Simple, Sleek, Cool Names

Joe is still the ultimate good-guy name, not at all diminished by its longevity or popularity or its everyman rep as Regular Joe, Cowboy Joe, G.I. Joe, Joe Exotic, Joe Blow, Joe Millionaire, Average Joe — and now President Joe (Biden).

Groovy Mod Squad name that still sounds retro cool.

Just like Sam and Ben, Tom could be revived as a simple, well liked name on its own. Tom, just Tom, is one of the Top 100 Boy Names in France

With the plethora of Alexes around, Xan (and Xander) have emerged as hot new nicknames for Alexander. Xan also stands well on its own. It can be found--not surprisingly--in several computer games.

Puck was Shakespeare's mischievous pixie who'a had a few television incarnations in more recent years. A popular name in The Netherlands but nowhere else, from what we can tell.

As Tyler has begun to recede, a number of parents, including the Wayne Gretzkys, have cut straight to the livelier short form.

Less popular than the Bueller-inspired Sloane but following on its coattails, this name ranks toward the middle of the Top 1000, but we see both spellings sticking around for years to come.

Dune is a name of several layers. It's a modern nature name, like Ocean, Bay and Reef, although rarer, conjuring up images of breezy sand dunes on summer beach days.

Frey is the handsome Norse fertility god, a worthy namesake. Frey remains rare in the US even as the similar Freya picks up in popularity.

Iconic folk singer Joni Mitchell (born Roberta Joan) lends this cute vintage nickname a cool, bohemian feel. This spelling feels more streamlined and modern than Mad Men-esque Joanie.

A chic and sassy French choice, popular in France but likely to be confused with the more prosaic Alex in English-speaking countries. Although sometimes used in the US as a variant spelling of Alex, the French name Alix actually derives from a medieval French form of the name Alice or Adelaide.

Animal names are on the rise, especially more of the aggressive Hawk-Fox-Wolf variety than cute little Bunnys or Robins, and Hawk is a prime example.

Hawk is more commonly heard as a surname, represented by uber-skateboarder Tony Hawk, a pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding. Variations include Hawke, as in actor Ethan, Hawks, as in Golden Age movie director Howard, Hawking, as in scientist Stephen, and Hawkins, as in musicians Coleman, Screamin' Jay and Sophie B, and was recently given to his baby boy by quarterback Tony Romo. There have been characters named or nicknamed Hawk in The Revenant, The Path and Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. Hawk ranks at Number 699 on Nameberry.

Win is an upbeat, can-do name that can be a short form of one of the buttoned-up British choices above or can stand on its own. Welsh Wyn is another possibility.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and singer Ciara named their son Win Harrison. Harrison is Wilson's father's first name.

Fierce meaning, gentle image. This name is very common in Israel, where an endearing pet form is Dubi.

Now that Zoe is getting wildly popular in the U.S. and the U.K. -- one poll puts it at number one in Wales -- parents may start hunting down fresh twists like this.

After a long time in limbo, Prudence is now so clunky it'a cool, and it's starting to make a comeback, along with other Puritan virtue names like Mercy, Patience, and Constance.

Taj is a cool-sounding name reflecting the magnificence of the seventeenth-century Indian Taj Mahal, chosen by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler for his son.

Water names are a cool category these days, and this one of the famous Egyptian river is no exception. It streamlines the fussier Niles and also may be thought of as a color name, meaning dark blue or indigo.

If you focus on the patience of the biblical Job, rather than his trials, the name becomes more usable. He was, after all, the Old Testament hero of the Book of Job, whose faith was severely tested by God but remained faithful. The name was was used by Puritans and Christian fundamentalists and can be found in the novels of Dickens, George Eliot and Robert Louis Stevenson..

This short-but-strong name is popular for boys in The Netherlands. While Cass is usually a female name in the U.S., it feels just as right for boys.