Strong B names for boys

Short names with cool meanings that start with the letter B. Mostly European names the evoke strength and fortitude.
  1. Bain
    • Origin:

      Gaelic or Sindarin
    • Meaning:

      "white, fair"
    • Description:

      Derived from the Scottish Gaelic bàn, meaning "white, fair". It's also a name in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Elvish language, in which it means "beautiful".
  2. Banner
    • Origin:

      English occupational name
    • Meaning:

      "flag bearer"
    • Description:

      An undiscovered option among occupational names, Banner has never been used for more than 100 baby boys in a single year. But Banner has undeniable charm, much due to its associations with fêtes and phrases like "a banner year".
  3. Bard
    • Origin:

      Irish variation of Baird, Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "minstrel, poet"
    • Description:

      Great Irish middle name choice for Shakespeare lovers.
  4. Baron
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Meaning:

      "a lord of the realm"
    • Description:

      If you're going to choose a noble word name, why not aim higher and pick Duke, Prince...or King. The Donald Trumps picked the Barron spelling for their little princeling.
  5. Bastian
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Sebastian, Latin from Greek
    • Meaning:

      "man of Sebastia"
    • Description:

      In Spanish cultures, and spelled either Bastian or Bastien, this is a fairly common nickname name. The German fantasy children's book The Neverending Story features a young boy character called Bastian Balthlazar Bux, and it has also been seen in several screen versions.
  6. Baz
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Sebastian or Basil; Kurdish
    • Meaning:

      "regal; falcon"
    • Description:

      As Bas, it's a popular name in The Netherlands, but Baz, as in director Luhrmann, has potential for independent life too.

      Curiously, Australian-born Moulin Rouge director Luhrmann was born neither Sebastian nor Basil, but had the name Mark Anthony on his birth certificate; his nickname arose from his supposed resemblance to a British TV fox puppet named Basil Brush.

  7. Bear
    • Origin:

      Animal name
    • Meaning:

      "bear"
    • Description:

      Bear has suddenly lumbered onto the baby name landscape. Perhaps inspired by British adventurer Bear Grylls (born Edward Michael), first celebrity chef Jamie Oliver used it as the middle name for his boy Buddy, and more recently Alicia Silverstone called her son Bear Blu., followed by Kate Winslet's Bear Blaize. It's part of a current trend normalizing once aggressive animal names like Wolf and Fox. Bear is now Number 218 on Nameberry and in the Top 900 in England.
  8. Beck
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "small stream"
    • Description:

      The popular single-named alternative singer (born Bek) has given this cool nature-meets-surname name a new lease of life. Another notable bearer is Beck Weathers, a Texan pathologist who survived the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which was covered in the book and film Into Thin Air.
  9. Beowulf
    • Origin:

      Old English
    • Meaning:

      "bee wolf"
    • Description:

      This ancient name is that of the hero of the epic Beowulf, which is thought to be the oldest-ever poem in English lit written in the vernacular. J. R. R. Tolkien used the poem as one of his inspirations for The Lord of the Rings.
  10. Blade
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      One of the new crop of boys' names that manage to be unconventional and macho at the same time — though Blade verges on the threatening.
  11. Blair
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "dweller on the plain"
    • Description:

      One of the first generation of cool surname names, now largely used for girls in the US, but still popular for boys in its native Scotland. A prominent association for Brits is former prime minister Tony Blair, who was leader at the time of the Iraq War.
  12. Boaz
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "swiftness"
    • Description:

      Now that such Old Testament patriarchs as Elijah and Moses fill the playground, Boaz seems downright baby-friendly, having more pizzazz than many of the others, perhaps as a successor to Noah.
  13. Bram
    • Origin:

      Dutch variation of Abraham
    • Meaning:

      "father of multitudes"
    • Description:

      Bram has an unusual measure of character and charm for a one-syllable name; it started as a hipper-than-Abe diminutive of the biblical Abraham, but is also an independent Irish and Dutch name, made famous by Irish-born Dracula creator Bram (nee Abraham) Stoker. Bram is currently Number 16 in the Netherlands; Bram Howard was a character on The West Wing.
  14. Brand
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "firebrand, sword"
    • Description:

      Rugged and straightforward brand-new name, though you might not like the idea of branding your son.
  15. Brandt
    • Origin:

      German
    • Meaning:

      "dweller on burnt land"
    • Description:

      Less commercial-sounding than Brand.
  16. Brenner
    • Origin:

      German
    • Meaning:

      "to burn"
    • Description:

      Brenner is an occupational surname for both a charcoal burner and a distiller of spirits. One of the least used of occupational surnames, it has that 'er' ending that definitely adds to its stylishness; a possible successor to Brendan.
  17. Brio
    • Origin:

      Italian
    • Meaning:

      "vivacity, zest"
    • Description:

      Musical term with a lot of energy.
  18. Brock
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "badger"
    • Description:

      Brock is a rock solid name, with a touch of preppy sophistication. It ranked solidly in the 200s-300s from 1975 until 2014, but has since tumbled a bit.
  19. Bron
    • Origin:

      Polish diminutive of Bronislaw
    • Description:

      Crisply appealing.
  20. Bruce
    • Origin:

      Scottish and English from French
    • Meaning:

      "from the brushwood thicket"
    • Description:

      Bruce is a Norman place name made famous by the Scottish king Robert the Bruce, who won Scotland's independence from England in the fourteenth century. It's perennially popular in Scotland, but has been rarely used here for a generation -- though the impact of Bruces Lee, Springsteen, Dern and Willis, as well as Batman's Bruce Wayne -- still lingers. At one time Bruce was so widespread in Australia, it became a nickname for any Ozzie man. An interesting alternative is Brix, the Normandy place name where the Bruce family originated.