9 Letter Boy Names

  1. Leviathan
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "twisted, coiled; in modern Hebrew - whale"
    • Description:

      Leviathan was a name given to 76 boys in the USA in 2021. It makes a rather unusual Biblical choice, being the name not of a man or angel, but of a sea monster. In literature and popular culture, the term Leviathan has since come to be used as a synonym for any gargantuan, monstrous creature or object (think of the bag in VEEP).
  2. Aurélien
    • Origin:

      French form of Latin Aurelius
    • Meaning:

      "golden"
    • Description:

      Truly original yet not strange name ripe for the plucking by the adventurous baby namer. Aurelius works too.
  3. Thelonius
    • Origin:

      Latinized variation of Tillo
    • Meaning:

      "lord"
    • Description:

      One of the coolest of names, thanks to legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk, who inherited it from his father. It has been used very sparingly since the 1960s--just a sprinkling of baby boys receive the name each year. Monk's middle name Sphere is pretty unique too--a cousin of Cosmos and Cosmo. Some other jazz names to consider: Bix, Ellington, Ella, Etta, Mingus, Dexter and Calloway. :
  4. Endeavour
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "challenge, endeavor"
    • Description:

      Extravagant virtue name which is notably the first name of the British TV detective Inspector Morse.
  5. Ellington
    • Origin:

      English place-name and surname
    • Meaning:

      "Ellis's town"
    • Description:

      Ellington is a swinging musical name, evoking the jazzy and elegant persona of the Duke (born Edward Kennedy Ellington). While that reference may seem to make Ellington a male name, it is also occasionally used for girls.
  6. Guillermo
    • Origin:

      Spanish variation of William
    • Description:

      As with Guillaume (see above), Liam, Willem, and Wilhelm, everyday Williams in their own countries, Guillermo is a captivating possibility here. Giermo, Gigermo, Gijermo, Gillermo, Gillirmo, Giyermo, Guermillo, Guiermo Guilermón, Guille, Guillelmo, Guillermino, Guillo, Guirmo, Gullermo, Llermo, Memo, Quillermo.
  7. Carnelian
    • Origin:

      Gemstone name
    • Description:

      Carnelian is an ochre-colored semi-precious gemstone, named after a type of cherry.
  8. Whittaker
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "white field"
    • Description:

      If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.
  9. Théodore
    • Tennessee
      • Origin:

        Native American, Cherokee, place-name
      • Meaning:

        "bend in the river or meeting place"
      • Description:

        When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size.
    • Devereaux
      • Origin:

        French surname
      • Meaning:

        "riverbank"
      • Description:

        Devereaux is familiar to many English speakers as a surname but not as a first. It's a habitational name related to the River Eure in France. Mick Jagger has a son with this name in a different spelling, Deveraux.
    • Marmaduke
      • Origin:

        Irish
      • Meaning:

        "devotee of Maedoc"
      • Description:

        One of the ultimate teasable names, an Irish saint's name now associated with the oversized comic-strip dog. Scottish adventurer Bear (born Edward) Grylls took up the challenge when he used it for his son.
    • Jefferson
      • Origin:

        English
      • Meaning:

        "son of Jeffrey"
      • Description:

        The name of the third U.S. President sounds, like Harrison and Jackson, more modern and stylish now than its root name. Used as a first name long before our surname-crazed era, Jefferson was most famously used as a first name by the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, which may justifiably make you not want to use it. Jefferson is the middle name of another Prez, William Clinton.
    • Gallagher
      • Origin:

        Irish
      • Meaning:

        "descendant of foreign helper"
      • Description:

        Gallagher is, like so many of its genre, friendly, open, and optimistic. Some might associate it with the fraternal members of the band Oasis, Noel and Liam Gallagher.
    • Roosevelt
      • Origin:

        Dutch
      • Meaning:

        "rose field"
      • Description:

        Presidential surname adopted as a first by numbers of midcentury African-American parents.
    • Hippolyte
      • Origin:

        French from Greek
      • Meaning:

        "releaser of horses"
      • Description:

        Hippolyte is the name of an Amazonian princess AND her son, both unfortunate mythical figures. The name Hippolyte, later borne by several saints, is a not an uncommon boys' name in France, but has barely set foot on American soil and is unlikely to do so. It was the middle name of famed French playwright Jean Giraudoux.
    • Pendragon
      • Origin:

        Literary name
      • Description:

        The epithet of the legendary king's father Uther in Arthurian legend, later also applied to King Arthur himself. It literally means "head dragon" or "dragon's head", but the name appears in medieval Welsh mythology with the figurative meaning of "chief warrior". A truly daring name for a boy, in every sense!
    • Endellion
      • Origin:

        Cornish place and saint's name
      • Description:

        Endellion is the name of an early saint who was a daughter of King Brychan and goddaughter of King Arthur whose life is commemorated by the Cornish village of St. Endellion. This intriguing ancient name was brought into modern usage by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who used it as one of the middle names for his fourth child (a daughter).
    • Narcissus
      • Origin:

        Greek
      • Meaning:

        "daffodil"
      • Description:

        Mythological young man who fell in love with his own image: the first narcissist.
    • Tamerlane
      • Origin:

        Turkic, Mongol
      • Meaning:

        "iron"
      • Description:

        This Westernized form of the name of an ancient Mongol warrior, remembered primarily today through the works of Christopher Marlowe and Edgar Allan Poe, runs the risk of sounding pompous and pretentious.