One Syllable Names for Boys

Zayd (or its most common variant Zaid), an old and still well used Arabic name, was a enslaved man whom Muhammad adopted as his son.

Possible middle name inspiration. Has been used as a first by musical couple Sole and Ginuwine, and basketball star Allen Iverson.

A masculine name from the Old Testament, but would likely be confused for Amy.

The final -e takes this from a daring word name to a literary honor name, for the inimitable Irish author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, infamous for his wit and flamboyance.

Laertes, Ophelia's headstrong brother in Hamlet, has long been an intriguing namesake; Shakespeare got his name from the name of Odysseus' father in Greek mythology. But the ending "-es" feels a little too ancient for some. This shortened version might be more usable. Laert is another option that makes the Hamlet connection more explicit.

A simple and charismatic Chinese and Korean name, also spelled Joon.

A geographical name of Celtic origin, which is borne by two British rivers: the Afon Wyre in Wales and the Wyre in Lancashire.

An intriguingly wild alternative to Sven.

Guns 'n' Roses musician Axl (born William) Rose created this name by dropping a vowel, a la Barbra Streisand. The traditional Axel is more popular, though celebrity parents Fergie and Josh Duhamel deliberately chose the Axl spelling to honor her rock hero.

A half-man, half-wolf character in the Elden Ring video game franchise bears this name, which fittingly is the Welsh word for "wolf".

Originally a male name in this single-E spelling, Esme or Esmé was borne by the first Duke of Lennox in Scotland in the 16th century, as well as by several of his male descendants. It became predominantly female by the 20th century.

One of the old-school nicknames -- think Ray, Vince, Frank -- that's on the brink of coming back into style. Name him Stanislav or Constantine and he'll have a groovier long form to fall back on.

Raf is a raffish short form that many a cool boy would love to call his own.

In demonology, Bael is a shapeshifting evil king who can appear as a cat, a toad, or a man.

A modern spelling of an already modern sounding name, Kash is a spelling variant of the name Cash. Like Kairo, Karter, Karson, and Krew, that K initial gives it a very 21st century feel.

As a surname, Viel is a French and English variation of Vial, ultimately from the Latin word for "life". The German variation is derived from the word vil, meaning "swamp" or "bog".

A nickname occasionally given as a name in its own right. It doesn't have to be short for anything — comic physician Patch Adams's real first name is Hunter — but it could be a fun short form of Patrick.

Three Stooges name (he's the one who wasn't Moe or Curly).

Hyde, of course, is most familiar as a surname -- as in Mr. Hyde, evil alter ego of Dr. Jeckyll. Unless Hyde is a family name or you have some other excellent reason for using it, we think you could do better.