Archer is an Anglo-Saxon surname that feels more modern than most because of its on-target occupational and Hunger Games associations. And it's a nice way to bypass the clunky Archibald to get to the cool nickname Archie.
 But have a look at that amazing popularity chart below: After 1889, Archer took a 130-year nap, resurfacing on the Top 1000 in 2009 and now shooting straight upwards. Five years ago, we named Archer one of our Hottest Names of 2011—and, indeed, it jumped 102 places that year, thanks in part to Archer's similarity to popular Asher and its cross-gender appeal. Moms may like its literary gentility and dads its tough-guy FX cartoon appeal. Or, of course, vice versa.
 Trivia tidbit: Archer is the name of Dr. Doolittle's father.

Archer

Atticus, with its trendy Roman feel combined with the upstanding, noble image of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a real winner among <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boy names</a>. Atticus entered the US Top 1000 in 2004 and is a firm Nameberry favorite. 
 
The reason for the popularity of Atticus is less its ancient roots than Atticus Finch, the upstanding hero of To Kill A Mockingbird.. In fact so many people have been inspired by the character embodied by Gregory Peck that Atticus Finch was voted the greatest hero of American film by the American Film Institute. Harper Lee's recently-released novel Go Set a Watchman paints Atticus Finch in a less flattering light, though that doesn't seem to have impacted the rising popularity of the name.
 
Atticus derives from the Greek Attikos, meaning "from Attica," the Ancient Greek region that contained Athens. Atticus is a literary name in more ways than one. Before it became synonymous with Atticus Finch, the name Atticus was associated with Titus Pomponius Atticus, a Roman literary figure.
 Daniel Baldwin and Isabella Hoffman were ahead of the curve when they chose Atticus for their son born in 1996; since then Summer Phoenix and Casey Affleck named their little boy Atticus, and Tom Dumont made it the middle name for his son Rio.

Atticus

Beckett is one of the big baby name hits of the decade.
 A handsome name with an attractively brisk sound, and rich in literary associations via major Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, it is especially hot among celebs. Melissa Etheridge jump-started the trend in 1998, followed by Conan O'Brien, Stella McCartney, Malcolm McDowell, Nicole Sullivan and Natalie Maines.
 Another worthy namesake is the martyred saint Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose story was the basis of the Anouilh play "Becket," which became a film starring Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole.
 In 2005, the authors of Freakonomics predicted that Beckett would be one of the most <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular baby names</a> of 2015. Although they were a little off the mark -- Beckett hasn't even cracked the Top 100 -- we predict that it will continue to climb the US rankings.

Beckett

Bennett is Ben with a bow tie, kind of a cross between Benjamin and Beckett. It's been trending up on the popularity charts in recent years, and its choice by The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Jane Krakowski could shoot it even higher. 
 Bennett Cerf was an eminent publisher--one of the founders of Random House--and renowned punster.
 Bennett is a popular surname, and has many noteworthy bearers, from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice family (with one 't') to indomitable singer Tony. Bennett has been used as a surname in England since the early thirteenth century.

Bennett

Bram has an unusual measure of character and charm for a one-syllable name; it started as a hipper-than-Abe diminutive of the biblical Abraham, but is also an independent Irish and Dutch name, made famous by Irish-born Dracula creator Bram (nee Abraham) Stoker. Bram is currently Number 16 in the Netherlands; Bram Howard was a character on The West Wing.
 Another route to Bram is Bramwell, as in early actor Bramwell Fletcher, who &mdash; speaking of horror movies &mdash; was noted for his mad scenes in the 1932 film The Mummy.

Bram

Clark seemed to have been Gone with the Wind, but parents looking for a short, strong boy's name are now beginning to appreciate its cool combination of Gable charm with Superman power. 
 Clark has been steadily on the popularity list—it was Number 176 in 1881 and well used in the 1940s and 50s, and is now on another upswing.
 Long-term Hollywood heartthrob Clark Gable was born William Clark—his middle name was the maiden name of his maternal grandmother.

Clark

Dashiell, though missing from many other name sources, is among the hottest new names, chosen by such celebs as Cate Blanchett and author Helen (Bridget Jones) Fielding. With its great dash and panache, Dashiell is associated with detective writer Dashiell Hammett (born Samuel, as in Sam Spade, Dashiell being his mother's maiden name). Alice Cooper was ahead of the game: He named his son Dashiell in 1985.
 For those still confused about the pronunciation, it's kind of similar to castle or bashful. And anyone can pronounce Dash, which is such a dashing nickname.

Dashiell

Emmett, honest and sincere, laid-back and creative, is on the rise as a male cognate of the megapopular Emma and Emily, not to mention being a character in the popular Twilight series.
 Emmett originated in England as a masculine diminutive of the German Emma; the Hebrew characters pronounced eh-MEHT mean truth, so that might be considered another definition. Emmet is another, less popular spelling.
The death of young Emmett Till helped spark the civil rights movement.

Emmett

Gideon is a no-longer neglected Old Testament name, but still makes an excellent choice for parents looking to move beyond such overused biblicals as Benjamin and Jacob. In the Old Testament, Gideon was a judge called on by God to rescue the Jews from the Midianites, and the name was popular among the Puritans.
 Gideon was given a spike by the short-lived TV series Gideon's Crossing, and has been heard more recently as a main character in Criminal Minds, as Molly Weasley's brother Gideon Prewett in the Harry Potter series, and as an anti-hero, Gideon Gordon Graves, in the Scott Pilgrim series.
 The ubiquitous, in-every-hotel-room Gideon bibles were named because Gideon symbolizes great work done by few people.
 Among the celebs who have chosen Gideon for their sons are Neil Patrick Harris and Ziggy Marley.

Gideon

Harrison, a name made viable by Harrison Ford, is increasingly popular with parents who want an H name that's more formal than Harry or Hank but doesn't veer into the stiff Huntington-Harrington territory. 
 As a surname, Harrison has both Beatle and presidential connections. Harrison was the surname of two presidents, William Henry Harrison, who died 31 days after taking office, and Benjamin Harrison, whose election in 1888 sparked Harrison's peak as a first name.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aka Prince Harry and Meghan, used Harrison as a patronymic middle name for their son, Prince Archie.

Harrison

Holden is a classic case of a name that jumped out of a book and onto birth certificates--though it took quite a while. Parents who loved J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye are flocking to the name of its hero, Holden Caulfield -- not coincidentally in tune with the Hudson-Hayden-Colton field of names. (Trivia note: Salinger supposedly came up with the name while looking at a movie poster promoting a film starring William Holden and Joan Caulfield, though other sources say he was named after Salinger's friend Holden Bowler.) Another impetus was provided by a soap opera character introduced in 1985.
 Among the celebs who have chosen Holden are Brendan Fraser and Mira Sorvino.
 In Australia, only a car-lover would choose this name, which is inextricably linked with the car-brand.

Holden

Hugo, the Latin form of Hugh, has more heft and energy than the original -- and of course we love names that end (or begin, for that matter) with an o. This one is especially appealing because it's backed up by lots of solid history and European style.
 Hugo is one of those names that misses by a single year ranking in the Top 1000 for its entire history. It fell off the list in 1948, the height of post-WWII pro-American fervor, before heading back up.
 Hugh has held steady in the middle of the US Top 1000 for more than 40 years now, but we predict might be headed for the kind of popularity it enjoys in the rest of the English-speaking world and many European countries.
 Hugo ranks in or near the Top 100 in countries and cultures as diverse as Sweden and Spain, France and Finland. It's also a favorite boys' name on Nameberry, usually a harbinger of future success in the US as a whole.
 In the seventh Harry Potter novel, Ron and Hermione bestow the name Hugo on their son. Hugo Strange, meanwhile, is a longtime adversary of Batman. 
 Real-life Hugos include Hugo Chavez, the late president of Venezuela, and the fashion world's Hugo Boss. In the more distant past there was the distinguished Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black.
 Trivia tidbit: The annual awards for sci-fi writing are called the Hugos, honoring early genre writer Hugo Gernsback.

Hugo

This attractively energetic Italian version of the classic Matthew is primed to move further and further into mainstream American nomenclature. Mateo is technically the Spanish version, but many parents in the US use the two spellings interchangeably. 
 
In the US, about 12,000 baby boys were named Mateo, Matteo, or Teo in 2021, vaulting the name in all versions into the Top 10. Mateo alone, by far the most popular version, lies just outside the Top 10.
 Actor Colin Firth has a son called Matteo, as does Ricky Martin; the Benjamin Bratts and Tom Colicchios have boys named Mateo. We're sure that both these spellings will keep climbing in tandem, sharing the possibility of the lively nickname Teo.

Matteo

Milo is most commonly considered to be Germanic name derived from the Latin word miles, meaning "soldier." However, there is evidence to suggest it also may have independently spawned from the Slavic root milu, meaning "merciful." Milo predates brother name Miles, a variation that evolved when the name immigrated to the British Isles in the Middle Ages. Mylo is an alternate spelling.
 
Milo has long been a favorite <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys' name</a> on Nameberry, also getting some well-deserved appreciation in the wider world. Milo combines the strength of the ancient Greek Olympic wrestler of that name—a six-time winner of the Olympic games—with the debonair charm of a WWII RAF pilot.
 More recently, Milo has been associated with the dashing Milo Ventimiglia of This Is Us fame, and it has also been the name of characters in books Catch-22 and The Phantom Tollbooth, and on screen in Milo and Otis, Alias, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
 Ricki Lake, Camryn Manheim, Sherry Stringfield, Liv Tyler, Craig Ferguson, and Alyssa Milano are six celebrity parents who share our enthusiasm for Milo, as do many Nameberry baby namers.
 Milo is often heard in Ireland. Milo O'Shea was a renowned Irish character actor.

Milo

Orson has had in the past a rotund teddy-bear image, a la Orson Welles, who early on dropped his common given name of George in favor of his more distinctive middle one, and who seemed to own it during his lifetime. No longer a single-person signature, it's now an interesting possibility for any parent seeking an unusual yet solid name. It's started to appear to the celeb set--both Paz Vega and Lauren Ambrose have little Orsons.
 The comic actor Orson Bean was born Dallas; there was a Desperate Housewives character called Orson Hodge.
 There's also a fifteenth century story about two brothers named Valentine and Orson, in which the latter was carried off by a bear and raised as one of its cubs.

Orson

Rhett has been more tied to Gone with the Wind than even Scarlett, but now we're hearing rumblings of its finding new and independent favor among parents, perhaps emboldened by the growing popularity of Scarlett. 
 In addition to being a powerful storyteller, author Margaret Mitchell was a great character namer as well—think Scarlett, Melanie, Ashley, and even the mansion Tara. Rhett emerged from the story as one of the ultimate dashing, romantic names—so much so that parents of the past didn't fully embrace it.
 Rhett is a South Carolina surname, brought to North America in 1694, and borne by a noted politician during the Civil War period, which may have inspired the author.

Rhett

Sawyer is a surname with a more relaxed and friendly feel than many others, and is one of the hottest occupational names right now, with the Nameberry seal of approval. Sawyer is becoming one of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">top unisex names</a>. Both Sara Gilbert and Diane Farr used Sawyer for their daughters, while it was given a boost as a boys' name by the character Sawyer on Lost, an alias for the character really named James Ford. 
 Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg were among the first to discover Sawyer when they used it for their son in 1992, the year it leaped up 356 places. 
 Sawyer is a relatively common surname--think Tom and Diane. It originated as an occupational name for a woodcutter, otherwise known as someone who worked with a saw.

Sawyer

Thatcher is an open and friendly freckle-faced surname, fresher sounding than Tyler or Taylor, that dates back to the days of thatched-roof cottages. It is catching on with modern parents—it reached the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2013.
 Britberries in particular may have strong associations to Prime Minister Margaret, but the surname has other notable bearers as well, such as Becky Thatcher, the object of Tom's affections in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Thatcher Grey is the protagonist's father on Grey's Anatomy, and a young Heath Ledger played William Thatcher in 2001's A Knight's Tale.
 TV celebrity chef Cat Cora has a son named Thatcher Julius.

Thatcher

See the popularity graph below for the name Theo? It's been heading straight uphill since 2010, when it hopped back onto the Top 1000 after a 60+ year absence.
 
Now in the Top 100 in this form, Theo's popularity is even wider given its common use as a nickname for Theodore, which made the Top 10 for the first time in 2022. This might be the generation of Theos.
 
Theo's newfound popularity extends far beyond the US and the rest of the English-speaking world. It's currently a Top 100 name in Germany, Brazil, Scandinavia, and beyond, as well as being a popular choice for pets.
 Theo first made an impact as the name of the only son on "The Cosby Show," earlier it was associated with Vincent van Gogh's supportive brother Theo.

Theo

Vaughn, also commonly spelled Vaughan, has been used quietly over the years, reaching a peak of Number 349 in 1949. It is now in the process of rediscovery, being seen as a good Sean alternative or an updated way to honor an ancestral Paul (which also means small).
 In the recent past, Vaughn Meader was a comedian famed for his JFK impressions, and Vaughn Monroe was a popular singer-bandleader.
 More frequently seen as a last name than a first, Vaughn has drawn particular attention in recent years via leading man Vince Vaughn, and before that was notable in the entertainment world by The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Robert Vaughn, singer Sarah Vaughan, and guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Michael Vaughn is a fictional character on Alias, played by Michael Vartan.

Vaughn

Rugged, outdoorsy, and full of energy, Wilder entered the US Top 1000 back in 2015. Part bad boy, part Western, part preppy, and part nature-loving, Wilder is given to nearly 800 babies each year.
 
Once an off-beat, rarely used choice, Wilder began to climb the charts in 2007, after American actress Goldie Hawn became a grandmother to a Wilder. Similar in sound to Wiley and Wyatt and with the -er ending of Carter or Cooper, Wilder sounds bold but familiar, and fits in with the likes of Ledger, Forrest, Fox, and Maverick. Until recently, Wilder was much more familiar as a surname, borne by such notables as authors Laura Ingalls and Thornton, composer Alec, director Billy, and actor Gene. Douglas Wilder was the first African American to be elected Governor of Virginia. Wilder was one of the 10 fastest-rising boys' names back in 2016, though its climb up the charts has slowed in recent years.

Wilder

Western novelist Zane (born Pearl!) Grey made this name famous. Now, it's in tune with the style of our times, retaining that appealing cowboy image. 
 Zane Grey was the great-grandson of Ebenezer Zane, founder of Zanesville, Ohio, the town where the writer was born. The name Zane has been on the popularity list since 1921, the heyday of such Zane Grey novels as The Riders of the Purple Sage.
 The Arabic name Zayn, as in musician Zayn Malik, sounds exactly the same as Zane but has a different root. Zayn is one of the fastest-rising names in recent years. And some parents--including country singer Mindy McReady -- use the spelling Zayne.

Zane

CaliPoppy's list "Boys' Names I Love" of 22 great name ideas: Archer - Zane!

Boys' Names I Love

A running list of names I would consider if baby's a boy.