Cute, girly boy names

This shows up on the Social Security data for boys, but these days is mostly female: 2700 baby girls were named Allison last year versus six baby boys.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's middle name could make an interesting pick for music-loving parents--if only in middle place. Amadeus is the title of a Peter Shaffer play which became an award-winning film in 1984.

Amica is a word meaning girlfriend that is not often used as a name in Italy, but it would sound pretty and name-like elsewhere.

As a boys' name, Angel has two distinct name personalities. One is as a perennial favorite Hispanic boys’ name, popular in the US along with Spain, Mexico, and South America.

Avery is a unisex name that is used four times as often today for girls as for boys. But while Avery's popularity is starting to soften for girls, it continues to get stronger for boys -- in keeping with our finding that gender neutral names are becoming more favored for boys than for girls.

With Azariah and Azriel in the Top 1000, and Ezra, Josiah, and Isaiah in the Top 100, it makes sense that this lesser known Hebrew choice is being quietly revived in the US. Most likely deriving from Uzziah or Azaziah, Azaiah was given to around 170 babies in 2023.

Azriel is more masculine than Ariel, more unusual than Israel. Also spelled Asriel and Azrael, Azriel is the name of the Angel of Death in Jewish and Muslim traditions.

Bellamy is a surname name with an admirable meaning and upbeat rhythm, similar to jovial choices like Rafferty, Barnaby and Willoughby.

A popular name in Denmark, in this country Bo has some cowboy swagger and a lot of substance in its minimal two letters. In Mandarin Chinese, Bo means "wave".

Calix is once-obscure name that is starting to see some use in the US, where 47 baby boys were named Calix in 2023. An indirect influence is the actress Calista Flockhart, who introduced Americans to the female version of this attractive Greek name to prominence.

Charlie derives, of course, from the classic name Charles which, in turn, comes from a German word meaning "free man." Charles became very popular in France during the Middle Ages due to the fame of Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne. Charley is an alternate spelling.

Nowadays, Clare tends to be viewed as a feminine name, but this is a short and sweet Irish-flavored name that could work just as well on a boy. Noted male bearers of the name Clare include Canadian ice hockey legend Clare Drake, US cartoonist Clare Briggs, and Grammy winning musician Clare Fischer.

Claude is a soft-spoken French name that conjures up the pastel colors of Monet and harmonies of Debussy. In France, it is used for girls as well, in fact in the Tracy Chevalier novel Lady and the Unicorn, the protagonist is a female Claude.

In the early 1990s, Cody was in the Top 25 most popular boys' names in the USA; but it has been in decline since then. It retains a greater degree of popularity in the UK, however. Cody might be short for Dakota but despite its nickname feeling, it's a name of its own.

Drew, which projects a polished, somewhat intellectual impression, is rapidly becoming the Andrew nickname of choice, replacing the past favorite, Andy. It is fully capable of standing on its own, which it has for many decades, non-stop since 1942.

With its sharp, succinct sounds and cool, laidback style, Eli is a popular choice among parents today. Compact and punchy, it is a Biblical name with plenty of charm.

Elizar is the Spanish version of this attractive name, on the cusp of going from uncommon to big.

Ellis is a former Old Man Name turned gender-neutral choice for the 21st century. It's one of the less used names in the currently popular El-family.