Animal Names for Boys

The name of the Roman god of love, the son of Venus, considered so romantic as to be unfit for mere mortals. Yet now that Romeo and Venus herself are fair game for modern babies, why not Cupid?

In German, the word eisen means "iron." It was adapted as a surname for Ashkenazi Jews — many of which were ornamental and had no ties to one's family history. Metals such as gold (Gold), silver (Zilver or Silver), copper (Kupfer or Copper), and iron (Eisen) were common elements in ornamental surnames. Eisen was also seen as a habitational surname for someone from Eisenstadt, Austria.

A unisex Chinese and Vietnamese with an appealingly simple, vowel-rich spelling.

Beach boy name of the 1960s, Darrell is still a presence on the charts and may graduate into a stately surname name.

The only version that works for boys anymore is the Latinate Hilario or Ilario. Better to look to Felix for a happy-meaning name.

This is an offshoot of Duane, which is an old Irish surname. It took off in the 1960s, when it conveyed a surfer boy image, and reached as high as Number 111 in 1961. The most prominent current bearer is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The basketball superstar spells his name DwYAne Wade.

Jadiel and Yadiel are Spanish versions of the Hebrew Yehudiel, the name of one of the archangels. It's been in the US Top 1000 since 2008, but still hovers towards the bottom.

Why settle for Brooklyn or Boston when you can name your child for someplace so much more interesting.

Holston is a uniquely Southern place name — that of a river, lake, and mountain in Tennessee, as well as a town in Virginia. Holston was first used for the river, previously called the Cherokee River. It was adapted from the surname of pioneer Stephen Holstein, who resided alongside the river. Holstein was the name of a Saxon tribe and is now a region in Germany.

In the US, Emmanuel has held steady around the Top 200 for a quarter century now, but this variation has dropped off the Top 1000 for three of the past seven years. It was Number 974 in 2016.

A relatively common surname, Dixon would be an inventive way to honor an ancestral Richard or Dick, the X form a lot livelier than the Dickson spelling, just as Dix is a more modern short form than Dick; it would be right at home alongside Dax and Jax.

Brenner is an occupational surname for both a charcoal burner and a distiller of spirits. One of the least used of occupational surnames, it has that 'er' ending that definitely adds to its stylishness; a possible successor to Brendan. 

The Greek form of the Hebrew Jair, Jairus appears in the Bible as the father of a girl resurrected by Jesus. Though it is the original, its Spanish variation Jairo is more popular.

The iconic Gone With the Wind star Clark's surname was brought into the first-name mix when Weeds' Kevin Nealon picked it for his son. Gable makes a strong and unusual possibility, a rhyming cousin to Abel and Mabel.

Brother for Biff and Bud. McFly rocker Tom Fletcher transformed this from midcentury short form to modern cool name when he used it for his newborn son.

A traditional masculine Choctaw name.

Isambard is derived from Old German Isanbert, meaning "bright iron" or "famous iron". Its most famous bearer, rather fittingly, is the 19th century British civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, noted as one of the driving forces of the Industrial Revolution.

With the fashions for tree names, place names, and nickname names, Derry is a three-way winner.