Animal Names for Boys

This evocative word name conjures up royalty, drawbridges, and medieval chain mail knights. The word castle was derived from the Latin castellum, meaning "fortified place." Castle was first recorded on the charts all the way back in 1916, when it was given to five baby boys. After the better part of a century, Castle reappeared in 1998 and has been trending upwards ever since.

Though you might have been a fan of tennis star Chris Evert, stick with EVERETT, which everyone will think you're saying anyway.

Surname of a fifteenth-century saint and a twenty-first-century quarterback, Brett Favre.

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).

Rugged and ancient, but also very cool and on-trend, Gryffin is a variation of the Old Welsh name Gruffudd (or Griffith), whose usage is likely to be inspired by the mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.

In addition to being the term for a job performing music, Gig has been used as a name, as in onetime actor Gig Young--who was born Byron but took his stage name from a character he played.

Irish surname derived from the name Gairbhín, a diminutive of garbh, "rough". It's barely been used as a first name, but could be a similar-yet-different alternative to names like Nolan and Sullivan.

Though Bayram is not well known in the US, it's a name that easily crosses cultures because it sounds exactly like the English name Byram, a variation of Byron. Bayram is the name of two Mohammedan festivals, one that ends Ramadan and one that takes place 70 days later. Like Felix and Asher, Bayram is a name with a happy, uplifting meaning. It was in Turkey's Top 100 until 2003.

Best known as a hotel company, but shares some of the cool sounds of Wyatt.

Though a variation of Dion, this name made it into 2013's Top 1000 while the original did not.

Fortune is a middle name choice designed to generate good luck and prosperity.

Prince of the tribe of Zebulon in the Exodus, everyone will misunderstand this as Elias, with a stuffed nose.

A cross between Ian and a group of atomic particles.