Cool Names with a Strong O

Nicolo is a more lively variation of Nicholas and one of the most attractive Italian names for boys. A name with a long, distinguished Italian history of its own, it also boasts the charming nickname Nico.

Django — the D is silent as most everyone now knows — the nickname of the great Belgian-born jazz guitarist Django (originally Jean Baptiste) Reinhardt, makes a dynamic musical choice for any jazz aficionado. Reinhardt's nickname "Django" is Romani for "I awake." The name has become more familiar with the release of and acclaim for the Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained.

Orchid is a hothouse bloom that has not been plucked by many modern baby namers — yet. In the language of flowers, orchids symbolize love, beauty, and sophistication.

One of the best known early Nemos was the captain in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, while the more familiar modern one is the animated little orange fish in the Disney movie. Unusual name well worth considering. By the way, there is also a Shakespearean Nemo and one in Dickens's Bleak House. An enchanting early comic strip by Winsor McCay was called Little Nemo.

A word name with fashionable o-ending that has associations with both the homespun fabric and the mottled cat. Alice Cooper named his daughter Calico decades ago.

Giacomo is a primo member of the Giovanni-Gino-Giancarlo-Giacomo gruppo of Italian names that are beginning to be adopted by American parents. Singer/creative baby namer Sting chose it for his son.

Rhythmically appealing international spin on the stiff original.

Olaf, though sainted and regal in Norway, is slightly oafish here. It is one of those names that has become completely familiar in the U.S. without ever becoming assimilated. Now that he's a comical character in Disney's Frozen, he might get some more attention.

Cayo is a rare and rhythmic Spanish name, all but unknown in the English-speaking world, that would make a lively choice.

Consuelo is a chic, highly sophisticated Spanish name that works well with Anglo surnames. It was regularly on the U.S. popularity list through 1983, reaching as high as Number 339 in 1930.

Giorgio as is rich in meaning and history as George, but with more Italian flair. It's a consistent Top 50 hit in Italy, and with Italian boy names like Gianni and Lorenzo rising through the charts, could be another one to add to the mix.

The best-known modern bearer is fashion designer Giorgio Armani.

You can't get more Italian than this name of the daddy of legendary twins Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome. A noted bearer is acclaimed Italian journalist and novel and short story writer Italo Calvino, author of Invisible Cities and . Trivia tidbit: Calvino was actually one of his middle names.

Primo is number one among the Latin birth-order names--Octavius et al--and the one most likely to be used in these days of smaller families. It has that jaunty 'o' ending and Italian flavor that many modern parents like so much. And what little boy wouldn't appreciate being prime?

Olwen is a Welsh favorite, the name of a legendary princess in what is believed to have been the earliest Arthurian romance, and in fact one of the first recorded examples of Welsh prose.

Has a lively and swaggering sound, and also some unfortunate associations with Reno, city of gambling and failed marriages.

Its jaunty o-ending makes this name more appealing than most of its Germanic brothers, and we hope we're beyond the constant response to his name being "Where's Waldo?" The weighty reputation of writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson adds a measure of backbone to the name.

See RIO.

Piero is elegant, melodic, appealing. Just picture the muted frescoes of Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca.

Frisco is a frisky, roguish semi-place-name (San Francisco natives never call it that) that could make a lively, unusual o-ending choice.

As commonly heard in Rome, Italy, as Steve is in Rome, New York. With the accent on the first syllable, Stefano has a lot of charm.