Popular Boy Names for Your Little Bundle of Joy

PICKING OUT A NAME FOR YOUR BABY BOY ISN'T EASY. NARROW DOWN YOUR CHOICE WITH THE SUGGESTIONS BELOW.

You made the announcement, you've set up the nursery, you may have already given birth—but there's one last thing you need to do before announcing your baby to the world: name them. As many parents can attest, it's not as easy as it sounds. With that in mind, we put together a list of possibilities for soon-to-be moms and dads still struggling with the decision. To kick off our exploration of popular baby names, we're looking into options for little boys, specifically. We've broken things up by category to help make things a little easier. Whether you're looking for rare boy names or something a little more traditional, we've got you covered.

READ THIS NEXT: 300 Girl Names for Fierce & Independent Women. 

How Have Baby Boy Names Evolved Over the Years?
Shutterstock / Oleg Golovnev

Each year, the Social Security Administration rounds up the top 1,000 baby boy names. While the series has certainly evolved over the years, more current trends seem somewhat persistent. Thanks to a shift in popularity, the name Liam appeared number one on the list five years in a row, from 2017 to 2021.

Other popular baby boy names like Noah, Oliver, and Elijah followed close behind, though there were a few more modern hits on the list, such as Maverick and Kai.

This indicates a notable change compared to baby name data collected from previous generations, where names like John, Robert, and James served as about as much variety as you could expect.

That's not to say to parents have completely abandoned more traditional names—they haven't. Much like trends in fashion, the popularity of names follows a cyclical pattern. Popular options on the administration's most recent list also include names like Theodore, Henry, and Benjamin.

466 Top Baby Boy Names

The perfect baby boy name is out there. In fact, it may very well be hidden in the list below. Read on to find the right fit for your newborn.

Unique Baby Boy Names
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Cannon
Denver
Everest
Killian
Adan
Mario
Osvaldo
Reggie
Romeo
Pierce
Beckett
Spencer
Gideon
Otto
Callum
Emerson
Cayden
Andre
Jonah
Arden
Kaiden
Dean
Matteo
Tucker
Jaxon
Guy
Julio
Clay
Amir
Bradford
Kendric
Emmett
Ryder
Atlas
Jace
Micah
Walker
Jasper
Thiago
Theo
Braxton
Jude
Rhett
Arnie
Orson
Bennett
Edison
Darius
Remington
Griffin
Emmanuel
Barrett
Zayden
Dawson
Milo
Octavius
Nash
Asher
Ari
Sal
Gender Neutral Names
Shutterstock / Netrun78
Zyon
Cheyenne
Coby
Arrow
Madison
Avery
Rowan
Lennon
Darcey
Noah
Gael
Casey
Taylor
Evelyn
Toby
Harper
Ariel
Kendall
Whitney
Ricki
Taryn
Billie
Emery
Hunter
London
Monroe
Jaime
Rory
Jordan
Mackenzie
Carey
Indigo
Riley
Cameron
Raleigh
Skylar
Jayden
James
Presley
Dakota
Robin
Sloan
Kirby
Marley
Morgan
Taegan
Brooklyn
Blythe
Peyton
Adair
Bellamy
Raine
Lawson
Bronte
Chandler
Sinclair
Alexis
Angel
Briar
Sidney
Traditional Names
Shutterstock / noBorders – Brayden Howie
Philip
Damon
William
Arthur
Jeffrey
Martin
Reid
Bryan
Kyle
Derek
Michael
Oscar
John
Nicholas
Henry
Gregory
Norman
Joseph
Wyatt
Brandon
Robert
George
Kevin
Shane
Cole
Nathaniel
Jason
Oliver
Harry
Gregory
Todd
Maurice
Thomas
Dale
Gary
Leroy
Leon
Sam
Trenton
Antonio
Justin
Tucker
Raymond
Cristian
Brendon
Colin
Cedric
Sebastian
Walter
Brady
David
Mark
Leo
Nicholas
Roger
Douglas
Parker
Beau
Odin
Anderson
Franklin
Clark
Louis
Quincy
Travis
Devin
Cesar
Clark
Vincent
Richard
Stanley
Mitchell
Edgar
Collin
Damon
Donovan
Ethan
Ralph
Logan
Owen
Julian
Eric
Kenneth
Albert
Sean
Alvin
Sam
Leonard
Everest
Gary
Leroy
Charles
Animal Names For Baby Boys
Shutterstock / Onjira Leibe
Fox
Bear
Drake
Sparrow
Finch
Buck
Hawk
Lion
Tipu
Madigan
Otter
Tod
Wren
Conan
Marshall
Shepherd
Tiger
Fawn
Lowell
Phoenix
Colt
Bram
Lynx
Deryn
Wolf
Leo
Auberon
Bernard
Averett
Pike
Channing
Raoul
Scriptural Boy Names
Shutterstock / FotoAndalucia
Judah
Mohammad
Cyrus
Aaron
Jared
Abraham
Ibrahim
Peter
Simon
Asif
Tobias
Zacharia
Benjamin
Caleb
Abel
Felix
Ephraim
Andrew
Ayaan
Bilal
Mordechai
Luke
Daniel
Jacob
Isaac
Levi
Reuben
Silas
Isaiah
Hamza
Samson
Adam
Paul
Stephen
Timothy
Israel
Christopher
Ezekiel
Joshua
Joel
Javed
Kamran
Amos
Luke
Seth
Marcus
Jason
Simon
Usman
Lucas
Nadeem
Samir
Kane
Aziel
Joseph
Avi
Baby Boy Names Inspired by Food
Shutterstock / Sarah Krieg
Barley
Almond
Alfredo
Pippin
Dill
Waldorf
Benedict
Rye
Sage
Napoleon
Mulligan
Wellington
Basil
Roe
Dijon
Graham
Tamarind
Fig
Kobe
Anise
Frank
Bran
Chip
Hero
Hash
Ice
Barack
Berry
Caper
Plum
Rockstar Names
Shutterstock / Cindy Hughes
Ramon
Ricky
Jagger
Ozzy
Hendrix
Keith
Freddie
Jerry
Dylan
Prince
Axl
Kurt
Stevie
Angus
Harrison
Elton
Lennon
Elvis
Jett
Buddy
Cooper
Orbison
Ringo
Lars
Hetfield
Jarvis
Syd
Otis
Miles
Simon
Iggy
Zander
Cool Baby Boy Names
Shutterstock / Katrina Elena
Hayes
Baker
Matthias
Jayceon
Kashton
Maynard
Dallas
Ronin
Ford
Mathias
Marcellus
Porter
Colby
Duke
Beckham
Hugo
Saint
Rocco
Trenton
Kylan
Kenji
Hernan
Boone
Chuckie
Ledger
Rhodes
Chase
Parker
Riggs
King
Arlo
Zaire
Keanu
Boston
Dante
Titus
Finely
Austin
Blaze
Maximus
Crew
Cash
Ronan
Jack
Ace
Elio
Madden
Adonis
Knox
Zane
Jax
Paxton
Nico
Baby Boy Names Inspired by Nature
Shutterstock / Gorloff-KV
Acer
River
Bay
Forest
Birch
Elwood
Bonsai
Bud
Reef
Stone
Java
Leaf
Hawthorne
Aloe
Brooks
Cedar
Bergamont
Ambrose
Raine
Castor
Orin
Banks
Cosmo
Marlin
Koi
Frost
Geo
Linden
Juniper
Clay
Eden
Flint
Kingsley
Nile
Moss
Branch
Oleander
Pine
Gai
Everest
Lennox
Cypress
Elm
Grover
Cove
Gibbon
Gardner
Aloe
Hemlock
Yarrow
Sherwood
What's in a Name, Really?
Shutterstock / Kateryna Onyshchuk

What's in a name? A lot, as it turns out. These designations carry significant implications for where we stand from a historical, familial, and cultural perspective.

Naming a new baby also provides opportunities to tap into deep personal connections. Many parents use the occasion to honor those they hold dear. And if there are multiple people you want to incorporate into tradition—hey, you can always make room for a middle name.

That doesn't even cover the influence these titles have on the individuals they're assigned to. Research into the power names has taken place for the better part of a century. Back in 1948, two Harvard professors kicked things off with a study of thirty-three hundred recent graduates, looking to determine whether their names had any major impact on their academic performance.

According to the study, participants with more unusual names were more likely to have flunked out or to have exhibited signs of psychological neurosis than those with more traditional names.

Of course, as time went on, stigmas surrounding unusual name picks seemed to diminish. We all remember Gwyneth Paltrow's early-aughts decision to name her firstborn daughter "Apple." And later, when Elon Musk and Grimes topped that with their decision to name their kid the nonlinguistic "X Æ A-12."

(That one was even too much for the bureaucracy—while weird names continue to fill up the census, the state of California still maintains they can only include the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language).

Still, that hardly means these titles exist independently from their owners. More recent data suggests that names can influence anything from professional choices and martial partners to more niche behaviors like investment options and the ability to work well in a group setting.

These decisions are largely driven by something called the implicit-egotism effect. The theory states that people unconsciously gravitate toward things they associate with themselves. If the hypothesis holds up, we can assume that when presented with a choice between a Rolex or a watch from Cartier, the author of this article would opt for the latter.

Of course, there are other influences on how our names impact the way we move about the world. In 2004, economists Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan sent out 5,000 resumes in response to job opportunities listed in the classifieds in two major American cities.

They found applications associated with "white-sounding" names, like Emily and Greg, received 50 percent more callbacks than those with a "Black-sounding" name, like Lakisha or Jamal. Similar findings have also been collected on an international level.

While our names and their influence on how we're treated will vary drastically based on where we are and the community we are surrounded by, what we know is this: Our names communicate important information about us, from our heritage and values to socioeconomic standing. How people respond to these signifiers may not be within our control, but it certainly helps shape who we become.

Wrapping Up

That's it for our list of names for your baby boy. Be sure to check back with us soon for more ideas to share with the ones you love. You can also sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss out!