Five Letter Boy Names

Tegan is a Welsh saint's name. While some may conflate it with the Irish Teagan, they have different roots and meanings though both are used for girls as well as boys. Teagan is the more usual spelling and tips more heavily girlward, though Tegan runs about four to one girls versus boys. Tegan is pronounced with a long e sound in the first syllable, while Teagan can be pronounced either tee-gan or tay-gun.

Rarely used surname, associated with humorous poet Ogden Nash.

Josie and Josey read as feminine names, but a handful of boys are given this form as a first name each year. Josey is also heard as a pet name for Joseph.

Irish form of Jamie

Zakai bears a lot of resemblance to the ancient Hebrew name Zaccai, but many modern parents are using it as an elaboration of the popular name Kai, blending it with Zack.

Bruin is the Old English term for bear, taken from the Dutch word meaning brown. Bruin might be a sports fan's choice or an animal name in hiding. As a kind of hybrid of Roone and Bruno, it's definitely got some cool.

The lotus is a meaningful symbol in many East Asian cultures, where it symbolizes purity, enlightenment, and rebirth. As a name, it's much more common among baby girls, but a small number of boys are named Lotus each year.

Alvis, sometimes spelled Alviss, is a dwarf in Norse mythology who claims to know everything and names all the features of the natural world to show off to Thor, whose daughter Alvis wants to marry. But he gets so caught up in showing off his knowledge that the sun comes up and turns him to stone.

Lazer has some biblical cred as a form of Eliezer, Eleazar, or Lazarus, all relatives, and it's also a modern bad boy name a la Ranger and Breaker. Our recommendation would be to use one of the biblical forms as the proper name and Lazer as a nickname.

Yes, the poet Joyce Kilmer ("Trees") was a man, the very last male named Joyce. And even for women, it's been in limbo for several generations.

Inspired by the rise of the African place name, Jaire is a recently new creation. The original form derives from a Congo term meaning "the river that swallows all rivers", and is currently a Top 500 choice in the US.

This variation of Aryan has a slightly less racist connotation, making it a bit more acceptable. Arian debuted on the Top 1000 in 2011, but didn't have a sustained rise on the charts. This is likely due to the Aryan connection and the popularity of all things Aria among girls.

No-no appelation of a child saint and martyr whose name is a term for the nervous condition known as Saint Vitus' Dance. Its one recommending feature is that it's among the elite group Boy names that mean life.

Piero is elegant, melodic, appealing. Just picture the muted frescoes of Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca.

The Old Norse and modern Norwegian word name Fjord, which refers to a passage in the sea, could work for children of both genders. It conjures vivid blue, ice laden landscapes.

Riker gets relatively little use as a variation of Ryker, likely because of the connection to Riker's Island, the New York City prison. It was named after NYC magistrate Richard Riker, whose ancestor Abraham Rycken first purchased the island.

A name that took on a pronounced country twang via Nashville megastar Garth (born Troyal) Brooks.

An obscure Old Testament name used by parents of 75 boys in 2016, Oziel could be a distinctive route to fashionable nickname Oz.

A Leave It to Beaver/old comic-strip name, vacationing for years with the Griswolds in WallyWorld, but now back as WALL-E?