D3 Boys Names

When actress Shannyn Sossamon dubbed her newborn Audio Science, it sent out some definite shock waves. We don't recommend Audio or Video for even the most intrepid baby namer.

This cosmological name has a zippy feel that might work well for the galactic parent looking for the perfect name for their own little star.

Nobility names like Duke and Count seem to be forming a minitrend: actor Danny Bonaduce named his son Count Dante Jean-Michel Valentino. Beat that. Or wait: don't.

Enough parents have found naturalist Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, a worthy hero to keep Darwin relatively consistently in the Top 1000 (it dropped off in 2021 but is back in 2022)—though some might just like its trendy two-syllable sound. It has a lovely meaning too—"dear friend."

Adventurous word choice, but still quite a burden for a child to bear.

Although this is traditionally seen as a female name, via the classical mythological nymph who pined away for Narcissus until all that remained of her was a disembodied voice — it can also be used for boys. Remember that old song, 'Little sir echo, how do you do?'

A bold word name choice for the intrepid baby namer who hopes her son will face the world with a sense of discovery.

Gauge is the dictionary spelling, but Gage is the far more popular choice, ranking at Number 281 in 2016.

While this has a distinguished male namesake -- astronomer Edmund Halley and his comet -- it still strays too close to the superpopular feminine Hailey family to work for some parents for a boy. Fewer than five baby boys were given the name last year, but that could change as formerly-female names become more acceptable for boys.

A tributary of the River Clyde in Scotland, called in Scottish Gaelic Abhainn Cheilbhinn: caol ("narrow") or coille ("wooded") + abhainn ("river"). As a surname, it derives from the name of the river.

Adventurous parents are starting to look back to names of ancient gods like Mercury, Zeus, and Apollo. This one is also a planet and a metallic element, and has a friendly nickname, Merc. The Roman god Mercury, which derives from the Latin words for trade or wages, is the patron of tradesmen and travelers and the fastest-moving planet in the solar system. Mercury is the planet associated with the sign of Virgo, so this is one of the prime names for Virgo babies.

Named after Isaac. Or Wayne.

The French-accented Pascal was historically used for sons born at Easter, and can make an interesting choice for a boy with Gallic roots arriving around that holiday.

Provocative word name that may strike the right chord for an adventurous baby namer.

Starbaby name that might prove too supercharged for real life, but if like director Robert Rodriguez you're interested only in boys' names starting with R, you may need to add Rocket (and Rebel and Racer) to your list.

Actress Shannyn Sossamon used this as the middle name for her son Audio; one of the most do-not-try-this-at-home combos we've heard.

Undoubtedly inspired by country singer Trace Adkins, Trace is part update on 20th century fave Tracy, and part modern word name. Derived from Tracy, it originated as a Roman name meaning "of Thracia" or as a short form of Teresa; as a word name, it's got something slightly arty about it, but outdoorsy too, along the lines of Hunter, Chase, and Wilder.

Wisdom is a rare modern virtue name that might increase in use as this whole category becomes more mainstream. Wisdom is one of the gender-neutral names now on the table for both boys and girls.

Zero has been documented as a given name before, but it's largely familiar as a stage name (such as Zero Mostel, born Samuel Joel Mostel) and comic book and anime characters.

Extreme cool possibilities in either of these modern categories, like a postmodern Linc.