Animal Names for Boys

Even if you're hoping for a fiery child, this seems like playing with fire. One celebrity--Steve Vai--was bold enough to use it for his son.

In its native Nigeria, Agu is a surname that signifies strength and being a force of nature. Agu as a first name has some pedigree, however: most notably via Agu Casmir, a famous Nigerian-Singaporean soccer player.

Variation of Amir that debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016.

Unique baby name and poetic Gallic choice. Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet and novelist active in the early 20th century arts community, who is said to have coined the terms cubism and surrealism. He based his unique surname de plume on his Polish middle name, Apolinary.

An Irish surname — the Anglicized form of O’Duibhgeannáin — that would make a one-of-a-kind first name, unless you count the character in Wes Anderson's first film, Bottle Rocket. For fans of the auteur, perhaps Dignan is a better name for a pet — it may be extra appropriate to use the nickname Diggy.

Balaam is a character mentioned in the Torah, said to have told King Balak how to get the Israelites to commit sin by enticing them with sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols. He is described as a "wicked man".

A very common boys' name (and nickname) in Nigeria that some Americans will recognize as the name of one of the main characters on NBC's The Good Place.

Norwegian city name heard much more often as a last name than a first.

Highly unusual; conceivable alternative to Daniel.

Elroi can be considered a variation of Leroy, which uses the Spanish "El" instead of the French "Le", and the Roi spelling over the Roy option, either to make the pronunciation clearer, to mirror French Eloi, or just to be different. In this case, the name would mean "the king".

Not the most obvious animal for a nature name, but perhaps for fans of Mr Toad of Toad Hall in The Wind in the Willows.Some may find the pronunciation too close to "baggage" for comfort.

This Hebrew form of Ethan is commonly heard in Israel. Other forms are Eitan and Eytan

A common pet name, usually inspired by the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, Dodger is used as a given name for around 6 boys every year.

The plural, ivrim, is the Hebrew word for the Hebrew people.

Scotland meets India in this respelling of Brodie, influence by Bodhi.

A new name with the potential for spanning across a far-reaching future. Bridges and Bridger are other possiblities.