Boys Names P Through T

Philadelphia

Greek place-name

"brotherly love"

Not nearly as popular as neighbors Trenton and Camden, but occasionally used for girls. Shirley Temple played a Philadelphia in the old western movie "Fort Apache."

Philbert

French from Greek, "dear, beloved"

"dear, beloved"

Varying Filbert does not improve the name: it still makes one think of a nut.

Philetus

Greek

"beloved"

Obscure name from the New Testament.

Philippe

French variation of Philip

"lover of horses"

Philippe, pronounced fill-EEP, is Philip with Gallic flair.

Piano

Music name

If Banjo can be a name, why not Piano? Could be inspired by prize-winning architect Renzo Piano.

Pierson

Pierson is a masculine name that originated as an English surname meaning 'son of Piers' (the Medieval form of Peter, ultimately from Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'). Following the trend of using…

Pilot

Occupational name

One celebrity baby Pilot put this occupational choice into the pool -- together with the middle name Inspektor, something we wouldn't advise following.

Pip

English, diminutive of Philip

"lover of horses"

The original Pip was the main character in Great Expectations (full name Philip Pirrip). Cute for a tike, maybe too cute for an adult.

Pippin

Variation of Pepin

"awe-inspiring"

Super-sweet name that was the title of a Broadway play -- but best known as a type of apple. The Dutch variation is Pepijn is finding some popularity in that country, where short nickname names are…

Poe

English

"peacock"

An evocative unisex one-syllable name, Poe is most distinguished by its literary reference. Edgar Allan Poe was an influential American author and poet, credited with inventing the genres of…

Poet

Word name

Poet is a new entry in both the trendy word and occupational categories as well as a member of the growing group of gender neutral names . A handful of baby boys received the name in the US last…

Pom

French diminutive

"apple"

Pom is a shortened word name that's not much used in France, but cute and familiar here as one of Babar (the Elephant's) triplets. Pom, pommy and pommie are (non-derogatory) terms sometimes used by…

Pompeius

Roman

"five"

A Roman family name best known from Julius Caesar's rival Pompey (originally Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus). The place name Pompeii comes from the same root, either because a branch of the family settled…

Potter

English

"maker of drinking and storage vessels"

Could join such up-and-comers as Miller and Gardener, though the "potty" and Harry Potter associations are strong and potentially unappealing these days.

Pratt

English

"trick, craft"

In British slang, a "prat" is an idiot -- enough said.

Prescott

English

"priest's cottage"

Prescott is one of several distinguished, upper-crusty surnames beginning with P. There are several historical surnamed Prescotts, including William, a Massachusetts Minuteman and commander at the…

Press

Press is an uncommon masculine name that originated as an English surname. It likely derived from occupational roots, referring to someone who operated a press (such as a wine press, printing press,…

Primo

Italian

"first"

Primo is number one among the Latin birth-order names--Octavius et al--and the one most likely to be used in these days of smaller families. It has that jaunty 'o' ending and Italian flavor that many…

Primus

Latin

"first"

The revival of long-dormant Roman names would put this back in the lexicon if it wasn't so connected to a telecommunications network.

Prosper

Latin

"favorable, prosperous"

In France, pronounced PRO-spare, Prosper is a fairly common name; here it presents a worthy aspirational message for a child. Prosper was the name of several early saints, including a noted fifth…