Video Game Names for Boys

Rare, with a gleaming, golden image.

In Greek mythology, Zagreus was a god of the underworld and the son of Persephone and either Hades or Zeus. The word zagreus refers to a hunter who catches (and dismembers) live animals — the mythical Zagreus is often considered the "first Dionysius," as Dionysius was dismembered as an infant.

Traditionally a feminine name in Scandinavian culture, where these days it's mostly considered a grandmother name. Americans may associate it with Eivor Varinsdottir, a character from Assassain's Creed. She is likely the inspiration for the parents who gave this name to twelve boys and eight girls in 2022.

Geralt is an antiquated version of the old-fashioned name Gerald, which has been dropping toward the bottom of the US Top 1000 since the early 1940s and finally dropped out in 2021.

In Welsh, a diminutive of Iorwerth. As a Japanese name, Iori stands alone.

Heard most frequently in 18th century Japan, Hanzo is a rarity in modern culture. Hattori Hanzo was a legendary samurai of the Sengoku Era. A modern day namesake might be Hanzo Shimada, from the video game Overwatch. Hanzo is one of many unique baby names from Asia and from the gaming world.

Futuristic variation of Cyrus. Cyrax is a character in the Mortal Kombat video game series.

Revan is a name from the Star Wars universe that first appeared in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. He starts out on the light side of the Force, then became a Sith Lord on the dark side before reversing trend and working for the light side once more. Revan first appeared on the baby name charts in 2004, the year following the video game release.

The popularity of Aiden has sparked many creative spellings - this one is understandably towards the bottom of the Top 1000.

Italian surname most Americans will associate with actress Edie Falco, of Sopranos fame.

The bright yellow weed lends itself to a creative baby name, although we don't recommend the nickname Dandy.

Samuel Beckett, inspired by the French surname Godeau, created the name Godot for his play, Waiting for Godot.

Americans tend to pronounce Godot with the emphasis on the second syllable, but Beckett has said this is incorrect. The correct pronunciation is GOD-oh, with the first syllable stressed.

The name of the lead character -- a purple dragon -- in a long-running series of video games. Technically also a variant of the classic Greek name Spiro/Spyros.

Sephiroth is a villain in the Final Fantasy universe who recently inspired seven sets of parents to use his name for their sons.

Kenshi is a single-player video game set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy universe. In Japan, it's the term for "swordsman" rather than a name. Nine sets of American parents named their sons Kenshi in 2021 when it debuted on the charts, but it did not rank in the charts the following year.

Two Zells of note: conservative southern senator Zell Miller, and video-game character Zell, a hero of "Final Fantasy."