Three Letter Boy Names

This charming West African mini name fits in with the other similarly short names that are all the rage right now. Actress Ayo Edebiri is the star of TV's The Bear.

Rob has claimed Bob's turf.

Short form of Oliver or Olivier.

Macho-er than thou.

Bartholomew is one vintage name with Biblical antecedents that hasn't risen again in the modern world, perhaps because short form Bart, as in Simpson, would be too difficult for a contemporary boy to bear. But antique nickname Bat might work better. Might.

A Slovene choice that periodically appears at the bottom of Slovenia's Top 100. It first appeared on the Slovenian charts in 2011, when parents started using Nal for its on-trend sounds. However, Nal has no etymological roots in Slovene.

A bit too cunning.

Among the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo, Yao is the name for babies born on Thursday.

Téa Leoni and David Duchovny named their kid Kyd in 2002, but he usually goes by his middle name, Miller. Probably a wise choice, given the homonym.

Professional surfer Craig Elmer Chapman went by the avian nickname Owl. We could see it working as a given name, a la Hawk and Dove.

Rhythmic and sensual -- maybe too sensual, in terms of playground teasing. Sax Rohmer was the nom de plume of the prolific English novelist who created Dr.Fu Manchu.

Couldn't be simpler...or more worldly — though it could lead to some head-scratching.

Abstract painter Ad Reinhardt, né Adolph, gave his short name a lot of artistic cred, but it remained securely a nickname. The extra "d" in this version helps it stand on its own, for better or worse.

Howl joins the wild new gang of names with attitude to spare: We're talking Rebel, Rogue, Wilder, and Wiley. Howell makes it much more genteel.