Six Letter Boy Names

Definite twenty-first- century possibilities, with its stylish K opening, strong first syllable, and softer second.

This name of twenty early Irish saints sounds a little redundant.

Berold is one of the more obscure boy names meaning bear, which also include Arthur, Orson, and (in a different vein) Teddy.

Boys' names beginning with "El" were all the rage in the 1910s, but today Elmore - along with Elwin, Ellsworth and others - has barely been used for decades. It has literary connections through writer Elmore "Dutch" Leonard. More recently, several children's book characters have given the name a cuddly feel: Holly Hobbie's Elmore the Porcupine, and Elmore Green in Lauren Child's "The New Small Person".

Spelling it with a double I -- GEORGII -- makes it ultradistinctive, and less a generic Georgie.

Attempts to modernize traditional Isaiah has led to this overly creative spelling.

A worthy namesake is the martyred saint Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose story was the basis of the Anouilh play "Becket," which became a film starring Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole.

Ephrem is a spelling variation of the Biblical Ephraim, most often used for an early saint, Ephrem the Syrian, who was a 4th century theologian. This makes a cool, religiously appropriate choice.

Associated all through the swing years with bandleader brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

Powerful surname choice with many distinguished bearers, fresher sounding than Parker.

Also an English surname, Sender derives from Alexander and has an attractive modern sound. Though given to only a handful of baby boys per year, it nevertheless is in step with the brotherhood of er-ending choices fashionable today.

Think Harry with a go-getter ending.