd love to see it get more use, whether as a Frances short form or as an independent name.

Charlie in all its forms has been a popular gender neutral name since the early 2000s and is now given almost equally to girls and boys. While it did once lean more (statistically) masculine, it has been used on girls too since the before the 20th century.

Japanese name common among older generations.