998+ Unique, Rare, and Uncommon Boy Names (with Meanings and Origins)

Brawny name chosen for his son by rocker Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue.

Formerly in style limbo, Edric has recently started to see more use by parents. It could be because it sounds medieval yet accessible - which George R. R. Martin took advantage of for several characters - or because it's an offbeat alternative to the more popular Ed-names.

This alternate name for Apollo has a noble sound and can always be shortened to Xan.

How often do you see a name from Madagascar that is so wearable in English? Kendry has a great meaning to boot and is possibly a great name for a Christmas baby. What's not to love?

Might suggest speed, excitement, even danger, were it not for its best-known bearer, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.

The "Believe It or Not" jokes will get old fast, but this surname feels fun and on-trend for both girls and boys.

Three Stooges name (he's the one who wasn't Moe or Curly).

For some, a name that will evoke the beauty of the national park in the Colorado Rockies.

Hope is one meaning of the name Amil, which sounds similar to the German Emil; it can also mean unattainable in the sense of being so exalted as in royalty as to be out of reach. While Amil may not be familiar in the Western world, it's accessible and appealing.

There is a whole new species of bird names open to the baby namer, from the light and feminine Lark to the sleek and powerful Falcon.

A well-established (if rare) Hawaiian name that combines two trendy names: Elijah and Kai.

Shortening Francisco somehow makes it sound even cooler. Cisco is also the name of a digital security company.

An undiscovered surname possibility with upscale overtones, could be enlivened with nickname Ingo.

Sounds like a Lewis variant, but in actual fact the surname-turned-first-name Lewin derives from the Old English name Leofwine, meaning "dear friend".

A word name that has sailed onto birth certificates of both genders, especially since Liv Tyler used it for her son. For boys, Saylor and Sailor are used about equally, but were together given to about 100 baby boys last year....and 1000 baby girls.

Names of classy places -- Aspen, Paris, and yes, Hampton -- are in favor with aspiring parents, though they don't always have the intended effect.

An established surname that fits well with today's trend for the "Ever" sound – and a similar-yet-different alternative to Emerson. Historically, it denoted a descendent of Evert, a form of Everard, meaning "brave boar", or a descendent of Eve or its medieval English diminutive Evot, meaning "life".

Popular President Franklin Delano Roosevelt inspired a brief fashion for this as a first name in the 1940s; almost never heard today.

Knight (as opposed to Night) is a name clad in shiny armor. This high-ranking word name was introduced by singers Kelis and Nas. Knight might join brothers King, Royal, and Noble in a new definition of royal baby names.