Animal Names for Boys

Boo as a first name first achieved notoriety as the name of the child-man in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Arthur "Boo" Radley was meant to be frightening, but only in a simple, non-threatening way. More recently, Boo has been used as the middle name of one of chef Jamie Oliver's children and the nickname in the middle of television's Honey Boo Boo. Boo is also the name of the world's cutest dog and of the adorable little girl in Monsters Inc. In a more basic way, Boo is a term of endearment.

If you want to go waaaaay beyond William, consider this Welsh form, which can also be spelled Gwilym, Gwilim, or Gwillym.

The surname of influential French fashion designer Marc Bohan could make a modern-sounding two-syllable boy's name, though it might be confused with Bowen.

This shortened variation of Aaron—it was Elvis's middle name—is now a widely used choice.

This spiritual word name is rising for girls and boys.

In Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, the friend who persuades Romeo to go to the party where he meets Juliet. Alas.

This variation of Theodore is familiar here mostly via the great Russian novelist Dostoyevsky. It was also the name of three early tsars of Russia.

A saint’s name, Anglicized from Adomnán or Ádhamhnán, which may derive either from Ádhamh (Adam) or from Gaelic adomnae "great fear". St Eunan was a 7th century abbot of Iona best known for his "Law of Innocents", which protected women, children and non-combatants.

This spelling of the rising unisex name Briar may strike some parents as more definitively masculine than its source.

Shortening Francisco somehow makes it sound even cooler. Cisco is also the name of a digital security company.

Cortland, is an English form of the Dutch habitational surname Cortlandt. Cortlandt was a village near modern-day Wijk bij Duurstede, Netherlands. Its name was derived from the Dutch elements cort, meaning "short" or "narrow," and landt, "land."

The name of the god of death and the underworld in Greek mythology is definitely a dark and daring choice. The Roman version Pluto is more associated with the used-to-be planet or Mickey Mouse's side-kick dog.

Spelled Géza in Hungarian, this is the modern form of Gyeücsa. It derives from a Hungarian noble title: gyeü, with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 10th-century leader of the Hungarians, father of the first king István.

This occupational surname could find new life with those wishing to honor someone in their heritage who was connected to the tough-as-nails breed that was the pre-modern coal miner. Coll and Collie are some sweet nickname options to tone down the formality of this name.

Ilario's merry, jovial sound reflects a shared root with the word hilarious.

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.

English place name turned handsome surname name.

Singer Perry is long gone, but the beautiful northern Italian lake conjures up a clear and tranquil image.

A popular name in France that we count among the unique I names for boys in the US.