Boy names I like

Jack

English, diminutive of John

"God is gracious"

Jack may have fallen from its Number 1 place in England, but in the US it's as popular as it was at its height in the 1920s and 1930s. A durable, cheery, everyman form of John, Jack ranks as one of…

John

Hebrew

"God is gracious"

John reigned as the most popular of all boys' Christian names for 400 years, from the time the first Crusaders carried it back to Britain until the 1950s. Then American baby namers finally seemed to…

Jackson

English

"son of Jack"

Jackson is one of those names that's much more popular than you think, coming in near the top of our annual Playground Analysis, which ranks names by grouping all their spellings together. Last year,…

Christopher

Greek and Latin

"bearer of Christ"

Christopher derived from the Greek Christophoros, which is composed of the elements Christos , referring to Christ, and phero , meaning "to bear." The name was originally used figuratively, to…

Christian

Greek or English from Latin

"anointed one or follower of Christ"

The name Christian has fallen a bit from its 90's and 00's heights, but it's still quite popular. Once considered overly pious, Christian is now seen as making a bold statement of faith by some,…

Shelby

English

"estate on the ledge"

Southern name still occasionally heard in a male context (author Shelby Foote and the son of singer/sitcom star Reba McEntire), but it's much more associated with girls.

Zebulon

Hebrew

"exaltation or little dwelling"

An Old Testament name with a Puritan feel and post-Zachary possibilities--one of several routes to the cool nickname Zeb. Pike's Peak was named for Zebulon Pike, the best known bearer of the name. In…

Maks

Maks is a masculine name with Slavic origins, functioning as a shortened form of Maksim or Maksymilian (variations of Maximus and Maximilian). Popular throughout Eastern Europe, particularly in…