My Favourite Boys Names

A contraction name, Sidney comes from Saint Denis and is related to Dioynsius, the Greek god of fertility and wine, although another theory is that it derived from an Anglo-Saxon place name, meaning 'at the wide island.'

Jonah, the name of the Old Testament prophet who was swallowed by the whale, only to emerge unharmed three days later, is increasingly appreciated by parents looking for a biblical name less common than Jacob or Joshua, yet not too obscure. Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif.

Clark seemed to have been Gone with the Wind, but parents looking for a short, strong boy's name are now beginning to appreciate its cool combination of Gable charm with Superman power.

Effortlessly cool with a hint of the mystical, Phoenix rolls a lot of trends into one: it's a place-name and a bird name, it ends in the stylish letter x, it's got in-built nicknames, and it's unisex too. Familiar but not over-popular, Phoenix ranks in the US and UK Top 1000s.

Marshall is an occupational surname, not having to do with anything military or martial, but stemming from the Norman French for someone caring for horses. It's been used as a first name since the nineteenth century and has been on the Social Security list since it started to publish its data in 1880.

This state name emerged in the eighties along with westerners Dakota and Montana, and it's still used occasionally by high-profile parents such as Summer Phoenix and Casey Affleck. Action man Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford) makes Indiana "Indy" forever cool for a boy.

A recent addition to the Most Popular list, Bridger has the trendy two-syllables and 'er' ending, and a historical reference to Jim Bridger, a foremost nineteenth-century frontiersman, explorer, trapper, scout, and teller of tall tales.

A lean and lanky Irish cowboy name with great nickname potential to boot (Cass or Sid are both options). This is one of the great under-rated American names!

A popular member of the -ayden family, Kaden ranks alongside Kaiden, Kayden, Kasen, Kade, Caiden, Cade, and Caden in the US Top 1000. A 90s invention that took off in the 2000s, Kaden is concise and modern, with its popular K initial.

Devon, spelled like the lovely seaside county in Britain that inspired the name, has crashed since its heyday around the Top 100 in the 1990s. Despite its use as a female name, for example for Devon on the TV show The 4400, Devon continues to be far more popular for boys than for girls.

One of the hot two-syllable T names of the nineties (along with Tyler, Trevor, and Taylor), and well represented on soap operas; Tanner is still widely used, but its popularity is declining.

The surname name Jenson is in the British Top 100 thanks to champion race car driver Jenson Button. Jenson might be an honorific for an ancestral John, the English form of Jens or Johannes, or even Jen.

Few people would have considered the surname of this famous Victorian poet as a first name until Russell Crowe chose it for his son in 2006. But, as a rhythmic three-syllable patronymic, Tennyson has a lot going for it, not least of all the appealing nickname Tenny; it would make a novel choice for the son of a Dennis.

See QUENTIN and QUINTIN.