Religious and Hip: Boys

Hudson

English place-name and surname

"Hugh's son"

Hudson has risen quickly up the charts over the past 30 years, getting a lot of its style value from New York's Hudson River. That makes it a nature name and a place name that's also got the fashion…

Archer

English

"bowman"

Archer is an Anglo-Saxon surname that feels more modern than most because of its on-target occupational and Hunger Games associations. And it's a nice way to bypass the clunky Archibald to get to the…

Elliot

English diminutive of Elias, Greek

"Yahweh is God"

Elliot (which boasts several spellings depending upon how many 'l's or 't's you want to use) is a winner -- it has the ideal quality of being neither too common nor weirdly unique. Elliot had a style…

Shepherd

Occupational name

"sheep herder"

Shepherd is an occupational surname with a pleasant, pastoral feel, an outdoorsy vibe, a gentle sound and a cool, contemporary energy. The name has been rising steadily in the US since the mid-2000s,…

Cairo

Egyptian place-name, Arabic

"the conqueror, the victorious"

Cairo is an exciting place name possibility with upbeat o ending and an on-trend first syllable. Debuting in the US Top 1000 in 2015, it has been climbing ever since, and, as of 2023, it is given to…

Sage

English botanical name and Latin

"wise and knowing"

A modern, multifaceted name, Sage is short, sweet, and strong. A unisex possibility, it is also a virtuous word name associated with wisdom, and a nature name linked to a fragrant herb. Currently,…

Deacon

Greek

"messenger, servant"

This name was transposed from the word for a church officer to a baby name when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe chose it for their son, after a baseball player ancestor, and Don Johnson followed…

Chandler

English from French occupational name

"candle maker"

For a generation, this name will always be linked to 1990s hit TV series Friends . Whether this is a positive or a negative will depend on your fondness for the show, and character Chandler Bing, but…

Arrow

Word name

Words are not always easy to translate into baby names , but the implications of being straight and swift lend this one great potential as a name. It also has the popular o -sound ending, which…

Cai

Cai is a name with rich multicultural origins. In Welsh, it means 'rejoice' and is a form of the Arthurian knight Sir Kay. In Chinese, Cai (蔡) is a respected surname and can also be a given name…

Pax

Latin

"peaceful"

Pax, one of the variations of names meaning peace that are newly popular in these less-than-peaceful times, got a lot of publicity when chosen by Brad & Angelina for their Vietnamese-born son.…

Justice

English word name

"the quality of being just, impartial, or fair"

Justice, one of the rare virtue names for boys, entered the popularity ranks in 1992, and remained in the charts until the 2020s. While it has fallen out of favor in more recent years, it remains a…

Abbott

English, Hebrew, Aramaic

"priest; father"

Abbott is a neglected masculine surname with religious overtones, used to describe the head of a monastery or a prominent church figure, such as a priest. Though the feminine nickname Abby could be…