Animal Names for Boys

An Anglicized derivative of the Gaelic name Beatha, meaning "life," best known as the surname of Irish playwright Brendan Behan.

An English surname used mononymously by the American singer-songwriter and record producer Breland (born Daniel Gerard Breland), who could certainly boost his cool name into the limelight.

Hard to think of this name without "Captain" in front of it.

British habitational surname that calls to mind the Connecticut capital

On the staff of a manor house.

Almost unknown in the western world, Gyan comes from a Sanskrit word for knowledge. It may appeal to parents looking for a name influenced by eastern philosophy, like Bodhi or Zen.

Common Japanese name rising for both sexes in the US.

Cutter was an old-fashioned term for a tailor or barber that was eventually adopted as a surname. That gives it more legitimacy than many of the other aggressive boy names — Striker, Shooter, Breaker, et al. — but Cutter remains equally threatening.

Kordian was created by Polish playwright Juliusz Słowacki for his eponymous romantic hero, based on Latin cor, cordis "heart". Cordian is the Anglicized form.

Will any English speaker spell your son Aleksander's name right on the first try? Nyet.

Icy baby names are currently hot, with names like Icelynn and Iceland trending up for girls. Rapper Gucci Mane chose simple, streamlined Ice for his son 2020-born son, appropriately a winter baby. In 2021, it debuted on the charts for both boys and girls (9 boys, 6 girls).

If you use this for a boy, it had better be a family name, hidden away in the middle.

Norse god who's the son of light plus historic diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld and author Dag Solstad combine to boost this Nordic name's appeal, but this could be difficult in English-speaking countries where the obvious tease will be "daggy Dag."

Freyr is the Norse god of fertility, sunlight, and peace. He features prominently in the Icelandic mythology collections the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, and is considered an ancestor of the Swedish royal family.

A very common boys' name in South Asia, with a strong meaning. Some are bound to pronounce it AJ, as in Soprano.

Gomer is that rare beast, a unisex biblical name. Gomer was both a son of Japheth (and therefore grandson of Noah), and the wife of the prophet Hosea. It has lingering associations with the hayseed Gomer Pyle character, but may just about be ready for rehab.