Modern Baby Boy Names

The name Rivers combines two major trends: nature names like the popular River itself, and S-ending surname-names such as Brooks, Rhodes, and yes, Rivers.

A variant form of the surname MacLaine or MacLean, Macklin feels more wearable as a first name: a cool and current way to nickname Mack.

A new unisex word name with a lot of charm, especially appropriate for the child of writers. Soleil Moon Frye named her second baby boy Story and Jenna Elfman called her son Story Elias.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian added this new word name to the lexicon when they chose it for their second son and fourth child in 2019. It is now 7 times more popular than it was then, given to 120 boys and 40 girls in a recent year.

Brantley is one of several English surnames that was new to the tops in 2009. A possible-probable inspiration is the country rock singer Brantley Gilbert.

Though Genesis is a Top 100 girls' name in the US, it's by all rights a unisex choice.

Jason with a K or Kase with an N or Karson without the R. Kason is one of many similar names that are extremely popular right now.

A musical name that's more popular for girls, but has been hovering just inside the Top 1000 for boys since 2007.

An update of Tyson for parents who prefer the Ky nickname to Ty. It was the middle name of a character on Heroes.

In the Old Testament, Jair is a son of Manasseh as well as a judge of the Israelites. Jair is off its 2003 peak but is still hanging on in the Top 1000 and as a simple yet distinctive name with serious history, is worthy of consideration.

Alaska's Denali National Park is the home of the highest mountain in the US, officially renamed Denali in 2014, endowing the name with a lofty feel. There were 20 boys and 55 girls given the name in 2014.

Sekani was the fastest-rising boy name of 2019, inspired by the character Sekani Carter in the 2018 movie The Hate U Give.

Updates Ellis -- but also has a lot of feminine potential thanks to Allison/Ellie similarity.

One of the many new spellings of Zaire that has been climbing the charts lately.

The most popular spelling of the fast-climbing member of the Aiden-rhyming clan is used by parents who love the first initial Z. Zaiden is nearly as popular, and Zaden is a ways behind.

Trippy variation on Hayes.

A lot of attention was drawn to this name when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their baby daughter, making it instantly unisex.

A phonetic variation of Shepherd, an occupational surname. Sam Shepard, the actor and playwright, is a notable figure to use this spelling for his last name.

One of several phonetic spellings of Jackson moving up the charts, Jaxson entered the Top 100 in 2013 and has remained there since. It's also picking up steam in England and Wales.. Actor Eric Mabius used it as his son Rylan's middle name.

Lovers of the name Carter and the Kardashians method of baby naming have popularized this choice, one of many boys' names starting with K that began life as boys' names starting with C. Karter has been in the charts since 2005, riding on the success of the original Carter. Since 2014, Karter has been just inside the Top 200.