10 boys

Alexander

Greek

"defending men"

Alexander has been in a Top 25 boys' name in the US for 30 years now. But namers are still attracted to its imposing historic pedigree. Alexander is derived from the Greek name Aléxandros, composed…

Ari

Diminutive of Ariel, Hebrew

"lion of God"

Ari, the short form of Ariel (or any other Ari- beginning name, such as Aristotle) stands up better as a boys’ name than its progenitor does. It is also short for Aristotle, as in Onassis, and is a…

Remy

French from Latin

"oarsman"

Remy is one of the hottest names today for both boys and girls, sometimes spelled Remi. . It entered the popularity list in 2009 and has quickly become one of the fastest-rising names on the list.…

Soren

Danish, Norwegian

"stern"

This gentle Scandinavian name, soft and sensitive, is being discovered in a major way by parents in the US. It's most closely identified with the nineteenth century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, but…

Marcel

French variation of Marcellus

"little warrior"

Marcel, despite distinguished namesakes including Proust and Duchamp, suffers from a terminal headwaiter image in this country. But along with its sister name Marcella and French variation (and…

Oslo

Norwegian place name, Old Norse

"meadow at the foot of a hill"

Oslo, the capital city of Norway, makes for an intriguing new place name, especially with its bookended O's, as in Otto and leads to cool nickname Ozzie. One Berry has already used it and we predict…

Seraphim

Hebrew

"fiery"

This ephemeral name of the loving angels surrounding the throne of God is all but unheard of in the US, although its feminine forms Seraphine and Seraphina are catching on. In Russia, it's long been…

Zooey

Literary name

The original Zooey, hero of J.D. Salinger's Franny & Zooey , was male, but nowadays the name is more closely associated with actress/singer Zooey Deschanel. With Zoe at number 31 for girls and Zoey…

Ren

Japanese, Latin

"water lily, lotus, romantic love, move forward; reborn"

A very popular unisex name in Japan, Ren is a concise and versatile choice that could work across multiple languages. A rising star in England and Wales where it ranks in the Top 1000, it is also on…

Caspar

Dutch and German variation of Casper and Jasper, Persian

"keeper of the treasure"

After half a century, this otherwise feasible name has at last started to lose its link to the friendly ghost; it certainly didn't scare model Claudia Schiffer, who chose it for her son, as did…