Boy Names Lists · Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 5 pages
of 5
Japanese
"dragon"
This attractive mini-name combines multiple trends: the R initial, vowel-ending boy names, and a fantastical meaning.
Diminutive of Isaac, Hebrew
"laughter"
Ike, once the quirky one-person nickname of President Dwight Eisenhower, has morphed into a cool kid nickname of the early 21st century. The rise of Isaac and the stylishness of short down-to-earth…
Italian vernacular form of Louis
"renowned warrior"
Italian classic Luigi, though it lacks the modern style of Nico, Enzo, and Rocco, does have some notable namesakes, such as Nobel Prize winning author Luigi Pirandello and composer Cherubini..
Tidus is a masculine name that gained recognition primarily through the popular video game 'Final Fantasy X,' where it belongs to the main protagonist. The game's creators derived it from the…
Irish, Persian, Punjabi, Khmer
"oak tree, fruitful; wealthy; leader; star"
Though Dara in the U.S. would be considered mainly a girls' name – the most recent count is 10 times as many girls given the name last year than boys – it's a boys' name in Ireland, where it's in the…
"broad, widespread"
Hiro is an apt name for a hero of the show Heroes -- and for our times. Widely used in Japan, sometimes also for girls. Hiroshi is a long form.
Spelling variation of Aiden
The popularity of Aiden has sparked many creative spellings - this one is understandably towards the bottom of the Top 1000.
Nature name
Like Sky and Sunshine, this fluffy name from the hippie 1970s has floated back onto the naming radar. It's similarity of Clyde and Claude help to ground it.
Norse
"church settlement"
Attractive British place-name with a sense of humor. Fun fact: John Wayne played five characters with the first or second name of Kirby.
Arabic
"growth and progress"
A Quranic name — sometimes spelled Zidane — that's also familiar as a surname, especially of French soccer star Zinedine Zidane.
Latin
"red-head"
Rufus is a rumpled, redheaded (it was the nickname for red-haired King William) ancient Roman name popular with saints and singers (e.g. Rufus Wainwright); now, Rufus is on the cutting edge of cool.…
Jak is a compact masculine name with multiple origins. It can be a short form of Jacob or Jack, names with Hebrew origins meaning 'supplanter'. In Polish and Czech contexts, Jak functions as an…
"stern"
The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. Nero was born Lucius Domitius…
Kage is a masculine name with multiple possible origins. In Japanese, it means "shadow" and is pronounced "kah-geh," though in English it's often pronounced to rhyme with "sage." The name could also…
Heard most frequently in 18th century Japan, Hanzo is a rarity in modern culture. Hattori Hanzo was a legendary samurai of the Sengoku Era. A modern day namesake might be Hanzo Shimada, from the…
Popular culture
"Dracula backwards"
While Alucard has the sound of names like Alaric, Arnoud, and Ealdwine, it is in fact literally Dracula spelled backwards. Used in various bits of media over the years, it is perhaps best associated…
Greek
"great hunter"
In Greek mythology, Zagreus was a god of the underworld and the son of Persephone and either Hades or Zeus. The word zagreus refers to a hunter who catches (and dismembers) live animals — the…
German
"ruler with the spear"
Geralt is an antiquated version of the old-fashioned name Gerald, which has been dropping toward the bottom of the US Top 1000 since the early 1940s and finally dropped out in 2021. Geralt is seeing…
Modern invented name
Daxter feels like a blend between Dexter and Baxter. If you like it better than either of those, then go for it.
English, Arabic
"advisor; red; cool, extremely good; thunder"
The cool and edgy Rad might just work as a fresh spin on the likes of Brad, Chad, Rod, and Randy. Used as a word to describe something exciting and extremely good, it's a synonym for cool, awesome,…
