Middle Names for Boys (with Meanings and Popularity)

Sabbath is a faith-inspired word name, like Sunday or Faith, that is attracting some notice since heavy metal musician Zakk Wylde chose it for his son. But then there's the band Black Sabbath, which gives the name a more devilish twist. While there's nothing intrinsically male or female about Sabbath as a first name, it squeaked onto the Social Security roster for five boys in 2012, but was not recorded for girls. Sabbath comes from the word for "day of rest" in many ancient cultures.

Anyone who's seen "The Book of Mormon" or visited Utah knows this as the title taken by male Mormon missionaries during their term of service. We'd advise anyone who lives somewhere with any significant Mormon population to avoid it for that reason.

Spiritually resonant, but will definitely raise grandparents' eyebrows.

The name of the teenaged son on the dear departed television show "Huff."

Doctor is an honorific used as a name, somewhat like names such as Bishop, King, and Princess. Banned in New Zealand, Doctor can lead to the kind of confusion you may feel would be only positive for your child -- a bona fide Doctor before he even gets to kindergarten. At its zenith in 1884, Doctor was used for 12 boys, but last year it didn't even clear the five-baby minimum to make it onto the Social Security extended list.

Once you get past thinking of it as a red-painted building where they keep cows and hay, has a nice plainspoken country-like feel and may make a cooler diminutive than the still-purple Barney.

Actor French Stewart introduced this one to the lexicon. French is part word name, part place name, and part surname-name, reminiscent of celebrity baby names that reference a nationality rather than simply a place, such as Moroccan.

If you don't want to limit yourself to one month of the year, this unique baby name offers the plus of the friendly nickname, Cal.

Experience is a word name used by the New England Puritans but probably too joke-worthy for a modern child...or teenager. It does not have as direct a biblical reference as most Puritan names.

A worthy honoree that would place a too-heavy expectation on a child, probably subjecting him to ridicule. Try Pablo instead.

Pistol is one of the new names that entered the lexicon in the US in 2013, when it was given to nine babies of each gender. Call it an equal-opportunity badass baby name with an unfortunately violent image.

Fortitude is the kind of virtue name the Puritans favored, but would not be easy for a modern boy to carry. Stick with something a little simpler than Fortitude, like Justice or True.

Strictly for a Vegas baby.

One way to encourage some cheers for your little one, but not recommended.

A name best for pets.

Epic feels like it could be the boys' version of Saga. Epic poetry tells some of our most celebrated stories - from Beowulf and the Odyssey, to the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost. Despite being short, Epic is a lot of name, so it might be a choice for an adventurous middle name.

Why did 5 sets of parents chose to name their sons Dock in 2016? We may never know.

Ambitious geographical name.

Is there any boys' name more loaded than Stonewall? It evokes, in two syllables, both the Stonewall riots of 1969, the foundational moment of the gay rights movement, and Stonewall Jackson, second in fame only to Robert E. Lee among Confederate generals.