Middle Names for Boys (with Meanings and Popularity)

Nobility names like Duke and Count seem to be forming a minitrend: actor Danny Bonaduce named his son Count Dante Jean-Michel Valentino. Beat that. Or wait: don't.

Loyalty is one of the Modern Virtue Nameson the rise for both genders, but in this case mainly girls. About 85 percent of the babies named Loyalty are female and 15 percent male, but there's no reason this upstanding name can't work equally well for both.

Actress Shannyn Sossamon used this as the middle name for her son Audio; one of the most do-not-try-this-at-home combos we've heard.

Why beat around the bush with a name like Elvis or Axl when you can come right out and name your baby Rocker? Your grandma will be scandalized, but teenage Rocker will kiss your feet.

In literary circles, this name will be immediately recognized as a reference to the poetic stanza; outside such circles, this name may cause confusion for names like Coltrane or Cobain.

Chosen by one musician, Todd Rundgren, for his son, but unlikely to be emulated by others.

Alternative to Prince, Duke, King, or Earl, but not an improvement on them.

Toni Morrison, a master of character naming, coined this one for the best friend of hero Milkman Dead in Song of Solomon. Definitely a cool choice, with a twang.

Wrecker is a new entry to the newly trendy group of badass baby names -- names mostly for boys that sound wild (or Wilder) and summon the kind of kid that races around (Racer), breaking things (Breaker), and yeah, why not, being a Wrecker while he's at it. Actor Cam Gigandet introduced this one, with a more phonetic spelling, when he named his son Rekker.

Rhymer feels right at home with names like Ryder, Ryker and Riley, but brings an artsy edge to this group of names.

Cool and casual, a la humorist Ring (born Ringgold. ) Lardner.

Wishful thinking.

This Puritan virtue name is unstylish, but sympathetic and appealing, in these largely uncomfortable times.

Childish Gambino is the musical alter-ego of writer/producer Donald Glover, creator of the television show Atlanta. Glover got the name Childish Gambino from an online name generator.

Many parents are seeking a strong name--well there's no denying that Strong fits that bill.

All names connected with royalty have become increasingly popular in recent years, and King variation Kyng is no exception. Some parents may feel that the Kyng spelling makes it more of a name and less of a royal title, but both names sound the same and have identical meanings, so why endlessly complicate spelling and pronunciation?

Moroccan is a name newly minted by Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon for their newborn twin son. Meaning a person who lives in Morocco, Moroccan was used by the couple as a nod to the Moroccan Room in Carey's Manhattan apartment, where Cannon proposed to the singer. Place-name Morocco is another choice for either sex, as is music name Maraca.

Peerless Price may be a football great, but his name would exert undue pressure. Substitute idea: Peer.

Kicker could be a great name for a cheeky kid, along the lines of Cricker, Striker or Becker. In literature the term Kicker is used to describe the twist or turn in a story.