Boys Baby Names

Picking a name is one of the first big decisions you’ll make for your son — and one of the only ones nobody else gets a vote on. Below is a searchable list of nearly 800 boys’ names, drawn from Hebrew, Old English, Teutonic, Celtic, Greek, and dozens of other roots, each with its traditional origin and meaning. Type a name into the search box to look one up directly, search a meaning like “warrior” or “noble” to browse by theme, or search an origin like “Gaelic” to see everything from one tradition. You can also jump straight to a letter using the A–Z bar above the list.

A Few Things Worth Thinking About

A name’s meaning is a nice detail, but it’s rarely what makes or breaks the decision — how it sounds, and how it holds up over a lifetime, usually matters more. A few questions worth running through before you settle on one:

• How does it sound with your last name? Read the full name out loud a few times. Some combinations that look fine on paper trip over each other out loud.
• What will the nicknames be? Most names get shortened eventually, whether you plan it or not — “William” becomes “Will” or “Liam” on a playground with or without your permission.