User-created list
Boy Names
Across 4 pages
of 4
Jefferson
English
"son of Jeffrey"
The name of the third U.S. President sounds, like Harrison and Jackson, more modern and stylish now than its root name. Used as a first name long before our surname-crazed era, Jefferson was most…
Alfred
English
"wise counselor; elf counsel"
Alfred is up off his recliner! If you're looking for a path to Fred, you can go directly to Frederick or take the long way around with the so-out-it's-in-again Alfred. Alfred is quite popular in…
Edison
English
"son of Edith or Adam"
This rhythmic last-name-first-name projects the creativity and inventiveness of Thomas Edison. It's an English surname deriving from either Adam or Eda, a medieval diminutive of Edith. Q. Why is it…
Reuben
Hebrew
"behold, a son"
Reuben is derived from the Hebrew words ra’a , meaning "to see, to understand," and ben , "son." As a phrase it translates to "behold, a son." In the Bible, Reuben is Jacob's first-born son by Leah…
Foster
English occupational name
"forester"
Foster is one commonly heard last name that makes a fine first. The word foster means "to nourish" — as in "fostering hope", or "fostering a relationship". The only problem with Foster might be its…
Pascal
French; English
"of the Passover; Easter"
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. Pascal has a number of notable…
Cormac
Irish
"charioteer"
Both offbeat and upbeat, this evocative traditional Irish name that runs through Celtic mythology is known here via award-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy (born Charles). The author's adopted name is…
Cathal
Irish
"battle rule"
The name of an ancient Irish saint is in the contemporary Irish Top 50. While it's one of the rare Irish names for boys that hasn't immigrated to the U.S., it may follow brothers Aidan and Declan to…
Rosh
Hebrew
"chief"
Rosh is not Ross, not Rush, but an improvement on both of those more familiar names. The Biblical Rosh was a son of Benjamin, so you might consider it to honor a father or otherwise ancestral…
Harris
English
"son of Harry"
When Harrison is too much, but Harry isn't enough, try this stylish surname name with a touch of British flair. It briefly reentered the US Top 1000 for the first time since 1988 in 2016, but has…
Fleet
English word name
"a group operated under unified control"
Fleet is one of the uncountable number of new word name possibilities, and a particularly cool choice at that. Connoting speed, Fleet beats Rush any day. Might be short for Fleetwood, but we prefer…
Seamus
Irish variation of James
"supplanter"
Parents who have tired of Sean are now contemplating Seamus, the Irish form of James, which has a lot more substance and verve. One of the name's most famous bearers is the 1995 Nobel Prize-winning…
Destry
French
"war horse"
Destry rides again, this time as a Western flavored baby name. Derived from the French surname Destrier, from an Anglo-Norman word meaning "warhorse", this rugged name was popularized by the 1930…
Rune
German and Swedish
"secret"
Name with connotations both mystical and tragic, newly popular in Europe. For English speakers, though, this name might be ruined by its homonym ruin.
Lonan
Manx, Irish
"little blackbird"
Typically spelled as Lonán in Ireland, Lonan is its Manx form, though it could also be considered the anglicized form too. The name comes from the Irish lon meaning "blackbird", paired with a…
Caelan
Irish
"little slender one"
One of several Anglicized forms of Caolán, this spelling is borrowed from the Old Irish root, cáel . With its stylish -an ending and its cool 'KAY' sound, Caelan entered the Top 500 in England and…
Henley
English
"high meadow"
The name of a British town on the Thames that hosts a famous regatta, so it could be an appropriate middle name for the son of boat-lovers.
Alaric
German
"all-powerful ruler"
Alaric is an ancient regal name that sounds modern enough to be considered. Alaric was a traditional name for the kings of the Ostrogoths, the most famous of whom was Alaric I, the King of the West…
Cedric
Celtic
"bounty; loved"
Soft yet solid, Cedric was invented by Sir Walter Scott for the noble character of the hero's father in Ivanhoe , presumed to be an altered form of the Saxon name Cerdic ("bounty"), or the Brythonic…
Chester
Latin
"fortress, walled town,"
Chester is a comfortable, little-used teddy-bear of a name that suddenly sounds both quirky and cuddly. Chester was a Top 100 name in the US from the 1880s to 1929, gradually fading till it finally…
