Crazy Nicknames for Boys

A bouncy midcentury TV nickname name.

In addition to being the term for a job performing music, Gig has been used as a name, as in onetime actor Gig Young--who was born Byron but took his stage name from a character he played.

Macho-er than thou.

Friendly but flimsy.

Has too many slangy connotations to be considered.

Briefly used as a male name in the early 20th century. Doll is a surname with a variety of origins and meanings, some more desirable than others.

Actor Rhames's imaginative shortening of the prosaic Irving, giving it new life and energy.

Rhythmic and sensual -- maybe too sensual, in terms of playground teasing. Sax Rohmer was the nom de plume of the prolific English novelist who created Dr.Fu Manchu.

A bit too cunning.

If you like the idea of King and Prince but find them too sophisticated, this might be the name for you.

What child wouldn't like a name that was a synonym for cool?

Japhy Ryder was a hero of Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums. Compared with Moses and Noah, Japhy sounds downright adorable and eminently baby-worthy.

Along with Dobbin, Dob was medieval nickname for Robert.

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.

A common Irish surname that's seldom heard as a first name, but has an appealing meaning.

NBA player Damian "Dame" Lillard is the influencer behind this unusual nickname. Dame made the charts for the first time in 2021, following Lillard's gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics.