Strong Names For Baby Boys

50+ names that connote power, vigor and might

Last Updated July 31st, 2018

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Today we bring you more than 50 boys’ names that convey masculine strength, vigor, and power, either via their literal meanings or their image and associations. The number in the popularity column is the number of American boys given that name in 2016.

Why these strong boy names now?  Many of the dystopian stories popular these days — from Mad Max: Fury Road to The Walking Dead — make it seem like pure physical strength is going to be pretty crucial for surviving the rough-and-tumble future. And even if the next generation manages to avert a zombie apocalypse or robot uprising, strength of all kinds — physical, mental, spiritual — always comes in handy.

The 25 strong boy names in the table below all have literal meanings related to strength and power.

Strong Boy Names

Name	Origin	Meaning	Popularity
Anders	Scandinavian	“strong and manly”	277
Angus	Gaelic via English	“one strength”	75
Arsenio	Greek via Spanish	“virile, strong”	14
Aziz	Arabic and African	“powerful and beloved”	63
Brian	Irish	“strong, virtuous and honorable”	1965
Denzel	Cornish	“from the high stronghold”	175
Egon	German	“strong with a sword”	Fewer than 5
Emeric	German via France	“power”	23
Ethan	Hebrew	“strong, firm”	13758
Evander	Greek	“strong man”	116
Fort	French	“strong”	Fewer than 5
Garrett	Irish	“spear strength	1144
Godric	Anglo-Saxon	“God’s power”	36
Griffin	Welsh	“strong lord”	1688
Kenzo	Japanese	“strong and healthy”	103
Kwan	Korean	“strong”	6
Merrick	Anglo-Welsh	“fame, power”	208
Montgomery	Norman	“man power”	115
Oswald	English	“divine power”	35
Qadir	Arabic	“capable, powerful”	12
Ragnar	Norse	“warrior, judgment”	39
Reynard	German	“powerful advice”	Fewer than 5
Richmond	German	“powerful protector”	24
Thor	Norse	“thunder”	87
Ulric	English	“wealthy, powerful ruler”	10

Some of the names above, notably Brian and Ethan, are already widely-used, but others are yet to be discovered. Egon, for instance, as in the great Austrian painter Egon Schiele, didn’t show up in the Social Security list of Most Popular Names at all, meaning it was given to fewer than five American boys last year.

Many of these names conjure up an image of a pre-modern warrior, the kind that fought with swords and arrows. Surely there were companies of medieval knights in Western Europe that included Godrics, Griffins, Merricks and Anguses. They almost feel like the distant forebears of such fashionable, violent-feeling names as Gunnar and Remington.

Boy Names That Feel Strong

Of course, boys’ names that literally mean power are not the only kind of masculine names that convey power and strength. Some newly-popular word names portray strength, some names of powerful heroes (and anti-heroes) can lend their strength to a namesake, while other masculine names simply carry the aura of power. A roundup:

Name	Origin	Meaning	Popularity
Atlas	Greek	god name	787
Axel	German	“father of peace”	3441
Brock	English	“badger”	684
Bruno	German	“brown”	382
Brutus	Latin	“heavy, dull”	Fewer than 5
Conan	Irish	“little wolf”	67
Dominic	Latin	“belonging to the Lord“	5394
Duke	English	word name	513
Flint	English	“born near an outcrop of flint”	85
Holt	English	“son of the unspoiled forest”	68
Igor	Old Norse via Russian	“warrior”	16
King	English	word name	2642
Knox	Scottish	“round hill”	1527
Knute	Norse	“knot”	Fewer than 5
Mack	Scottish and Irish	“son of”	353
Otto	German	“wealthy”	556
Primo	Italian	“first”	8
Rambo	English	surname name	10
Rip	Dutch	“ripe, fully grown”	Fewer than 5
Rocco	Italian via German	“rest”	673
Rock	English	word name	30
Rocky	Italian	diminutive of Rocco	215
Rod	English	“famous ruler”	11
Samson	Hebrew	“sun”	476
Steel	English	word name	52
Stone	English	word name	177
Wolf	English	word name	67
Zoltan	Hungarian	“life”	16

(By the way, if you’re looking for girls’ names that connote strength, check out our recent post on Wonder Woman-inspired names.)