Boy names

Noah

Hebrew

"rest, repose"

Noah is nearly a patriarch of popular baby names at this point, going from Old Testament graybeard to Top 10 name in 2009, hitting Number 1 in 2013, and now settled into second place in the US for…

Hudson

English place-name and surname

"Hugh's son"

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…

Wyatt

English surname

"brave in war"

Wyatt has been hot, which is to say cool, for several years now. With its easy Wyatt Earpish cowboy charm, it's relaxed but still highly respectable. Wyatt is a lot more classic a name than you might…

Elliott

English diminutive of Elias, Greek

"Yahweh is God"

One of the four perfectly proper spellings of this name ranging from the spare (but poetic) Eliot to the full-blown Elliott. Elliott and Elliot are the two most popular, and they have given to almost…

Beckham

English

"homestead by the stream"

Who knew there were so many soccer fans in the U.S.? Beckham -- as in British sensation David -- has exploded onto the baby name scene in the past decade.

Boyd

Scottish

"blond"

Has a bit of a hayseed image, and that oy sound is tough to work with.

Gray

Color name, also diminutive of Grayson

The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Gray (or Grey), is one exception, which could make for a soft and…

Henderson

English

"son of Henry"

Bulky surname honoring Grandpa Henry or Saul Bellow's Rain King.

Willoughby

English

"farm near the willows"

Willoughby is an energetic last-name-first route to the popular short form Will, livelier than any of the two-syllable options. It could be picked up by parents attracted to the Willow sound for…

Whittaker

English

"white field"

If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.

Laban

Hebrew

"white"

An Old Testament name used by the Puritans, less well known than female relatives Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah and as deserving of revival.