Animal Names for Boys

Grimes and Elon Musk put this name on the map in 2022, when they revealed their daughter's name was Exa Dark Sideræl. Until that point, Dark had not been recorded as a given name, although it resembles more established names such as Mark and Lark.

This softer version of Adolf is sadly still off-limits due to the connotations with Hitler.

A Top 100 pick in Israel that feels simple and appealing enough to work in almost any language.

Energetic nickname name.

Fedde, a Top 100 boys' name in The Netherlands, is a Frisian short form for names beginning with Frid, which means "peace." As with many names popular in contemporary Holland, this short form stands on its own.

In Choctaw culture, new names were given after major life events. This would have been bestowed on a man following a hunting achievement.

Less familiar and appealing than the feminine Jacinta.

Energetic but mellow.

The cosmos is another name for the universe in English, giving this name a spacier, more scientific feel than the near-identical Cosmo.

The name of the elder son of Elendil in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, who was briefly king of Gondor and Arnor.

With Levi in vogue and country names on trend, Denim could fit in among the Waylons, Walkers, Coltons, and Rhetts. As a boys name, it brings to mind the qualities of the fabric: hardworking, cool and versatile. Singer Toni Braxton chose this name for her son in 2001, and parents have been using it for boys and girls ever since.

A more unusual, if slightly snooty, masculine Bailey alternative.

What it really means: you're a "Casablanca" fan.

Streamlined form eases pronunciation and spelling, but somehow adds a weighty element to this British favorite. It became familiar in the U.S. via musician Gram Parsons.

This strong and commanding Russian name is pronounced ah-KEEM.

Euston is best known as a London railway station, which got its name from a stately home and village in the English county of Suffolk. Ultimately it is thought to mean "settlement of a person called Efe". Unlike its Top 1000 soundalike Houston (as in Texas), Euston has never been recording on the charts.

A rarely-used place name (probably because of the last three letters), Essex was the ancient kingdom of the East Saxons and is now a county in England. The singer David Essex used it as his stage surname, and reality TV couple JP and Ashley Rosenbaum used it for their daughter's name, though few have followed suit.

The adopted surname of iconic songwriting brothers George and Ira (born Gershovitz) might make a nice musical middle name.