Boy Names

Provocative word name that may strike the right chord for an adventurous baby namer.

Balthasar was one of the biblical Three Kings who visited the infant Jesus, also used by Shakespeare and in the oil-rich Getty family; offbeat and intriguing. Balthazar is another, equally appropriate spelling.

In mythology, a creature with a hundred eyes, making it a better name for a camera than a baby.

This softer version of Adolf is sadly still off-limits due to the connotations with Hitler.

There's a whole quarry of rocky names parents are now considering: Slate, Flint, etc. , but this one is particularly hard-edged and problematic.

This is a name that deserves more attention. Cordell is an occupational name that, through its similarity in sound to Cornell, Denzel, Dashiell, Boswell and Maxwell, feels both on-trend and upmarket.

Clove is one of a whole tantalizing genre of spice names that might work for a boy. Clovis could be considered a long form.

Rockers Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz put a new baby name on the map when they chose this downscale New York borough name for their son. The Bronx, the place, was named for early Dutch settler Jonas Bronck. Might Bronx become the next Brooklyn? We'd be surprised if it did.

Woodsy names are fashionable for boys, as are surnames and occupational names, so Forester scores on all three. It can also be spelled Forrester.

Connolly, an alternate spelling of Connelly, could make a livelier and less common substitute for Connor.

Forget Patience and Charity: Here's a Colonial name (and sentiment) that seems perfect for modern times.

A very Christmas-y Christmas baby name, that may avoid the Santa image by instead adopting the alternative spelling Klaus.

Gentle giant Rubeus Hagrid is the groundskeeper at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter novels (probably after Hagrid Rubes, the equally kind ancient Greek mythological giant), but that's not the only reason this name could prove a playground liability.

A possible Christmas name for a baby boy, if you find Noel too mundane. But we fear it doesn't sound very festive.

One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom.

Ron Burgundy was Will Ferrell's fictional helmet-haired newsman, but this color name is much more suited to a girl.

The girls have Apple, Plum, Peaches, Cherry, and Berry: here's one variety of fruit suitable for a boy.

This recently coined respelling of Cole darkens its image.