Coolated Names for Boys

Now that the show has gone into reruns, does anybody still love Raymond? Though it's been long dormant, some parents, including Jack Nicholson, are finding its cool name component, largely through the nickname Ray.

Ned is a gently old-fashioned Nancy Drew-Bobbsey Twins-era short form for Edward that sounds cooler than Ed and is enjoying a small style renaissance.

The presidential Tyler rocketed up popularity charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s (it ranked Number 9 for that entire decade), along with cousin Taylor, becoming almost pandemic across the land-- and to make matters more confusing, both (especially Taylor) have been used for girls as well.

James for a girl? Believe it or not, this is one of the boy names for girls" gaining a lot of attention these days, since Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds shocked the world by choosing it for their eldest daughter in 2014 (after his late father).

When Marion Michael Morrison became John Wayne around 1930, his last name took on an air of cowboy cool that lasted about thirty years, but by now it's strictly a dad or granddad name.

Will has definitely replaced Bill, not only as a nickname for William but as a stand-alone name as well, partly thanks to England's Prince William, also known as Wills. Currently outside the Top 1000 in the US and the UK, it wouldn't feel totally out of style.

Rooney is one of many bouncy Irish surnames that could make an agreeable first, once tied to Mickey Rooney (who was actually born Joseph Yule) in his young and spunky Andy Hardy period.

Before there was Aspen, Denver was the Colorado city name of choice, and it reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015 after a 14 year absence as a stylish two-syllable boys’ name with its trendy -er ending. Its decade of greatest use was the 1920s, when it reached as high as Number 422.

Truman is an upstanding presidential name that radiates an aura of integrity and moral truth, values any parent would want for a child. It seems definitely headed for a revival.

Especially for parents of Scandinavian descent, Sven is an accessible and attractive name with an appealing mix of strength and swagger. It comes from the ancient Swedish tribe, the Sviars, who gave their name to Svealand, which later morphed into Sweden.

Subtract the last two letters of Arnold, and you're left with a much more modern-sounding name. Arno is also the name of the main river in Florence, upon which sits the famed Ponte Vecchio. The Italian river name means "flowing water".

Craig is a single-syllable baby-boomer name, still common in its native Scotland, but most modern Americans would prefer something like Kyle.

Carlos is the Spanish and Portuguese variation of Charles, which has been used in solid numbers in the US for as long as data has been kept. Carlos has never fallen out of the Top 600, but peaked from the 70s-early 2000s. Today Carlos is still within the Top 200. Notable namesakes include musician Santana, writers Fuentes and Castaneda, and numerous athletes. Carlos Irwin Estevez is the birth name of Charlie Sheen.

Canyon is a unique baby name evocative of natural splendor and the old Steve Canyon comic-strip heroism, making it an intriguing new word-name possibility.

Crispin, which was introduced into the mainstream by actor Crispin Glover and which means "curly-haired" in Latin, has an image very much like its first syllable: crisp, autumnal, and colorful.

Strange as it may now seem, the venerable St. Arnold was a Greek by birth, a musician who became a member of the court of Charlemagne. The name is said to have been introduced into Britain by the Normans in the form Arnaud.

Raoul, with its unique three-vowel middle, rolls off the tongue in an appealing way. Raoul is one of the French names that sounds infinitely more romantic and attractive than the somewhat harsh English version Ralph.

Most parents today call their Edwards Edward -- and we tend to think that's the right call. But it's worth noting that Eddie has been in the Top 1000 every year since records began in 1880; indeed, it was a mainstay on the Top 100 through the 1950s.

Adlai is an Old Testament name long associated with 1950's liberal presidential candidate Stevenson, who was named after his grandfather, who was Grover Cleveland's vice president in the nineteenth century. Now it's an unusual Biblical choice ripe for rediscovery.

Ivor, a favorite choice for upscale characters in Brit Lit novels by authors like P.G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh, is an interesting and unusual name just waiting to be discovered by parents in this country.