Animal Names for Boys

Ezra (and Ezrah) is potentially an abbreviation for the Hebrew phrase Azaryahu, meaning "Yah helps." In the Bible, Ezra led a group of fifteen hundred Israelites out of slavery in Babylon and back to Jerusalem. The Ezrah spelling is definitely less popular than the original Ezra, but is rising itself as well — Ezrah entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.

Herby and aristocratic Basil remains a tough sell, but we’d like to introduce you to Basile, the delightful French version. It retains all of Basil’s charm, but sheds some of the pesto linkage.

Reversed vowels make it seem less fierce.

Cheerful and distinctive.

This surname-name oozes Southern charm; nevertheless, its most famous bearer was a New Englander, Rhode Island senator Claiborne de Borda Pell, who sponsored education legislation leading to the much beloved Pell scholarship programme. That connection alone instills this name with intellect as well as style.

What life Hadrien and Hadrian enjoy today, they owe to Adrian along with the revival of ancient Roman names in general. Hadrian was a 2nd century Roman emperor famous for his wall.

Name hovering near the bottom of the Top 1000 that may move higher with the fashion for two-syllable surnames. You could do worse...but you probably could also do better.

Sounds like exactly what it is: The name of a romance novel hero.

Iorek Byrnison is king of the armored bears and a fierce and brave companion of Lyra’s in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. The name Iorek appears to have been coined by Pullman for the books, but the first element Ior- derives from Old Norse Jar, meaning "battle" and the second element -rek derives from Old Norse/Ancient Germanic ríkr, meaning "mighty; distinguished; ruler."

If you use this for a boy, it had better be a family name, hidden away in the middle.

A fresh Dale relative that finds place amongst similar names like Cullin and Hamelin as well as the more common Allen and Dylan.

Hesperos or Hesperus is the personification of the evening star in Greek mythology; in Roman myth, that role is held by Venus. There's a Longfellow poem called "The Wreck of the Hesperus" about a tragic ship voyage.

Ericson, also spelled Erickson and Erikson (and with -sen endings too), is a Nordic surname that makes a strong choice. Ericson may continue the trend Harrison, Jefferson and Jackson started.

Chin is a common surname among those with Chinese or Korean heritage. It is related to the Chinese family names Chen, Jin, Qian, and Qin, and the Korean surname Jin.

Fielding isn't an occupational name, exactly, though it does relate to someone who works in or lives in a Field. Although there have been a handful of people, real and fictional, with the first name Fielding, the most famous Fielding is eighteenth century writer Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones.

This Georgian name is of unclear meaning, but it may derive from Persian zar "gold".

Unusual two-syllable choice with a real pronunciation challenge.