Boy Names Lists · Popular Names and Name Trends
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 20 pages
of 20
English
"Gilbert's son"
An undiscovered patronymic surname, Gibson blends the cool, rugged feel of names like Bridger, Riggs, and Hudson with the clunky charm of names like Gilbert, Wilbur, and Digby. Associated with the…
Greek from Latin
"dragon"
For as long as we all shall live, Harry Potter's sneering nemesis.
Xavion is a modern variant of the name Xavier, which derives from the Basque place name Etxeberria, meaning "new house." The name gained popularity in the United States during the late 20th and early…
Eastern African
"adventurous traveler"
One of the most popular African names for boys, Kymani was in the US Top 1000 list from 2008 until 2016. Spelled Ky-mani, it's the name of Bob Marley's son.
"aristocracy"
A distinctive surname that, despite its meaning, has a cowboy swagger, a la Autry.
Jaylon is a modern American name that appears to have emerged in the 1980s and gained increased popularity through the 1990s and 2000s. Its structure suggests it may have developed as a blend of the…
"eastern settlement"
Has an upscale aura, perhaps due to the luxury James Bond Aston Martin car.
Word name
Journey is one of the hot new spiritual names . Although Journey was given in 2015 to over 1100 baby girls and fewer than 100 baby boys, it's more visible on the celebrity baby scene as a boys' name:…
"white"
Whit is an uplifting short form of any number of surname-y full names, for Whitman to Whitaker to Whitney. But Whit stands perfectly well on its own and makes for a witty spin on modern virtue names .
Modern invented name
The American appetite for new names ending in the letters "yn" knows no bounds. This one, a close relative of popular Jaxson, was among the fastest-rising boys' names of 2017.
Words are not always easy to translate into baby names , but the implications of being straight and swift lend this one great potential as a name. It also has the popular o -sound ending, which…
Anglicized spelling of Shea or Shai, Irish, Hebrew
"dauntless, fine, hawk; gift"
Gentle yet rugged, cool but well established, Shay is straightforward and memorable. An anglicized spelling of the Irish Shea ("dauntless, fine, good" "hawk") and the Hebrew Shai ("gift"), Shay…
The popular -ley suffix can be credited for this name's use in recent years. We're not loving that it sounds as trendy and of-the-moment as it is.
Egyptian, Latin
"ruler"
Kaiser, Rex, Kingsley, and Prince have become increasingly popular in recent years and Pharaoh is one of the more unexpected members of this regal family of names. Used as the title of ancient…
Latin
"peaceful"
Pax, one of the variations of names meaning peace that are newly popular in these less-than-peaceful times, got a lot of publicity when chosen by Brad & Angelina for their Vietnamese-born son.…
About 40 baby boys were named Artist -- not Picasso, not Art -- in the US in one recent year. But not so odd, when you consider all the occupational names, from Sawyer to Sergeant, stylish today. The…
Windswept and dramatic, but perhaps asking for trouble. Quite popular in Denmark and Sweden, where it derives from Stromr, which is a fairly common surname. Storm Thorgerson is a famous bearer of the…
Kaci is a feminine name with multiple origins. It can be an Irish variant of Casey, derived from 'Cathasaigh' meaning 'vigilant' or 'watchful.' It's also seen as a diminutive of Katherine or a modern…
Sanskrit
"creation"
The sacred syllable of Buddhism, used when meditating. This short, sweet and spiritual choice has taken off in the last twenty years, and is in regular, though not highly popular, use in the US.…
English word name
We've got Saint, we've got King, we've got Prince Duke Bishop Deacon and Messiah. So why not Sir? While some might find it slightly pretentious, at least 80 parents chose it for their babies in…
