User-created list
Personal favorite boy names
Across 7 pages
of 7
Sully
French or English
"stain or from the south meadow"
A jaunty offshoot of Sullivan, Sully will be associated by kids with the beloved character in the Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc . Some notable real-life namesakes are French poet and essayist…
Garrison
English
"son of Garret"
As Harrison is to Harry, Garrison is to Gary: both of the longer versions sound more modern and appealing. NPR's Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor was born Gary.
Sable
Gilby
Irish
"blond boy"
Transformation of the stolid Gilbert into an animated surname name.
Shadow
Grey
Color name
The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Grey/Gray is one exception, which could make for a soft and evocative—if…
Hickory
Shepley
Jacoby
Variation of Jacob, Hebrew
"supplanter"
Jacoby, a surname spin on Jacob shot up the charts in the middle of the 2000's, thanks largely to the popularity of Jacoby Ellsbury, the first Native American of Navajo descent in the Major Leagues,…
Keir
Irish
"dark, black"
Keir is a single-syllable name that packs a lot of punch, might suggest -- thanks to its similarity to the word care -- a caring person. Sir Keir Rodney Starmer is a British politician and head of…
Sycamore
Tennessee
Native American, Cherokee, place-name
"bend in the river or meeting place"
When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size. Reese Witherspoon…
Kipling
English surname and place name
Kipling calls to mind writer Rudyard (b. Joseph) Kipling, author of the stories familiar to schoolchildren Gunga Din and The Jungle Story. Certainly, Kipling is a friendlier name than Rudyard these…
Thornton
English
"place in the thorns"
Despite Thornton Wilder, playwright of the perennial Our Town, only a handful of baby boys receive this name each year..
Laredo
Place-name
We've seen babies with Texas city names like Austin, Houston and Dallas--, why not the unexplored Laredo, which has a lot of cowboy charisma? Laredo might make for a more modern and creative namesake…
Tide
Nature name
As likely to be tied to the detergent as to the rhythms of the ocean.
Leaf
Nature name
The nature boy version of the Scandinavian Leif, which actually means "heir". In the creative-naming Phoenix family, Leaf is the former name of the actor we know as Joaquin.
Tiras
Hebrew, meaning uncertain
We've been hearing a lot more of Silas and even of Cyrus, which means the obscure Tiras may have a shot at resurrection as a same-but-different name. And you can call him Ti. The Old Testament Tiras…
Leith
Scottish river name
"wet"
This is an unusual surname and geographical name of medieval Scottish origin that might serve as a possible alternative to the aging Keith, though it's a bit tough on the tongue. More popularly spelt…
London
Place-name
"Capital city of England"
In the US, London is popular for both sexes, though as the name has risen for girls, it's levelled off for boys. Currently given to around 200 boys each year, it is nearly five times more popular for…