Animal Names for Boys

Has an upscale aura, perhaps due to the luxury James Bond Aston Martin car.

Gale for boys is more a storm name than a short form of Abigail. Since Gale has resurfaced as the name of Liam Hemsworth's daring character in The Hunger Games, it has new force for boys.

A stalwart of Latin nomenclature that could work just as well for Anglos. Proof lies with the celebrity birth announcement — Hilaria and Alec Baldwin named their fifth child Eduardo Pau Lucas in 2020. This doesn't seem to have much impact on other parents, though: over 900 boys received the name in 2021, but the number is steadily decreasing.

As a male name, Cleo was well used during the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries, deriving from the Greek name Cleon or the Biblical Cleopas.

Subtle but clear unisex way to signal peace, especially in middle place.

An upscale surname with a nice modern design connection to the creators of the Eames chair and other midcentury furniture classics, Charles and Ray Eames.

Reese Witherspoon's Deacon has opened this churchy direction for occupational names. It reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Though it may not be as sweet and gentle as, say, Violet, the purple-hued Hyacinth still might hold some appeal for the parent seeking a truly unconventional flower name.

The last name of Finnish moderne designer/architect makes an original, creative choice with an unexpected water-related meaning.

Well used in the Latino and Italian-American communities.

Dune is a name of several layers. It's a modern nature name, like Ocean, Bay and Reef, although rarer, conjuring up images of breezy sand dunes on summer beach days.

Related to blackberry plants and colloquially to any thorny shrub, Bramble also has history as an English surname.

A brisk and beachy word name. For those of us saddened that Cove now has negative connotations, Coast could be an appealing alternative.

Azriel, also found as Azrael or Asriel, is the name of the Angel of Death in Jewish and Islamic tradition. The Asriel spelling occurs as a Biblical name, notably as the forefather of the Asrielite tribe. Lord Asriel is Lyra’s immensely powerful and charismatic father in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.

Destry rides again, this time as a Western flavored baby name. Derived from the French surname Destrier, from an Anglo-Norman word meaning "warhorse", this rugged name was popularized by the 1930 novel Destry Rides Again by Max Brand, subsequently adapted for the big screen.

Carmelo is a well-used Hispanic name associated with Mt. Carmel, home of the prophet Elijah and the location of the convent for the order of Carmelites. Carmelo is also a saint's name and — in modern times — tied to basketball player Carmelo Anthony.

In Greek mythology, Eris was the goddess of strife and discord. It's also a planetary name — that of the second-largest dwarf planet in the Solar System.

Caledon, the name of the arrogant Billy Zane character in "Titanic," is an Irish place-name related to Caledonia, the Latin word for Scotland thought to be derived from the ancient Celtic word for "hard." Cal is a wonderful nickname, and Caledon an inventive way to get there.

Elmo, like fellow Sesame Street characters Kermit and Grover, has a hard time being taken seriously. (It isn't easy being red either.)