RenRose's Boys' Name List

Mordecai, although it has a noble heritage, has never caught on in this country, because of its rather weighty image.

Ned is a gently old-fashioned Nancy Drew-Bobbsey Twins-era short form for Edward that sounds cooler than Ed and is enjoying a small style renaissance.

Niall is pronounced nye-al--something like Neil, but this Irish spelling of the name makes it much more current and cool.

Noah is nearly a patriarch of popular baby names at this point, going from Old Testament graybeard to Top 10 name in 2009, hitting Number 1 in 2013, and now settled into second place in the US for the past seven years.

The French-accented Pascal was historically used for sons born at Easter, and can make an interesting choice for a boy with Gallic roots arriving around that holiday.

Jaunty and raffish, Rafferty is one of the most engaging of the Irish surnames, used by Jude Law and Sadie Frost for their son. Fortunately, it doesn't still go by its original form: O'Raighbheartaigh.

Remy is one of the hottest names today for both boys and girls, sometimes spelled Remi. . It entered the popularity list in 2009 and has quickly become one of the fastest-rising names on the list.

This spirited Gaelic classic, which became popular in Ireland via the illustrious twelfth century king Rory O'Connor, makes a highly energetic choice, now used for either sex. Rory's gender split is still trending boyward; it's one of the coolest boys' names starting with R.

In Europe, this name is mostly male, but here it's more fashionable for girls. It's a diminutive of Alexander.

This worthy name, imported by the early Dutch colonists, has been all but overpowered by the phonetic spellings -- Skyler for boys and Skylar for girls. With the surnames-as-first-names trend, however, and the popularity of the Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton, which features the Schuyler sisters, perhaps Schuyler might receive some more interest in the coming years.

The long-neglected name of Adam and Eve's third son after Cain and Abel, Seth is appreciated for its gentle, understated presence -- and strong middle-name potential. It reached a high of Number 63 in the year 2000.

Yes, it's the name of the brightest star in the sky, but can't you just hear people saying, "Are you serious?" Singer Erykah Badu used it as a middle name for son Seven.

This ancient royal Scottish name and its equally-correct spelling French variation Stuart had a brief vogue in midcentury America--it was Number 286 in 1955--dropped off the list completely in the nineties.

Doesn't everything sound better with a French accent? Sylvain, the French variation of the Roman wood god's name, sounds somehow cooler and more sophisticated than Sylvan.

This jaunty unisex nickname name has recently been given a shot of testosterone via actor Tobey Maguire and the gruff, erudite character on West Wing.

Tristan -- known through medieval legend and Wagnerian opera -- has a slightly wistful, touching air. This, combined with the name's popular "an" ending, makes Tristan very appealing to parents seeking a more original alternative to Christian.