Animal Names for Boys

Looking for a Texas name more distinctive than Austin and Dallas? Houston is a lanky, roguish place-name, right in style with its Texas accent and cowboy image.

Basketball's Jayson Tatum introduced this to the naming lexicon when he used it as a clever nickname for his son, Jayson Christoper Jr. It fits in with nicknames like Trey or Trip for boys who are the third in the family with their name; we've even heard Quatty and Quinto.

A Top 100 name in BC, Canada, where there is a large Punjabi population.

This name can have many different meanings depending the kanji used to write it. The Naruto character Asuma Sarutobi writes his name with kanji meaning "tomorrow truth."

Loose, lean, and lanky cowboy-sounding names have become a recent trend, but how about the name of a real one--the Singing Cowboy Gene. Autry might be thought of as a masculine spin on the fashionable Audrey or a fresher version of Austin or Auden.

Some other cowboy surnames from the Golden Age of movie and TV westerns: Boone, Boyd, Cody, Corrigan, Gibson, Hart, Holt, Houston, McCoy and Renaldo.

One of many Aidan variations — all stemming from the original Gaelic Aodhán — Eiden was the third fastest-rising boy name of 2023 and a new entry to the US Top 1000. Interestingly, despite this spelling's current success, Aidan, Aiden, Ayden, and Aden are all on the downswing.

Possible middle name for devotees of detective Sherlock.

Names ending with O are popular, but this one is almost unheard-of. Faro has the advantages of being easy to spell and pronounce (unless it's confused with Pharaoh), and a bright meaning. Ultimately it comes from Pharos, the island where the great Lighthouse of Alexandria was built, and there's a district and city in Portugal called Faro. Be aware: it's also the name of a gambling card game, highly popular in the nineteenth century before poker took over.

French version of August, for both sexes. And for those who feel the spelling of August is too plain.

Antoine is a venerable French name that is still stylish in its native habitat, where it is in the Top 30. In the US, it was most popular in the 1970s and '80s, reaching Number 262 in 1985.

Scottish names that started as surnames are a class unto themselves. This old Scottish surname name debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016 -- bolstered, no doubt, by the extreme popularity of Easton, just one letter away.

This spelling is now more popular than the original, though it's not quite as popular as Jayden or Jaden.

A very old name with a fascinating history, Aimar is now most often used as a boys' name in the Basque country. Its status as a Top 100 name in Spain may also be related to the enduring popularity of retired Argentinian soccer superstar Pablo AImar.

Cross-cultural name with a great nautical meaning. It boomed in the 1930s and has potential for revival now.

The name Esca appears in Rosemary Sutcliff's 1954 historical adventure novel The Eagle of the Ninth, which is set in 2nd century Roman Britain. Esca is the name of a freed slave who accompanies his ex-master Marcus Flavius Aquila on various adventures. He was portrayed in the 2011 film adamptation The Eagle by English actor Jamie Bell.

Popular in the Scandinavian countries, but in this country it would surely bring to mind the very feminine Halle Berry.

The brightest star in Ursa Major, this is one of the major navigational stars used by ships.

Strongly associated with the city of Tel Aviv. For girls, may be lengthened to Aviva; for boys, might be better abbreviated to Avi.