One Syllable Names for Boys

Boo as a first name first achieved notoriety as the name of the child-man in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Arthur "Boo" Radley was meant to be frightening, but only in a simple, non-threatening way. More recently, Boo has been used as the middle name of one of chef Jamie Oliver's children and the nickname in the middle of television's Honey Boo Boo. Boo is also the name of the world's cutest dog and of the adorable little girl in Monsters Inc. In a more basic way, Boo is a term of endearment.

Peaked in the 1940s, but still an amiable classic, a la Joe and Tom -- though rarely used on its own.

A two-initial nickname occasionally used on birth certificates.

This name of the largest river in Scotland, renowned for its salmon fishing, is usually thought of as a nickname for Taylor.

Entered the vernacular with the rising star of Shia LeBeouf. The meaning and origin of the name are disputed, though the actor has been quoted as saying he's embarrassed by its meaning in French: another four-letter word starting with s.

A sober and detached choice for a son.

Slim may be too on-the-nose for the child of two beautiful models, but it's the name Nara Pellman and Lucky Blue Smith chose for their son, Slim Easy. Smith, who has daughters named Gravity Blue and Rumble Honey, is known for choosing outrageous word names. But Slim — when pronounced as "SLEEM" — can also be a short form of the Arabic name Slimane. This origin is shared with Pellman's middle name, Aziza.

The name of Sarah Palin's youngest son might also be good for the child of a mathematician. Trig Palin's middle name is Paxson, after a popular snowmobiling area in Alaska.

Seems destined to be the preferred short form of this old French name, with its brief, modern, word name feel.

More unusual than Forest or Forrest, Field is a nature name that is simple, evocative, and fresh--sort of the male equivalent of Meadow.

Field and Fields are both relatively common surnames, noted bearers including department store owner Marshall Field, poet Eugene Field (Wynken, Blynken and Nod) and actress Sally. Those with the plural include W.C. Fields, cookie company founder Debbi, and entertainers Gracie and Kim Fields.

It's tempting to think of Gui as the Spanish form of Guy, but it's short for Guillermo.

Actress Jaime King gave her son Leo the middle name Thames, for the famous London river where she and her husband Kyle Newman were married. Thames is pronounced tehms, not necessarily common knowledge in the US. The etymology of the word Thames is uncertain, and may mean dark but more likely stems from an ancient word for river.

With the fashion for adding an S to the end of any surname-name, Reeve becomes Reeves, love child of Reese and Jeeves. It's cool, simple, distinctive.

Ugo is very common in Italy, but here it might call to mind that little Yugoslavian car.

This spelling of the rising unisex name Briar may strike some parents as more definitively masculine than its source.

Maoz is a symbolic name given to boys born at Hannukah because of the song "Maoz Tzur," "Rock of Ages," which is sung at that time.

An Asian name that would be easily understood in this country.

A modern name likely inspired by the Latin phrase carpe diem meaning "seize the day".

A two-initial nickname occasionally used on birth certificates.

Gage we get. Cade we get. But Cage? Not really, and yet, it was given to about two dozen baby boys in one recent year.