Two Syllable Boy Names

This familiar Irish surname, best known as the name of the mononamed Welsh female singer, is extremely rare as a first name in the US but could make an original Irish choice.

A simplified spelling of the French name Yannick. It's almost unknown to English speakers, but could be an interesting Euro-chic alternative to the more popular Henrik.

Passé pasha image.

Related to the word democracy, and easier as a name.

Though it has some distinguished political and tennis world associations, most modern parents would go for the more contemporary sounding Holden. Tilden Park is a beautiful hillside wilderness in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Anas is an Arabic name uncommon in the US -- it was given to 130 baby boys last year -- but popular in Spain, England and Wales, Italy, and especially France.

Toni Morrison, a master of character naming, coined this one for the best friend of hero Milkman Dead in Song of Solomon. Definitely a cool choice, with a twang.

A strong and evocative Kazakh moon name. It also appears in Estonia as a masculine form of the popular girl name Aino, meaning "the only one".

Used primarily for girls in Ireland, but sounds unisex to us.

While Faust, who sold his soul to the devil, was anything but fortunate, this Latinate variation is more commonly heard and accepted.

This airy Finnish and Swedish name may derive either from Greek "aura" (breath; breeze), or from Old Norse "aurr" (earth; clay).

An English surname derived from multiple place names, which ranked in the Top 500 for boys in the US until the turn of the 20th century.

Diamond was a big hit for girls in the nineties, ultimately making it into the Top 150. It's a relative rarity today for baby girls and boys, for whom the name also peaked in the nineties.

Found as a first name primarily in baseball books giving the stats on the late New York Yankee Thurman Munson.

Used for both genders in its native country, though more often for girls, Tirion is a rare Welsh name with a lovely sound and meaning.

Irish spelling of Ivor

Xaphan is a fallen angel who rebelled against God along with Satan.

Sounds like the name of a new synthetic fabric.

Dapper-sounding choice with old American roots (Dabney Cosby was a 19th century Virginian architect who worked with Thomas Jefferson on some of that state's most iconic buildings). Dabney Montgomery was Martin Luther King Jr's bodyguard, giving this name yet more American history depth. Dab is a sweet nickname option for this name.