Cool Unusual Boy 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?

Laird is a Scottish title for the landed gentry – it ranks just below a Baron – with a pleasantly distinctive Scottish burr that must have appealed to Sharon Stone, who chose it for her son.

The great sax player John Coltrane could be a cool naming inspiration for a jazz fan.

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.

Rarely used surname, associated with humorous poet Ogden Nash.

Branch is an attractive name with associations both with trees and with branching out into brave new worlds. Baseball's Branch (born Wesley, with Branch as his middle name) Rickey broke the color barrier by hiring Jackie Robinson for the Dodgers. Like Leaf, Branch makes a nice, not-so-obvious, addition to the tree category.

Lazer has some biblical cred as a form of Eliezer, Eleazar, or Lazarus, all relatives, and it's also a modern bad boy name a la Ranger and Breaker. Our recommendation would be to use one of the biblical forms as the proper name and Lazer as a nickname.

Guthrie, one of the most attractive Scottish names that's also a surname, has a particularly romantic, windswept aura, with a touch of the buckaroo thrown in.

Ahmet is known outside its native land largely thanks to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The original crazy celebrity baby namer Frank Zappa named one of his sons Ahmet, after the influential music executive. Ahmad is a variation of Muhammad.

Fielding isn't an occupational name, exactly, though it does relate to someone who works in or lives in a Field. Although there have been a handful of people, real and fictional, with the first name Fielding, the most famous Fielding is eighteenth century writer Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones.

Seems to stand at attention and salute.

Name bestowed on Choctaw men after a hunting achievement.

Serious surname choices, the latter form known via award-winning author Reynolds Price.

Sean and Robin Wright Penn chose this name for their son to honor their friend Dennis Hopper; others might associate it with the painter Edward. Couldn't be more spirited.

A grassy place with trees is a nice image to attach to a name.

Despite Thornton Wilder, playwright of the perennial Our Town, only a handful of baby boys receive this name each year..

A fierce nature name which could give cool short form Nash.

An undiscovered cousin of Garrett and Gerard. Gerrit has some merit, especially for its arty credentials as the name of several Old Master painters.

Many African tribes have a tradition of naming children for the day or time they were born -- Friday, Afternoon -- a practice finding new life in the Western world as word names become more popular.