Nameberry's Favorite Boy Names

This Hebrew-Latin name, which bristles with electricity, is associated with Esai Morales, who is a junior, carrying on his father's name.

Now seen as the chap in the smoking jacket in a 1930s drawing-room comedy, Reginald has actually been on the US popularity list every year since 1880.

Once restricted to evangelical Protestants honoring the ecclesiastical reformer and theologian Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant revolution. In more recent times it has been favored by parents wishing to honor civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. Luther was a Top 100 name at the turn of the last century, but fell off the list in the early 1990s.
Luther Burbank was an eminent botanist and Luther Vandross was a popular R&B artist. It's the name of a main character on the Disney series Zeke and Luther. The name was given a shot of contemporary energy via Idris Elba's dynamic performance in the eponymous BBC crime drama.

Harley is a tough guy, while the rhyming Marley has a softer, gentler image. The name brings to mind reggae great Bob Marley, as well as the lovable dog from bestseller Marley and Me.

Tiago, also spelled Thiago, is a popular Portuguese boys' name derived from the more formal Santiago but these days usually used on its own. English speakers won't intuitively get the pronunciation but this might be a creative way to honor an ancestral James or Diego.

Expansive, sunny Italian word name.

Chef Wolfgang Puck has helped soften this thunderous Germanic name; music-lovers will appreciate its association with Mozart, though the composer's middle name Amadeus is more appealing.

Sure, Arson is a crime, but anecdotally, many of the parents who choose this name do so because Arson = "our son."

The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories.

This super-charged variation of Jett is on the rise -- along with the unlikely newcomer Jetson.

Lior is a unisex name frequently heard in Israel, capturing the popular light theme through its meaning. For English speakers, the one down side is possible pronunciation confusion with "liar," though it's really lee-OR, with a long e sound and emphasis on the second syllable.

Wilfred is one of those Old Man Names that still sounds fusty in the US but is fashionable in the UK. It comes with readymade short forms Will or Fred and might make an adventurous alternative to the ubiquitous William. The central character of Walter Scott's Ivanhoe is the knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe. Wilfred Owens was a well-known British poet.

This name of several early Irish saints makes a nice Logan/Conan alternative.

Joah is a simple but obscure Biblical name, the name of four men in the Old Testament. Joah could be the perfect way to honor Grandpa Joe, or might be seen as a streamlined alternative to Josiah. Joah has so much basic appeal, in fact, that it just might be the next Noah.

Like Friends, Ross is off the air and into syndication as a baby name, having plummeted from its zenith in the late 80s to fall off the US Top 1000 in 2013. Today, Ross is more likely to be a dad name than a newborn name.

Ned is a gently old-fashioned Nancy Drew-Bobbsey Twins-era short form for Edward that sounds cooler than Ed and is enjoying a small style renaissance.

Old Testament name of a king of Israel, related to the harvest.

Wiley is a perfectly appropriate way to spell the Scottish name also known as Wylie. Given all the babies named William and Liam today, Wiley or Wylie can be a wonderful variation that's more distinctive but still honors Grandpa Bill. Wiley might also be considered an Attitude Name, given that its other meaning lends it a lot of sass.

Some sources give Thorin as a variation of the thunder god name Thor, equivalent to Thoren, while others says it comes from the verb að þora, meaning "to dare." This is a dwarf's name that first appeared in the thirteenth century mythology compilation Prose Edda, which, along with the Poetic Edda, represents nearly all of pagan Scandinavian mythology. Tolkien later used the name for character Thorin II Oakenshield of The Hobbit.

Yes, it's the name of the brightest star in the sky, but can't you just hear people saying, "Are you serious?" Singer Erykah Badu used it as a middle name for son Seven.