Boy's Masterlist

A perfectly fine Anglo surname, though we'd prefer Keaton. Oscar-winning writer-director George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street, The Country Girl) was actually born George Stenius. 

Haunting biblical and Civil War place-name; now unisex—especially after the mega-high-profile Brangelina couple picked it for their daughter. It debuted in the Top 1000 for boys in 2015.

Sleek and smart, with a hint of mystique about it, Silas is a recent addition to the US Top 100. Both mythological and Biblical in origin, Silas joins the ranks of Isaiah, Atlas, Elias, and Sebastian: polished and contemporary feeling names with plenty of history.

Could be a novel way for a boy's name to honor an ancestral Claire.

Sky is an ambigender nature name that was first legitimized as the character of Sky Masterson in the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls, played in the film version by Marlon Brando. It's a name we appreciate for its clear, wide-open feel, less hippyish than others like Rainbow and Starlight, and makes an appealing middle name possibility.

While Skylar is currently the most popular spelling choice for girls - and the spelling seen most often - the Skyler option is more (statistically) unisex. Given to boy and girls in nearly equal numbers each year, it ranks around the middle of the US Top 1000 and is given to more than 400 boys every year.

Solomon, a name that evokes wisdom and peace, is an Old Testament name that, along with other patriarchal classics, is finally beginning to shed its long white beard and step from the pages of the Old Testament into modern nurseries.

Sutter is a new entry to the fashionable class of occupational surnames, brought to the fore by the hero of the 2013 indie film The Spectacular Now. More masculine than Sutton and more distinctive than Sawyer, Sutter might be a good choice for the child of a shoe designer or shoe lover.

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.

One of the few ancient Roman names that doesn't end in us, the rarely heard Tarquin has a decidedly creative, even dramatic flair, which could appeal to the parent looking for a strikingly original name. Sir Laurence Olivier used it for his oldest child, who was named Simon Tarquin but called by his middle name.

When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size.

An intriguing but challenging choice, because of possible confusion with all the Terry-type names.

Thaddeus, a distinguished, long-neglected name, has several areas of appeal: a solid New Testament legacy, a nice antique feel, and the choice of several more modern nicknames and international variations.

Theron is best known these days as the surname of actress Charlize, but it does have a long history as a first name, ranking in the Top 500 in the early part of the 20th century and only dropping out of the Top 1000 in the early 1990s. Theon is a similar name made familiar by the popular series Game of Thrones: Might it and Theron rise in tandem?

Tobiah is the original Hebrew form of the better known Greek Tobias, to which it could make a distinctive alternative. With its ah ending, Tobiah fits in with other stylish Biblical names today, from Noah to Isaiah to Josiah and Zachariah. And of course, Toby is an adorable nickname.

Tobias is one of a number of s-ending boys' names that are riding a wave of popularity. With its Old Testament-Dickensian feel, it's a name with a distinguished pedigree.

One of the less obvious newly plausible occupational names, could instill a sense of adventure in a child.

True has become an accepted first and middle name; Truth makes an even stronger statement. And with nearly 150 baby boys named Truth in the US in the most recent year counted, as many as were named Ross, the word name is edging up on the Top 1000.