Three Letter Boy Names

An appealing Hindi name borne by Mindy Kahling's architect father Avu Chokalingam. She bestowed it on her son Spencer as a middle name in 2020.

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

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.

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

Efe is derived from the Greek word éfivos, meaning "adolescent."

Pom is a shortened word name that's not much used in France, but cute and familiar here as one of Babar (the Elephant's) triplets. Pom, pommy and pommie are (non-derogatory) terms sometimes used by Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans to denote a person of English heritage. 

Russian-born actor Yul (christened Yuliy) Brynner gives this short name a strong, steely image.

Better hold off and hope for a daughter so you can name her Anais.

Axe, spelled like this, is used for a handful of baby boys in the US each year. You can see it as one of the new weapon names, along with Dagger and Beretta, or as an abbreviation of the very popular Axel.

In Greek mythology, Sao was one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the sea god Nereus. A moon of Neptune is named in her honor. In modern times, it works equally well for a son.

Bas is a fashionable name in its own right in the Netherlands, where it's been in the Top 10. Used throughout Europe, it may have a future here as a straightforward-but-charming nickname name. Baz is another, similar and more appealing possibility.

A mini name that could be short for names such as Reverie, Revel, or Revon.

The cool clipped Des may be the part of the name wave of the future, with midcentury names like Des and Vic and Stan riding back into style on the heels of big brothers Max and Sam and Ray.

International spelling of Noah.

Simple and sweet name for a son that feels on-trend in this era of Kai.