Modern Baby Boy Names

Cool new Q-starting possibility which suggests a sense of curiosity and purpose.

Has the offbeat quality and macho feel -- like Stone and Flint -- that appeals to increasing numbers of modern parents.

Prince rose to its highest ranking in a century in 2015, and the tragic death of its most famous bearer in April 2016 propelled it even higher. The Purple Rain legend isn't its only tie to pop royalty: Michael Jackson chose it for not one but two of his sons. Royal names such as King and Prince, once thought of as canine, have begun to be used by human non-royals for their sons.

With Crew having entered the Top 1000 in 2010, it was only a matter of time before variants started popping up. Krew is one of the trendiest names of the 21st century having risen more than 9700 places up the charts since the 2000s, however as of 2023, Crew is still three times as popular.

We've had Jackson, Jaxcon and Jaxon, and now we have Jaxton.

This newly invented name takes a cool short form—Kash/Cash—and adds the trendy -ton suffix, a la Ashton, Colton, and Weston. It made its first appearance on the US Top 1000 list in 2015 and has risen up into the Top 500 since then.

From its Latin root, Kash/Cash is an occupational name for someone who makes boxes, however, it is of course also related to the word "cash", as in money. The meaning of this newly coined name could then be "town of the box maker" or "money town".

The sacred syllable of Buddhism, used when meditating. This short, sweet and spiritual choice has taken off in the last twenty years, and is in regular, though not highly popular, use in the US.

Of all the astrological names —think Leo, Aries, Gemini— Scorpio probably has the most dramatically potent presence, which could prove something of a burden to a young boy.

Though some forward-looking parents are now choosing wood-related names like Oak, Pine, and Ash, this generic option would be even more avant garde.

Combination of Tristan and Christian that is beginning to catch on.

This name from the Shona language is a new entrant to the Top 1000 in the US.

This attempt to masculinize Jules has made its way into the Top 1000. We recommend using the more traditional spelling, as this one will likely appear dated in a few years' time.

Luxury baby name associated with Jacques Cartier's eponymous jewelry company.

Lexington is trending as a unisex name, used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic feel, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Lexington, Kentucky, in horse country, is another well-known city with the name. Short form Lex is user friendly.

There's something about the K initial that modern parents just can't resist and Kruz is a trendy reboot of the already very cool Cruz. Derived from the Spanish word for "cross", Kruz could be included in the new generation of Christian word names with a twist, joining Kross, Tru, Zyon, and Chozen on future class rosters. Given to around 170 boys in a recent year, the traditional spelling is used nearly six times as often.

Depending on how you look at it, a variation of the word name Colt or an abbreviated form of Kolton.

The invented Daleyza was the fastest-rising girls' name in the US in 2013, thanks to the adorable young daughter of Larry Hernandez, star of Larrymania. If you've been out of the world of baby names for a while, you may be surprised to learn that Daleyza is now one of the most popular girl names starting with D.

Painter is among the most creative choices in this very fashionable category of names, with a particularly pleasant sound. Whereas most occupational names conjure up physical labor, this one feels like a gateway to the arts.

Kyaire was among the fastest-rising boy names of 2023, and a newcomer to the US Top 1000. Rising amongst African American parents, it is speculated that Kyaire was inspired by modern spiritual choice Kyrie, or West African place name Zaire and more directly, by its even higher ranking spelling, Zyaire.