One Syllable Names for Boys

Most Bills today are dads...or grandpas. The younger Williams are usually nicknamed Will, or called by their full names.

Tai, which rhymes with Kai, is a unisex name with a range of international references. It means the equivalent of "too much" in Chinese but is also used as a Maori name meaning "the tide" and in Romanian means "yours." While it's only ever ranked in the U.S. Top 1000 as a girls' name, during the height of the popularity of Olympic skater Tai Babilonia, Tai makes a simple intriguing modern choice for either gender.

Even if it is the Number one surname in the U.S.--with more than 2.5 million bearers--we still think that Smith would make a cool first or middle name, whether or not it has family history.

Mads is a perennial favorite in Germany, the Nordic countries, and the Netherlands, where it is usually to be found in the Top 50. Just remember the D is not pronounced. Famous bearers include Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, the villain of the Bond film "Casino Royale".

Kade falls into the trend of using a letter K at the beginning of a traditionally C-starting name, perhaps to give it a sharper edge. Trending since the 90s, Kade is currently in the Top 400, while Cade ranks nearly around 70 places ahead. Given to 933 babies in 2023, it is a consistently used name.

As Bas, it's a popular name in The Netherlands, but Baz, as in director Luhrmann, has potential for independent life too.

Curiously, Australian-born Moulin Rouge director Luhrmann was born neither Sebastian nor Basil, but had the name Mark Anthony on his birth certificate; his nickname arose from his supposed resemblance to a British TV fox puppet named Basil Brush.

This can make an unusual yet simple middle name choice, especially for anyone with family ties to Wales.

Shaun is the least popular spelling of the once-wildly popular name, more usually spelled Sean or Shawn. Parents who have a reason to choose this name now would (and should) most likely go with the original Sean. Alternate spelling Shawn is four times more popular.
Shaun (and Shawn) were considered the feminized spelling of the name back when it was becoming a unisex name in the early 1970s. In all spellings, Sean has become once again decidedly masculine.

Brice, much more often spelled Bryce, is an old saint's name that now has a sleek and sophisticated image—it feels elegant and efficient. Of the two spellings, Bryce is much more popular for both sexes.

This name of the ten-year-old boy in the much loved and acclaimed modern classic To Kill a Mockingbird could find favor along with that of the character's sister, Scout.

Football great Brett Favre single-handedly kept this name in the limelight, though it continues to sink in popularity.

Many parents seeking a return to more basic values and a simpler lifestyle are turning to such virtuous girls' names as Grace, Faith, and Hope, but there are a handful that work just as well on boys, including True.

One of the new crop of boys' names that manage to be unconventional and macho at the same time — though Blade verges on the threatening.

Anne, usually seen as a girls' name, is also attested as a boys' name - for example, Anne de Montmorency, who was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France. It is also a Frisian male name deriving from the element arn "eagle", as in Dutch author Anne de Vries.

Short and to-the-point, it turns an ancient biblical name into a friendly cowboy.

Reon is a fairly rare name, getting just a few dozen uses each year in the US, UK and New Zealand. The name Reon has two possible origins. It could be an alternative spelling of the Celtic name Rion, meaning king, or could be a name deriving from the Maori word 'reo' meaning language. Either way, given the popularity of other "eon" names like Leon, Gideon, Simeon and even Napoleon, Reon is a name that deserves some further consideration.

Though it's used for boys, most non-French people would hear it as a girls’ name. Most would be surprised to learn that Rene has always charted in the US Top 1000 for boys.

Vince is not a short form that often stands alone on the birth certificate, the way Jack or even Joe does, but it has certain credibility as the name always used for football great Vince Lombardi. And as a diminutive for Vincent, it's a far sight better than Vinnie or Vinny or even Vin.

Strong, straight, and leafy, one of the new tree names used mostly as middles.

Aire is a bygone spelling of "air", now reserved for poetic uses and in Kylie Jenner's case, baby names. Jenner originally announced her son's name to be Wolf, but quickly changed her mind and left the public in the dark. Weeks before his first birthday, she revealed her son's new name to be Aire.