Eclectic Boy Names

Alcott evokes shades of nineteenth-century New England, and memories of the author of the books Little Women and Little Men. Louisa May Alcott was the daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott, noted educator, writer and philosopher, and colleague of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. It comes from the same Greek root as 'ambrosia', the food of the gods, said to confer immortality.

Amory is the kind of executive-sounding surname name that became popular in the 1990s. Amory Blaine is the protagonist of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, This Side of Paradise.

Revolutionary choice.

This is an Anglicized form of various names; the Irish Gaelic O Bruic; German, Bruck or Breck, meaning "swamp" or "wood"; Yiddish, Brik, "bridge"; and Slovenian, Bric, "dweller from a hilly place." Gosh, and we thought it was just a macho word name invented by Tennessee Williams for the hero of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Carmelo is a well-used Hispanic name associated with Mt. Carmel, home of the prophet Elijah and the location of the convent for the order of Carmelites. Carmelo is also a saint's name and — in modern times — tied to basketball player Carmelo Anthony.

Even though in the past Clyde may have been identified as half of the infamous outlaw duo with partner Bonnie Parker—especially after the 1967 movie in which he was played by Warren Beatty—Clyde has always had an element of jazzy cool that could overcome all the rest.

Makes a Biblical favorite new and interesting.

Groovier than Daniel, with an engaging, upbeat energy.

Worldly, artistic and attractive Slavic version of the name of the Greek god of fertility and farming.

This rhythmic last-name-first-name projects the creativity and inventiveness of Thomas Edison. It's an English surname deriving from either Adam or Eda, a medieval diminutive of Edith.

Elio is a sunny and spirited Italian and Spanish name that makes a great crossover prospect, which could catch on as Enzo has. Elio is also currently popular in France, ranking in the Top 250.

Concise and clipped European version of the earnest Ernest.

Gus is a homey grandpa nickname name that can work as a short form for any of the above or stand on its own as a cutting-edge replacement for Max and Jake--though it was off the Top 1000 from 1978 until 2016, when it squeaked in at Number 999.

Harvey, which was brought to England by the Normans and is a version of the French name Herve, is a genial, old-timey name that has been much more popular across the pond. It has been a Top 100 choice in England & Wales since 1997.

A cross between Ian and a group of atomic particles.

Part of a small group of similar names with similar roots — Ivor, Iver, Ivo, Ives — which are all worth looking at. Used throughout Scandinavia, Ivar is currently a Top 100 name in Sweden. In the Willa Cather novel O Pioneers!, there is a character known as —oops —Crazy Ivar.

Jarvis, one of the original two-syllable nouveau boys' choices, is a saint's name with a certain retro charm and a nice quirky feel. Though Jarvis peaked in the late 1880s, he is beginning to sound fresh again.

An Old World name that might have a chance to rise again with other ancient and worldly forms. Be sure to say yo-HAHN-es.

Murakami's Kafka on the Shore features a character named after the famous Czech author of The Metamorphoses.