Saint Names for Boys

A Latin clan name that may rise again along with other things Roman.

No-no appelation of a child saint and martyr whose name is a term for the nervous condition known as Saint Vitus' Dance. Its one recommending feature is that it's among the elite group Boy names that mean life.

Colman is best known as the name of the mustard, but is also the name of several Irish saints. The Colman spelling is less widely used than Coleman, which is just outside the Top 1000.

Amatus is an ancient Roman name in the "Ama" family of names whose meanings relate to love -- they range from Amy to Amity to Amias to Amoret and Amatus.

Ephrem is a spelling variation of the Biblical Ephraim, most often used for an early saint, Ephrem the Syrian, who was a 4th century theologian. This makes a cool, religiously appropriate choice.

Ansgar is an ancient name still used in modern times, especially in Scandinavia. Saint Ansgar is the patron of Scandinavia.

Gervais is a masculine name of French origin, derived from the Germanic elements 'ger' meaning 'spear' and 'wis' meaning 'wise,' together translating to 'skilled with the spear.' The name was borne by several early Christian saints, including a 2nd-century martyr who became one of the patron saints of Milan.

Asterius is the Latin form of the Greek Asterios and an alternate form of Asterion. The name belonged to various figures in Greek mythology, including a king of Crete and the infamous Minotaur. Outside of myth, the name was given to Christian saints like Saint Asterius of Amasea and Saint Asterius of Ostia. With a stellar meaning and intriguing celestial sound, Asterius may also appeal to modern parents.

French and Polish form of Rocco

A Saint's name almost unheard of outside of Russia, Gleb comes from the Old Norse Guðleifr. Boris and Gleb were the first two saints to be canonised in Christian Kyivan Rus'.

Bardo has a poetic beginning and upbeat ending, with roots in several diverse cultures. It may be most familiar today via George Saunders' novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which refers to the Tibetan Buddhist state of suspension between one life and the next, resembling the Christian idea of Limbo. Bardo is also an ancient saint's name: Saint Bardo was the eleventh century bishop of Mainz, in Germany. Actress Sandra Bullock chose Bardo as her son's middle.

Most people have heard of the glamorous French town of San Tropez, but few know the legend of the saint it's named for. Tropez is the French form of Torpes, the Pisa-born martyr whose headless body was set afloat with a rooster and a dog.

Helier is the patron saint of the Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, and it is for him that St. Helier, Jersey's capital, is named. The name is related to Hilary, Ilario etc, and therefor shares their wonderful meanings.

Dustan is a masculine name with medieval origins, representing a variant spelling of the more common Dustin. Derived from the Old Norse 'Þórsteinn' (Thorstein) or possibly from an Anglo-Saxon surname that meant 'stone of the throne', the name traveled through Norman England where it eventually evolved into Dustin and variants like Dustan. This particular spelling appears occasionally throughout history but remains less common than Dustin, which saw significant popularity in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Dustan carries the rugged, earthy associations of its more familiar counterpart while offering a slightly distinctive spelling that harkens back to its ancient origins.

Saint Roderic was a priest in Spain who was persecuted by the Moors. Another form of this name is Ruderic.

An obscure Cornish saint's name that can also be considered a place name — Madron is a Cornish village named for the saint.

Saint Madern, also sometimes referred to as Saint Madron, was a Cornish monk and hermit sanctified in the 6th century. The Cornish village of Madron is named after him.

St. Neot was a Saxon saint in the Middle Ages, whose name is used for a town in Cornwall, England. Some sources say the little-known name is Hebrew and means "pleasant pasture," but there is really no evidence for that.

Saint Bavo of Ghent was a nobleman who gave away his possessions and roamed Europe doing good works. He is a patron saint of several cities in Belgium and the Netherlands.