boys names I like

Along with August, March is one of the month names perfectly suited to boys. This brisk single-syllable name – which derives from the name of Mars, the Roman god of war – is worth considering as either a first or middle option. As a surname, it brings warm memories of the girls of Little Women, and of twentieth century actor Fredric.

Fun fact: Marion was the birth name of movie star John Wayne. Although commonly thought of as a female name today, it was actually more popular for boys until the late 19th century, and was given to roughly equal numbers of boys and girls throughout the 1970s-2000s.

Associated for half a century with Marlon Brando, who inherited the French-inflected name from his father, Marlon has been especially well used by African-Americans, including the Jackson and Wayans families. Though heard much less now than it was in the seventies, this could change as parents look to the names of old Hollywood stars.

While Marlowe (and Marlow and Marlo) are surname names that are not intrinsically or traditionally gendered and so in theory work equally well for boys and girls, only about 5 percent of the babies given these attractive names are male.

Martin is one of those names like Arthur and Vincent and George that is in the process of throwing off its balding middle-aged image to start sounding possible again, used in full without the dated Marty nickname.

Mason is an occupational surname that ranked among the Top 10 name for boys throughout the 2010s, after its choice as one of the first Kardashian baby names.

Matthew was the third most popular boys' name in America throughout the 1980s and '90s, and is still one of the top boy names starting with M. The New Testament Matthew is the epitome of the fashionable classic—safe and sturdy, yet with a more engaging personality than John or William.

It's ironic that the name Maverick is not such a maverick anymore. Heard first in a 1950s James Garner western TV series, and then as the Tom Cruise character in Top Gun, Maverick symbolizes an unfettered, free spirit.

This name may be related to the Latin Maximus, which means "the greatest," or to a British landowner's name, but for most modern parents, it's one of several ways to get to short form Max.

Maxton is a new member of the ever-expanding Max clan of baby names, hitting the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2011. It joined newfangled Maxon and stylish cousin Paxton, though it did drop out of the charts in 2023.

This attractive Scottish surname-name is found in Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, as the surname of hero Augustus/Gus McCrae. Also spelled MacCrae or McRay among other variations, the meaning is variously given as son of grace or luck.

All names ending in ville are in nowheresville.

A place name with plenty of history, Memphis is associated with the place in Ancient Egypt where many of the pyramids were built, and with the bluesy US city that was named after it. With its lovely meaning and cool, musical vibe, it is currently in the US Top 500 names for boys.

Deriving from the Greek form of the Egyptian name Men-nefer, Memphis has been notably borne by rapper Memphis Bleek and by Dutch footballer, known mononymously as Memphis (who likely inspired its brief appearance in The Netherlands Top 1000 in 2015). In the US, it is a unisex name, however, it is used three times more often for boys, with 610 receiving the name in 2023.

A Shakespearean name used for the wild and witty best friend of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. A variant of the name, which supposedly derives from Mercurius/Mercury, first appeared in one of Shakespeare's sources, Luigi Da Porto's 1530 play Giulietta e Romeo.

Michael was the Number 1 American boys' name for almost half a century. While Michael has moved out of the Top 10 baby boy names, it's still widely used.

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden added this rocking name to the lexicon of day names, which have their roots in the African tradition of naming a child after the day of the week, time of day, or season in which he or she was born. But they wisely used it as a middle name.

Miles, which has a permanent veneer of cool thanks to jazz great Miles Davis, is a confident and polished boys' name that's an American classic. Always ranking in the US Top 1000, it's been drifting up the charts for the past half century but has never been TOO popular.

Miller is an up-and-coming choice in the stylish occupational genre, among the fastest-rising names for both boys and girls in the US in 2023.