Animal Names for Boys

We had Egypt listed as a girls-only place-name until singer Alicia Keys and rap producer husband Swizz Beatz used it for their son...and why not? Egypt certainly works as well for a boy as for a girl.

Near Eastern name with lots of opportunities for variation and improvisation.

A form of Ahmad popular in Western Africa. It ranked in the French Top 500 for much of the 1980s.

Variant of Auley

The cool clipped Des may be the part of the name wave of the future, with midcentury names like Des and Vic and Stan riding back into style on the heels of big brothers Max and Sam and Ray.

A Persian name with an evocative meaning, Jahan was notably borne by the 17th century Indian emperor, Shah Jahan, who commissioned the Taj Mahal for his wife Mumtaz. Associated with one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Jahan is predominantly used as a masculine name, though is sometimes given to girls too. The popular Turkish and Azerbaijani form is Ci̇han.

A Welsh saint, the son or grandson of a local king called Caw/Cai. It seems that Caian may be a derivative of that name, which is derived from Caius "rejoice". A church at Tregaian in Anglesey is named for St Caian.

Now that Camilla is super popular, why not consider the male version? It's been the name of dozens of prominent Italians -- including a 16th century pope -- throughout history, and Shakespeare used for a Sicilian nobleman in The Winter's Tale.

Extremely common in Wales and England, Dafydd would likely leave some non-Welsh speakers confused at first. But we love the soft, lispy quality this variation offers.

Derived from the Cherokee word adohi, meaning "woods." But buyer beware: Adahy is very close to the Cherokee word for "poison," adahi'i.

Phonetic spelling brought to light by actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Surname of a noted modern Urdu poet.