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.

Amory

Asher—an excellent, soft and sensitive Old Testament choice—is a <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">baby boy name</a> on the rise, and is a Nameberry biblical favorite. 
 
Asher's ascent is especially amazing given that the took a century-long hiatus from the Top 1000, from the 1890s until it reappeared in the 1990s. Asher has been in the US Top 100 for more than a decade now.
 
In the Bible, Asher was one of Jacob's twelve sons who gave their names to the tribes of Israel. Asher is derived from the Hebrew word osher, which means "happiness." Rabbinical scholars claim that the Asherites lived up to this meaning, as they had the most oil, wisdom, and male children compared to the other tribes.
 
The novel My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, often taught in schools, is the story of a New York Hasidic Jewish boy with artistic aspirations.
 
Oh—and another plus for Asher: the handsome diminutive Ash.

Asher

The recent ascent of this English surname is due to two things: the megapopular Ash beginning and TV/movie hottie Ashton Kutcher. The name peaked at Number 76 in 2004, a year after Ashton Kutcher's (both Christopher Ashton) hit TV show Punk'd made its debut.

Ashton

As trendy as the chic Colorado ski resort and film festival, Aspen is fast becoming more popular for girls than for boys, but this nature name would work equally well for either.

Aspen

Truly original yet not strange name ripe for the plucking by the adventurous baby namer.  Aurelius works too.

Aurélien

As modern as it sounds, Blaise is an ancient Christian martyr name. In Arthurian legend, Blaise is the name of Merlin the Magician's secretary. Its relation to the word and name Blaze gives it a fiery feel. Amanda Beard named her baby boy Blaise Ray.
 Saint Blaise, an Armenian bishop, is the patron saint of wild animals and those with sore throats. Blaise Pascal was the seventeenth century French mathematician-physicist-inventor-writer-philosopher among whose many accomplishments was the invention of the calculator. And in the modern world, Blaise Zambini is a minor character in the Harry Potter franchise.

Blaise

Cedar is, like Ash, Oak, Pine and Ebony, one of the new tree/wood names that parents are starting to consider; this one is particularly aromatic.
 In the Bible the cedar is mentioned in Psalm 92:12: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon." The Lebanon  Cedar was used to build King Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, and there are now several hospitals called Cedars of Lebanon, plus a U2 song by that name.
 A contemporary bearer of the name is the jazz pianist Cedar Walton.

Cedar

Cillian is one of the native Irish names that, along with Aiden and Declan, is becoming an unlikely favorite in contemporary America. The Killian spelling has been more popular in the US, but Cillian's star is rising, perhaps thanks to Irish actor Cillian Murphy, star of Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders.
 There are several Saint Cillians, including one who was sent to Bavaria to convert the natives and was martyred for his trouble. 
 Patrick Woulfe, a Catholic priest who was instrumental in reviving native Irish names in that country after the war for independence from England in the 1920s, theorized that Cillian might also be related to a Gaelic name meaning war.

Cillian

Ferdinand, a traditional name in the royal families of Spain and a handsome young prince shipwrecked on Prosper's island in Shakespeare's The Tempest has, unfortunately, to the American ear a somewhat heavy and clumsy feel – most likely because of the bull connection. In the 1880's it was in the 200's on the US pop list, but has been off completely since 1986. 

 The sleeker Spanish and Portuguese version Fernando, on the other hand, is Number 253 (and 28 in Chile, 59 in Spain). An interesting Dutch spin: the short form Dinand, after a popular singer.
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to cross the Pacific and the first person to circumnavigate the earth.

Ferdinand

Fletcher is a common surname with a touch of quirkiness; it definitely fits into the So Far Out It's In category--and moving further in all the time along with other occupational names from Parker to Forester.
 One notable historical Fletcher is Fletcher Christian, the British seaman and mutineer portrayed on the screen at various times by Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando and Mel Gibson. A musical namesake is Fletcher Henderson, who was important in the development of big band jazz and swing music.

Fletcher

Harper got its start as a celebrity baby name when Paul Simon chose it for his now-grown son. Since then, other famous parents have followed suit: musician Tim Finn and actor Cecilia Peck both have sons called Harper.

Other high-profile Harpers, like author (Nelle) Harper Lee and starbabies Harper Burtka-Harris and Harper Beckham, are female, but it makes a handsome choice for either sex (and is in the US Top 1000 for both boys and girls).

Harper

The great American novelist sets this above many other surnames (and <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a>, for that matter), but it's still an imposing and adventurous choice. Do nicknames Hawk or Thorne make it more approachable? The timid should stick with Nathaniel.

Hawthorne

Icarus, the mythological figure famous for flying too close to the sun, has a couple of negatives: his rash reputation, and those "icky" nicknames. 

Icarus

Indigo is one of the most appealing and evocative of the new generation of color names. Color names have joined flower and jewel names -- in a big way -- and Indigo, a deep blue-purple dye from plants native to India, is particularly striking for both girls and boys. Although most people don't think of it like this, Indigo might also be considered among the most stylish <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/167/greek-names">Greek baby names</a> in use today.

Some cultural references: The Indigo Girls are a folk duo, 'Mood Indigo' is a classic Duke Ellington jazz composition, and there is a 1970's New Age theory that Indigo children possess special, sometimes supernatural abilities. Indigo is the name of a character in the Ntozake Shange novel Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, and was used for his daughter by Lou Diamond Phillips.

Indigo

While Kieran is the class and most-used male form of this name, some people spell it Keiran in keeping with the female Keira, the version popularized by the gorgeous Ms. Knightley.

Keiran

Lachlan is as Scottish as haggis and tartan plaid kilts—a favorite used throughout England, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand—and just beginning to be noticed in the US: it reached the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013. An ancient name, Lachlan was originally used to describe the Viking invaders of Scotland, those from the land of the lochs.
 Americans and Australians tend to pronounce the first syllable of the name like Lock, but the genuine Scottish pronunciation sounds more like Lack.
 In Ireland, the name was Anglicized as Laughlin; in Scotland the pet forms are Lach, Lachie, or Lockie.
 Lachlan has been a top name in Australia for at least a decade. It has been in the headlines recently via the eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
 Somewhat surprisingly, Lachlan has US presidential cred, as the son of tenth president John Tyler, whose other children included Lyon, Letitia, Tazewell, and Pearl.

Lachlan

In Arthurian legend, Lancelot was one of the most dashing of the Knights of the Round Table who eventually had an affair with Queen Guinevere: it makes for a romantic story-- but perhaps overly romantic-- name.

 An older spelling is Launcelot, as seen in Shakespeare's Launcelot Gabbo in The Merchant of Venice and two Tobias Smollett novels.

 Short form Lance has had an independent life of his own.

Lancelot

Landon is a popular surname name; it's been dropping slightly in recent years but has surpassed its once more popular rhyming cousin Brandon. For some it may bring back nostalgic memories of Little House on the Prairie 's understanding Pa, played by Michael Landon.
 Landon has been chosen for their sons by two musicians, American Idol finalist Josh Gracin and Blink drummer Travis Barker, whose middle name is Landon. It's also the name of soccer superstar Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Landon

Leander is an almost unknown name with great potential as a possible alternative to the overused Alexander. In Greek legend, Leander was the powerful figure who swam across the Hellespont every night to visit his beloved Hero, a priestess of Venus.
 Leander is currently a Top 40 name in Norway; Leandro is the attractive Spanish form, and Leandre is popular in France--it appears in three Moliere plays.
 Leander Sydnor was the name of one of the younger police detectives on The Wire.

Leander

Leif is one of the most recognizable <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/173/scandinavian-names">Scandinavian names</a>, thanks to Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson, and is still one of the best, with a pleasant aural association with the word leaf. 
 Leif Erikson, son of explorer Eric the Red, was the first European to land in North America--some five hundred years before Columbus. Centuries later, the name became associated in the U.S. with 1970s teen idol Leif Garrett, the name peaking on the charts at Number 654 in 1970, dropping off completely in 1987. It climbed back onto the Top 1000 in 2014.
 Pronounced LAYF in its Scandinavian milieu, Leif and Lief are sometimes pronounced as Leaf in English-speaking countries. Joaquin Phoenix was for a time known as Leaf, in keeping with the <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a> of his siblings.

Leif

Lennox is an aristocratic and powerful Scottish surname name made truly special by that final x. The worldwide fame of British boxer--World and Olympic champion--Lennox Claudius Lewis brought the name into the spotlight as a first name, while as a last it's tied to Eurythmics singer Annie L.
 The Thane of Lennox appears in Macbeth, Mary Lennox is in The Secret Garden and there are two Agatha Christie characters with the name.
 Lenox is another accepted spelling.

Lennox

This aristocratic, somewhat formal Germanic route to the popular Leo is a royal name: Queen Victoria used it to honor a favorite uncle, King Leopold of Belgium. Though Leopold sounds as if it might be a leonine name, it's not really a relative of such choices as Leon, and Leonard.
 In literature, the name is famous via Leopold Bloom, the central character of James Joyce's Ulysses and in music is associated with the distinguished conductor Leopold Stokowski, and it is also a saint's name.

Leopold

A variant form of Laurence or Lawrence which ranked in the #200s in the US from the 1900s through to the 1960s. It didn't fall off the boys' Top 1000 until the late 1990s, following the huge popularity of Lauren for girls.

Now, though, with gender-neutral names on the ascendant, Loren is used fairly evenly for both genders. Last year in the US, 75 baby girls were named Loren and 60 baby boys, making Loren an excellent nonbinary choice.

Loren

Luc is the sleeker Gallic cousin of Luke, and if you want to know the difference between their pronunciations, just watch Kevin Kline's hilarious description in the film French Kiss. Peter Gabriel and Sean Patrick Thomas picked this version for their sons.

The related Lucas and Luke are both hugely popular boy names in the US and internationally, and now Luca has joined them on boys' popularity lists around the world.

That's an astonishing success story for a name that was virtually unknown a generation ago. Only 13 baby boys were named Luca in the US in 1980, and by 1990 it was still only 32. But by the turn of the century, Luca took off and has now surpassed his more familiar brother Luke in the US.

Boy names ending in vowel sounds may have felt too feminine to early generations who lived by more conventional gender rules. And that old school he-man America also may have rejected names like Luca for being too "foreign". But in this era of Noah and Mateo, Elijah and Ezra, Luca has finally found widespread acceptance.
Along with its popularity in the US, Luca ranks highly in a range of countries that speak English, Spanish, French, and German, among others. While Luca is technically related to Luke and Lucas and so takes their ancient Roman habitational meaning, you might also see it as a relative of Lucius or Lucian, meaning light.
 Colin Firth and his Italian wife chose Luca for one of their sons, as did Hilary Duff, Vincent d'Onofrio, Rebecca Minkoff, and Jacinda Barrett and Gabriel Macht.

Luca

Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as one of the twin sons (the other being Lorcan) of Luna Lovegood, whom we learn about in the Harry Potter epilogue.
 Previously confined to the nurseries of Mayfair and Belgravia, we think Lysander could easily emigrate to the playgrounds of Park Slope.

Lysander

Matthew was the third most popular boys' name in America throughout the 1980s and '90s, and is still one of the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/m">boy names starting with M</a>. The New Testament Matthew is the epitome of the fashionable classic—safe and sturdy, yet with a more engaging personality than John or William.
 
Matthew is the English derivative of Matthaios, the Greek form of the Hebrew Mattiyahu, composed of mattan, meaning "gift" and yah, in reference to God. The biblical Matthew was the apostle who wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament. Mateo, Matthias, Teo, Matek, and Mattia are among the many names derived from Matthew.
 Matthew is so common by now, though, that parents have started to seek fresher choices, like Matthew-inspired variations Matthias and Mateo. 
 
The name suddenly became very popular in the U.S. in the 1960s, with Matts appearing on many Western (e.g., Gunsmoke's Marshall Matt Dillon) and other TV shows. Currently there are several prominent real-life Matthews and Matts, including Broderick, McConaughey, Lauer, Damon and Dillon. Celebs who have chosen international versions for their starbabies include Ricky Martin (Matteo), Benjamin Bratt (Matteo), Colin Firth (Mateo) and Will Ferrell (Mattias).

Matthew

Oberyn

The first famous Paris was a mythological prince of incredible beauty. The most recent was media darling Paris Hilton, inspirer of a generation of baby-girl namesakes. But since Pierce Brosnan and other celebs have continued to use it for their sons, the name retains some masculine identity. For girls, it jumped from #464 to #412 in the past year alone. 

Paris

Penrose – an ancient locational surname derived from several villages in Cornwall, Wales, and the Welsh border country of England – might work as a first name, although the "Rose" syllable might lead the uninitiated to assume it's a female name. As a middle name, however, it would make for a surprising and distinguished choice. A male Penrose could be called Pen/Penn, Ross or Roe for short.

Penrose

Perseus is a godly Greek hero (he was a son of Zeus) whose ancient name just might have modern possibilities along with other so-old-they're-new-again names such as Atticus and Orion. 

Perseus

Polaris

If you like Dylan but find it too popular, Quillan could be a distinctive alternative. 

Quillan

Quirky in the way that all Q names are quirky, Quincy was once a buttoned-up, patrician New England name, an image countered in recent years by the talented and ultracool musician Quincy Jones (middle name: Delight; nickname: Q). 
 Quincy's high point of popularity was in 1977, when it reached Number 273, but it still has a lot of energy--and not only for a fifth son. It's one of those golden names that, for boys, ranks steadily in the lower half of the Top 1000, getting neither too popular nor too unusual. The number of girls named Quincy is rising, but there are still two baby boys named Quincy for every girl.
 It is the middle name of John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. President, who was named for his mother's maternal grandfather, Colonel John Quincy, after whom Quincy, Massachusetts, is named. Another association is the long-running TV show Quincy M.E.. 
Interesting fact: John Quincy Adams pronounced his name Quin-zee.

Quincy

This spirited Gaelic classic, which became popular in Ireland via the illustrious twelfth century king Rory O'Connor, makes a highly energetic choice, now used for either sex. Rory's gender split is still trending boyward; it's one of the coolest <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/r">boys' names starting with R</a>. 
 In England and Wales, however, the name is virtually never given to girls. It's seen as thoroughly male (and non-female) as Roger or Richard.
 Rory first came to attention in the US in the person of mid-century pin-up boy Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy). The name entered the popularity list in 1947, peaking at Number 280 in 1959. 
 Young Irish U.S. Open champ Rory Mcllroy makes a worthy namesake. Bill and Melinda Gates chose Rory as the name of their only son.
 Rory is a popular choice all throughout the UK. Skip baffling Gaelic spellings like Ruari and Ruaidhri and stick with the more straightforward Rory.

Rory

Fairly popular a hundred years ago but out of sight now, the quirky Roscoe deserves a place on every adventurous baby-namer's long list. It joins Rufus, Roman, Remy, Romulus, and Ray as one of the R names that sound fresh again after too many years of Robert, Richard, and Ronald.
Originally a place and surname, Roscoe had its glory days in the 1880s, when it reached as high as Number 138, then gradually declined, possibly damaged by the scandals surrounding silent star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and then the hillbilly image it acquired thanks to Sheriff Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard. 
Roscoe has been out of the Top 1000 since 1978 but feels very much in step with the trending o-ending boy names popular now, such as Milo, Hugo, and Otto.
Trivia tidbit: The R in Edward R. Murrow stands for Roscoe; the distinguished newsman's first name was really Egbert.

Roscoe

With its gentle sounds and earthy vibes, the name Rowan feels like a fusion of different styles. A word name, a surname, and a gender-neutral name, Rowan is rustic but trendy, blending the vibes of both Owen and Oakley. 
Just as it’s hard to fit Rowan into one category, it’s equally difficult to identify one definitive root. It could be considered an Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruadhán, meaning “little redhead” and it was used as an English surname before it became a given name. 
Alternatively, it could be linked to the rowan tree, whose name derives from Old Norse and means “to redden.” In folklore and mythology, rowan trees are seen as a symbol of protection and of life, adding extra meaning to Rowan. 
 To complicate matters further, some scholars identify Rowan as a girls’ name, deriving from Rowena and Rhonwen, meaning “famous friend” or “white spear.” This gives it solid credentials as a unisex name and lends it a slightly more rugged vibe. 
What is certain, however, is that Rowan has quickly become a stylish choice, chosen for over 3000 boys every year. Once an obscure name in the US, it rapidly climbed the charts during the 2010s and has now entered the Top 100 Boy Names for the first time. 
Rowan is popular in the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands too, but even more so among Nameberry users, where it ranks in the <a href=“https://nameberry.com/popular-names/nameberry/boys/allNameberry Top 1000”> Nameberry Top 30.</a> 
The most prominent bearer of the name is probably Rowan Atkinson, the British comic actor of Blackadder and Mr Bean fame. Other namesakes include the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Douglas Williams, and the Australian swimmer, Rowan Crothers. Pokémon fans and Sarah J. Maas readers might recognize it too as the name of a character in both the game franchise and in the Throne of Glass series. 
Gentle but powerful, stylish but not oversaturated, Rowan may well continue to climb the charts, so if you love Rowan but want to stray from the trends, Ruan, Sylvan, Lorcan, Lennox, Wren and Sloan might inspire you.

Rowan

Ryder, one of the current favorite er-ending <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ names</a>, has been in the spotlight since Kate Hudson and her rocker husband Chris Robinson chose it for their son in 2004. Very popular in several provinces of Canada, Ryder was chosen by John Leguzamo for his son and adorns Boy Meets World star Ryder Strong.
 In the past, Ryder was much more prevalent as a surname, as in American Old Master painter Albert Pinkham Ryder and Brideshead Revisited protagonist Charles Ryder. Not all came by it legitimately, however--Winona Ryder was born Winona Horowitz.
Trivia note: The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf tournament with competing teams from Europe and the US.

Ryder

Santiago is a spirited Spanish name with great crossover potential. It's a place-name (a city in Chile), a surname, and the name of the patron saint of Spain. 
 
Santiago has been rising through the popularity charts in the US for more than 30 years now, and shows no signs of slowing down. It might make a creative honor name for an ancestral James.
 Santiago has been featured in several works of fiction: it was the main character's name in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Paolo Coehlo's The Alchemist, and there was also a Santiago in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire.

Santiago

Sebastian is an ancient martyr's name turned literary, and Little Mermaid hero—think Sebastian the Crab—that's more popular than ever, as a classic-yet-unconventional compatriot for fellow British favorites T Theodore and Oliver.
 Sebastian is derived from the Greek Sebastianos, meaning "from Sebastia." Sebastia was a city in Asia Minor—modern day Sivas, Turkey. Sebastian is a name with a substantial history, first as the third-century martyr whose sufferings were a favorite subject of medieval artists, then as the name of memorable characters in such varied works as Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and The Tempest and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited.
 Sebastian is high on the lists in countries as widespread as Austria, Denmark, Romania, Australia and Chile. Some more down-to-earth nicknames for the relatively elaborate Sebastian not often heard in this country are Seb, Baz and Bas. 
Several celebs have chosen the sophisticated Sebastian for their sons, including James Spader, Kim Fields, Malin Akerman and Tommy Hilfiger.

Sebastian

A name with some sterling qualities, most associated with the British currency and silver markets. Sterling has several recent TV associations, with characters Roger Sterling (on Mad Men) and Sterling Archer (on Archer), and actor Sterling K. Brown (on This is Us).

Sterling

Reminiscent of the Old West, with rugged charm and a gentle, easy-going feel, Wesley has long been a staple on the US charts. 
Its popularity may have peaked in the 1970s when it reached #66, but Wesley has never really gone out of style. It’s always remained inside the US Top 200, making it a modern classic, solid and familiar but not too overused. 
Now, Wesley is receiving renewed interest, joining Wyatt, Waylon, Maverick, Weston and Beau in the Top 100, as parents turn towards surnames-as-given-names and to names that feel both preppy and cowboyish. 
Derived from an English surname – which likely came from an English place name – Wesley means “western meadow” or “western clearing.” It was first used as a given name in the 1700’s, when parents chose it in honor of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. 
Wesley’s popularity has spread since then and it’s no longer tied to these religious associations. Instead, it has a number of other noteworthy bearers, including: the military general and politician, Wesley Clark; the actor, Wesley Snipes; the film directors, Wes Anderson and Wes Craven; the jazz guitarist, Wes Montgomery; and TV personality, Wes Nelson. 
The name might also be remembered by the fans of several TV classics, including “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, and “Last of the Summer Wine,” all of which have featured a fictional Wesley. 
Despite these notable namesakes, Wesley is currently only popular in the US. Though it has seen some usage in England, Wales, and France in recent years, it has yet to move into the spotlight. 
Handsome and charming, Wesley is given to more than 4000 boys each year in the US, and following its recent trajectory, it could well move further up the charts. If you’re wanting to avoid a popular choice but love Wesley, the similar Westley ranks much lower. You could also consider Casey, Halston, Dempsey, or Layton.

Wesley

Appealingly gentle and romantic French classic--with a lot more charm than Steve. 

Étienne

nwghibli's list "Hipster-Cool Boys Names" of 43 great name ideas: Amory - Étienne!

Hipster-Cool Boys Names

I picture these names working on kids running around in Brooklyn, on teens dressed in suspenders and sweaters, on adults in thick-rimmed glasses working at some creative job.