Boy Names Lists · Middle Names, Surnames, and Nicknames
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
Diminutive of Winslow, Winthrop, or Winston, English
"friend's hill or friend's village or wine town"
Win is an upbeat, can-do name that can be a short form of one of the buttoned-up British choices above or can stand on its own. Welsh Wyn is another possibility. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell…
English nickname
The most outlandish Beatles-inspired name, if Lennon or McCartney are too tame for you. Ringo Starr is the stage name of drummer Richard Starkey, taken from his nickname Ringo (because he wore lots…
English word name
If you like the idea of King and Prince but find them too regal, too royalist, this might be the name for you. Eight boys were called Boss in a recent year, and while it may feel like a totally…
Modern nickname
Brother for Biff and Bud. McFly rocker Tom Fletcher transformed this from midcentury short form to modern cool name when he used it for his newborn son.
English diminutive of Damian, Greek
"to tame, subdue"
NBA player Damian "Dame" Lillard is the influencer behind this unusual nickname. Dame made the charts for the first time in 2021, following Lillard's gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics. As a girl…
"joyful"
Many emotional, virtuous word names are coming back into style, but Happy feels unlikely to be revived. This could be because it doesn't have a solid history of being popularly used (in comparison to…
English surname name
Superhero names are fit for humans today, and there's no reason Rambo can't take his place among a generation of babies named Loki, Odin, and Atlas. In the eponymous movie, Rambo is the character's…
English
"captain"
Sure, and we hope he has a good time playing with Buster and Buddy.
American nickname
The original southern Good Ol' Boy.
English, diminutive of Corbin
A casual take on Corbin.
Jocko is a masculine name that originated as a diminutive form of 'Jack' or 'John.' It has Scottish roots, where it developed as an affectionate nickname. The name carries a playful, energetic…
Diminutive of Jones, English surname derived from John
"God is gracious"
It's difficult to imagine anyone using the first name Jonesy -- and in fact, in the most recent US tally, there were nearly 100 babies named Jones but none named Jonesy. Still, this is a name that…
Short form of Domingo
Mingo is a cute nickname of the Spanish version of Dominic. It's not to be confused with Mungo, the name of the patron saint of Glasgow.
Variation of Pepin
"awe-inspiring"
Super-sweet name that was the title of a Broadway play -- but best known as a type of apple. The Dutch variation is Pepijn is finding some popularity in that country, where short nickname names are…
Diminutive of Japheth
"he expands"
Japhy Ryder was a hero of Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums . Compared with Moses and Noah, Japhy sounds downright adorable and eminently baby-worthy.
Diminutive of Cosmo
"world"
A cool sounding nickname with associations to Bill Cosby.
Welsh
"weathy lord"
Rhythmic Welsh nickname name, derived from the Welsh royal name Iorwerth, which has sometimes been anglicized as Edward.
English, diminutive of Robert
"bright fame"
A Robert nickname out of use for hundreds of years, but now sounds cooler than Bob or Rob for a modern boy.
Diminutive of Hitchcock
The charming Hitch played by Will Smith in the eponymous movie put this into the lexicon. Also known as the nickname of director Alfred Hitchcock and writer Christopher Hitchens, who titled his…
A bouncy midcentury TV nickname name.
