Strong & Different Boy Names

Maverick

American

"independent, nonconformist"

It's ironic that the name Maverick is not such a maverick anymore. Heard first in a 1950s James Garner western TV series, and then as the Tom Cruise character in Top Gun , Maverick symbolizes an…

Atlas

Greek

"bearer of the heavens"

Atlas is one of those names that was previously thought too powerful for a baby boy, who would have to be strong enough to carry the world on his shoulders. Now Atlas has joined the pantheon of Greek…

River

Nature name

River shares the tranquil feeling of all the water names, and seems to have pretty much escaped its past strong association with River Phoenix and his unfortunate fate. Actor Joaquin Phoenix named…

Forrest

English

"dweller near the woods"

Forrest is one of the earliest appealingly sylvan, outdoorsy choices, borne by newsman Sawyer, actor Whitaker, and football Hall of Famer Gregg. Forrest Gates was a character on "Buffy the Vampire…

Aries

Latin

"a ram"

Better than Capricorn or Cancer, not as usable as Leo, the name of the Roman god of war becomes more possible as a baby name every day, as mythological names take the place of biblical names.

Zeppelin

German word name from Slavic

"zeppelin; flail"

In a baby name landscape where word names and names that start with Z are infinitely cool, there are few options for parents who want to combine trends. Zeppelin is one of the best names at the…

Indio

Spanish

"Indian"

This name of a California desert town, used by Deborah Falconer and Robert Downey, Jr. for their son, makes a much livelier and more individual – not to mention more masculine – improvisation on the…

Cloud

Nature name

Like Sky and Sunshine, this fluffy name from the hippie 1970s has floated back onto the naming radar. It's similarity of Clyde and Claude help to ground it.

Aleph

First letter of the Hebrew alphabet and Hebrew

"chief, number one"

Aleph came into the spotlight when chosen by Israel-born Natalie Portman for her son. Alef is a more common spelling of these related Hebrew baby names . In the Kabbalah, Aleph/Alef relates to the…