Boy names

Alexander to Yusuf.

1. Alexander

   Boy

   From Alexandros to Alexander. Alexander is the Latinized form of the Greek name Alexandros.

   Defender of men. Its Greek parts bring together “defend” or “protect” and the word for “man”, giving the sense “defender of men”.

2. Ali

   Boy

   A name with a place in Islamic history. Ali has a close historical connection to Muhammad’s family: Ali ibn Abi Talib was his cousin and son-in-law, and an early Muslim caliph. That association may matter alongside the sound of the name.

   Lofty or exalted. In Arabic, Ali (عليّ) means “lofty” or “exalted”. It comes from a root meaning “to be high”.†

   † This meaning belongs to the Arabic masculine name عليّ; other names spelled Ali have separate histories.

3. Arthur

   Boy

   A place in the Arthurian stories. Arthur carries a connection with the legendary King Arthur and the medieval stories told around him.

   Is Arthur a bear name?. Celtic bear roots are one proposed explanation; the Roman family name Artorius is another. You can enjoy the bear connection while keeping that uncertainty in mind.†

   † These are proposed derivations, not settled translations.

   A glimpse of Arthur in 1534. Arthur appears in a Coventry record from 1534. If you like a name with a long English history, that is a small glimpse of it in use.

4. Boaz

   Boy

   Boaz has a place in Ruth's story. In biblical tradition, Boaz is Ruth's husband. The name also belongs to one of the pillars before Solomon's Temple.

   A Hebrew name with an uncertain meaning. Boaz comes from Hebrew and is written בֹּעַז. One proposed meaning is “swiftness” or “quickness”.†

   † “Swiftness” or “quickness” is a questioned proposal, not an established literal meaning.

5. Cormac

   Boy

   Cormac has a place in Irish legend. Cormac mac Airt is a high king in Irish legend. Outside the stories, Cormac is used as a given name in both Irish and English.†

   † Accounts of Cormac mac Airt belong to legend; dates given for his reign are uncertain.

   An Irish name with an unsettled meaning. Cormac comes through Old Irish Cormac or Corbmac. Its final element means “son”; proposed first elements include “chariot” or “wagon”, and “defilement” or “corruption”.†

   † These are alternative proposals, not established translations. Woulfe also records “son of Corb”.

6. Dylan

   Boy

   Dylan’s sea connection begins with a story. In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Dylan is Arianrhod’s son, who enters the sea soon after birth.†

   † This is an episode of legend, not history.

   One proposed reading of Dylan. One proposed reading joins Welsh dy, “to” or “toward”, with llanw, “tide” or “flow”.†

   † The sea story is a literary association; this etymological proposal is not a settled translation.

7. Enzo

   Boy

   Several name families. Enzo can be short for Vincenzo or Lorenzo. Other proposed origins are Heinz, a short form of Heinrich, and the Germanic name Anzo.†

   † There is no settled meaning for Enzo; as a short form, it takes the longer name’s meaning.

8. Ezra

   Boy

   A name with a scribe's story. In Jewish tradition, Ezra is the priest and scribe who led exiles back to Jerusalem and helped restore public Torah observance. That gives a family a particular story to pass on with the name.

   The short meaning is help. Ezra means “help” in Hebrew. It is a small word to carry into a very large undertaking: raising a person.

   A possible longer form. Ezra is probably an abbreviated form of Azaryahu, “God helps”. The short name is written עֶזְרָא in Hebrew.†

   † The longer form is a probable explanation, not a settled expansion of Ezra.

9. Felix

   Boy

   A fortunate Latin name. Felix comes from the Latin word felix, meaning “happy” or “fortunate.” It was also a Roman personal name.

10. Finn

    Boy

    Finn and the stories of Fionn. Finn has an Irish link with the legendary hero Fionn mac Cumhaill. Kuno Meyer’s English translation of The Boyish Exploits of Finn calls him Finn mac Cumaill.†

    † Finn mac Cumaill is the translator’s English spelling, not a claim about the exact spelling in an Irish manuscript.

    The Irish history of Finn. Finn is an Old Irish form and an English anglicization of Fionn, connected with the Irish word for “white”. Finn is also used as an English given name.†

    † The word meaning belongs to the Irish tradition. It describes neither a modern bearer’s appearance nor every name spelled Finn.

    † The Norse Finn comes from Finnr and has a separate history from the Irish name.

11. Hamish

    Boy

    Hamish comes from addressing James in Gaelic. Seumas is the Scottish Gaelic form of James. Address someone named Seumas in Gaelic and you say “a Sheumais”; Hamish is an anglicized form of Sheumais.†

    † Sheumais is a grammatical form used in direct address, not a modern nickname for Seumas.

    † Hamish belongs to James’s name family rather than having a separate word meaning of its own.

12. Harvey

    Boy

    A Breton name family. Harvey comes from an older Breton name, also found in French as Hervé.

    More than one reading. One reading is “battle-worthy.” Another joins “iron” or “battle” with “eager,” “keen” or “fiery.”†

    † The Breton elements have no single agreed interpretation.

13. Hugo

    Boy

    Hugo and Hugh. Hugo and Hugh belong to the same Germanic name family.

    Mind and thought. The old Germanic element behind Hugo carries the sense of “mind” or “thought.”

14. Ibrahim

    Boy

    The Abraham connection. Ibrahim is an Arabic form of Abraham, written إبراهيم.

    A traditional interpretation. Abraham’s Hebrew name is traditionally read as “father of a multitude,” though its exact derivation is uncertain.†

    † This explains the Hebrew name Abraham; it is not a translation of Ibrahim from Arabic.

15. Jax

    Boy

    A short form that stands alone. Jax works as a given name in its own right and as a short form of Jackson. You can choose the three-letter name without choosing Jackson for the birth certificate.

    The meaning comes through Jackson. The Jackson connection carries the sense “son of Jack”. A Jack or Jackson in your family may be part of the appeal.†

    † This is a Jackson-linked reading, not a universal literal meaning of Jax.

16. Levi

    Boy

    Levi has a biblical family story. In biblical tradition, Levi is the third son of Jacob and Leah and an ancestor of the Levites. A family may choose the name for that story, for its sound, or for a connection of their own.†

    † This is a biblical genealogy, not a claim about any modern family's ancestry or religion.

    Often connected with joined or attached. Levi is a Hebrew masculine name passed on through biblical tradition. “Joined” or “attached” is a familiar interpretation of its meaning.†

    † “Joined” or “attached” is a conventional interpretation; the ancient etymology has competing explanations.

17. Louis

    Boy

    Louis and the Ludwig family. Louis is a French form in the Ludwig family of names, probably through the Latinized name Ludovicus.

    Fame and battle. The older Germanic name combines elements for fame and war or battle, giving the familiar interpretation “famous in battle.”

18. Luca

    Boy

    An Italian member of the Luke family. Luca is an Italian form of Lucas, in the same name family as Luke.

    A possible place connection. The older name probably meant “from Lucania,” a region of southern Italy.†

    † A link with Lucius is another possibility.

19. Mohammad

    Boy

    The Prophet's name. Mohammad is one spelling of the Prophet Muhammad's name. For families who name a son after the Prophet, that link can be part of what they pass on.†

    † This is a tradition in some Muslim communities, not an explanation for every person's name or a rule for all families.

    Praised or commendable. Mohammad comes from Arabic Muhammad, meaning “praised” or “commendable”. The related verb ḥamida means “to praise”.

20. Noah

    Boy

    Noah and the rainbow story. Noah brings the Genesis story of the ark, the flood and the rainbow covenant. If that story is part of your family's faith or reading, it gives the name a connection beyond its sound.

    A meaning of rest. Noah comes from Hebrew Noach, with the meaning “rest” or “repose”. You might like the calm idea in that meaning, without expecting a name to describe a child's temperament.†

    † This meaning belongs to the masculine name, not the distinct feminine Hebrew Noa/Noah.

21. Oren

    Boy

    Oren means pine tree. Oren means “pine tree” in Hebrew.

    From a Hebrew word to a name. The given name comes from the Hebrew noun אֹרֶן, meaning “pine tree”. Oren is documented as a masculine Hebrew given name.

22. Otto

    Boy

    A short name with a long history. If you like a short name with a historical thread, Otto offers one: Otto I, known as Otto the Great, was crowned emperor in 962.

    The wealth connection. Otto grew from German short forms of names beginning with Ot- or Od-. That older name element carries the sense of wealth or property.

23. Yusuf

    Boy

    The Joseph connection. Yusuf is an Arabic form of Joseph and appears in the Quran. In Arabic it is written يوسف.

    Behind the meaning. Behind Yusuf is Hebrew Yosef, explained through a verb meaning “to add” or “to increase.”