Boys' Names I've Given Up On

Sebastian

Latin from Greek

"person from ancient city of Sebastia, venerable"

With international flair and elegance, Sebastian is a saintly, Shakespearean and Disney-inspired choice: refined, classic-yet-unconventional, and totally in tune with other popular choices like…

August

German form of Latin Augustus

"great, magnificent"

The name August is at its highest point since the 1890s, when it ranked among the Top 100 boy names in the US – and deservedly so. With its great meaning, historic roots, and cool nicknames, 2024 saw…

Declan

Irish

"man of prayer, good man"

Declan is the Anglicized form of the Irish name Deaglán, popularized in the 90s and 2000s following its appearance in the movie The Jackal . Also featured in the 2010 movie Leap Year , along with the…

Cyrus

Persian

"sun"

Cyrus is one of those surprising names that have always ranked among the Top 1000 boy names in the US. On an upward trend since the mid-90s, Cyrus now sits in that comfortable place between too…

Campbell

Scottish

"crooked mouth"

The seventh most common surname in Scotland, for a time associated only with soup company and the Andy Warhol's iconic painting, Campbell is once again being considered as an accessible but rarer…

Carlisle

English

"from the walled city"

This stuffy English surname and hotel name took on Twilight cool when attached to vampire Carlisle Cullen. Inspired by the character, it's more popular in this spelling than as Carlyle and more…

Dmitri

Russian from Greek Demetrius

Worldly, artistic and attractive Slavic version of the name of the Greek god of fertility and farming.

Duncan

Scottish

"dark warrior"

Duncan is jaunty, confident, and open, a Scottish royal name that's brimming with friendly charm and makes it into our golden circle of names that are neither too popular nor too strange. Popularity…