One Syllable Names for Boys

A name commonly heard on New York's Lower East Side at the turn of the last century.

Interestingly, Locke is a gender-neutral name used only for boys, while word name Lock is so rare it was given to fewer than five children of either gender in the US last year.

Appealing short form of the stuffy Cleveland, occasionally used on its own.

Dutch road cyclist Steven Kruijswijk introduced the world to this name when he chose it for his son born in 2016. It is related to the name Perry, which also means pear tree.

Grit became a buzzword in the 2010s, thanks to both the 2010 film True Grit and psychologist Angela Duckworth's 2016 book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance. The book, based on Duckworth's research, attributes success to grittiness. Clearly, the message stuck with parents, as Grit debuted as a name for boys in 2021.

Brusque and charmless, two things you don't want your son to be.

A classic form of George in Slovenia, although up-and-comer Jurij has now eclipsed Jure in popularity.

A traditional and important Arabic name — Sai'd bin Zayd was a friend of the prophet Muhammed.

Sociable middle name choice with a Quaker feel.

An attractive and popular choice in the Netherlands, but not one we see making it to the Top 50 in the US anytime soon.

Pronounced like Bruce with a hard K — not like Brook. Short names are very popular in Catalonia, and this rugged choice is a rare example of a botanical boy name.

A Slovene choice that periodically appears at the bottom of Slovenia's Top 100. It first appeared on the Slovenian charts in 2011, when parents started using Nal for its on-trend sounds. However, Nal has no etymological roots in Slovene.

Professional surfer Craig Elmer Chapman went by the avian nickname Owl. We could see it working as a given name, a la Hawk and Dove.

Wong is a common romanization of the pinyin Chinese family names Huang and Wang, as well as rarer surnames such as Heng and Hong.

This very nouveau-sounding combination of Rhett and Riot was one of the fastest-rising boys names of 2017.