Fresh Spunky Short Names

Ciel

French

"sky"

Heavenly French word name used for both sexes.

Cyan

English

"greenish blue color"

Cyan is a highly unusual blue-green color name, a classmate of Celadon and Cerulean. It does come with the homey nickname Cy.

Eon

Eon is a concise masculine name with ancient Greek origins, derived from the word 'aiōn' meaning 'life force,' 'vital energy,' or 'eternity.' In scientific contexts, an eon represents a billion…

Fern

English

"plant name"

A fresh, green, rising nature name for girls that would make a cool possibility for a baby boy as well. It has ranked in the US Top 1000 for boys a handful of times since naming records began.

Gale

Nature name

Gale for boys is more a storm name than a short form of Abigail. Since Gale has resurfaced as the name of Liam Hemsworth's daring character in The Hunger Games , it has new force for boys.

Haze

Word name or variation of Hayes

Is Haze a spiky, contemporary form of Hayes or is it an obscure, slightly trippy word name? Is it what Blaze is to Blaise and Jaxon to Jackson or is it more in line with Misty, Stormy, Rainy, and…

Ilya

Russian variation of Elijah

"the Lord is my God"

A rare example of an a-ending boy's name that sounds masculine, Ilya has a large measure of creative Slavic charm. >p>Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is the central character in Goncharov's novel "Oblomov."…

Izar

Basque

"star"

Used more for girls in Europe, but definitely sounds masculine enough for a boy here.

Jade

English

"gemstone"

When Jade first took off as a given name back in the 1970's, it was in fact considered unisex. It ranked in the US Top 1000 first for boys, then for girls, 7 years later. By the 80's however, Jade…

June

June is a masculine name derived from the month of June, which was itself named for the Roman goddess Juno, the protector of women and marriage. While predominantly used for girls since the early…

Keno

Keno is a masculine name with multiple cultural origins. In Native American Hopi tradition, it means 'three,' while in some African cultures, particularly Nigerian, it can mean 'gift' or 'blessed…

Kori

Spelling variation of Corey or African

"lamb"

While Corey and its variations are losing fashion steam, the sound-alike Kori has new appeal as a name with a trendy animal meaning from the Kikuyu culture.

Loyd

Loyd is a masculine name with Germanic origins, functioning as a variant spelling of Lloyd. The name derives from the Welsh elements "llwyd" meaning "grey" or "brown," originally used as a nickname…

Mel

English, diminutive of Melvin

"council protector"

Though most Mels are playing pinochle with Murray and Morris, there was a notable Saint Mel. He is one of the earliest Irish saints, a nephew of St. Patrick. He became a priest, then built a great…