Animal Names for Boys

This name's all-male occupational roots help it break the Barbara bonds, but still not the most inspiring surname choice.

Like Bethany and Shiloh, a meaningful biblical place-name.

Old Testament name of a son of Moses used by the Puritans, and now by Orthodox Jews.

Variant of Auley

A simple and straightforward choice from northwest Africa.

Variant of Hywel and Howell

An energetic Igbo name belonging to several sports stars, notably American basketball player Emeka Okafor. It can also be short for Chukwuemeka.

Elaboration of Dion publicized by the football and baseball star Deion Sanders -- aka Neon Deion.

Gunnison, though given to just a few baby boys in recent years, is a name we have our eyes on. With strong surname style and a masculine, tough-guy image, Gunnison could give Jameson a run for its money.

Crittenden is a habitational surname denoting ancestors from the village of Crittenden in Kent, England. It is derived from the Old English name Guddhere, a cognate of Gunnar, ing, designating the possessive, and denn, "woodland pasture."

The name of a fire demon in the Japanese animated film Howl's Moving Castle is given to a dozen or two babies in recent years.

This could be a fresh way to honor an ancestral Walter.

Bello is as handsome as Bella is beautiful, but rarely heard outside the Italian community. With its energetic 'o' ending, it could be ripe for export.

Friendly but flimsy.

Andoni is the Basque version of Anthony, no longer a common choice in Spain.

Argider is a somewhat used boys' name in Basque-speaking parts of Spain.

Grandmas will remember the old TV detective show; playmates won't. This is a name that has many variations in different cultures, from Columbus to Columba to Colum to Colm.

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.