Animal Names for Boys

This more user-friendly Anglicized form of Beacan, could profit from its kinship with the popular Beckett--with which it could share the nickname Beck. Becan is an Irish saint's name, attached to the founder of a sixth century monastery.

Popular in the African American community, the De- prefix makes this a choice for sons of Marcuses.

Giovanni is Italian for John, and Giovani is a not-really-correct spelling variation. Regardless, it has charted in the US for 16 of the past 17 years, peaking at Number 500 in 2011.

Chozen was the second fastest-rising boys' name of 2023, adding a new spin to word name Chosen, also increasing in popularity.

Confessional memoirist Augusten Burroughs is the first literary notable to bear one of this family of names since the confessional saint.

Uncommon biblical name from the Old Testament.

This surname-name comes with some great connotations: Addie Ballou the American feminist, Kurt Ballou — guitarist with the band Converge, or Adin Ballou — abolitionist and pacifist. It has a trendy, whimsical sound that sets it apart from more traditional surnames like Cooper, Hunter, and Archer and puts it more in the camp of the softer international names like Aaru, Bayou, and Finlo.

Quirky form of Ishmael found in Nordic countries.

Currently connected to football Hall of Famer turned actor Terry Bradshaw.

One of the most usable names for an American child from the Icelandic Top 50.

One of the few masculine names to derive from a feminine name — in this case, Clara. Clarus is the name of a French saint, the patron saint of tailors.

Blaque is a clever -- or should we say qlever -- spelling variation of either the androgynous surname-name Blake, as in Gossip Girl Lively, or Black, as in the color name. Either way, we prefer the original. Blaque -- an acronym for believing life achieving quest unity everything -- was also a late 90s R & B group and some people may choose the name Blaque to symbolize those qualities.

Ayal is a boys' name used in modern Israel but virtually unknown in the US. Even more popular in Israel is the female form, Ayala.

Sounds too much like buxom.

Strong, interesting nature name reminiscent of Biblical favorites Ezra and Boaz.

A rare and romantic take on Basil.