Animal Names for Boys

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".

Branch is an attractive name with associations both with trees and with branching out into brave new worlds. Baseball's Branch (born Wesley, with Branch as his middle name) Rickey broke the color barrier by hiring Jackie Robinson for the Dodgers. Like Leaf, Branch makes a nice, not-so-obvious, addition to the tree category.

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.

Inspired by the rise of the African place name, Jaire is a recently new creation. The original form derives from a Congo term meaning "the river that swallows all rivers", and is currently a Top 500 choice in the US.

Bartleby (that's his last name) the Scrivener is a famous Herman Melville character whose surprisingly powerful refrain was, "I would prefer not to." Or, in the immortal words of any two-year-old: No.

Like many names that have strong political connotations, the attractiveness of the name Clinton will be affected by your world-view. But, taking politics out of the equation, Clinton has a lovely pastoral meaning, a strong sound and a tremendously wearable nickname - Clint - all which would seem to be in its favor for at least a second thought.

While teasing about names is not as bad as it once was, the possibilities presented by this name would be difficult for any pubescent boy to resist.

For the parent who might also have Buck and Ryder on his list.

A Quranic name especially popular in South Asia, it is also used across Europe, from Bosnia to France, from Spain to England. It appears in the Quran as the name of Maryam's (the Virgin Mary) father, and as the father of Moses, making it a counterpart to Hebrew Joachim or a variant of Hebrew Amran. The meaning of Imran isn't listed in the Quran, however, from its Hebrew roots, it could mean "exalted nation", or it could come from the Arabic word eimran meaning "prosperity".

This spelling of Bennett is typically seen as a surname, but gets moderate use as a first name for baby boys and girls.

Names of classy places -- Aspen, Paris, and yes, Hampton -- are in favor with aspiring parents, though they don't always have the intended effect.

This up-and-coming single-syllable name has a few famous bearers, including baseballer Cale Iorg and Canadian hip-hop musician Cale Sampson. Sounding like Kale, this name also has a crunchy, hipster vibe.

Giovanni is the Italian form of John, and Gio is its dashing nickname. A lot cooler than Johnny, no?

If Braden and Caden, why not Baden?

Fewer letters does not always mean easier—the traditional spelling is the one most people will recognize.

The Hawaiian variant Iakona modernizes Biblical favorite Jason.

Popular in the African American community, the De- prefix makes this a choice for sons of Marcuses.

Only if you're hoping for your son to become a wine-besotted poet. To the ancient Romans, Bacchus was the god of agriculture, wine and fertility.

Fenton is the kind of surname name that's starting to sound almost like a normal first name these days. While it made a brief appearance on the Top 1000 in the late 1800s, today it's distinctive but in step with the times. And Fen as a nickname is undeniably cute -- a Ben of the future.