Animal Names for Boys

Middle name possibility for a nature-loving family -- Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke used it for their son's middle name.

The European-sounding name of the husband of Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder actually arose as an Anglicisation of an Arabic name: "Way back in the time of the crusades there was a Wilder…and an Arab…saved his life. El Manzoor was his name." Almanzo James Wilder was affectionately called "Manly" by his family.

Those "Where's Gretel?" jokes will get old pretty fast.

A bit too bad-boy (think bars, beer, Harley) for us, as well as being the name of a grain.

We think, probably, most parents who name their sons Alias are using it as a variation of Elias.

This variation adds a second n to the more popular Finley, presumably to provide a more direct link to nickname Finn. Both spellings create a distinctly unisex name. The Finnley version, however, entered the US Top 1000 for boys in 2014, and it remains unranked for girls.

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).

One of the oft-mocked Zappa kid names; it supposedly was a nickname his father had for his wife's pinkie toe.

Variant of Artemas

The Basque name, meaning shadow, has the virtue of having both an interesting meaning and an obvious pronunciation.

More familiar and melodic to the American ear than either Hans or Hansen, and some might attach it to the three-brother pop-rock band called Hanson.

Fiery sound and uplifting meaning, but it's also among the Top 100 dog names. Spelled Fiyero, it's the hero of the book and musical "Wicked."

A unisex Hebrew name sometimes given in Israel to kids born under the goat sign of Capricorn; it's also spelled Yael/Ya'el.

With the new trend of boys' names rising on the heels of their popular sisters, the unusual-yet-familiar-feeling Emilian might become better known thanks to its relationship to Emily and Emilia/Amelia. Rather than being two branches of the same tree, Emilian and Emily are actually one tree while Emmett and Emma hang on a whole separate tree. But all have a lot of modern appeal, and Emilian may be a more attractive and intriguing male form than Emil. There was a St. Emilian.

Edin is a variant on the name Edwin from the Isle of Man. It may get confused as a misspelling of Eden in the US, but the pronunciation is different..

A chief member of the tribe of Benjamin, and another obscure Old Testament name that few parents, even those tired of Aaron and Zachary, would consider. But with a pronunciation that rhymes with Gannon, it has the strong, straightforward, two-syllable sound that's in step with modern style.

A very popular Japanese boys' name whose characters refer to the constellation Ursa Major. Short form Hiro might work better in the West, as may another popular Japanese boys' name, Ren.

Unisex variant of Everett, influenced by famous bearers like entrepreneur Everette Taylor and country musician Leon Everette. While Everett is overwhelmingly male, Everette is used for two boys for every girl and is relatively rare, given to fewer than 100 babies of each gender.

Though it looks, to the untrained American eye, like a yoonek spelling of Jordy, Geordie actually refers to people from Tyneside in Northeast England and the local dialect there. To give you a sense of what it implies to Brits, Geordie Shore is British MTV's long-running answer to Jersey Shore.

While Adri is an Indian male name, it is more often heard throughout Europe as a diminutive of Adrian in its many forms. Pronunciation might be ay-dree or ah-dree, depending on the pronunciation of Adrian or Adriano. In the Top 100 in several European countries, Adrian's roots are in ancient Rome.