Boy Dog Names That Start With A

  1. Ashton
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "ash trees place"
    • Description:

      The recent ascent of this English surname is due to two things: the megapopular Ash beginning and TV/movie hottie Ashton Kutcher. The name peaked at Number 76 in 2004, a year after Ashton Kutcher's (both Christopher Ashton) hit TV show Punk'd made its debut.
  2. Antonio
    • Origin:

      Spanish and Italian variation of Anthony
    • Meaning:

      "from Antium"
    • Description:

      Antonio is a Shakespearean favorite -- the Bard used it in no less than five of his plays, and has long been a ubiquitous classic in Spanish-speaking countries, where the nickname Tonio is also prevalent. Antonio is also among an elite group of perennially popular names in the US, where it has always been among the boys' Top 1000 since baby name record-keeping started in 1880.
  3. Anton
    • Origin:

      German, Russian, and Scandinavian variation of Anthony
    • Description:

      Cultured and cultivated in an old-style, Old World way. Sometimes associated with the classic writer Anton Chekhov. Al Pacino has a son with this name.
  4. Angel
    • Origin:

      Spanish and English
    • Meaning:

      "angel, messenger"
    • Description:

      As a boys' name, Angel has two distinct name personalities. One is as a perennial favorite Hispanic boys’ name, popular in the US along with Spain, Mexico, and South America.
  5. Aarush
    • Origin:

      Hindi
    • Meaning:

      "first ray of sun"
    • Description:

      A fiery Indian name used enough in the US to make it onto the Top 1000 list in 2010 and 2015.
  6. Angelo
    • Origin:

      Italian
    • Meaning:

      "angel, messenger"
    • Description:

      Old-school Italian name that could find new fans thanks to singer Adele, who chose it for her son after months of baby name mystery. Angelo is in the same name category as Rocco, the name of Madonna's son, and may get a fresh coat of cool.
  7. Atreyu
    • Origin:

      Literary invention
    • Meaning:

      "son of all"
    • Description:

      German author Michael Ende created the name Atreyu for the protagonist of his 1979 novel The Neverending Story. In the original German translation of the book, the hero was Atréju — Atreyu is the Anglicized variation. Atreyu was orphaned as an infant and raised by his village — his name is said to mean "son of all" in the local language.
  8. Amir
    • Origin:

      Arabic or Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "prince, ruler; treetop"
    • Description:

      Concise, familiar and multicultural, Amir enjoys widespread popularity around the world. A common name in the Middle East and across Africa, it has been on the rise in the US since the late 70s, and entered the Top 100 for the first time in 2023.
  9. Axton
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "sword stone"
    • Description:

      Macho to the max. But with the rise of x as a fashionable letter anywhere it appears in a name, ala Jaxson or Maxon, we may be hearing more of Axton.
  10. Aeneas
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "the praised one"
    • Description:

      He was the legendary son of Venus, hero of Troy and Rome, and broke the heart of Queen Dido of Carthage. Sure, its more challenging than Charlie - but if you're looking this name up, that's probably part of its appeal.
  11. Aurelian
    • Origin:

      English form of Aurelius, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "golden one"
    • Description:

      Aurelian is an ancient name gaining contemporary visibility along with many other forms of the Ancient Roman Aurelius, including Aurelia and Aurelio.
  12. Alwyn
    • Origin:

      Welsh river name
    • Description:

      This Welsh river name has possibilities as a place name and nature name that is rare and uncommon.
  13. Auryn
    • Origin:

      Celtic
    • Meaning:

      "gold"
    • Description:

      An unusual name for a child with golden hair. Auron is a Welsh female name with the same meaning.
  14. Anatole
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "from the east, rising sun"
    • Description:

      Anatole is one of the unique boys' names with an unusual-ish feel but an uncertain provenance, with a meaning related to sunrise and thus to fire. While it's Greek in origin, it is associated more closely with France. Anatole Kuragin is a dashing, roguish prince in Tolstoy's War and Peace.
  15. Akira
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "bright, intelligent"
    • Description:

      Akira is a popular Japanese name for both sexes that's migrated to the West because of its appearance in manga and video games. Akiro is a related name popular for boys.
  16. Arcturus
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "bear guardian"
    • Description:

      The brightest star in the constellation Boötes, and the third-brightest in the night sky. According to Greek myth, Arcturus was placed in the sky by Zeus to protect the two bears — the adjacent constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor — hence the name’s meaning of "bear guardian".
  17. Abner
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "father of light."
    • Description:

      This neglected Biblical name--it was the name of the commander of Saul's army and appears twice in the New Testament--is ready to flee Dogpatch. It was regularly used in the nineteenth century, but was pretty much demolished by the long-running hillbilly comic strip L'il Abner, which began in 1934 and ran through 1977. A more respectable namesake is Abner Doubleday, who has been credited with inventing baseball.
  18. Avi
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "father"
    • Description:

      Avi, the short form of many Hebrew names, is often used on its own in Israel. It entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2015.
  19. Ariel
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "lion of God"
    • Description:

      Despite its distinguished pedigree and popularity in Israel, Disney's Little Mermaid cartoonized Ariel in the US, at least in some people's minds. But it was used for a male character in Shakespeare's The Tempest centuries ago.
  20. Aryan
    • Origin:

      Indo-Iranian
    • Meaning:

      "warrior, honorable"
    • Description:

      Aryan derives from the Sanskrit word ārya, meaning "honorable" or "high-born." As a term, Aryan was used to describe Indo-Europeans—particularly Iranians—who shared common religious, cultural, and linguistic history. It was later misapplied by the Nazis to refer solely to Germanic and Nordic Caucasians, ultimately corrupting the term.