Animal Names for Boys

This is the original Roman form of Anthony, and it might just be ready for revival, now that Latin names like Maximus and Atticus have hit the big time. Antonius is also a form used in the Netherlands. The Roman general Mark Antony (as in Antony and Cleopatra) was born Marcus Antonius.

Although this month name was used only for girls in a recent year, there's no reason it can't work for both genders. For a holiday baby, more original than Noel and more universal than Christmas.

Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland in Tolkien’s fictional Middle-earth. The word means "long river" or "great river".

An evocative word name denoting a rare celestial phenomenon when the sun and moon are aligned so that the moon casts a shadow over the Earth (a solar eclipse), or when the moon is right in front of the sun, showing only a ring of light (a lunar eclipse).

Rhythmic and unusual.

Old World Jewish name that could travel to the New.

Among the most wearable Russian boy names for an English-speaking child.

Björn is a pervasive Swedish name that can be found on popularity charts throughout Northern Europe and now in the US as well. There are too many renowned Björns (and Bjørns and Bjorns) to list them all here, but an early bearer is Björn Ironside, Viking chief and king of Sweden. Modern associations include tennis great Björn Borg, who helped popularize his name in the 1970s, and Björn Ulvaeus, one-quarter of the Swedish band ABBA.

Halen is a cool surname name that will be especially appealing to fans of Van Halen.

Had a burst of popularity in 2000 when the controversial case of the Cuban boy Elián González was in the news; his name combined his parents': Elizabeth and Juan.

Talented Jamaican-American actor Dule (born Karim Dule) Hill introduced this name, suggested by an aunt who'd heard it in France. Pronounced doo-lay.

Too far gone to the girls.

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.

In Israel, Mount Arbel is a mountain in the lower Galilee. Jewish parents have adopted it as a name for their sons and daughters for the mountain's historic and religious significance.

Brayden meets Jalen to make Braylen, another entry in this trendy group of names.