Alaric is an ancient regal name that sounds modern enough to be considered. Alaric was a traditional name for the kings of the Ostrogoths, the most famous of whom was Alaric I, the King of the West Goths who sacked Rome in 410. 
 In literature, Alaric was a noble character in P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle novels, the lead character in Alexander Theroux's Darconville's Cat, appeared in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, and was the name of a history teacher on The Vampire Diaries.
 More unusual than Frederic or Roderic, Alaric could make a quaintly quirky path to all the Al and Rick nicknames.

Alaric

While this name came into being in the Victorian era as a nickname for a man with whiskers, the name was quickly embraced as a true name by the Victorians and is likely most familiar to you as the name of Oscar Wilde's fabulous character in The Importance of being Earnest . However, Algernon is not confined to the fictional world of satire; many real world namesakes exist including US footballer Algernon Crumpler (aka Alge Crumpler), British impressionist painter Algernon Talmage, and Canadian astrophysicist Joseph Algernon Pearce, who discovered many thinks about the Milky Way. Plus, who can go past the adorable nickname Algie?

Algernon

Amias or Amyas is a <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/317/unique-baby-names">unique name</a> with an attractive sound and feel and a lovely meaning. Though it might sound like a Biblical name, it is not, but is a surname that may be related to Amadeus or even be a male version of Amy--which would make it one of the few boys' names to be derived from a girls'.
 The Amyas version became known via the hero of the mega-popular 1855 Charles Kingsley novel, Westward Ho!, Captain Sir Amyas Leigh.

Amias

Ara is a <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">unique boys' name</a> that one of the most melodious in the Armenian name pool, familiarized by Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian. In Armenian mythology, Ara was a king so handsome that a rival queen went to war in order to make him her own. The name Ara is also known in the Arabic and Hebrew cultures.

Arrigo

This traditional Arabic name, found throughout several other Middle Eastern and African languages and cultures, is one of the 99 names of Allah. Colorful and energetic, it was brought into the realm of crossover possibility via the lively personality of Aziz Ansari, stand-up comic and star of "Master of None" as well as a featured actor on "Parks and Recreation," playing cocky Tom Haverford (born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani).
 The female version Aziza also has a lot of appeal.

Aziz

Pronounced Beecham, but still too fancy and fey. Likewise Beaufort (beautiful fort), Beaufoy (beautiful beech tree), and Beaumont (beautiful mountain). 

Beauchamp

Parents who like Ben and Benjamin but find those forms too popular sometimes consider Benedict as a more distinctive choice. Unlike the Old Testament Benjamin, Benedict is the name of the saint who formed the Benedictine Order and of fifteen popes,including a recent one. 
 Shakespeare used a variant form--Benedick--for the character in Much Ado About Nothing. Other options are Bennett and Benno.
Benedict Cumberbatch is a rising British stage, film and TV actor, who has been seen as Stephen Hawking, William Pitt, Dr. Frankenstein, Frankenstein's monster, and currently as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series.
 Just one caveat: There is the link to that infamous traitor Benedict Arnold.

Benedict

Boden is most often inspired by the clothing catalog of the same name, and it feels like an appropriate first name for boys because of its stylish two-syllable -n ending rhythm, a la Logan, Mason, Owen, and other trendy choices. While Boden or Bowden is a fairly common English surname, in German it is the everyday name for "floor".  Boden entered the US Top 1000 in 2014. You might also consider Bowen, Bode, Bodhi, and Bowie. 

Boden

Boone is one of the advancing herd of lean and lanky cowboy names with a laid-back, backwoods, Western feel—and surprising French roots. It's inevitably linked with legendary frontiersman Daniel, and also with the positive connotations of the word boon. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2015.
 T. (for Thomas) Boone Pickens is a high-profile business magnate; Boone Carlyle was a fiery character on TV's Lost.

Boone

Cabot is an attractive English surname associated with the daring early Italian-born British explorer known as John Cabot; his birth name was Giovanni Caboto.


Cabot

Caius is classical and serious but also has a simple, joyful quality. There was a third century pope named Caius, as well as an early Christian writer, several Shakespearean characters, and a Twilight vampire. We would pronounce the name to rhyme with eye-us though at Cambridge University in England, where it's the name of a college, it's pronounced keys. 
 Nickname Cai is a definite asset.

Caius

Noted bearers of this surname include a metaphysical poet, a Nobel Prize winner, and a baseball Hall of Famer, so there's plenty of hero-name inspiration. 

Carew

Pleasant Irish last name that could be a more masculine alternative to the overused Cassidy.  Early kings of Leinster bore the name, which relates to the first name Caomhan or Kevin and can also be spelled Kavanagh, Cavanagh, Cavenagh, and Kavanaugh.


Cavanaugh

This is one of several Hebrew names with the beginning syllable Chaz. 

Chazon

Clive started life as a surname for someone who lived near a cliff, making it a secret outdoorsy name.

Its use as a first name began in honor of Robert Clive (aka Clive of India), an eighteenth-century British statesman and military leader, essentially the founder of British India — which in the past has given the name something of a gung-ho, mustachioed image. In England today it's a grandpa name, most common on men born in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and would be a surprising (pleasantly counter-cultural!) choice for a baby.

In the States, Clive has never been widely used, though there are signs that more parents are starting to consider it. It has been given to more boys in the last decade than ever before, though still under one hundred a year. If you're looking for a short, no-nonsense nature name that everyone knows but hardly anyone's using, Clive could be a great option.

Famous Clives helping to shake off the colonial image include British silver fox actor Clive Owen; Narnia author Clive Staples Lewis; and most recently Clive Rosfield, the hero of Final Fantasy XVI.

Clive

Crispin, which was introduced into the mainstream by actor Crispin Glover and which means "curly-haired" in Latin, has an image very much like its first syllable: crisp, autumnal, and colorful.
 St. Crispin, the patron saint of shoemakers, died in the third century and, as rousingly referenced by Shakespeare, Henry V fought a great battle on St. Crispin's Day. Crispin Glover was actually named for the Shakespearean speech.
 In the Harry Potter books, Crispin Cronk is an egyptophile wizard who kept several sphinxes in his backyard.
 Crispian is an interesting, rarely used variation, as is Crispus, associated with African-American hero Crispus Atticus, the first colonist to die for independence in the Boston Massacre.

Crispin

Doyle

Creative gem perfect for an architect's son, in tribute to modern Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen. 

Eero

Elio is a sunny and spirited Italian and Spanish name that makes a great crossover prospect, which could catch on as Enzo has. Elio is also currently popular in France, ranking in the Top 250.

Elio

Errol was a swashbuckling name in the Errol Flynn era, which still has a trace of jazz cool.m thanks to jazz pianist Erroll Garner. 

Errol

This lilting Irish saint's name shone in neon lights on Broadway for the classical 1947 musical "Finian's Rainbow," later made into a film starring Fred Astaire as Finian McLonergan, and there was also a character on 
"General Hospital" named Finian O'Toole. With the growing popularity of Finn and Finlay/Finley--and boys' names ending in 'an'--Finian, which can also be spelled Finnian, seems like a sure-fire winner. 
 One of several early St. Finnians was a noted teacher and scholar.

Finian

The Hungarian classic Laszlo, with its zippy 'z' middle and energetic 'o' ending, has become something of a hipster option, beginning to be considered by cutting-edge parents.
 
A name with a royal heritage in its native country in the Ladislaus form, it is still among the top Hungarian names for boys. In Hungary, Laszlo is pronounced with a soft S sound.
 
Laszlo is probably most familiar to Americans via the noble Paul Henreid character in Casablanca, who was Czech. There have been other fictional Laszlos in Real Genius and the Doctor Who series, and Laszlo is the name of the Ralph Fiennes character in The English Patient.
 
Real life namesakes include painter Moholy-Nagy and acclaimed cinematographer Kovacs. Two well-known actors who were born with the name Laszlo are Peter Lorre and Leslie Howard.
 
The spelling of the name is sometimes streamlined to Lazlo.

Laszlo

Also spelled Macsen, this ancient name manages to sound modern and cool.  An heroic namesake was Maxen Wledig, a fourth century Spanish-born general who led the Roman army out of Britain, and as Emperor was the most powerful occupant of the throne of the Caesars who had ever ruled Europe from the City of the Seven Hills. 

Maxen

Milos, often spelled Miloš, derives from various names including the Slavic element, milŭ , such as Miloslav, Bogomil, or Milrad. Popular in the Czech Republic, the name is also used in Serbia, Croatia, and Slovakia 
 
Americans might know of the name thanks to film director Milos Forman, but other notable bearers include Miloš Obilić, a legendary Serbian knight, and Milos Raonic, a Canadian tennis player.

Milos

This rarely used New Testament name could make an unusual route to the cool nickname Nico. Nicodemus (Noddy) Boffin is a character in the Dickens novel Our Mutual Friend.

Nicodemus

Gives middle-aged Neil a new lease on life. 

Niels

Excellent candidate for use as an undiscovered surname name. Niven is the Anglicized spelling of the Irish name Naomhan, a diminutive of the word naomh which means saint. This handsome but unusual name was given to only six boys in the US last year. Your parents may be familiar with actor David Niven.

Niven

This international variation deserves its own listing for a winning combination of distinctiveness and simplicity. 

Paavo

Parvaiz would certainly stand out in an American classroom. 

Parvaiz

Could Philo be the next Milo?
 We love the o-ending and sweet meaning of this dynamic and distinctive Greek name, often used in literature, but never particularly popular.
 The ancient Philo (aka Philo of Alexandria and Philo the Jew) was a Biblical philosopher who attempted to merge Greek and Jewish thought. 
 A character named Philo was a minor figure in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, it was the name of the S. S. Van Dine aristocratic dandy detective Philo Vance, and Clint Eastwood's character in both Any Which Way You Can and Any Which Way But Loose was Philo Beddoe. Most well known Philo in recent real life was inventor Philo Farnsworth.

Philo

An evocative unisex one-syllable name, Poe is most distinguished by its literary reference. Edgar Allan Poe was an influential American author and poet, credited with inventing the genres of detective and science fiction, which might provide inspiration for parents who are fans. And now its choice as the name of the hero played by Oscar Isaac in the new Star Wars movie is sure to catapult it from literary choice to major favorite.
 The female singer-songwriter professionally known as Poe was born with the more prosaic name Ann.
 The variant spelling Po is identified with Po Bronson, the chronicler of the technological age, and also has the geographical association with the river in northern Italy.

Virtually never heard in this country, with a quirky quality. 

Quimby

Popular Arabic name for boys and sometimes girls too, that's also a term of authority in India.

Rayan

Selig comes from the Yiddish vocabulary word meaning 'happy, fortunate, blessed.'  Most of us are more familiar with its Woody Allen variation, Zelig. 

Selig

New twist on Bennett. Mack Sennett was the early movie director known as the innovator of slapstick comedy.

Sennett

Sereno

Stellan is a strong, attractive, Scandinavian possible up-and-comer, known through actor Stellan Skarsgard, and his namesake, the son of Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany. Its trendy 'an' ending and the similarity in sound to the popular Kellen/Kellan make it all the more accessible.


Stellan

Said to be the name of the most learned man in ancient Wales, in this country it would be open to mispronunciation, making it rhyme with Julien. 

Sulien

A particularly charming spin on the original, as is the<a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/161/spanish-names">Spanish name</a> Tadeo. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016.

Taddeo

This unusual Welsh mythological name just might appeal to architect parents wishing to honor Frank Lloyd Wright, who called his two famous residences Taliesin and Taliesin West. 

Taliesin

If you're tired of Oliver, you might consider this energetic three-syllable surname instead, so you could have a little Tolly instead of an Ollie.
 Tolliver is a not-too-obvious occupational Scottish surname dating back to the time of armor makers. Heard much more often as a surname, there have been Tollivers in soap operas like General Hospital and Cy Tolliver was a character on Deadwood; in real life, Melba Tolliver is a barrier-breaking African-American TV journalist.

Tolliver

Similar in sound to the French "Thibault", which is far more popular, Tybalt is best known as the bloodlustful and brawling cousin of Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps this connotation has kept parents from using Tybalt. However, given the recent fad for all things Theo, Tybalt might offer a familiar yet unusual option for parents who like the meaning but want to swim against the current. Cute nicknames Ty and Tibby might also appeal.

Tybalt

SeaZuno86's list "Unique Boys Names" of 43 great name ideas: Alaric - Tybalt!