Animal Names for Boys

Bingham is the unusual surname name chosen by Kate Hudson and Matt Bellamy for their son. It was Bellamy's mother's maiden name, and the nickname Bing, coincidentally, belongs to almost-stepfather Kurt Russell's dad. We haven't heard Bing since crooner Crosby, but it does have a lot of zing.

Euro-cool Bastian is rising rapidly up the rankings, and this uncommon word name (given to just 23 baby boys in 2018) could make for a cool military-inspired twist.

The form of Faruq most common in Turkey. Ömer Faruk is a popular double-barreled first name for Turkish boys.

Azur is a mixed up form of Ezra, a Biblical name attached to a handful of minor characters. This strong, simple name was given to 11 baby boys in the US last year.

Commonly associated with the Japanese beverage company Asahi, which produces a beer by the same name.

A natural successor to the trend for royalty-related names, and (in a spiritual sense) for meaningful New Christian names. While the English word is pretty rare as a name, many names worldwide share this meaning, including Stephen, Kayla, Taj, Atara, Adebayo, Omolade, and the now-less-than-popular name Corona.

This name of a river in Wales represents a vowel change from Alan, which makes the name somewhat more intriguing, but still possibly not intriguing enough. Bonus points if you're a surfer, sailor, or you're expecting a baby born under a water sign of the zodiac: It's one of the more unusual names that mean water.

This country name has come into steady use for girls in recent decades, and it's occasionally given to boys too. With interest in other -land names like Leland and Roland, we can see this patriotic heritage choice becoming more gender-balanced.

Form of Ivar most common in Estonia.

Abijah is a truly unusual, truly unisex, truly appealing biblical name. There were several male Abijahs in the Bible, one of them, known as Abijah of Judah, was the fourth king of the House of David, and also a couple of females.

Breton is the term for the people and language of Brittany, a region of northern France with a distinct culture. Breton also might be thought of as a trendy modern invention, taking the midcentury surfer boy Bret or Brett and adding the current favorite boy's name ending -on and turning it into a name all its own. Bretton is a variation.

The name of cities in Mexico and Colorado, Durango is a pleasant, fresh option from the atlas.

Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris both hail from Galway.

All varieties of Hob are antiquated nicknames for Robert, though this one is saddled with the "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon association.

Spicy but insubstantial nickname name.