Three Letter Boy Names

Simple Biblical name with an auspicious meaning. There are two men named Gad in the Old Testament — one the first son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the other a prophet of King David.

Cameron is still more popular as a boy's name than a girls and this simple, snappy short form works well for either sex.

Giovanni is the Italian form of John, and Gio is its dashing nickname. A lot cooler than Johnny, no?

An interesting and attractive bicultural choice--the Hebrew version is used for babies born in spring, when turtledoves arrive--especially as a middle.

Ovidio Crespo is a Cuban musician known mononymously as Ovi. His name is related to Ovid, the English name of Ancient Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso, who wrote the Metamorphoses.

From an Arabic word meaning "owner of", and often found as the first part of compound names.

One of the most familiar, and assertive, names found throughout the Middle East and India, with a macho soap opera aura in this country.

More of an abbreviation than a short form that can stand on its own.

A friendly nickname for Joachim, also used independently in Finland and Sweden.

Short and strong multicultural option for a son. Nev Schulman (born Yaniv) is the creator of the MTV series Catfish.

Unisex Japanese name used more often for girls these days. Potential successor to Kai.

Popularized in Scotland by Tam O'Shanter, the hero of one of Robert Burns' most famous poems, it's associated in the U.S. with the plaid cap he gave his name to.

Better to stick with the Neil spelling in the US, where the word "nil" also means "zero." But this is a Top Ten name in Catalonia.

Russian form of Eli mainly used today by families with Russian Jewish heritage.

This name of the largest river in Scotland, renowned for its salmon fishing, is usually thought of as a nickname for Taylor.

A unisex Chinese and Vietnamese with an appealingly simple, vowel-rich spelling.

A cutesy nickname — identical sounding to the more substantial Rue and Roux.

An appealing Hindi name borne by Mindy Kahling's architect father Avu Chokalingam. She bestowed it on her son Spencer as a middle name in 2020.