# Need ideas for boys' names. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391 "2009-06-10T23:10:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/1 "2009-06-10T23:10:17Z")
Oni no Husband and I may well be procreating. We’ve had a girls’ name picked out since about the time we started considering the idea (and we both really do want a girl) but there’s at least a 50% chance that the Potential Offspring will have a Y chromosome, and we don’t want him getting beat up on account of being named Athena Marie. Requirements/guidelines: At least two syllables (this is important) Not a “last-name-as-first-name”; both of us hate that trend. Interesting. Not never-before-heard-of, not common as dirt. Not a misspelling of another name (ie, Ayden, Brandonn, Lerry) Oni no Husband is agitating strongly (though I don’t know how seriously) for Bahamut. I told him that, geek-pride or no, there is no way in hell is my son going to be named after a summons from FFVII. His second choice is Solomon, which I’m meh about, but it’s kinda growing on me. He tends to prefer Old Testament names generally. I like nature/mythological names - my current favorite is Arthur. Apollo is nice, too, and works well with Athena…but I once knew an Apollo and the name really worked against him. I’m also kinda partial to Kestrel, but Oni no Husband hates it. Ideas? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/2 "2009-06-10T23:54:10Z")
Gilgamesh He’s not really a summon so it’s ok ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/3 "2009-06-10T23:55:19Z")
If we’d had a boy, we were going to use “Chaplin.” Obviously, this violates your No Last Names rule, but if you’re a fan of Chaplin, it transcends that trend, I think. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/4 "2009-06-11T00:09:14Z")
[This site](http://www.thinkbabynames.com/search/1/greek) has three hundred Greek baby names for boys. Of their list, I like: Ajax Galen Giles Jasper Julius Juri Marcus Nico Piers Rhodes (originally a place, rather than a last name, apparently. so is my name) Silas Theron Zale Well, I like Cadmus and Daedalus too, but those are a lot more dated 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/5 "2009-06-11T00:09:37Z")
My son is named Howard - I’m not sure whether that violates your last-names-rule or not. Have you checked out [nymbler.com](http://nymbler.com)? ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/6 "2009-06-11T00:11:25Z")
May I inquire about the two-syllable rule? I came in here with a list of good names but many are too short. Liam Julian (just met one today, in fact) Aristotle Gawain Broderick Griffin Ariel (pronounced are-ee-el, not air-ee-el) ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/7 "2009-06-11T00:11:43Z")
Criteria I had when choosing my daughter’s name: Must fit well with middle name, which was already a given - a feminised version of my Grandad’s name. Do you know what middle name you’d like? That makes a difference. Must fit well with the surname. I presume this is why you want two syllables or more? I had the same criterion. My surname ruled a lot of my favourite names out, unfortunuately. ☹ Must not create unfortunate initials. Must not have been used by anyone in my family, or anyone I know unless I don’t see them often. Must be connected to my wider life - Shakespeare’s plays provided a lot of options for me, but that was for girls’ names. Must have an OK meaning. Must not be in the top twenty popular names, but also not so odd that everyone would assume the kid’s mother was a weirdo. Must not have a short form that I dislike. Given that, I liked, for boys: Gabriel, William (sadly ruled out because of my surname, and it’s also hugely popular), Toby (mainly because of the baby in Labyrinth), Bruno (it sounded a bit too much like a dog’s name, but it’s also turned out to be rather popular for little boys where I live), Rufus (ditto), Oscar (though it was too popular - and I don’t like Oz as a nickname), Harry (ruled out for various reasons, especially popularity, but I still like the name), and Jonah. Some Old Testament names are lovely. Ezekiel (though then you get Zeke), Isaiah (Izzy), Zachariah (HUGELY popular in various forms), Balthazar, etc. Gilgamesh not so much, and he’d _always_ be called Gil. Inigo is a name not one, but two acquaintances of mine have chosen for their sons, with really ordinary surnames. Of course, it’ll be consistently misspelt as Indigo, but that’s not so bad. If you chose Arthur, and moved to the UK, he would meet quite a few other Arthurs his age. Grandad names are on their second round, as usually happens. Apollo is probably one of the few names that would stand out as weird round here. Maybe Bahamut could be a middle name. That’s a name that would need not only spelling out every time someone writes it down, but every time someone hears it. Bahawhut? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/8 "2009-06-11T00:13:22Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > [This site](http://www.thinkbabynames.com/search/1/greek) has three hundred Greek baby names for boys. Of their list, I like: > Ajax > Galen > Giles > **Jasper** > Julius > \*\*Juri \*\* > Marcus > Nico > Piers > Rhodes (originally a place, rather than a last name, apparently. so is my name) > \*\*Silas \*\* > Theron > Zale > Well, I like Cadmus and Daedalus too, but those are a lot more dated 🙂 I like the bolded ones too. Silas also has a literary precedent in Silar Marner. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/9 "2009-06-11T00:18:41Z")
I think she’d prefer a name that won’t get her son picked on. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/10 "2009-06-11T00:40:55Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > I think she’d prefer a name that won’t get her son picked on. Yeah, but she’s considering Apollo and her partner’s rooting for Bahamut. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/11 "2009-06-11T01:42:21Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > I like the bolded ones too. Silas also has a literary precedent in Silar Marner. Sylar is nice. Only a little evil. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/12 "2009-06-11T01:50:56Z")
Christian Muhammad- (covers three billion of the world’s inhabitants) I think an unusual name should be balanced with a traditional, like Nicholas Selwyn (Selwyn’s a Gaelic name I’ve always liked) or Jason Padraig or James Tiberius ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/13 "2009-06-11T01:56:52Z")
I like Gunnar. I don’t pronounce it like the Dutch; I pronounce it “gunner.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/14 "2009-06-11T02:09:50Z")
Hell, I just like Marcus. And meets your criteria. Bonus for no gratuitous ‘Y’ (the chromosome is Y enough) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/15 "2009-06-11T02:33:13Z")
I always fancied Etsee or Varédiem. For some reason they just sounded so comfortable yet powerful. I could trust someone who had either of those names. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/16 "2009-06-11T06:17:43Z")
What’s wrong with a good old fashioned Anglo Saxon name? Osric Ceolwulf Athelstan Thinfrith Wigmund etc. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/17 "2009-06-11T09:13:55Z")
Throckmorton Morton Nigel Basil Cornelius Devon ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/18 "2009-06-11T10:19:43Z")
John (or Jon) or Atticus are my two current favorite names. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/19 "2009-06-11T10:40:00Z")
Cormac Aidan Lorcan Tiernan Odhran Fiachra ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391/20 "2009-06-11T13:27:51Z")
You’re hilarious, **An Gadai**! I came in to suggest Cormac! 😃 Also- Zack Conner Declan Cameron Erik Jack Johnny Kelly Dana [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-for-boys-names/499391.md?page=2)