Rare, Unique, and Unusual Boy Names

Dublin

Irish place-name

With Galway and Ireland in play as names (not to mention Shannon and Kerry), there's no reason this one can't work, too.

Eames

English

"son of the uncle"

An upscale surname with a nice modern design connection to the creators of the Eames chair and other midcentury furniture classics, Charles and Ray Eames.

East

Word name

With West one of the hottest names for boys, and North the name of a high-profile celebrity baby, can East be far behind? While Easton seems to be the version of choice for this directional name --…

Eaton

English

"riverside"

Eaton's similarity to Eton gives it an upscale Old School feel, though in the U.S. a name that sound like eatin' could have teasin' potential. Eaton could also sound like the much-more-familiar Ethan…

Eber

Diminutive of Eberhard, German

"brave boar"

Eber is far more approachable than its full forbidding form.

Edris

Welsh; Arabic

"lord; studious"

This variation of Idris brings Edward into the mix.

Edsel

English

"wealthy man's estate"

Besides having an unappealing sound, has long been identified with a much-mocked Ford car model; use of this name is now restricted to the Ford family.

Eero

Finnish variation of Eric

"eternal ruler"

Creative gem perfect for an architect's son, in tribute to modern Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen.

Ennis

Irish

"from the island"

An appealing Irish placename with a unisex feel, Ennis would be a fresh alternative to Dennis and Ellis. It's little-used for boys and even rarer for girls, but since Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons…

Aleph

First letter of the Hebrew alphabet and Hebrew

"chief, number one"

Aleph came into the spotlight when chosen by Israel-born Natalie Portman for her son. Alef is a more common spelling of these related Hebrew baby names . In the Kabbalah, Aleph/Alef relates to the…