User-created list
By perrywings · Updated May 2023
Across 148 pages
of 148
Norse
"fen-dweller"
The name of a monstrous wolf in Norse legend, who kills the god Odin and is then killed himself by one of Odin’s sons. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling used the name for one of her most terrifying…
Arabic
"God is my reward"
Near Eastern name with lots of opportunities for variation and improvisation.
Italian
"from Italy"
You can't get more Italian than this name of the daddy of legendary twins Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome. A noted bearer is acclaimed Italian journalist and novel and short story writer Italo…
Spanish form of Leontios, Greek
"relating to a lion"
Leon and related names like Leonardo and Leonidas are hot right now, but somehow this member of the family remains rare.
Breton
"shining hostage"
Malo, the name of an important sixth century Breton saint who founded St. Malo, the charming port town in Brittany -- is considered quite au courant in France right now, ranking firmly in the Top…
"divine aid"
Prevalent Arabic name that suggests a man who is sure of himself.
Variant of Nicholas
An unusual version of Nicholas, now associated with PGA champion Jack Nicklaus.
"mighty army"
Original and straightforward, but with little appeal.
Welsh
"shining brow"
Poetic and handsome with a hint of mystique and magic around it, this rugged Welsh name may appeal as an alternative to Tristan or Taran. Meaning "shining, radiant brow", the name is associated with…
Treston is a modern masculine name with multiple possible origins. It may have evolved as a blend of traditional names like Tristan and Weston, or developed as a surname-turned-first-name, following…
Old English
"advice"
An Anglo-Saxon name that held on in Northumbria years after the Norman Conquest, and gave rise to the surname Oughtred. It's known today from the television series The Last Kingdom , based on Bernard…
Persian mythology name
Abraxas is a sci-fi-sounding name with earthly possibilities, but some playground challenges. Abraxas has a long and convoluted history, dating back to ancient Egyptian mythology and the Gnostics who…
Turkish
"heroic lion"
Alparslan is a combination of the Turkish words alp , meaning "hero," and arslan , "lion." The name is a reference to Alp Arslan, the title given to 11th-century Seljuk sultan Muhammad bin Dawud…
French form of Aurelius, Latin
"golden"
More traditionally spelled as Aurélien, this is the elegant French form of the golden Aurelius. Ultimately derived from aureus meaning "gold, gilded", this form is in the French Top 500, albeit near…
German
"bold and renowned"
The name of a monk who is the patron saint of blacksmiths -- not a twentieth-century occupation or baby name.
Italian and Spanish variation of Basil, Greek
"regal"
A rare and romantic take on Basil.
West African (Fula)
"bold"
Possibly meaning "bold", this West African surname is less commonly found as a first name, too.
Portuguese form of Diego
"supplanter"
Diogo is the much-less-known brother of Diego, both forms of James, which is itself a form of the Biblical Jacob. And Diego itself probably started life as a short form of Santiago, aka Saint Jago,…
Efrayim is a masculine name of Hebrew origin, being a variant spelling of Ephraim, one of the sons of Joseph in the Bible. The name derives from the Hebrew word 'parah' meaning 'fruitful' or…
Spanish variation of Eleazar or Lazarus
"God is my Helper"
Elizar is the Spanish version of this attractive name, on the cusp of going from uncommon to big.
