Potential Boy Names

The final s turns a nature name into a Waspy surname.

Director Ridley Scott made this one known, but few parents would get beyond the negative first syllable.

Parents seeking alternatives to the overexposed Ryan have flocked to this soundalike name, which peaked at #146 in 2011.

One of the more unusual of the current crop of strong, single-syllable boys' names, evoking the images of both old-fashioned blackboards and modern stepping-stones and countertops.

As Meghan/Megan and Reagan/Regan show signs of wilting, along comes Teagan to take up the slack: definitely one to consider. The vast majority of American babies named Teagan are now girls. A variant spelling is Teaghan.

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.

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.