8 Letter Boy Names

Zanzibar is an island region off the coast of Tanzania. It's never been recorded as a baby name, but for those with a connection to Zanzibar, it's an intriguing and unique option chock full of zesty Zs.

Rarely used biblical choice -- he's a son of Jacob -- with a bit of a white-bearded image.

Despite the presidential pedigree, it's still hard to shake the image of the cartoon cat (named after his creator Jim Davis's grandfather). However, there are other Garfields, such as Barbadian cricket player Sir Garfield Sobers, who carries it with gravitas.

A virtuous and optimistic name whose most famous bearer is the former president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan.

Rarely used these days, Onesimus was the name of an escaped enslaved man in the Bible who met St. Paul in prison. Its Greek sound is obvious, and its four syllables make it one that might be hard to wear in the twenty-first century.

More dramatic, worldly, and energetic spin on Gregory.

One of the first authentically Slavic names many Americans heard (but couldn't pronounce), via 1960s to 70s former presidential advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski. Even after all these years, still problematic.

Rare surname name deriving from an old German word meaning "foreigner" or "stranger". Ellender is actress Blake Lively's middle name.

Kit and Topher are the Christopher nicknames du jour, thanks to actors Harington and Grace. But now that Chris is feeling less ubiquitous, this jaunty Scottish and Irish short form has a certain charm.

All names ending in ville are in nowheresville.

First used for Norse invaders, this name, along with the similar Lachlan, is an attractive, worldly, and unusual choice — despite connections to the Nevada gambling resort.

Astrological name retains a hippielike Age of Aquarius feel.

A Shakespearean name used for the wild and witty best friend of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. A variant of the name, which supposedly derives from Mercurius/Mercury, first appeared in one of Shakespeare's sources, Luigi Da Porto's 1530 play Giulietta e Romeo.

Italian form of Gratian, the name of a Roman emperor who campaigned across the Rhine and favored Christianity over paganism. Graziano isn't common either in the English-speaking world or its native Italy, although the boxer Rocky Graziano adopted it from his grandfather's surname. In the current vogue for names ending in -o and Italian names, it may be worth a second look.

Upstanding New England patrician name.

The English name pool is lacking a male equivalent to Seraphina, but this angelic boy name is occasionally used in France.