Baby Boy Kindler

Tanner

English occupational name

"leather tanner"

One of the hot two-syllable T names of the nineties (along with Tyler, Trevor, and Taylor), and well represented on soap operas; Tanner is still widely used, but its popularity is declining.

Asa

Hebrew; Japanese

"healer; born in the morning"

A short but strong biblical name with multicultural appeal, Asa is enjoying new visibility thanks to hot young actor Asa Butterfield of Hugo fame. Asa was the name of an important biblical king of…

Tyson

English

"firebrand"

As parents were finding too many Tylers at the neighborhood playground, they began looking to Tyson as an alternative, no longer concerned with possible connections to Mike Tyson or Tyson chicken.

Deacon

Greek

"messenger, servant"

This name was transposed from the word for a church officer to a baby name when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe chose it for their son, after a baseball player ancestor, and Don Johnson followed…

Bode

German, Yoruba

"order, command; return"

Bode is a short and sharp name that has been on and off the US charts since the mid-2000s. Similar to on-trend choices such as Brooks, Beau, Boone, Brody, and Bodhi, Bode suffers a little, perhaps…

Jericho

Biblical place-name

A biblical place name with trumpeting verve and strength. Though rarely heard as a first name, Jericho has appeared in the titles of films, TV series, songs, bands, comics, and video games (Clive…

Quentin

Latin

"fifth"

Quentin, an offbeat name with lots of character, relates to the Latin for the number five and is by far the subtlest and most usable of the Latin birth-order names, masculine as well as stylish and…

Brennan

Irish

"descendent of the sad one"

Brennan is a winning Irish surname name, more modern than Brian or Brendan, more unusual than Conor and Aidan. The only possible problem with Brennan: people might think you're saying Brendan.…

Turner

English

"works with a lathe"

Turner is a name that's both preppy and painterly, recalling the exquisite watercolor seascapes of British painter J.M.W. Turner. An occupational name in the Taylor-Carter mold, Turner is a more…