Three Syllable Names for Boys

This dignified Old English surname was brought into the modern consciousness by author Armistead Maupin, who wrote the San Francisco stories Tales of the City. There was also a Civil War general named Lewis Armistead.

Tornado is a tempestuous weather name for parents who like to live dangerously. The best-known Tornado is a female tennis player whose sister is named Hurricane, but this wild name is decidedly gender-neutral.

An early saint's name with a sharp and weighty sound.

Is Armoni a respelling of the designer name Armani or a Hebrew name meaning chestnut? Your choice, but we prefer the nature interpretation.

Viator is a late Latin name, which belonged to a 4th-century Italian saint. Similar in sound to the word Aviator, this name has a slightly space-agey vibe.

Celestine is more familiar as a female name these days, but it also has a long history of male usage – most notably, as the name of five popes. It ultimately derives from the Latin caelum "heavens, skies".

Kristofer and all his cousins (and kousins) is an ancient name that was hugely popular from the 1970s through the 1990s, spawning a wide number of variations. Americans will be familiar with this phonetic spelling with an exotic spin.

Prochorus may be a big name for a child to wear, but it has a lively meaning and a New Testament connection.

A name from Welsh legend. Amaethon son of Dôn is mentioned in several medieval Welsh texts. In Culhwch and Olwen he is the only person who can plow a certain field, and in the poem The Battle of the Trees he stole a dog and a roebuck from the otherworld and defeated its ruler. It has been suggested that the name originally belonged to a pre-Christian god of agriculture, though that would have been many hundreds of years before the first surviving texts mentioning him.

Pathalan is a rare Irish name derived from the somewhat-less-rare Bartholomew. Nearly 30 baby boys were named Bartholomew in the US last year, but none were named Parthalan.

Attempts to modernize traditional Isaiah has led to this overly creative spelling.

Name of a poet, this will be one for consideration by literary parents. The name fits well with the current trend towards surnames as given names, but beware the three syllable pronunciation, which may be a trap for the poetically disinclined.