Boys Names

Adley is one of those rare unisex names that probably developed via different paths on the girls' and boys' sides, with the male Adley a phonetic spelling of the Hebrew Adlai, while the girls' version, which briefly made the Top 1000 in 2012, is an abbreviation of the trendy Hadley, an English place name and surname.

This strong and commanding Russian name is pronounced ah-KEEM.

Guns 'n' Roses musician Axl (born William) Rose created this name by dropping a vowel, a la Barbra Streisand. The traditional Axel is more popular, though celebrity parents Fergie and Josh Duhamel deliberately chose the Axl spelling to honor her rock hero.

A twist on the standard Everett takes it to lofty heights. The snow-capped Everest would surely stand out in a classroom, yet has an acceptable name-like feel.

Gideon is a no-longer neglected Old Testament name, but still makes an excellent choice for parents looking to move beyond such overused biblicals as Benjamin and Jacob. In the Old Testament, Gideon was a judge called on by God to rescue the Jews from the Midianites, and the name was popular among the Puritans.

A true maverick of a girls' name — even more so with this spelling, the least common between Indie, Indy, and Indi.

Leander is an almost unknown name with great potential as a possible alternative to the overused Alexander. In Greek legend, Leander was the powerful figure who swam across the Hellespont every night to visit his beloved Hero, a priestess of Venus.

Luka is one of the coolest names in recent years, following suit of its cousin Luca which is now a Top 50 name. Luka is on its way up the charts and may crack the Top 100 in the very near future. Luka has a lot going for it — it is following the tails of Lucas and Luke which have been enjoying significant popularity for years. It also boasts the very current "-ah" ending sound that feels fresher than ever for boy names, from Noah to Ezra to Judah. The "k" in the middle gives an extra edge as well.

Macallister as a first name is attracting new attention as the name chosen by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and venture capitalist Zack Bogue for their young son. Macallister is usually heard as a patronymic surname, meaning son of Alasdair or Alistair or any one of the spellings of the Scottish form of Alexander. Like all other names of this type, Macallister leads to the cute short form Mac.

Macario is used in the modern US, the Spanish form of the ancient Greek Makarios or Latinized Macarius, the name of several early saints. Accessible and worldly, Macario can lead to the friendly nickname Mac.

The popularity of handsome Welsh surname Maddox led to the creation of this spelling variation, connected to baseball great Greg Maddux.

An X-ending surname less common than the Jolie-Pitt-inspired Maddox. Grandparents might still associate it with the old TV crime show. 

Pascoe was popular in medieval times and is definitely deserving of revival, especially for a child born in the Easter season. Other spellings are Pasco and Pascow.

Seneca's distinguished heritage as the name of the ancient Roman philosopher-playwright who tutored Nero, and of an Iroquois tribe makes this an interesting choice for either sex.

Schoolchildren will recognize this name via Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.