One Syllable Names for Boys

Some parents just use Steve on the birth certificate, but it doesn't have the breezy charm of trendy short forms like Max, Sam, and Jake. Regardless of how much you love Steve as a given name, it might be smart to give your son a longer option to fall back on.

A fresh, green, rising nature name for girls that would make a cool possibility for a baby boy as well. It has ranked in the US Top 1000 for boys a handful of times since naming records began.

Baseball player Ryne Sandberg's nickname is RYNO. Need we say more?

Rock definitely has a macho image, if a somewhat caricatured one, ala The Rock. But with the rise of word names and also of tough guy names, Rock feels more plausible than it did a generation ago.

Now that the Irish Ciaran and Ciara -- aka Kieran and Kiera -- are becoming more popular beyond their native shores, the short and strong Ciar might find some favor. As of now, more than 160 baby girls were named Ciara in the US last year, with half that many boys named Ciaran, but so far no baby boys named Ciar, though 17 were called Keir.

Ubbe or Ubba was a 9th-century Viking and one of the commanders of the Great Heathen Army that invaded Anglo-Saxon England in the 9th century.

This elegant surname has great potential to turn into an unusual first name, especially with its literary associations to both Stephen and Hart Crane.

The kind of name last found in northern Wisconsin in the 1950s, and even then it was probably a nickname for Delbert.

Intriguing, when seen as a water name a la River and Ocean, but too close to cultural appropriate if used as a reference to the Creek tribe of Native Americans. Another downside is its resemblance to creak, as in creaky bones or floorboards, and to unappealing words like creep and creak.

Xen and Zen, both pronounced the same way, are two hip new spiritual word names from Buddhist practice. Among the celebrity set, Corey Feldman has a Zen and Tisha Campbell Martin's son is Xen.

One of those simple Norse names, like Lars, that is definitely worth thinking about.

Actor Mark Ruffalo honed this surname down to its basics when he chose it for his son. A more usable expansion might be the Irish surname Keenan/Keenen.

If Holland works for a girl, why not Dutch for a boy? Gavin Newsom, Lt-Governor of California, kept up his geographical baby name theme when he called his 4th child Dutch William, (his other children are named Hunter, Montana and Brooklyn.)

A unisex Hebrew name often found in combination with others, as in Tal-El and Tal-Or.

The sleek French form of Cosmo, which has leapt out of relative obscurity to well within the Top 100 boy names in France in the last decade, but still retains a sophisticated, vaguely aristocratic air. Pronunciation is like the English word comb.

Another name for Jupiter, king of the Roman gods, this jovial name is eminently ready for modern use. Feminine variations include Jovita and Jovie.

Historically, Sire was a formal term for addressing male royalty, particularly a king. Sire can also mean "father" as both a noun and a verb.