1900+ Four Letter Boy Names

In demonology, Bael is a shapeshifting evil king who can appear as a cat, a toad, or a man.

Espn made its debut on the American baby name charts in 2004 and has ranked for at least one sex ever since. It's a uniquely American take on the Scandinavian name Espen, influenced by the basic cable sports channel ESPN. So while you can interpret Espn's meaning as "god bear," a case could also be made for "Entertainment and Sports Programming Network."

Three Stooges name (he's the one who wasn't Moe or Curly).

Originally a male name in this single-E spelling, Esme or Esmé was borne by the first Duke of Lennox in Scotland in the 16th century, as well as by several of his male descendants. It became predominantly female by the 20th century.

While there is some disagreement over the origins of this name, it's clearly fashionable and a new idea, for English speakers, of a way to spin either an old classic or a familiar favorite. Still, Loic is one of those French names for boys that is rarely heard outside its native land.

Pleasing crossover possibility.

A name that looks intriguing and masculine on paper, but is, unfortunately, a homonym for a girl's name.

Rarely used on its own and irrevocably tied to former House Speaker Gingrich -- who was christened Newton.

Another name for Jupiter, king of the Roman gods, this jovial name is eminently ready for modern use. Feminine variations include Jovita and Jovie.

Now that the Irish Ciaran and Ciara -- aka Kieran and Kiera -- are becoming more popular beyond their native shores, the short and strong Ciar might find some favor. As of now, more than 160 baby girls were named Ciara in the US last year, with half that many boys named Ciaran, but so far no baby boys named Ciar, though 17 were called Keir.

Historically, Sire was a formal term for addressing male royalty, particularly a king. Sire can also mean "father" as both a noun and a verb.

Ubbe or Ubba was a 9th-century Viking and one of the commanders of the Great Heathen Army that invaded Anglo-Saxon England in the 9th century.

The sleek French form of Cosmo, which has leapt out of relative obscurity to well within the Top 100 boy names in France in the last decade, but still retains a sophisticated, vaguely aristocratic air. Pronunciation is like the English word comb.

One of those simple Norse names, like Lars, that is definitely worth thinking about.

The name Esca appears in Rosemary Sutcliff's 1954 historical adventure novel The Eagle of the Ninth, which is set in 2nd century Roman Britain. Esca is the name of a freed slave who accompanies his ex-master Marcus Flavius Aquila on various adventures. He was portrayed in the 2011 film adamptation The Eagle by English actor Jamie Bell.

Despite the light, pretty sound of Bella for a girl, the boys' name Bela has dark and mysterious undertones, thanks to Dracula actor Bela Lugosi. Béla is also the first name of composer Bartók.

This is one Basque name that is very transferable to the American context — and it has a great meaning, too. The feminine version is Eider or Ederne.

Muscular German name that never fully assimilated into American culture.

Actor Mark Ruffalo honed this surname down to its basics when he chose it for his son. A more usable expansion might be the Irish surname Keenan/Keenen.