Iambic Boy Names

Darnell

English

"the hidden spot"

Like so many names starting with Dar- (e.g. Darcy, Darius, and Darbey) this name feels so suave and aristocratic. British musician Darnell Bristol went by nickname Dee.

Aviv

Hebrew

"springtime, freshness, youth"

Strongly associated with the city of Tel Aviv. For girls, may be lengthened to Aviva; for boys, might be better abbreviated to Avi.

Jamil

Arabic

"beautiful"

Familiar and handsome, Jamil is a name of Arabic origin. Its literal meaning is "beautiful" and while this can refer to physical beauty, as a Quranic name, it more specifically refers to beautiful…

Jamal

Arabic

"beauty"

Jamal is an Arabic boys’ name meaning "beauty." Jamal and its variants are popular in the Muslim community, although Jamal’s popularity within the US has decreased in recent years. Jamal has been…

Jael

Hebrew

"mountain goat"

A unisex Hebrew name sometimes given in Israel to kids born under the goat sign of Capricorn; it's also spelled Yael/Ya'el.

Jetur

Hebrew

"more, increase; row, column, rank"

A rare Biblical name borne by one of the sons of Ishmael (and the grandson of Abraham and Hagar), Jetur derives from either the Hebrew yoter meaning "more, increase" or from the word toor meaning…

Daoud

Arabic variation of David

Intriguing David alternative, though American tongues will have trouble wrapping themselves around three vowels in a row.

Arnou

Arnou is an uncommon masculine name with possible Germanic or French origins. It likely represents a variant spelling of Arnau, Arnaud, or Arno, names deriving from Germanic elements meaning 'eagle'…

Alphonse

French from German

"noble, ready for battle"

Rarely used, and for good reason. Alonzo is a preferable choice. Alphonse does have a mixed bag of notable namesakes—French novelist Alphonse Daudet, painter Alphonse Mucha, and it was the birth name…

Jourdain

French variation of Jordan

Kadeem

Arabic

"servant"

Kadeem is a name made familiar by TV actor Kadeem Hardison, a fresher alternative to the better known Kareem.

Kadir

Arabic

"capable"

Kadir is derived from Qadir (many Arabic K names are phonetic versions of Q-starting names); a classic Muslim name reflecting one of the ninety-nine attributes of Allah.

Kamil

Arabic; Polish, Czech, Slovak

"perfect; young ceremonial attendant"

Although popular in the Muslim community as representing one of the 99 qualities of God listed in the Quran, this could be confused with the female Camille. It's also common in the West Slavic…

Kanai

Hawaiian, Japanese, Hebrew

"the conqueror; gold mine, metal pit, humble; zealous for God, a zealot"

Kanai is one of those truly multicultural choices, used in several different cultures and possessing a different meaning in each. As a Hawaiian name, Kanai can also be written as Kanaʻi, and it comes…

Cortez

Spanish surname

"courteous"

The craze for surname names is now moving beyond the English and Irish to include worldly Spanish names for boys like this historic one currently in the Top 1000.

Ilir

Albanian

"Illyrian"

A concise, bright choice, Ilir is an Albanian name, meaning "Illyrian". As such, it is connected to the ancient place and people of the Balkans region, to the Illyrius, a figure in Greek mythology,…

Cornell

British from Latin, or Anglicized form of French

"corner or crow"

This name has not one but two impressive cultural connections: collage artist Joseph Cornell and photographer Cornell Capa--not to mention Cornell University.

Kauai

Hawaiian place-name

Kauai is known as the Garden Isle of Hawaii. Ironically, it qualifies as a baby name based on spelling variation and homonym Kawhi, as in basketball star Kawhi Leonard.

Arnav

Hindi

"ocean"

This popular Indian name is heard in the US. Bollywood actor Akshay Khanna has a son named Arnav.

Ibai

Basque

"river"

This short, cool nature name has been very popular in its native region in recent years, making the Basque Top 10 for the last few years on record.