User-created list
By peaseblossom · Updated May 2023
Across 5 pages
of 5
Greek
"very sweet"
Made cool by that final X (as seen in Felix, Lennox, and Rex), Pollux is the Romanized form of Polydeukes, the half-twin of Castor, and the son of Zeus and Leda. Associated with the Gemini…
French
"wood, forest"
Doesn't everything sound better with a French accent? Sylvain, the French variation of the Roman wood god's name, sounds somehow cooler and more sophisticated than Sylvan.
German
"famous ruler"
The American child given this name of four kings of Denmark, not to mention one so similar to that of the Harry Potter archvillain Lord Voldemort, might have to pay a large emotional import tax.
Welsh
"honor"
Rarely heard in the US, Aneurin is best remembered in the UK as the Welsh politician, Aneurin "Nye" Bevan, who was instrumental in setting up the National Health Service when he was Minister for…
Literary name
"star lover"
Invented by 16th-century English poet Sir Philip Sidney for the hero of his sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella , this name is derived from the Greek elements aster "star" and philos "lover".…
French form of Bartholomew
While Barthelemy does not garner much attention these days, it has a storied history in French-speaking countries. Notable bearers include geologist and explorer Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond,…
"russet-haired"
An old English redhead name -- one of the few that doesn't begin with the letter r -- with references both to a famous French knight and a magical horse. Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin is a…
Latin
"curly-haired"
A potential hero name: Crispus Attucks, an African and Native American man, was the first colonist to die for independence in the Boston Massacre.
Ferrando is a masculine name of Spanish and Italian origin, representing a variant of Ferdinand, which derives from Germanic elements meaning 'journey' and 'brave.' This name carries the weight of…
French from Greek
"releaser of horses"
Hippolyte is the name of an Amazonian princess AND her son, both unfortunate mythical figures. The name Hippolyte, later borne by several saints, is a not an uncommon boys' name in France, but has…
"the sea"
Llyr is a name with a great meaning and a lovely sound, but that sound is going to be next to impossible to get non-Welsh speaking people to pronounce (google the double L sound in Welsh). If you are…
Greek mythology name, god of sleep and dreams
Though you may pray to the god of sleep for your baby to slumber through the night, a drowsy image is not the greatest one to inflict on your little boy.
Italian variation of Orson
"bearlike"
Orson is being rediscovered and Orsino is every bit as attractive.
Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese variation of Prosper
"succeed, prosper"
Shakespeare's Tempest has kept the name Prospero alive.
Puck was Shakespeare's mischievous pixie who'a had a few television incarnations in more recent years. A popular name in The Netherlands but nowhere else, from what we can tell. We love Puck for its…
Arabic
"the northern (star) of the lion's head"
The dramatic-sounding name of a star in the constellation Leo that can be adapted as a unique Arabic name for boys . The similar-sounding Rasselas is the name of an allegorical fable by Samuel…
Scottish
"from a family of tanners"
British-sounding literary surname choice.
"sun born"
Said to be the name of the most learned man in ancient Wales, in this country it would be open to mispronunciation, making it rhyme with Julien.
Dutch from Hebrew
"city of the king; king of light"
The least used of the Three Wise Men's names, but a strong option for bold namers to consider. The exact origins of Melchior are unknown, but it is speculated that it derived from either the Hebrew…
"gift of Artemis, goddess of the hunt"
This name has a nice mythological, historical, Three Musketeers-ish ring.
