Animal Names for Boys

This name has two possible derivations - in Turkish it means hero, in English it is used as a reference to mountains. Either offer a soaring option for a little boy.

The Old Norse and modern Norwegian word name Fjord, which refers to a passage in the sea, could work for children of both genders. It conjures vivid blue, ice laden landscapes.

A name that took on a pronounced country twang via Nashville megastar Garth (born Troyal) Brooks.

Drummer entered the baby name lexicon thanks to blogger No Big Dill, who chose it for her newborn son, who joins five older sisters. Drummer is right in step with other occupational names in vogue now, from Archer to Gardener. Let's just hope Drummer doesn't prefer to play the piano.

This male relative of the Emily family was borne by two Greek saints, one a fourth century martyr who destroyed pagan images and the other a ninth century bishop. Variations include Emilios and Aemilios. The Latin Aemilius, from the ancient family name, may be unrelated.

A bit slight to put directly on the birth certificate, but Dom is a pleasant nickname for a boy or a girl.

Variations and elaborations of Ace have been popping up all over the place — Ayce recently broke the Top 2000.

This extra-L variation of Alan isn't quite as popular in the US as the original. Both spellings remain popular in Ireland and England.

In the ancient Hindu religion, Indra is the warrior god of sky and rain. The vowel ending makes it sound feminine to the English speaker; it also sounds like the French river Indre.

Simple Biblical name with an auspicious meaning. There are two men named Gad in the Old Testament — one the first son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the other a prophet of King David.

A last name as a first name that also has the feel of nicknames like Sully and Cole, Cully could derive from an anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Colla. Meaning "descendent of Colla", Colla being a form of Connla, meaning "wolf or hound warrior", Cully's meaning may well appeal to those who want a softer sounding name but with a strong meaning.

This herb is also known as cilantro. It's meaning, "bed bug" is on account of its smell, characterized by the ancient Greeks as bed bug-like.

Barbossa (also spelled Barbosa) is derived from the Barbosa palm. It is also a common place name, with towns called Barbossa spread across Latin America. Film buffs might also recall that Barbossa is the name of the captain of the Black Pearl in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean".

An on-trend, but very unusual, international option for lovers of the similar Arthur. Artan is an Irish name meaning "little bear", an Albanian name meaning "golden", and a Faroese name deriving from Attila "little father".

An epithet of the sun and the Hindu god Shiva, also borne by a 12th century Indian astronomer. Bhaskar, a common Indian surname, is related.

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."

Damek, which you might think of as Adam with a Slavic accent, considerably freshens up the original.