Unique Middle Names for Boys

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.

With parents beginning to show an interest in virtue names for boys, this Puritan favorite just might be revived, for what could be more admirable than nobility in terms of having strength of character, dignity, and high moral ideals?

Hard and shiny, Steel projects an image that's smooth, macho...and cold to the touch.

We hesitate to call Bandit an occupational name, any more than Rogue or Vandal are occupational names, yet its use by one of the bandmembers of My Chemical Romance (for his daughter: we're thinking only Gerard Way could pull that off) undoubtedly owes a debt to occupational cousins from Pilot to Parker.

Evocative word name that's refreshingly straightforward. Overtones of Christianity and penalty. More subtle option: Cruz.

Looking for a Texas name more distinctive than Austin and Dallas? Houston is a lanky, roguish place-name, right in style with its Texas accent and cowboy image.

No longer a one-person name, as a number of parents have been inspired by basketball great Shaquille O'Neal to adopt it for their own future athletes.

Puck was Shakespeare's mischievous pixie who'a had a few television incarnations in more recent years. A popular name in The Netherlands but nowhere else, from what we can tell.

Relaxed western place-name that still has some masculine punch, but be warned: this whole posse of similarly trendy names, like Sierra and Dakota, will soon ride toward the sunset.

Though it sounds like a modern invention, Champ actually has a long history as a first name. It hit the Top 1000 several times just before and after the turn of the 20th Century.

If Viola is a credible girl's name, why not the mellow Cello for a boy.

Striker is one of the new gang of boys' names that have two syllables, end in -er, spring from words, and have a macho, even aggressive meaning and image. Other examples include Breaker, Heller, and Wilder. Do the world a favor and desist.

Painter is among the most creative choices in this very fashionable category of names, with a particularly pleasant sound. Whereas most occupational names conjure up physical labor, this one feels like a gateway to the arts.

One of the aggressive new boys' names, ala Tracker and Heller, that have become fashionable among parents who are courting trouble.

A new entry is the fashionable new occupational name category -- and a jolly job it must be -- with the added attraction of relating to the great early 20th century American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler, of "Whistler's Mother" fame.

Ode could be part of the extended Otto/Otis family, or it might be a literary term, referring to an elaborate lyric poem, such as Keats's Ode to a Nightingale..

Ax makes a somewhat threatening short form of the popular Axel, given to more than 3000 baby boys last year. It can also be used on its own, though it usually isn't. There were, however, seven baby boys named Axe in the US in 2015.

Ballad could be the masculine answer to Aria. An obvious and cute nickname is Lad or Laddie.

Epic feels like it could be the boys' version of Saga. Epic poetry tells some of our most celebrated stories - from Beowulf and the Odyssey, to the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost. Despite being short, Epic is a lot of name, so it might be a choice for an adventurous middle name.

A forward-looking word name.