Five Letter 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.

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

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.

Flash Gordon makes this a superhero name, but Flash might just appeal to modern parents looking for one of the new active boys' names, ala Ace and Breaker and Ranger. We'd recommend something more pulled-together as a proper name with Flash as a nickname or middle name.

Sounds like the name of a new synthetic fabric.

The original southern Good Ol' Boy.

This spelling variation of Cason isn't quite as widely used as the original.

While patriot Thomas Paine is a worthy honoree, the mere association with the word 'pain' knocks this name out of bounds.

A busby is the English name for the fur military headdress originally worn by the Hungarian hussars. As a first name, Busby is also the unique name of iconic movie choreographer Busby Berkeley.

Zetsu is a monstrous character name from the Naruto anime and manga series. It's not used as a baby name in Japan, where it literally means "tongue." We like its zippy sound but admit that you're unlikely to find many baby Zetsus in the US either.

Related to the Arabic Warda, Vered is a strong sounding nature name with a sweet floral meaing.

Mingo is a cute nickname of the Spanish version of Dominic. It's not to be confused with Mungo, the name of the patron saint of Glasgow.

Variant of Eamonn, itself a form of Edmund

A grandfather name in Norway, where it was a Top 5 name through the 1940s and '50s.

A rarely-used spin on a classic.

Björn is a pervasive Swedish name that can be found on popularity charts throughout Northern Europe and now in the US as well. There are too many renowned Björns (and Bjørns and Bjorns) to list them all here, but an early bearer is Björn Ironside, Viking chief and king of Sweden. Modern associations include tennis great Björn Borg, who helped popularize his name in the 1970s, and Björn Ulvaeus, one-quarter of the Swedish band ABBA.

Shorter, more palatable form of Vladimir, best known as the surname of French director Roger.