Animal Names for Boys

Simple and worldly, popular and carrying two positive meanings in two diverse cultures. A winner prime for wider use.

As Harrison is to Harry, Garrison is to Gary: both of the longer versions sound more modern and appealing. NPR's Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor was born Gary.

Bryant has a longer history as a first name in the US than its father name Brian, ranking among the Top 1000 since the list began in 1880 while Brian only jumped on in 1925.

Feels as strong and international as Roman, with none of the popularity. Arman might be a form of the German Herman or of the Persian/Kazakh/Armenian Armen or Arman, meaning wish or hope.

Alaska's Denali National Park is the home of the highest mountain in the US, officially renamed Denali in 2014, endowing the name with a lofty feel. There were 20 boys and 55 girls given the name in 2014.

Updates Ellis -- but also has a lot of feminine potential thanks to Allison/Ellie similarity.

Ananias is a New Testament name of three different figures. The two good ones were a high priest and a disciple of Paul. The not good Ananias was the husband of Sapphira who conspired to deceive the apostles and was struck dead.

Actor Coby Bell gives this short but sweet name a hefty amount of street cred. Can also be spelled Koby or Kobe, as in Kobe Bryant.

The Irish boys' name Colum, rarely heard in the U. S., makes an interesting alternative to Colin.

Augie is an adorable and, at this point, fresher sounding short form than Gus of the rising August and all its variations, from Augustine to Augustus. The Adventures of Augie March is a 1953 novel by Nobel winner Saul Bellow.

Dagger is one of the new badass baby names, a sharp and scary choice that some parents may feel arm their child for battle in a cruel modern world.

Modern way to honor an ancestral Hugh.

A unique alternative to Ezra, with which Ezer shares a root. Only five baby boys were named Ezer in 2021, and though the name is technically unisex, no baby girls.

Trippy variation on Hayes.

Quirky Italian baby name that works for any gender.

Heavenly French word name used for both sexes.

Abram was Abraham's original name in the Bible; it's more user-friendly but with a bit less gravitas. And it does offer that cool nickname Bram, as well as the friendly Abe. After some early American usage, in 1936 Abram completely disappeared for nearly forty years, until its return in the 1970s.

Rarely heard in the US, Aneurin is best remembered in the UK as the Welsh politician, Aneurin "Nye" Bevan, who was instrumental in setting up the National Health Service when he was Minister for Health.

Rhythmic route to the nickname Cal. This musical moniker is another great example of a traditionally feminine name that could easily go masculine.

A powerful name with diverse origins, Eldar is currently popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina (#45 in 2017). It's also a rare Nordic name meaning "fire warrior", a unisex Hebrew name meaning "God resides", and the name of one of the Elven races in Tolkien's legendarium.