Animal Names for Boys
- Ciel
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"sky"Description:
Heavenly French word name used for both sexes.
- Ettore
Origin:
Italian variation of HectorMeaning:
"holds fast"Description:
Has a lot more charm than the ancient Hector.
- Blessing
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"God's favor and protection"Description:
This spiritual word name is rising for girls and boys.
- Horus
Origin:
EgyptianMeaning:
"sun god"Description:
Sounds like Horace, looks like the head of a hawk on the body of a human.
- Dave
Origin:
Short form of David, HebrewMeaning:
"beloved"Description:
Dave is the ultimate good guy name, but where father name David is still holding onto a spot in the Top 20, Dave -- widely used as an independent name in the middle of the last century -- dropped off the Top 1000 a few decades ago and shows no signs of a comeback. Baby Davids today, often named for dad or grandpa, are more likely to be called David than Dave.
- Aza
Origin:
ArabicMeaning:
"powerful"Description:
Aza's similarity to the biblical name Asa makes it ripe for adaptation. If you want something more elaborate, you might consider Azariah. Something simpler? It doesn't get much simpler and that is the beauty of Aza (or Asa).
- Asta
Origin:
NorwegianMeaning:
"divine strength"Description:
Asta as a boy's name is inspired by the Wizard King character in the anime series Black Clover. He is a human who triumphs in a world of superheroes --an inspirational figure.
- Abe
Origin:
Diminutive of AbrahamDescription:
Old-time nickname that may follow in the fashionable footsteps of cronies Jake and Sam.
- Harker
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"deer marshland"Description:
Harker sounds like an occupational name, but this surname actually derives from several English places, meaning either "male deer", "hare" or "gray" + "marshland". It can also be a nickname for an eavesdropper or busybody... or, to put a positive spin on it, someone who is a good listener or has keen hearing. Whichever origin you prefer, it's a cool-sounding and underused name with similar sounds to Harper, but without the mostly-feminine usage.
- Cristian
Origin:
Spanish, Romanian and Italian form of Christian, LatinMeaning:
"follower of Christ"Description:
Both Christian and Cristian rank in the US Top 500 names for boys, and while the classic "Ch" spelling is used more than four times as often, Cristian is still given to more than 1000 boys each year, and is often used in the Hispanic community.
- Case
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
A brisk and unconventional name that could be a style stand-in for confederates Casey, Chase, Cale, and Cade.
- Athanasios
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"immortal"Description:
A bold choice outside its its native Greece where it would feel familiar. Athanasius is the spelling Americans are more familiar with — St. Athanasius of Alexandria is considered one of the founders of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
- Elam
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"distant"Description:
Elam is the name of no fewer than eight Old Testament figures. The most notable was a grandson of Noah whose followers were dubbed the Elamites. Elam is commonly used in Amish communities today.
- Heinrich
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"estate ruler"Description:
Traditional German names of this ilk have had a difficult time emigrating into the American name pool, mostly because anti-German sentiment during the two world wars of the 20th century drove German names out of fashion. One of Heinrich's nicknames, Harro, might do better.
- Akiva
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"to protect, shelter"Description:
Akiva has a distinguished scholarly pedigree and a lovely meaning. Its softer sound is very on trend for masculine names at the moment and is in line with more familiar monikers like Ezra, Elijah and Theo.
- Arjan
Origin:
Dutch, variation of HadrianMeaning:
"from Hadria"Description:
There's something particularly attractive about names with an interior "j" and Arjan is a prime example. The Punjabi version is pronounced with a conventional j as in jar; the Dutch Arjan, which is a variation of Adrien, pronounces the 'j' like a 'y'. Another Dutch version is Arje.
- Bayu
Origin:
IndonesianMeaning:
"wind"Description:
Bayou? No, but it sounds the same, and since both the Indonesian name and the English word have appealing nature meanings, this is a perfect choice for the family that wants to bridge cultures.
- Damián
- Audie
Origin:
Short form of Auden or variation on EdwardDescription:
Audie as a boys' name was made famous by Audie Murphy, the most decorated hero of World War II. Murphy was born one of ten children of a poor Texas sharecropper's family and the origins of his unusual first name are unknown. But there were 29 boys named Audie in 2013, more than twice the number of girls given the name, which can be a diminutive of Audrey.
- Axe
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
Axe, spelled like this, is used for a handful of baby boys in the US each year. You can see it as one of the new weapon names, along with Dagger and Beretta, or as an abbreviation of the very popular Axel.