Animal Names for Boys

Transformation of the stolid Gilbert into an animated surname name.

Devi is the name of a Hindu goddess. Deva or Dev are male forms.

Dubois, which can also be stylized as DuBois or Du Bois, is a surname derived from bois, the French word for "forest." A notable, namesake-worthy bearer is W. E. B. Du Bois (who actually pronounced his surname doo-BOYSS), civil rights activist and a founder of the NAACP. A familiar fictional wearer is Blanche DuBois, protagonist of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Although the female version Bianca has long been accepted as a name outside Italy, maybe it's time to consider this boy color name.

Hershey is best-known in the US as a brand of chocolate, named after the company's founder, Milton Hershey. Hershey and its many variations, including Hersh and Hershkovitz, is most commonly a surname that may be either German or Jewish.

Ephrem is a spelling variation of the Biblical Ephraim, most often used for an early saint, Ephrem the Syrian, who was a 4th century theologian. This makes a cool, religiously appropriate choice.

Nice, bouncy three-syllable rhythm, à la Jeremy and Barnaby.

A name appropriate for boys born during the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca every Muslim is expected to make once in his lifetime.

Pronounced Beecham, but still too fancy and fey. Likewise Beaufort (beautiful fort), Beaufoy (beautiful beech tree), and Beaumont (beautiful mountain).

Grrrr.

Notably borne by Faustin Soulouque, a 19th-century president, and later emperor, of Haiti.

A friendly sounding surname name reminiscent of the increasingly popular Marlow and Harlow. British musician Gary Barlow is a notable namesake.

Adley is one of those rare unisex names that probably developed via different paths on the girls' and boys' sides, with the male Adley a phonetic spelling of the Hebrew Adlai, while the girls' version, which briefly made the Top 1000 in 2012, is an abbreviation of the trendy Hadley, an English place name and surname.

Bestselling author Amor Towles, who wrote Rules of Civility and introduced this elegant and meaningful name to the lexicon. Names that mean love -- Amory, Amias, and Amoris are other similar choices -- always have a deep appeal.

More familiar in its K forms, where it's associated with football legend Knute Rockne, Canute has a tough, macho image.

Concise and clipped European version of the earnest Ernest.

Ib, though it sounds insubstantial here, is actually a pretty common name in Denmark.