One Syllable Names for Boys

This pleasant single-syllable surname might be especially appealing to someone involved with the internet (and who isn't?)--even if some others might see it as a drawback.

A great choice for a native Swedish speaker, but not as user-friendly as some of the other international short forms of William — Pim (Dutch), Gwil (Welsh), and of course, Liam (Irish).

This recently coined respelling of Cole darkens its image.

Hipsters might consider reviving this old German name, though we're not so sure their sons wouldn't have preferred the classic Fred name Frederick. Manfred B. Lee (born Manford) was half of the team of detective story writers who used the pseudonym Ellery Queen; Manfred Mann was a British pop group of the 1960's, with Manfred Mann (born Michael Liebowitz) at the keyboard. There's also a wooly mammoth named Manfred, and nicknamed Manny, in the film Ice Age.

Aspen's sibling.

Wave made, well, waves when it was revealed to be the name of Cardi B and Offset's son. Evocative of crashing waves at the beach, large surfing barrels, and tumultuous and stormy seas, Wave is a name with a lot of personalities.

Pol, pronounced as "pole," though a popular Breton name, would be an unusual form of a simple classic elsewhere. The Breton Saint Pol Aurelian was known as a slayer of dragons and a founder of monasteries.

All varieties of Hob are antiquated nicknames for Robert, though this one is saddled with the "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon association.

A well-used name in China that has some potential for assimilation.

Veronica Roth used the name Four for a character in her novel Divergent.

Commonly heard as a nickname for Alejandro, but a rare sight on the birth certificate. Ale has only made the US charts for boys twice, once in 2005 and again in 2018.

We can get behind Divine, Saint, and even Messiah. But God? It's too loaded for us to recommend in good faith.

Stark is an ancient surname derived from the Old English word stearc, meaning firm and unyielding. In modern parlance, stark means severe or plain. But Stark's use as a first name -- 15 boys were named Stark in the US in 2017 -- stems from its prominence in Game of Thrones, which has inspired so many new baby names. House Stark is a ruling family on GoT; its motto is fittingly "Winter is coming," so Stark and other names from the show might make creative names for winter babies.

Hoke is a surname name with a Southern feel, thanks to Morgan Freeman's character in the Oscar-winning movie Driving Miss Daisy. Parents may have passed this name by because of the similarity to hokey and hokum, slang for exaggerated or contrived. But there's at least one distinguished bearer: Chicago journalist Hoke Norris, famous for his coverage of the Civil Rights movement.

Icelandic word that means "bay." Not a sanctioned Icelandic name.

Also a synonym for the Hebrew month of Iyar, which usuually falls in May, would work and play well with others like Zev and Lev.

Diminutive of Andre. Associated with the rapper Dr. Dre.

As Huxley and Huck become more popular and accepted, so does Hux, either as a full name or a diminutive.