Five Letter Boy Names

Truly offbeat, but just on the brink of outré.

Vanya is much more familiar.

Once a staple of the 1920s, like Leroy and Elwood, Elroy is languishing in style limbo now. One feature that might make it worth a second glance is its royal meaning, for those looking for a vintage twist on names like Royal and Reign. If you're in search of unique vintage baby names, this may be one for your list.

Brant, a no-nonsense one-syllable name, had some popularity in the early 1970s, but has been off the lists for a decade. Now, with similarly brisk names like Chase, Jace, Bryce, and Grant finding favor, Brant could make a comeback.

The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca, now known as the holiest city in Islam. Officially called Makkah al-Mukarramah, or Makkah, it is located in modern-day Saudi Arabia. Millions of Muslims from across the world make a pilgrimage there each year, while Non-Muslims are understandably not allowed inside the city.

Nice sound, but double meaning -- shady glen or shady character.

The name of several legendary Danish kings, including one who declared universal peace.

Dagur, one of the top boys' names in Iceland, is the personification of day. His mother is Nott, or night, and together they are thought to ride in a chariot around the earth every 24 hours.

Pronounced YAH-nosh, has a serious, violin-playing air. Perhaps that's why it has so many nicknames: JANCKZI, JANCSI, JANI, JANKIA, JANKO.

An architectural take on Noel. Knoll honors Florence Knoll, the Michigan-born modernist architect and furniture designer. Her namesake company still produces her designs today.

With word names, almost anything goes. But maybe not Ghost, unless you're naming a white dog.

An ubercool and mysterious name, brought to you by director M. Night Shyamalan.

Also spelt Rua, Ruadh is a strong and simple Irish name with a fiery meaning. Ruadhan is a popular related name.

Also related to the word for wolf, this name has a first syllable that's not appealing to the American ear. Better ic-ending choices: Dominic, Frederic, Eric.

One of the most common ancient Roman forenames, but extremely rare today. Other Roman names like Aurelius are trending upwards, so this could be an off-the-radar option.

The popularity of Aiden has sparked many creative spellings - this one is understandably towards the bottom of the Top 1000.

A mash-up of Ezra and the popular -en ending for boys' names. It may be a modern invention, but Ezren sounds legitimate and very on-trend.

Isael and more particularly spelling variation Izael are among the fastest-rising boys' names in the US.

Aryeh, which can also be spelled Arye or Arieh, is a Biblical name sometimes heard in modern Israel. In the US, this is the most popular spelling by far, given to 100 boys last year. But the girls' form Ariyah is much more popular than that, given to nearly 500 baby girls.

One of the magical words of childhood (and beyond), and associated with actor Treat (born Richard) Williams, whose nickname came from ancestor Robert Treat Williams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.