No longer tied to the hapless Ace Ventura, this jaunty, high-flying nickname name is starting to take flight among celebrity and other parents, with its countless positive references to doing well in tests and poker games, on the tennis court and golf course, and in the air.
 Natalie Appleton, Tom Dumont, Jennie Finch, and Jessica Simpson all have little Aces. The best known grownup with the name is Ace Frehley, born Paul, one-time KISS guitarist.

Not yet on the place-name map, this name has Shakespearean ties via the Duke Of Albany character in King Lear.

Albany

Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette.

Alouette

Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or any other "Ash" name.

Atticus, with its trendy Roman feel combined with the upstanding, noble image of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a real winner among <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boy names</a>. Atticus entered the US Top 1000 in 2004 and is a firm Nameberry favorite. 
 
The reason for the popularity of Atticus is less its ancient roots than Atticus Finch, the upstanding hero of To Kill A Mockingbird.. In fact so many people have been inspired by the character embodied by Gregory Peck that Atticus Finch was voted the greatest hero of American film by the American Film Institute. Harper Lee's recently-released novel Go Set a Watchman paints Atticus Finch in a less flattering light, though that doesn't seem to have impacted the rising popularity of the name.
 
Atticus derives from the Greek Attikos, meaning "from Attica," the Ancient Greek region that contained Athens. Atticus is a literary name in more ways than one. Before it became synonymous with Atticus Finch, the name Atticus was associated with Titus Pomponius Atticus, a Roman literary figure.
 Daniel Baldwin and Isabella Hoffman were ahead of the curve when they chose Atticus for their son born in 1996; since then Summer Phoenix and Casey Affleck named their little boy Atticus, and Tom Dumont made it the middle name for his son Rio.

Atticus

The name August is at its highest point since the 1890s, when it ranked among the Top 100 boy names in the US. And deservedly so, given its great meaning, historic roots, and cool nicknames.
THE celebrity baby name of the moment, August was chosen by both Princess Eugenie and Mandy Moore for their baby boys in early 2021. Before that, August had been heating up in Hollywood – used by Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann, Lena Olin, Dave Matthews and Jeanne Tripplehorn for their sons
August is the only truly popular month name for boys. The month of August was named after the Emperor Augustus.
 August has two august literary namesakes: the Swedish playwright August Strindberg (it has always been a popular name in Scandinavia), and August Wilson, as well as photographer August Sander.
 The French version is Auguste (ow-GOOST), as in Edgar Allan Poe's clever detective Auguste Dupin and famed sculptor Auguste Rodin.

August

Arthur

Beckett is one of the big baby name hits of the decade.
 A handsome name with an attractively brisk sound, and rich in literary associations via major Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, it is especially hot among celebs. Melissa Etheridge jump-started the trend in 1998, followed by Conan O'Brien, Stella McCartney, Malcolm McDowell, Nicole Sullivan and Natalie Maines.
 Another worthy namesake is the martyred saint Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose story was the basis of the Anouilh play "Becket," which became a film starring Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole.
 In 2005, the authors of Freakonomics predicted that Beckett would be one of the most <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular baby names</a> of 2015. Although they were a little off the mark -- Beckett hasn't even cracked the Top 100 -- we predict that it will continue to climb the US rankings.

Beckett

Upper-crusty nickname occasionally used in Britain, particularly in 1930s novels featuring significant garden party scenes, but eclipsed here by Carrie et al. 

Caro

Colt is the kind of unconventionally macho name that is so trendy right now, because of or in spite of its association with horses and guns. 
 Samuel Colt was the inventor and industrialist credited with popularizing the revolver.
 Colt is a perfect jock name, associated both with Washington Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy and an entire football team, the Indianapolis Colts.

Colt

Crimson could be a possible competitor for Scarlett's success, though it's lacking that Johansson charm.
 
Crimson tends to be disproportionately popular in Alabama — the University of Alabama's athletic teams are called Crimson Tide.

Crimson

Ellis, a surname used sparingly as a first in the Wallace/Morris period, sounds new now for girls, as a gender-neutral alternative to Ella or Alice. It debuted in the US Top 1000 for girls in 2015.-- Ellis has always been in the Top 1000 for boys -- and seems to be headed straight up. One of the most popular gender-neutral names, currently there are two baby boys named Ellis for every girl. Ellis Bell was the name chosen by Emily Bronte as her male pseudonym, and Ellis Grey was the mother of Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy.

Ellis

Poetic and easier to pronounce (it's keets) than Yeats (which is yates). This one of many poets' names to consider, such as Auden, Eliot, Frost, Byron, Lorca, Marlowe, Blake, Emerson and Tennyson, which was used by Russell Crowe.

Keats

Kohl

A "modernization" of Leonora that has suddenly come back on the radar along with the many other Leo names--both male and female. With literary cred via a famous eponymous poem by Edgar Allan Poe (and also in his even more famous The Raven,) Lenore was steadily in the top half of the popularity list until the mid-fifties, falling off in 1973. Cameron Diaz played a Lenore in The Green Hornet.

Lenore

This name may be related to the Latin Maximus, which means "the greatest," or to a British landowner's name, but for most modern parents, it's one of several ways to get to short form Max.

 Probably its most noted bearers is influential twentieth century painter and illustrator Maxfield Parrish, who was born Frederick but later adopted the maiden name of his maternal grandmother.

Maxfield

Miles, which has a permanent veneer of cool thanks to jazz great Miles Davis, is a confident and polished boys' name that's an American classic. Always ranking in the US Top 1000, it's been drifting up the charts for the past half century but has never been TOO popular.
 
Miles is a favorite of celebrity baby namers, given to their sons by Elisabeth Shue, Mayim Bialik, Larenz Tate, Joan Cusack and Lionel Ritchie. It also makes a great honor name for all the Grandpa Michaels out there.
 Miles was the name of the first translator of the Bible into English--the English monk Miles Coverdale, which is also the name of a character in Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance. Miles Hendon figures in Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, and Miles was one of the young children in Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. Miles--or Myles--Standish was the leader of the Pilgrim fathers.
 Miles has also been a favorite movie and TV character name from the days of Murphy Brown to 24 and Avatar.

Miles

He was the original Roman, Remus's twin and a founder of Rome. But parents attracted to this name are advised to read the legend first. Romulus does have some less than savory characteristics, including killing his twin brother and making Rome in his own image, and is later deified as Quinnius. Romy and Quinn might make good <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/twin-names-the-ultimate-guide">twin names</a>.

Romulus

Rowan/Roman

Fervent fans of The Catcher in the Rye might want to consider this as a literary tribute. More mainstream alternative: Holden.

Salinger

One of the more subtle occupational surnames, Sayer is a pleasant, open, last-name-first name, particularly apt for a family of woodworkers -- or writers. Some parents are beginning to consider Sayer as a less popular alternative to Sawyer, which it may be a variation of, or a separate occupational name for someone who recited poetry and news, or even another occupational name an for assayer, who tested metals or tasted food.
 The most well known surnamed Sayer is the British singer Leo Sayer.

Sayer

Old saints' and popes' name that went to France in the 1920s with the Russian Ballets Russes; in its Russian form, Sergei, it retains an artistic, almost effete air. 

Serge

Yes, Spencer makes a plausible and powerful female choice these days, though still thought of as primarily for boys. Kelsey Grammer used it for his daughter in the 1980's. Spencer made its first appearance on the girls' Top 1000 in 2017.


Spencer

Stanton

Tanner

Until recently Ward was, like Wally, a Cleaver name, but today's parents are seeing it as a cooler nickname for Edward than Eddie, and are also beginning to use it on its own. 

Ward

Wolfshiem

sellaturcica's list "Revolt, Overthrow, and Take Back" of 27 great name ideas: Ace - Wolfshiem!

Revolt, Overthrow, and Take Back

Names for characters that are at the very head and heart of the revolution. They see a problem and aren't afraid to take action. 