Boy Names Lists
Boy Names That Mean Life
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About this list
Boy names that mean life are an elite group, but one that includes several excellent choices. None of the boy names that mean life are particularly popular or even well-known, with few exceptions, such as Brooks and Hayden. But you may consider the meaning more important than style or popularity.
Along with Brooks and Hayden, other boy names that mean life in the US Top 1000 include Banks, Bo, Bridger, Dean, Lyle, Moses, Ryland, and Zayd. Among the lively boy names that deserve more attention are Rhodes, Shaw, Barnes, and Hawthorne.
Also included here are many names that refer to the place or the setting where the person lives, as well as names with meanings connected to growth, blood, and breath. Life is a wonderful meaning for a name, one that may inspire and uplift a child of any gender.
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The names
Brooks
English
"of the brook"
A nature name, a word name, and a surname name, Brooks has plenty of cool factor. It gives off cowboy vibes and a sporty feel, while also maintaining a smart, collected image. Used occasionally as a…
Dean
English
"church official"
Dean may sound to some like a retro surfer boy name, but it is once again climbing up the popularity chart in the USA. For decades it was associated with Dean (born Dino) Martin; more recent…
Hayden
English place name
"hay valley"
Hayden – a formerly obscure name that's risen to huge popularity – has dipped in this year's ratings. Though Hayden is among the most distinctive of the bunch, it gets lost in the crowd of Jaidens,…
Abel
Hebrew
"breath"
Abel, the name of Adam and Eve's unfortunate younger son, compensates with positive connotations: capable, competent, ready and willing. Abel has literary connections to the novels of Dickens and…
Banks
English surname
"one who lives on the hillside or riverbank"
Banks is a topographical surname that refers not to those places where people keep their money but to riverbanks or hillsides, and specifically the people who live and work on them. A name with two…
Bo
Norse nickname
"to live"
A popular name in Denmark, in this country Bo has some cowboy swagger and a lot of substance in its minimal two letters. In Mandarin Chinese, Bo means "wave".
Moses
Egyptian
"delivered from the water"
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's choice of this white-bearded Old Testament name helped bring it into the modern age, along with brethren Elijah, Isaiah and Isaac. User-friendly nicknames include…
Rhodes
Greek
"where roses grow"
This is a name we've seen the potential of for some time now — A Greek island and a prestigious scholarship make for a preppy first name with the uber-stylish S ending. Needless to say we were not…
Zayd
Arabic
"increase, growth"
Zayd (or its most common variant Zaid), an old and still well used Arabic name, was a enslaved man whom Muhammad adopted as his son.
Chaim
Hebrew
"life"
A name that feels both lively and serious, Chaim was once more familiar as Hyman or Hymie. Now, the original form is on the rise, ranking in the Top 700 in the US, the Top 30 in Israel, and the Top…
Bridger
English
"lives near the bridge"
A recent addition to the Most Popular list, Bridger has the trendy two-syllables and 'er' ending, and a historical reference to Jim Bridger, a foremost nineteenth-century frontiersman, explorer,…
Ryland
Old English
"place where Rye is grown"
Similar to popular Riley and Ryan and the origin of Rylan, this Old English surname has been in the US Top 1000 since the early 2000s. While it has declined in recent years, it was still given to…
Bramwell
English
"well where the gorse grows; bramble well"
An unexpected route to nicknames Bram or Wells, this English surname derives from a historical hamlet in England, whose exact location has been lost to time. It comes from the Old English word for…
Bekele
Amharic
"growing"
Bekele is an attractive Ethiopian name prime for use in the English-speaking world, especially given the short form Bek. Pronunciation is three syllables with the emphasis on the second --…
Boyce
Scottish, from French
"lives by the woods"
CEO name.
Bourne
English
"one who lives near a stream"
A surname with more force than most.
Beathan
Gaelic
"life"
A popular name in medieval Scotland, it can be found in the surname Macbeth, meaning "son of Beathan" or "son of life." In later years it was increasingly anglicized as Benjamin.
Burbank
English
"riverbank where burrs grow"
Beautiful downtown Burbank -- about as glamorous a place-name as Akron...or Detroit.
Berkeley
English
"where birches grow"
The Brits say BARK-lee, but we pronounce it the same as the name of the California college: either way it's quite pretentious and of another era.
Barnes
English
"someone who lives or works near the barn"
This is a solid surname choice for people looking for a change from Cooper, Parker and Carson. Australian parents will probably instantly associate this name with famous rock legend Jimmy Barnes, but…