Five Letter Boy Names

This Farsi name, reminiscent of Bodhi, is popular among the North African and Persian diaspora in France, where it ranks in the top 400. The name derives from Mahdi, who in Islam is the prophesied redeemer who will rule before the Day of Judgment and will rid the world of evil.

Abiel is a biblical name (he was the grandfather of Saul) that was used by Puritans, particularly in Massachusetts, so it has a long pedigree. Parents are increasingly looking for underused traditional names, and this name, with the great nickname option of Abe, is ripe for more use!

Varin was derived from the Germanic tribe name Varni, who took their name from a word meaning "to defend." Varin was used in the Middle Ages, along with the variation Warin.

Kalel first entered the US Top 1000 as a one-off appearance in 2009, then reentered in 2013. It's possible that some parents see it as a spelling variant of the classic Arabic name Khalil, meaning friend. Or maybe some—Nicolas Cage, we're looking at you—were inspired by the birth name of Clark Kent, AKA Superman, Kal-El. Cage was long associated with attempts to remake a big screen story about the Man of Steel. He and wife Alice Kim gave the name to their son in 2005.

Conjures up the rich brown colors of raw and burnt umber, but it may be too close to girls' Amber.

Loose, lean, and lanky cowboy-sounding names have become a recent trend, but how about the name of a real one--the Singing Cowboy Gene. Autry might be thought of as a masculine spin on the fashionable Audrey or a fresher version of Austin or Auden.

Some other cowboy surnames from the Golden Age of movie and TV westerns: Boone, Boyd, Cody, Corrigan, Gibson, Hart, Holt, Houston, McCoy and Renaldo.

Popular Japanese name exemplified by the distinguished conductor Seiji Ozawa.

Khaos debuted in 2008, two years after Chaos appeared on the charts. These days, it tends to be more popular than the original.

What with Mason scooting up the charts, this attractive place-name, with its thick Georgia accent, could make a more distinctive alternative.

Pavel may be widespread in the former Soviet Union, but it has a somewhat impoverished image here.

As a male name, Arven is a variation of the friendly German Arvin. The feminine Arven is the Hungarian form of Arwen, the Tolkien princess in Lord of the Rings.

A geographical term for a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, caused by glaciation.

Despite Eneko's very sweet meaning, it packs a lot of historical punch. Eneko Aritza was the first Basque king of Pamplona. It is somewhat related to the more well known Inigo.

Shyam is one of the alternate names of Hindu God Krishna.