Strong Yet Unusual Names for Boys

A little further down the road paved by Aidan and Logan.

This, like many Norse and Scandinavian names, remains icebound, though with the unexpected rise of such ancient Scandinavian mythology names as Odin, Thor, and Freya, we may see Haldor rise again.

A Julian derivative, via Spanish conquistadors, that could be a more unusual yet still reasonable substitute for that current favorite.

If you like names that are not really names -- some say, the wave of the future -- Harbor has an attractive sound as well as an appealing meaning and image.

In Cool Names, we cite this as an "Artist Name," for twentieth-century abstract painter Grace Hartigan, though for you it may just be an upbeat Irish surname.

A bit stiff and formal for American use.

Hendrix is one of those hip rock and roll names, like Lennon, Jagger and Presley, that have been used by fellow celebs and others, to honor the seminal guitarist/singer/songwriter Jimi. And this one has the trendy 'x' ending, as well, helping to propel it up the charts and into the spotlight.

Hidalgo is the name of a minor planet, and, on Earth, the Spanish word for a nobleman, but we don't see much crossover potential.

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.

Iago, the villain of Shakespeare's Othello, was so treacherously evil that his name has hardly ever been heard offstage. Try the much-more-benign Inigo.

A name that crosses cultures, Idris was virtually unknown before the emergence of the charismatic Idris Elba, first on The Wire and then depicting Nelson Mandela in the acclaimed film.

Iggy is the quintessential pop star name, though it's the nickname Cate Blanchett uses for son Ignatius. Iggy does bring any grander-sounding name down to earth.

Ignatius? Good gracious! This is a name making a truly surprising return, sparked by its selection by not one but two celebrities--Cate Blanchett and Julianne Nicholson.

Ignatius, the name of several saints including the founder of the Catholic Jesuit order, was considered more apt to be borne by churches and schools than babies in the recent past, though it was not unusual from the late nineteenth century to 1930; it ranked as high as Number 602 in 1913.

A rare example of an a-ending boy's name that sounds masculine, Ilya has a large measure of creative Slavic charm. >p>Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is the central character in Goncharov's novel "Oblomov." Unfortunately, he spends most of his life in his bathrobe and slippers.

Ingmar is known here almost solely through Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Ing was the powerful Norse god of fertility and peace, who lent his name to several mortal variations, more notably to English-speakers the female Ingrid.

An undiscovered surname possibility with upscale overtones, could be enlivened with nickname Ingo.

Archaic Welsh name, scarcely heard today. Often referred to as the Welsh variation of Edward, although the two names are not related.

A more distinctive alternative to Alejandro.