Rare, Unique, and Unusual Boy Names

This name may be related to the Latin Maximus, which means "the greatest," or to a British landowner's name, but for most modern parents, it's one of several ways to get to short form Max.

Surely one of the most pleasant and evocative of the occupational options.

Morocco is an attractive and rhythmic name, evocative of such fabled cities as Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakesh, in a country whose unique landscape and rich culture attracted such twentieth century writers as Tennessee Williams, Paul Bowles and William Burroughs.

Formal name lacking any sparkle or sheen.

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

Haskell has two separate forms of origin, the first being from the Ancient Norse given name Ásketill. The Normans converted Ásketill to Aschetil, then the English transformed Aschetil into Haskell, which was originally only used as a surname. Haskell is also considered a variant of Haskel, a Yiddish given name derived from Ezekiel.

A preppy English surname. Newscaster Megyn Kelly used it as a middle name for her son in 2009.

English place name turned handsome surname name.

Macallister as a first name is attracting new attention as the name chosen by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and venture capitalist Zack Bogue for their young son. Macallister is usually heard as a patronymic surname, meaning son of Alasdair or Alistair or any one of the spellings of the Scottish form of Alexander. Like all other names of this type, Macallister leads to the cute short form Mac.

Italian variation of Aurelius.

As a whole Wilford still carries a dowdy, dated image, but each component of the name—Will and Ford—are stylish in their own right.

One of the most modern-sounding Old Testament names, Imri is short and sweet enough to travel easily around the world. It is the name of two minor biblical figures, and also used by modern Hebrew speakers.

Part of the next generation of preppy H-beginning surnames. Once Harrison, Hudson, and Holden are no longer fresh, expect to hear more little boys being called Hughes, Hutch, and Henderson on the playground.

An Irish surname choice that could very well make its way into first name territory.

Bates is a fresh version of Bartholomew, and feels more wearable than Bart. Bates could be considered a patriotic choice for American parents - Katharine Lee Bates was an author and professor best known for penning the words to "America the Beautiful".

Four-syllable names can be tricky, but this rarely used Old Testament appellation has considerable potential. In the Bible, Eleazer is a son of Aaron and nephew of Moses who succeeds his father as High Priest.

Powerful surname choice with many distinguished bearers, fresher sounding than Parker.

One of the many rhythmically appealing Italian names newly up for consideration, with more substance than the modelly FABIO. Variations: FABIO, FABIAN, FABRIZIO

To the Anglo ear, Beto may not make sense as a short form of Gilberto, Roberto, or Alberto. But it is, and the o-ending makes is friendly, sleek, and modern.

An appellation that couldn't be more Ivy League or sound less Welsh. The name of the University is taken from the surname of college benefactor Elihu Yale. In the movie Manhattan, Yale Pollack is the name of Woody Allen's best friend. The Hebrew Yael is not related.