Favourite Boy Names

  1. CarterHeart
    • Origin:

      English occupational name
    • Meaning:

      "transporter of goods by cart"
    • Description:

      Carter has been popular for almost two decades, but it only cracked the Top 30 in 2014, leaving the other upscale occupational surname names behind. Having hot characters named Carter on both Gossip Girl and The OC probably didn't hurt, and for fifteen years on ER" Noah Wyle's Dr. John Carter was always called by his last name. Carter also, of course, has presidential cred.
  2. ColtonHeart
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "from the coal or dark town"
    • Description:

      Colton is a trendy two-syllable choice, with the popular 'on/en' ending.
  3. DrewHeart
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Andrew
    • Meaning:

      "strong and manly"
    • Description:

      Drew, which projects a polished, somewhat intellectual impression, is rapidly becoming the Andrew nickname of choice, replacing the past favorite, Andy. It is fully capable of standing on its own, which it has for many decades, non-stop since 1942.
  4. EricHeart
    • Origin:

      Old Norse
    • Meaning:

      "eternal ruler"
    • Description:

      Eric is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr, from the components ei, meaning "ever," and ríkr, "rule." It was adopted by English speakers in the mid-nineteenth century, who were already familiar with the exploits of the tenth century Viking navigator and discoverer of Greenland, Eric the Red. Erik is an alternate spelling and the preferred form of the name across much of Europe.
  5. HudsonHeart
    • Origin:

      English place-name and surname
    • Meaning:

      "Hugh's son"
    • Description:

      Hudson has risen quickly up the charts over the past 30 years, getting a lot of its style value from New York's Hudson River. That makes it a nature name and a place name that's also got the fashion gloss of New York City.
  6. JacksonHeart
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "son of Jack"
    • Description:

      Jackson is one of those names that's much more popular than you think, coming in near the top of our annual Playground Analysis, which ranks names by grouping all their spellings together. There were nearly 17,000 baby boys named Jackson -- along Jaxon, Jaxson, Jaxxon, Jaxen, Jaxyn, Jaxsen, and Jaxsyn -- which counted together makes it the Number 3 boys' name.
  7. LiamHeart
    • Origin:

      Irish short form of William
    • Meaning:

      "resolute protection"
    • Description:

      Liam is the top boys' name in the US, holding the Number 1 spot for the past five years and also ranking as one of the most popular boys' names around the western world.
  8. MattHeart
    • Origin:

      Short form of Matthew
    • Meaning:

      "gift of God"
    • Description:

      Still one of the most appealing short forms, which goes a long way toward explaining the sustained popularity of Matthew. Matt is perennially the popular guy in high school, friendly, attractive, and comfortable with a baseball. Matty or Mattie are cute for a younger boy.
  9. MontyHeart
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Montague, Montgomery
    • Description:

      Monty, a name with a World War II feel, is rarely used on its own. But we're hearing rumblings of a comeback and think that Monty, whatever it's short for, is an adorable vintage nickname name of the future.
  10. ParkerHeart
    • Origin:

      English occupational name
    • Meaning:

      "park-keeper"
    • Description:

      One of the first generation of surname names, along with Porter and Morgan, Parker's still one of the most appealing and remains firmly in the Top 100 for boys. About three times as many boys as girls get this occupational name. The association with Charlie Parker gives Parker itself a jazzy edge, and it also has a nature-related meaning. Rosie O'Donnell has a son named Parker.
  11. RileyHeart
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "courageous"
    • Description:

      Riley -- one of the most popular unisex names -- is rising faster now for girls than boys. Still, there are lots of athletes and other notable real-life namesakes for a boy named Riley, as well as fictional ones in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight: Eclipse.
  12. TylerHeart
    • Origin:

      English occupational name
    • Meaning:

      "maker of tiles"
    • Description:

      The presidential Tyler rocketed up popularity charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s (it ranked Number 9 for that entire decade), along with cousin Taylor, becoming almost pandemic across the land-- and to make matters more confusing, both (especially Taylor) have been used for girls as well.