Boy names that start with B cover a lot of ground, from biblical staples like Benjamin and Bartholomew to sharp modern picks like Brixton and Bodhi. Here are 100 of them, each with its origin, meaning, pronunciation, and the U.S. popularity data behind it.
The federal figures come from the Social Security Administration, which has published national baby name counts for births since 1880 and lists a name only when at least five babies received it that year (1). Two names here still sit in the U.S. top 100: Benjamin at 11th and Bennett at 40th in 2025. Baker is the fastest riser, up about 1,179 percent on the previous decade, while Birch is the rarest, at 12,294th, or roughly one boy in every 333,333 births.
Liam took the national top spot for boys in 2025 for the seventh year running (2), so a B name is still a choice rather than a default. Browse by sound, by meaning, or by namesake, and see which one fits your son.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Benjamin, Bennett, Beckett, Barrett and Bailey.
100 Popular Male Names That Start with B
Every name below carries its origin, meaning, pronunciation, and where it stands in the current U.S. rankings.
Babu
Babu comes from the Hindi bappa, a term of respect for a man, and it keeps that warmth wherever it travels. Indian families use it as an everyday endearment as much as a formal given name, which is why it lands softer than its meaning of father suggests. It fits a boy who has already collected three nicknames before breakfast, and parents drawn to the cutest male names that start with B tend to stop here first.
- Origin: Indian
- Meaning: Father
- Pronunciation: Baa-BUUW
- Variations: Baboo, Babou
- Namesakes: Babu Antony, an Indian-American actor appearing in the film Chilampu (1986). Babu Mandial, an Indian politician and member of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
- Popularity: Babu falls below the five-birth threshold the SSA uses before it publishes a name, so no U.S. ranking exists for it. It is mostly used in India.
Bacchio
Bacchio doubles as a “B” surname and traces back to the Latin baculum, meaning staff or rod. The picture behind it is a walking stick, which reads as steadiness rather than stiffness. Italian ears hear something old and slightly ceremonial, the kind of name a grandfather signs in full. For an American family it is a bold pick with almost no chance of a second Bacchio in the class.
- Origin: Italian
- Meaning: Walking stick
- Pronunciation: BAHCK-iy-Oh
- Namesakes: Baccio d’Agnolo (born Bartolomeo Baglioni), an Italian wood carver for the church of Santa Maria Novella. Baccio Baldini, an Italian Renaissance engraver with works in the British Museum.
- Popularity: Bacchio has never met the SSA’s five-birth cutoff for U.S. publication, so no American ranking exists for it. It is primarily used in Italy.
Bacchus
Bacchus belongs to the Roman god of wine. It arrives with a party already attached. Medieval England quietly reused it as an occupational name for someone who worked in a bakehouse. That is a far more domestic image than the myth suggests. The Greek sense of the root is to shout, though bread and wine make the better story. It suits parents who want mythology without reaching for Apollo or Atlas.
- Origin: Latin, English
- Meaning: God of wine
- Pronunciation: BAEK-ahs
- Variations: Baccus, Backus
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Bacchus, which stays under the five-birth line the SSA needs before it lists a name in a given year.
Bailey
Bailey comes from the Old English word for a bailiff, the court official who kept order and collected what was owed. That gives it an unexpectedly formal spine under a very friendly sound. It works on a toddler and it still works on a lawyer. Bailey has read as unisex for decades, so plenty of parents pair it with a firmly masculine middle name.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bailiff
- Pronunciation: BEY-Liy
- Variations: Baily, Bayley
- Namesakes: Bailey Hodgson, an English rugby league footballer for the Newcastle Knights. Bailey Luetgert, an American actor, known for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- Popularity: Bailey ranked 209th for U.S. boys in 2025 and has appeared in the federal data since 1916. Its strongest year was 1998, when it reached 60th.
Baker
Baker sits with Cooper, Tanner, and Sawyer in the trade-name family, and it is climbing faster than any other name here. The Old English root baecere means to dry with heat, which is exactly what an oven does. It sounds warm without going soft, and it shortens to Bake or Bay when a nickname is wanted. Parents who like Beckett but want something less common often land right here.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Baker (occupation)
- Pronunciation: BEY-Ker
- Variations: Bakr
- Namesakes: Baker Mayfield, an American football player for the Carolina Panthers. Baker Terry, an American actor, appearing in the TV series Angry Birds on The Run (2018).
- Popularity: Baker is the fastest riser on this list, up about 1,179 percent when the last decade of U.S. births is measured against the ten years before it. It hit its best rank yet in 2025 at 217th and has charted since 1895.
Baldassare
Baldassare is the Italian form of the Hebrew name Balthazaar. It was borne by one of the three wise men. It is long, rolling, and unapologetically Italian, five syllables that ask to be said properly. The meaning, God protect the king, gives it real weight on paper. Baldo works as an everyday short form.
- Origin: Italian, Hebrew
- Meaning: God protect the king
- Pronunciation: Baal-dah-SAA-Rey
- Variations: Baldassarre
- Namesakes: Baldassare Croce, a 16th-century Italian painter, and director of the Academy of St. Luke in Rome. Baldassare Di Maggio, a member of the Sicilian Mafia who helped police capture the head of Cosa Nostra.
- Popularity: Baldassare surfaced in the U.S. data only once, in 1924, at 4,400th, and has not been recorded since.
Baldur
Baldur belongs to the Norse god of light and beauty. That is a lot of goodwill for one name to carry. The Norse senses also run to prince and courageous army, so it is not purely gentle. It has only just started registering in American birth records. That makes it new here rather than merely uncommon. Said once, it sounds like a saga.
- Origin: Norse
- Meaning: Lord
- Pronunciation: BAAL-Duwr
- Variations: Baulder
- Namesakes: Baldur Bragason, an Icelandic footballer for the Iceland national football team. Baldur Hönlinger, an Austrian chess master who competed in the 1928 Chess Olympiad.
- Popularity: Baldur first appeared in the U.S. data in 2024, at 11,115th, and it did not chart in the most recent year. It is mostly used in Germany.
Balfour
Balfour began as a Scottish place name built from the Gaelic bail(e) for a village farmhouse and por for pasture grass, giving it the plain meaning pasture ground, about as calm as a name gets. It has an old-estate feel, tweedy and a little grand. Balfour has not appeared in the published federal data since 1928, so it is a true revival pick rather than a trend.
- Origin: Gaelic
- Meaning: Grazing land
- Pronunciation: Bael-FAOR
- Variations: Balfor, Ballfour
- Popularity: Balfour last appeared in the U.S. data in 1928, at 4,201st; its best showing was 3,299th back in 1914.
Balthasar
Balthasar is the modern spelling of Balthazaar, and it traces back to the Babylonian Belsharrausur. The name preserves an old idea of divine protection over a king, which is why it attached itself to one of the wise men. It is theatrical in the best way, all consonants and ceremony, though Bal and Baz keep it wearable day to day.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: God protect the king
- Pronunciation: BAEL-thaa-Zaar
- Variations: Balthasaar, Balthazar
- Namesakes: Balthasar Regis, an English Chaplain to the King from 1727 to 1757. Balthasar Glättli, a Swiss politician and member of the National Council since 2020.
- Popularity: Balthasar stays below the SSA’s five-birth publication line, so it carries no U.S. ranking.
Bambam
Bambam is built from sound, literally the noise of a hard slam. Most American parents will hear the Flintstones toddler first, which is exactly the cheerful, thumping energy the name carries. It is common enough in India to read as a real name rather than a joke. As a nickname riding on top of a longer legal name, it is hard to beat.
- Origin: Indian, Maori
- Meaning: Yellow
- Pronunciation: BAAM-BAAM
- Namesakes: Kunpimook Bhuwakul (known as BamBam), a Thai rapper and member of the Korean boy band Got7. Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow, an American wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation.
- Popularity: Bambam is too rare in the United States for the federal data to list it, which requires at least five births in a year. It is mostly used in India.
Bao
Bao means treasure in Chinese and works equally well as a Vietnamese surname. The same syllable also carries bundle, package, and guarantee, which together read like a description of a newborn. One syllable, no spelling trouble in English, and it travels across languages without bending. It pairs cleanly with almost any middle name you already like.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Treasure, jewel
- Pronunciation: BAOW
- Namesakes: Bao Gong, a Chinese politician during China’s 11th-century Song Dynasty. Bao Vo, a Vietnamese-American musician, associated with the band Ming & Ping.
- Popularity: Bao ranked 7,740th for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1976, with a best year of 1,926th in 1986. It is mainly used in Vietnam.
Baptiste
Baptiste is the short form of Jean-Baptiste, the French name for John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus in the River Jordan. French Louisiana kept it in American use long after it faded elsewhere. It sounds crisp and adult. It never quite goes casual, either. Most Baptistes simply stay Baptiste, which is part of the charm.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Baptist
- Pronunciation: Baap-TIYST
- Variations: Baptist
- Namesakes: Baptiste Amar, a French ice hockey player for the France National men’s ice hockey team. Baptiste Giabiconi, a French male model for Karl Lagerfeld.
- Popularity: Baptiste last charted in the U.S. in 2021, at 10,949th, and its strongest year was 1913, when it reached 2,855th.
Barak
Barak comes from the Hebrew root B-R-K, meaning blessed. It carries an older sense of kneeling down, too. It is also the Hebrew word for lightning. That is where the flash of energy in it comes from. Most American readers will connect it to Barack Obama. The spellings differ by a letter, though. Short, forceful, and easy to say correctly on the first try.
- Origin: Arabic, Hebrew
- Meaning: Lightning
- Pronunciation: Baa-RAHK
- Variations: Barrack, Barack
- Namesakes: Barack Adama, a French rapper with the hip-hop band 3ème Prototype. Barack Obama, the 44th U.S. President from 2008 to 2017.
- Popularity: Barak ranked 9,015th for U.S. boys in 2025, has charted since 1953, and peaked at 2,220th in 1970.
Baranan
Baranan means ram, and it doubles as an Indian name because the ram holds a place in Hindu tradition. Outside Pakistan it is barely used at all, though it gives you the animal imagery without naming your son Ram outright. Three syllables, the stress in the middle, and no obvious nickname, which some parents count as a feature.
- Origin: Russian
- Meaning: Ram
- Pronunciation: Bah-RAH-naan
- Popularity: Baranan does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which lists a name only once at least five babies receive it in a year.
Barnaby
Barnaby is the English form of the Hebrew Barnabas, meaning son of consolation. It also survives as an English surname meaning “young warrior.” The name is far more familiar in Britain than in the U.S., where it sits near the bottom of the charts. It has a bouncy, storybook quality that makes it hard to say sternly, and Barney is right there when you need it.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Son of consolation
- Pronunciation: BAAR-naa-Biy
- Variations: Barnabey
- Namesakes: Barnaby Edwards, a British actor known for the sci-fi TV series Doctor Who. Barnaby Joyce, the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia from 2021 to 2022.
- Popularity: Barnaby ranked 12,273rd for U.S. boys in 2025; it has charted since 1953 and peaked at 2,204th in 1974.
Barney
Barney works as a diminutive of both Barnaby and Bernard. Read through Bernard it means strong like a bear; read through Barnard it means son of the prophet. It peaked more than a century ago and has never come close since, which puts it squarely in vintage territory. The name carries pop-culture baggage in the U.S. that parents either enjoy or quietly route around.
- Origin: English, Hebrew
- Meaning: Brave like a bear
- Pronunciation: BAAR-Niy
- Variations: Barnie, Barny
- Namesakes: Barney Poole, an American football player for the New York Giants. Barney Kessel, an American jazz guitarist and member of the musician’s group called the Wrecking Crew.
- Popularity: Barney still charts in the U.S., at 12,274th in 2025, but its heyday was 1914, when it ranked 288th. It has been in the data since 1880.
Baron
Baron was a title long before it was a first name, given to English landowners who held their land directly from the crown. It may also connect to the Israeli surname Bar-On, meaning “son of strength,” which is a different route to the same confidence. The name is direct without being loud. Spelled Barron it reads a little more surname-like, and both spellings chart.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Nobleman
- Pronunciation: BAH-Raen
- Variations: Barron
- Namesakes: Baron Frederick von Geisler, a Filipino actor and winner of the Best Actor award in the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Baron Waqa, the 14th President of Nauru from 2013 to 2019.
- Popularity: Baron ranked 1,370th for U.S. boys in 2025, has charted since 1912, and was strongest in 1966 at 589th.
Barrett
Barrett comes from an English surname meaning strife, and it turns up again as an Irish surname meaning warlike people. Another line traces it to the German Beroald, from bera, meaning “bear” and wald, meaning rule. Every one of those roots points at something solid rather than decorative. It is having its strongest moment right now, which matters if you want a name that is climbing rather than cresting.
- Origin: English, German
- Meaning: Bear rule
- Pronunciation: BAA-Reht
- Variations: Barett, Barette
- Namesakes: Barrett Brown, an American journalist and founder of Project PM, a group similar to Wikileaks. Barrett Foa, an American actor known for the NCIS: Los Angeles TV series.
- Popularity: Barrett reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 171st, and it has appeared in the data since 1886.
Barry
Barry comes from the Irish Bearrach, a name built on the word for a spear. It spent five decades as an American staple before falling steadily from the 1980s onward. That long gap is what makes it interesting now. It is familiar to every grandparent and brand new to every kindergarten. Names that drop this far often circle back. Barry has the short, friendly shape revivals tend to favor.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Fair-haired
- Pronunciation: BEHR-iy
- Variations: Barrey, Bary
- Namesakes: Barry Gibb, a British-Australian musician, and member of the Bee Gees. Barry Williams, an American actor, best known for the TV series The Brady Bunch.
- Popularity: Barry ranked 1,520th for U.S. boys in 2025, a long way from its best rank of 61st in 1962. It has charted since 1883.
Bartholomew
Bartholomew means son of Talmai in Hebrew, and the furrow in the traditional gloss points at farmed ground. It is one of the longest names on this list, which is much of the appeal: five syllables of ceremony that collapse instantly into Bart, Bartie, or Tolly. The apostle gave it staying power across centuries of English use. It is a name a boy grows into rather than out of.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Son of the furrow
- Pronunciation: Baar-THAA-lah-Myuw
- Variations: Bartholemew
- Namesakes: Bartholomew Columbus, an Italian explorer and younger brother of Christopher Columbus. Bartholomew Roberts (born John Roberts), a Welsh pirate in the 18th-century known as Black Bart.
- Popularity: Bartholomew ranked 3,093rd for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted continuously since 1880, with a best rank of 823rd in 1914.
Bartley
Bartley comes from the English Bartle, itself a nickname for Bartholomew, and it can also stand as a variant of Barclay. The meaning, a birch tree meadow, reads as open air rather than pedigree. It gives you Bart without the full weight of Bartholomew behind it, and Irish families kept it in use longer than most.
- Origin: Gaelic, English
- Meaning: Birch tree meadow
- Pronunciation: BAART-Liy
- Variations: Bart
- Namesakes: Bartley Gorman, a Welsh-Irish boxer called “the King of the Gypsies.” Bartley Griffith, an American surgeon, performing the first successful transplantation of a genetically modified pig heart to a human in 2022.
- Popularity: Bartley last charted in the U.S. in 2021, at 10,954th; its best year was 1959, when it ranked 929th.
Bartolo
Bartolo started as an Italian surname built on Bartolomeo, the Italian Bartholomew. It also means “bright power”, which is a lot of promise packed into three syllables. The rhythm is warm and rounded, closer to Marco than to Bartholomew. It is a way to arrive at Bart without an English surname sound.
- Origin: Italian
- Meaning: Son of a farmer
- Pronunciation: BAAR-Tow-low
- Variations: Bartholo
- Namesakes: Bartolo Musil, an Austrian composer awarded the First Prize at the “Concours de la Mélodie française” competition. Bartolo Colón, a Dominican-American baseball player for the Boston Red Sox.
- Popularity: Bartolo ranked 7,255th for U.S. boys in 2025, has charted since 1913, and was strongest in 1921 at 1,479th.
Baruch
Baruch means blessed. It belongs to the biblical Barukh, the scribe who wrote for Jeremiah. It has stayed in steady use in American Jewish families. That is why it charts every year despite being rare overall. The final consonant is a soft guttural in Hebrew. It usually flattens to a k in English. Baruch’s best rank on record, 1,999th, came in 2023.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Blessed
- Pronunciation: BAAR-uwk
- Variations: Baruchy
- Namesakes: Baruch Shemtov, an American anchor on Good Day New York on Fox 5 from 2017 to 2019. Baruch Feinberg, an Israeli javelin thrower and a bronze medalist at the 1958 Asian Games.
- Popularity: Baruch ranked 2,260th for U.S. boys in 2025 and reached its best rank, 1,999th, as recently as 2023. It has charted since 1945.
Basil
Basil means royal through Greek and brave through Arabic, a rare pair of roots to share one short name. British ears hear it as thoroughly established; American ears often hear the herb first. That gap is exactly why it feels fresh in the U.S. right now. Bas, Baz, and Bassy all come free with it.
- Origin: English, Greek
- Meaning: Kingly
- Pronunciation: BAEZ-ihl
- Variations: Basel
- Namesakes: Basil O’Connor, the chairman, and president of the American Red Cross from 1944 to 1949. Basil Brooke, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from 1943 to 1963.
- Popularity: Basil ranked 2,022nd for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1880, peaking at 339th in 1915. It is mainly used in England.
Basim
Basim comes from the Arabic name Bassem, and it means one who smiles. The secondary sense is simply happy. Few names state their mood this plainly, and fewer manage it in two syllables. It is easy to pronounce in English and hard to shorten, which suits parents who dislike nicknames.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Smile
- Pronunciation: Baa-SIYM
- Variations: Bahsim, Baseem
- Namesakes: Basim Bello, the longest-serving mayor of Tel Keppe District, Iraq. Basim Al-Rajaibi, an Omani footballer for Al-Nahda.
- Popularity: Basim ranked 9,827th for U.S. boys in 2025, has charted since 1978, and was strongest in 1985 at 3,821st.
Bassey
Bassey comes from the Ibibio word abassi, meaning God, and it is familiar across southeastern Nigeria. English has its own unrelated Bassey, a surname for a short, thickset person, possibly from the Latin bassus. Two origins, two very different tones, one spelling. It lands easily on an English-speaking ear despite being uncommon here.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: God in Ibibio
- Pronunciation: BAES-iy
- Popularity: Bassey last charted in the U.S. in 1986, at 6,817th, and its best year was 1976 at 5,675th.
Bastien
Bastien is the French short form of Sebastien, or Sebastian. It points back to a person from the ancient city of Sebastia. Mozart built an opera around the name, which gives it a small classical footnote. It gets you the sound of Sebastian without the length. American use has climbed slowly since the late 1990s and has not stopped.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Venerable, revered
- Pronunciation: BAHZ-tiy-Ehn
- Variations: Bastian
- Namesakes: Bastien Coriton, a French politician and a Member of Parliament in 2020. Bastien Midol, a French skier and silver medalist at the 2013 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.
- Popularity: Bastien ranked 6,179th for U.S. boys in 2025 and reached its best rank, 4,027th, in 2021. It first charted in 1998.
Baudouin
Baudouin is built from bald, meaning brave, and wine, meaning friend, so it literally describes a bold friend. It served as a French surname long before it became a common given name. Belgian and Congolese use kept it current while English speakers drifted to Baldwin. The pronunciation is the only real hurdle in the U.S., and it is a small one.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Bold, brave friend
- Pronunciation: BOWD-Wahn
- Variations: Baudoin
- Namesakes: Baudouin, King of the Belgians from 1951 until 1993. Baron Baudouin Michiels, the Belgian Executive Vice President of the Kraft Jacobs Suchard group.
- Popularity: Baudouin does not appear in the U.S. name data, which publishes a name only when at least five babies receive it in a year. It is mostly used in DR Congo.
Baylen
Baylen is a variant of the French Bayard and carries the same bailiff sense Bailey does. Spelled Baylin it picks up a separate meaning, mighty warrior. It rides the sound family of Kaylen, Waylon, and Jaylen, which is much of its current appeal, and its strongest year on record was 2024, so it is still on the way up.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Auburn-haired
- Pronunciation: BEY-Lahn
- Variations: Baylan
- Popularity: Baylen ranked 2,152nd for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank in 2024 at 1,710th, and has charted since 1971.
Baylor
Baylor comes from the Anglo-Norman bailleor, a delivery person, and it stands as an English answer to the German Bailer. It reads as a surname name in the Taylor and Sawyer mold, which is exactly where American taste has sat for two decades. It ranks well ahead of Baylen, the other Bay- name on this list. Bay makes an easy short form when three syllables feel like too many.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: One who delivers goods
- Pronunciation: BEY-Ler
- Variations: Bayler
- Namesakes: Baylor Scheierman, an American college basketball player for the Creighton Bluejays.
- Popularity: Baylor ranked 386th for U.S. boys in 2025, close to its best rank of 365th in 2024, and it has charted since 1918.
Baz
Baz has done duty as a surname, a given name, and a nickname, usually a short form of Barry, Basilios, Bazyli, or any version of Basil. It also means falcon, a sharper image than most three-letter names manage. It only began charting in the U.S. in 2018, so it is genuinely new here. Three letters, one syllable, no spelling questions.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: King
- Pronunciation: BAEZ
- Variations: Bas
- Namesakes: Baz Luhrmann, an Australian film director known for the 2022 film Elvis. Baz Khan, a member of the Senate of Pakistan.
- Popularity: Baz ranked 6,496th for U.S. boys in 2025; it first charted in 2018 and reached its best rank, 5,664th, in 2022.
Bear
Bear is the plainest possible animal name, built on the Old English bera, with a secondary sense of the brown one that comes in through the German line. It has climbed steadily as a first name rather than staying a nickname, and it now sits comfortably inside the top 1,000. Parents who want warmth and strength in a single syllable rarely need to look further.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Strong and brave bear
- Pronunciation: BEHR
- Variations: Ber
- Namesakes: Edward “Bear” Grylls, a British adventurer and host of the TV series Man vs. Wild (2006 to 2011). Bear McCreary, an American music composer for The Walking Dead.
- Popularity: Bear ranked 853rd for U.S. boys in 2025 and reached its best rank, 760th, in 2022. It has charted since 1975.
Beckett
Beckett breaks down into the Old English beo, meaning bee, and cot, meaning shelter, which gives you a beehive, though a second reading turns up little brook instead. It has risen almost without pause since the 1990s and stands at its strongest point on record. That double meaning gives it more depth than a lot of surname names manage.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Beehive
- Pronunciation: BEH-Kaht
- Popularity: Beckett reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 141st. It has charted since 1992.
Bedros
Bedros is the Eastern Armenian name for something hard as a rock, the same idea English reaches through Peter. Both come from Petros. Bedrosian is the surname form, still common in Armenian diaspora families. It sounds solid without trying, and it lets a family honor a Peter without repeating him.
- Origin: Armenian
- Meaning: Stone
- Pronunciation: BEH-Draos
- Namesakes: Bedros Keresteciyan, a Turkish-Armenian writer of the first Turkish language dictionary. Bedros Kirkorov, a Bulgarian-Russian-Armenian singer, given the People’s Artist of Russia title.
- Popularity: Bedros has never met the SSA’s five-birth threshold for U.S. publication, so no ranking exists for it.
Bellamy
Bellamy is built from the French beau, meaning “handsome,” and ami, meaning friend. Put together, the whole name reads as a beautiful friend. It has been used more and more for girls in recent years. That is worth knowing before you commit. On a boy it still sounds gentle and unfussy. It pairs easily with a plain one-syllable middle name, which keeps the whole thing from feeling too soft.
- Origin: Latin, English
- Meaning: Beautiful friend
- Pronunciation: BEHL-ah-Miy
- Variations: Bellamie
- Popularity: Bellamy ranked 797th for U.S. boys in 2025 and reached its best rank, 718th, in 2022. It has charted since 1993.
Benedict
Benedict comes from the Latin Benedictus, made of bene, meaning good, and dicte, meaning speak, so a person spoken well of. It is the English form of the French Benoit, the Italian Benedetto, and the Spanish Benito. Popes and a monastic order later, it still sounds scholarly rather than stuffy. Ben is the ready-made short form, and Benny softens it further when he is small.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Blessed
- Pronunciation: BEHN-eh-Dihkt
- Variations: Bennedict, Bennedikt
- Namesakes: Benedict Wong, a British actor appearing in the Marvel film Doctor Strange (2016). Benedict McCarthy, a South African footballer for the South Africa national team.
- Popularity: Benedict ranked 814th for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1882, with a best rank of 447th in 1914.
Benicio
Benicio is the Spanish form of Benedict, from the Latin Benedictus and its sense of blessed. Saint Benedict founded the Benedictine order, which is the long historical shadow behind the sound. In practice it plays as bright and modern, four syllables that move quickly. It is at its strongest point on record in the U.S. right now, and it still shares the friendly Ben nickname with half this section.
- Origin: Latin, Italian
- Meaning: Kind one
- Pronunciation: Bey-NIY-Siy-ow
- Variations: Benecio
- Namesakes: Benicio del Toro, a Puerto Rican actor, and Silver Bear winner for the film Traffic (2000).
- Popularity: Benicio reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 672nd, and it has charted since 1988. It is mostly used in Brazil.
Benjamin
In the Old Testament, Benjamin was the youngest of twelve sons, which is where the phrase about being the Benjamin of the family comes from. The traditional meaning is son of the right hand, with a second reading of son of my days. It has charted every year since 1880 and ranks 11th for U.S. boys in 2025, one of just two names here still inside the top 100. Ben and Benny do the daily work while Benjamin handles the diploma.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Son of the right hand
- Pronunciation: BEHN-jhah-Mihn
- Variations: Benjimen, Benjamen
- Namesakes: Benjamin Netanyahu, the ninth prime minister of Israel from 2009 to 2021. Benjamin Britten, an English composer of The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1945).
- Popularity: Benjamin is the most common name on this list by a wide margin, ranking 11th for U.S. boys in 2025. Its best year was 2016, when it reached 6th, and it has charted every year since 1880.
Bennett
Bennett is the English variation of the Latin Benedictus, so it carries the same blessed meaning as Benedict by a shorter road. It began as a surname and crossed over. That is exactly the path American parents have favored for a generation. It is at its all-time peak right now and still climbing. Ben is there if you want it, though most Bennetts never bother.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Blessed
- Pronunciation: BEHN-eht
- Variations: Benette
- Namesakes: Bennett Miller, an American film director of Capote (2005). Bennett Cohen, the American co-founder of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s.
- Popularity: Bennett hit its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 40th, making it the second of only two names here inside the current top 100. It has charted since 1880.
Beppe
Beppe is the Italian nickname for Giuseppe, the Italian Joseph, and it carries the same sense of God adding or increasing. It is affectionate by design, the kind of name shouted across a kitchen rather than read off a certificate. In Dutch the same string of letters means grandmother, which is a small trap worth knowing about. As an American given name it would be startling; as a family nickname it is perfect.
- Origin: Italian
- Meaning: God will add
- Pronunciation: BEY-Pey
- Variations: Bepe
- Namesakes: Beppe Severgnini, an Italian journalist for The New York Times from 2013 to 2021. Giuseppe “Beppe” Carletti, an Italian musician and founder of the band I Nomadi.
- Popularity: Beppe stays under the SSA’s five-birth publication line, so no U.S. ranking exists for it. It is primarily used in Italy.
Bernard
Bernard comes from the German Berinhard, made of berin, meaning bear, and hard, meaning stern. It also traces through the Old English surname Beornheard, which adds a sense of nobility to the animal strength. Its American peak came just after the First World War, and it has been drifting down ever since, which puts it right at the edge of the revival window. That mix of French warmth and Old English toughness gives it more range than its current rank suggests.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Brave bear, strong
- Pronunciation: BEHR-Nahrd
- Variations: Barnhard, Bernhard
- Namesakes: Bernard Ładysz, a Polish singer appearing in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Bernard McCullough (known as Bernie Mac), an American comedian and creator of the Bernie Mac show from 2001 to 2006.
- Popularity: Bernard ranked 1,362nd for U.S. boys in 2025, well down from its best rank of 45th in 1919. It has charted every year since 1880.
Bertram
Bertram comes from the German Berahthraben. It is built from berhta, meaning bright, and hraben, meaning raven. Ravens stood for wisdom and memory in Germanic tradition. The name is a compliment twice over, then. It has the same 1920s vintage as Bernard and Bartholomew. It has fallen further, though. Bert is dated, Ram is not, and Bertie is somewhere in between.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Bright, famous raven
- Pronunciation: BEHR-Trahm
- Variations: Bertrem, Bertrum
- Namesakes: Bertram Heyn, a Sri Lankan Commander of the Ceylon Army. Bertram Stevens, the 25th Premier of New South Wales from 1932 to 1939.
- Popularity: Bertram ranked 8,353rd for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1880, peaking at 394th in 1923.
Bethel
Bethel is a biblical name for the place where Abraham built an altar, and it means house of God. It is also a Welsh surname drawn from Ithel. Nigerian families use it far more than American ones, which is part of why it sounds unplaceable in the U.S. Two soft syllables, no hard consonants, and a meaning that needs no explaining.
- Origin: Hebrew, Welsh
- Meaning: House of God
- Pronunciation: BEH-Thahl
- Variations: Betel
- Namesakes: Bethel Johnson, an American football player for the New England Patriots. Bethel Solomons, an Irish international rugby player for Ireland.
- Popularity: Bethel ranked 3,406th for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1890, with a best rank of 632nd in 1917.
Betserai
Betserai means help, with a second sense of rescue, and it is rarely used outside Zimbabwe, where it began. Four syllables give it a rolling, almost sung quality. It would be a genuinely singular choice in an American classroom, and Bets and Rai both fall out of it naturally.
- Origin: Zimbabwean
- Meaning: Help
- Pronunciation: Beht-seh-RAAIY
- Popularity: Betserai does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which lists a name only when at least five babies receive it in a year. It is mainly used in Zimbabwe.
Bevin
Bevin traces back to the Welsh Evan and, as a surname, to Befionn, meaning melodious woman. In Irish mythology Bebinn is a goddess associated with birth, which is where the fair lady reading comes from. A separate line gives it the sense of a young soldier, which is how it lands on a boy. It is the rare unisex name whose two halves pull in genuinely opposite directions.
- Origin: Gaelic, Latin
- Meaning: Fair lady
- Pronunciation: BEH-Vihn
- Variations: Bevyn
- Namesakes: Bevin Hough, a New Zealand sportsman and silver medalist at the 1950 British Empire Games. Bevin Alexander, an American author of the book Korea: The First War We Lost.
- Popularity: Bevin last charted in the U.S. in 2023, at 13,724th, and its best year was 1978, when it reached 1,766th.
Bido
Bido comes from the Welsh Ap-Eddow. It gets its bead meaning from that line. It may also connect to a French word meaning “little bird,” which suits its light, two-syllable bounce. It is best known now as an anime character from Dragon Ball Z. That gives it recognition among older kids that most rare names never get.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bead
- Pronunciation: BUY-Doh
- Popularity: Bido is too rare in the U.S. for the federal data to record it, so it carries no American ranking. It is mostly used in Egypt.
Bilal
Bilal serves as both a first name and a surname, meaning “water” and also victorious. The name belongs to the companion of Muhammad who first called Muslims to prayer, which gives it deep standing across the Muslim world. A third reading gives full moon. It has charted in the U.S. every year for six decades, so it is familiar without ever being common.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Full moon
- Pronunciation: Bih-LAAL
- Variations: Bilaal, Billal
- Namesakes: Bilal Gülden, a Turkish footballer for Kırşehir Belediyespor. Bilal Maqsood, a Pakistani guitarist and member of the group Strings.
- Popularity: Bilal ranked 1,212th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 954th in 2002, and has charted since 1964.
Bill
Bill is the four-letter nickname for William that long ago stopped needing William to lean on. The meaning it inherits is resolute protector, which is a lot of weight for one syllable. Its American peak came in the early 1930s, and it has faded steadily since without ever falling off the charts. Given straight on a birth certificate today it reads as deliberately plain, which is exactly why some parents pick it.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Resolute protector
- Pronunciation: BIHL
- Variations: Billy
- Namesakes: Bill Burr, an American stand-up comedian nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for Paper Tiger. Bill Irwin, an American actor best known as Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street.
- Popularity: Bill ranked 5,235th for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1880, but its best year was 1931, when it reached 57th.
Bima
Bima comes from the Sanskrit bhima, meaning formidable, and it belongs to one of the great warrior figures of Indonesian and Indian epic tradition. It also turns up in Yiddish and Greek surnames, which is an unlikely spread for two syllables. The sound is soft, the meaning is not, and that contrast is the appeal. It is short enough that no nickname is required.
- Origin: Indonesian
- Meaning: Brave
- Pronunciation: BUY-mah
- Namesakes: Bima Bharti, an Indian Minister of Sugarcane Industries. Bima Sugiarto, the mayor of Bogor, Indonesia since 2014.
- Popularity: Bima has never met the five-birth threshold the SSA requires, so no U.S. ranking exists for it. It is mostly used in Indonesia.
Birch
Birch was an Old English surname for anyone living near a birch wood. The tree itself is a standing symbol of new beginnings. That is hard to beat for a first child. It is the least common name on this list that still appears in federal records at all. It is rare in the measurable sense rather than the marketing sense. The pale bark gives it a natural link to “bright” and “shining” imagery.
- Origin: English, Celtic
- Meaning: Birch tree
- Pronunciation: BERTCH
- Variations: Birche
- Namesakes: Birch Wilson, an American political activist and editor of the weekly newspaper, The Labor Advocate.
- Popularity: Birch is the rarest charted name on this list, ranking 12,294th for U.S. boys in 2025, or roughly one boy in every 333,333 births. It has charted since 1913 and was strongest that same decade, at 2,300th in 1913.
Bjorn
Bjorn started as a Swedish nickname taken from the Old Norse bjorn, meaning bear. It is one of the most recognizable Scandinavian names in the world and one of the most recognizable B names in Sweden. American use has held steady inside the top 1,000 for years now, helped by tennis and by ABBA. The spelling without the umlaut travels better on U.S. paperwork.
- Origin: Scandinavian
- Meaning: Bear
- Pronunciation: Biy-OHRN
- Variations: Bjoern, Bjorne
- Namesakes: Björn Borg, a Swedish tennis player and the first man to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles between 1974 and 1981. Björn Ulvaeus, a Swedish singer and a member of the musical group ABBA.
- Popularity: Bjorn ranked 829th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 766th in 2021, and has charted since 1925.
Blaise
Blaise comes from the Latin Blasius, meaning stammerer, which is an unusually humble origin for a name that sounds this sharp. The surname first appears in the French region of Languedoc. In English it collides with the word blaze, and most parents choosing it are fine with that. It reads unisex on paper and firmly masculine when spoken.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: To lisp, stammer
- Pronunciation: BLEHZ
- Variations: Blaese, Blais, Blase
- Namesakes: Frédéric-Louis Sauser (known as Blaise Cendrars), a Swiss novelist in the European modernist movement. Blaise Sonnery, a French road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team Ag2r-La Mondiale.
- Popularity: Blaise ranked 1,038th for U.S. boys in 2025, was strongest in 2002 at 803rd, and has charted since 1913.
Blake
Blake may come from the Old English blaac, used as a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin, though the same root also produced the word black. The surname Blake belonged to one of the fourteen Tribes of Galway in Ireland. Two contradictory meanings in one syllable is a strange kind of freedom. It peaked in the U.S. in 2012, so it is current without being crowded.
- Origin: Celtic
- Meaning: Fair-haired
- Pronunciation: BLEYK
- Variations: Blaeke
- Namesakes: Blake Shelton, an American country music singer, and coach on NBC’s The Voice. Blake Govers, an Australian field hockey player for the Australian national team.
- Popularity: Blake ranked 316th for U.S. boys in 2025 and reached its best rank, 71st, in 2012. It has charted since 1883.
Blessing
Blessing is a virtue name in the plainest sense, and it is used most as a surname and given name across Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and other African countries. It is unisex on the U.S. charts and leans toward girls. On a boy it works especially well in the middle slot, where it does its job without carrying the whole introduction. Few names say what the parents felt quite so directly.
- Origin: Latin, English
- Meaning: Divine gift
- Pronunciation: BLEH-Sihng
- Variations: Blesing
- Namesakes: Blessing Afrifah, an Israeli track and field athlete and gold medallist at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022. Blessing Chebundo, a Zimbabwean member of parliament.
- Popularity: Blessing ranked 1,226th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 909th in 2019, and has charted since 1975.
Blythe
Blythe comes from the Old English blithe, meaning merry or cheerful, and it also carries gentle and kind. It reads more often as a girl’s name in the U.S., which leaves it unusually open on a boy. The spelling looks antique and the sound is completely modern, and it has been in the federal data since the 1890s without ever becoming common, which is the definition of a quiet name.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Joyful
- Pronunciation: BLIHYDH
- Variations: Blithe, Blyth
- Popularity: Blythe ranked 2,052nd for U.S. boys in 2025, was strongest in 1974 at 1,076th, and has charted since 1897.
Bo
Bo comes from the Old Norse bui, and it collects meanings the way short names often do: to live in Norse, wave and precious in Chinese, living again in Slavic. Two letters, one syllable, and no way to misspell it. It works as a standalone name and as the natural landing spot for Bowen, Boaz, or Bodhi. It is at its strongest point on record right now, which for a name this old is worth noting.
- Origin: Norse
- Meaning: To live
- Pronunciation: BOW
- Variations: Boe
- Namesakes: Bo Carpelan, a Finnish-Swedish poet and winner of the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize in 1997. Bo Persson, a Swedish table tennis player and bronze medalist at the 1967 World Table Tennis Championships.
- Popularity: Bo reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 449th, and it has charted since 1907.
Boaz
In Hebrew, Boaz is read as strength is within him, from bo, meaning in him, and az, meaning “strength.” Boaz was Ruth’s husband in the Bible, which makes it one of the better-known minor biblical names. The traditional gloss of swiftness gives it a second angle. Like Bennett and Bo, it is peaking right now rather than fading, and Bo comes free with it.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Swiftness
- Pronunciation: BOW-aez
- Variations: Boaze
- Namesakes: Boaz Merenstein, an Israeli tennis player and gold medalist at the 1989 Maccabiah Games. Boaz Yakin, an Israeli-American screenwriter known for the film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
- Popularity: Boaz reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 891st, and it has charted since 1928.
Bobby
Bobby is the affectionate form of Robert, and it inherits the meaning bright fame. Its peak came in the mid-1930s, when it sat just outside the U.S. top twenty. It has been sliding for decades, which is what puts a name in line for a comeback. Given straight rather than as a nickname, it reads friendly and slightly retro, which is much of the point.
- Origin: English, German
- Meaning: Bright fame
- Pronunciation: BAAB-iy
- Variations: Bobbie
- Namesakes: Bobby Cannavale, an American actor appearing on the TV series Will & Grace. Piyush “Bobby” Jindal, the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016.
- Popularity: Bobby ranked 1,097th for U.S. boys in 2025, far below its best rank of 23rd in 1934. It has charted since 1900.
Bodhi
Bodhi is Sanskrit for awakening, or enlightenment; the Bodhi tree takes its name from that same awakening, and the name is currently at its highest point on record. The sound is soft and open, with no hard edges anywhere in it. Bo is the obvious short form.
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: Enlightenment
- Pronunciation: BOW-Diy
- Variations: Bodi
- Namesakes: Bodhi Elfman, an American actor known for the Fox TV series Touch.
- Popularity: Bodhi reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 265th, and it has charted since 1976.
Bodo
Bodo belongs to the family of Germanic names built on the prefix Bod-, meaning to bid or command. Hungarian gives it a second reading, God protect the king, which is the same idea Baldassare and Balthasar carry. Two syllables, both open, and a meaning with real authority behind it. It is one of the shortest genuinely German names a family can choose.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Commander
- Pronunciation: BOW-Dow
- Variations: Botho
- Namesakes: Bodo Battenberg, a German equestrian who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Bodo Kox, a Polish director known for the film The Man with the Magic Box (2017).
- Popularity: Bodo does not appear in the U.S. name data, which requires at least five births in a year before it lists a name. It is primarily used in Germany.
Bogdan
Bogdan is made of the Slavic bog, meaning God, and dan, meaning given, so the whole name means God’s gift. It parallels the Greek Theodotos, which carries exactly the same idea. It is used far more in Romania, Poland, and Serbia than in the U.S., where it stays rare without ever disappearing from the data. Bogey is best avoided; Dan is right there instead.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: God’s gift
- Pronunciation: BAOG-Daan
- Variations: Bohdan
- Namesakes: Bogdan Bogdanović, Serbian basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks and the Serbian national basketball team. Bogdan Borusewicz, the Marshal in the Polish Senate from 2005 to 2015.
- Popularity: Bogdan ranked 3,387th for U.S. boys in 2025, has charted since 1954, and was strongest in 1968 at 2,929th.
Bogomir
Bogomir comes from the Old Slavic bog, meaning God. It also draws on miru, meaning peace. A second reading gives peaceful ruler. That is a rare combination of gentleness and authority in one name. Four syllables make it formal by default. For a family with Slavic roots it is a way to honor both faith and calm. It does that without repeating a more common cousin like Vladimir.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: God’s peace
- Pronunciation: BOW-gow-Mihr
- Namesakes: Bogomir Korsov, a Russian opera singer who performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Bogomir Bogdanovic, a Serbian-American artist, known for landscape still-life paintings.
- Popularity: Bogomir stays below the SSA’s publication threshold, so no U.S. ranking exists for it. It is mainly used in Serbia.
Bolin
Bolin works in three directions at once. In Chinese it carries elder brother and rain; in Scotland it was a location surname; in Swedish it combines bo, meaning farm, with the suffix -lin, meaning relating to. It only began appearing in U.S. records in the last decade, first charting in 2016. Two clean syllables that any English speaker can read on sight.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Elder brother, rain
- Pronunciation: BOW-Lin
- Popularity: Bolin first charted in the U.S. in 2016 and last appeared in 2024, at 11,138th; its best year was 2016 at 9,807th.
Bongani
Bongani means to be thankful in Zulu and Swati, and it is often read as the grateful one. It is a common, well-established name across South Africa rather than an invented one. The rhythm is even and easy, three syllables with the stress in the middle. As a gratitude name it says something specific about how the parents felt, which sets it apart from the more generic virtue names.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: Give thanks
- Pronunciation: Bohn-GAHN-iy
- Namesakes: Bongani Mwelase, a South African boxer, and the 2006 Commonwealth welterweight champion. Bongani Msomi, a South African politician and secretary general of the United Democratic Movement.
- Popularity: Bongani is too rare in the U.S. for the federal data to list it. It is mostly used in South Africa.
Bonifacio
Bonifacio derives from the Latin name Bonifatius, built from bonum, meaning good, and fatum, meaning fate, which together give fortunate. A second reading is auspicious. Five syllables make it grand. Boni or Facio bring it back down to size. It is used far more in the Philippines and Latin America than in the U.S., where it barely registers.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Fortunate
- Pronunciation: Bow-niy-FAA-siy-Ow
- Variations: Bonifaco
- Namesakes: Bonifacio Rivera, the Deputy of the LXI Legislature of the Mexican Congress from 2009 to 2012. Bonifacio Ávila, a Colombian boxer who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Bonifacio last charted in the U.S. in 2024, at 10,050th, and its best year was 1930, when it reached 1,194th.
Booker
Booker was an occupational surname for a bookbinder, which is where the scribe meaning comes from. It has the longest round trip of any name here, falling almost out of sight by the late 1990s and climbing steadily back ever since. That combination of literary and frontier is unusual in one word. Booker T. Washington’s legacy gives it a serious historical anchor most trend names never get.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Scribe
- Pronunciation: BUW-Ker
- Variations: Bookur
- Namesakes: Booker T. Washington, one of the African-American founders of the National Negro Business League. Booker Brown, an American football player with the San Diego Chargers.
- Popularity: Booker ranked 1,160th for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1882. It is the biggest revival on this list: after its peak birth count in 1914 it bottomed out in 1998 and has recovered about fifteenfold since.
Boone
Boone was once a Dutch surname built on boene, for someone who farmed beans. In English it shifted to mean a lucky blessing, which is the sense most parents choose it for. It is at its highest point on record right now and sits well inside the top 500. One syllable, frontier flavor, and no spelling arguments.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Blessing
- Pronunciation: BUWN
- Variations: Boon
- Namesakes: Boone Jenner, a Canadian ice hockey player for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Boone Logan, an American baseball player for the New York Yankees.
- Popularity: Boone reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 423rd, and it has charted since 1889.
Boris
Boris comes from the Slavic name Barys, which also carries a sense of small, and it may relate to the Turkish bori, meaning “wolf.” Other readings give snow leopard and famous battle. Very few names manage to be this widely recognized in English while still sounding entirely un-English. It has charted in the U.S. for more than a century without once becoming common.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: Battle glory
- Pronunciation: BOWR-ihs
- Variations: Boriss
- Namesakes: Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022. William Henry Pratt (known as Boris Karloff), an English actor best known for the horror film Frankenstein (1931).
- Popularity: Boris ranked 3,189th for U.S. boys in 2025, was strongest in 1962 at 874th, and has charted since 1911.
Borja
Like Boris, Borja carries the Slavic sense of small, and it also serves as a Spanish surname tied to a town in Spain. The Spanish pronunciation puts a soft h where English speakers expect a j, which is the one thing worth rehearsing. It only began appearing in U.S. records in 2016, so any Borja in an American classroom is almost certainly the first. Two syllables, strong ending, no nickname needed.
- Origin: Slavic, Spanish
- Meaning: Battle glory
- Pronunciation: BAOR-Yah
- Variations: Borgia
- Namesakes: Borja Menéndez, a Spanish racing driver and the 2004 Spanish Formula Three champion. Borja Eguillor, a Spanish film director, known for his 2005 film One Too Many.
- Popularity: Borja ranked 9,037th for U.S. boys in 2025. It first charted in 2016 and reached its best rank, 8,230th, that same year.
Bosa
Bosa carries a Colombian sense of an enclosure guarded and defended, and a Slavic one as a diminutive of Bogdan and Bogoljub. It is an African surname as well, which gives one short word three separate homes. The meaning most parents pick it for is simply daring, and two open syllables make it easy on any tongue.
- Origin: Slavic, Colombian
- Meaning: Daring
- Pronunciation: BOH-sah
- Popularity: Bosa is too rare in the U.S. for the federal data to record, so no American ranking exists for it. It is mostly used in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Boston
Boston is the capital of Massachusetts, named in turn for a town in Lincolnshire whose name meant Botwulf’s tun, or hamlet. Botolph was the English saint of travelers, so there is a patron built into the place name. It has been in the federal data since records began, though its real rise came with the American taste for city names. Boss is the nickname a boy will find on his own.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Botwulf’s stone
- Pronunciation: BAOS-Tahn
- Variations: Bosten, Bostun
- Namesakes: Boston Charley, an Indian warrior in the Modoc War of 1872. Boston Scott, an American football player for the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Popularity: Boston ranked 620th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 536th in 2012, and has charted since 1880.
Boswell
Boswell means a dweller by the spring where cattle are watered. That is about as specific as an English place name gets. It came into Britain as a Norman surname for someone from Beuzeville in France, though it long ago stopped sounding French. It is a well near the woods in the short gloss. It is a very old one, too. Boz is the short form that keeps it from feeling formal.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Well near the woods
- Pronunciation: BOWZ-Wehl
- Variations: Boswelle
- Namesakes: Boswell Williams, a Saint Lucian politician in the national legislature from 1974 to 1979.
- Popularity: Boswell appeared in the U.S. data only once, in 1915, at 3,890th, and has not been recorded since.
Bowen
Bowen comes from the Welsh name Owain, so the small, victorious one reading arrives through Wales. It also exists as a Chinese and Hawaiian surname meaning plum, which is an unusual second life for a Welsh word. It is climbing hard and sits at its highest point on record. It sits comfortably next to Rowan and Owen without echoing either one directly.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Small, victorious one
- Pronunciation: BOW-ehn
- Variations: Bowyn
- Namesakes: Bowen Yang, the first Chinese-American cast member on Saturday Night Live. Bowen Byram, a Canadian ice hockey player for the Colorado Avalanche.
- Popularity: Bowen reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 266th, and it has charted since 1913.
Boyd
Boyd derives from the Scottish boid. It is a Gaelic term for someone with blond hair. The Boyd family has been on record in Scotland since the thirteenth century. That gives the name real depth. Its American peak was a hundred years ago. It has been quietly fading since. One syllable, no nickname, and no requirement that your son actually be blond.
- Origin: Gaelic
- Meaning: Yellow
- Pronunciation: BOYD
- Namesakes: Boyd Gordon, a Canadian ice hockey player for the Washington Capitals. Boyd Irwin, an English actor, appearing in the silent film For Australia in 1915.
- Popularity: Boyd ranked 1,959th for U.S. boys in 2025, a long way below its best rank of 248th in 1922. It has charted since 1880.
Brad
Brad comes from the Old English brad, meaning wide, and it doubles as the short form of Bradley, a broad clearing in the wood. It peaked in the mid-1970s and has fallen steadily for fifty years. That gives it a specific generational sound, friendly and completely unpretentious. Parents who want a one-syllable name with zero explaining to do could do far worse.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Broad
- Pronunciation: BRAED
- Variations: Bradd
- Namesakes: Brad Pitt, an American actor known for the film Ocean’s Eleven (2001). Brad Gilbert, an American tennis player and gold medalist at the 1981 Maccabiah Games.
- Popularity: Brad ranked 4,267th for U.S. boys in 2025, well down from its best rank of 98th in 1975. It has charted since 1880.
Brady
Brady began as the Irish surname Bradaigh, meaning descendant of Bradach, and along the way it picked up the readings large-chested and broad-eyed. English adds a rogue sense, which most parents cheerfully ignore. It peaked in the U.S. less than twenty years ago and remains comfortably inside the top 500, so it is current without being everywhere. The handsome gloss is the one that usually seals it.
- Origin: Gaelic
- Meaning: Handsome
- Pronunciation: BREY-Diy
- Variations: Bradey, Braydy
- Namesakes: Brady Hicks, an American journalist, and Pro Wrestling Illustrated writer. Brady Kennett, a New Zealand race driver and winner of the 1995 New Zealand Grand Prix.
- Popularity: Brady ranked 321st for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 93rd in 2007, and has charted since 1883.
Bram
Bram is the Dutch and English short form of Abraham, and sometimes of Bertram, which means it inherits the father of a multitude reading. Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, and for most English speakers that is the whole association. It is used far more in the Netherlands than in the U.S. One syllable, no ambiguity. A literary ghost comes attached at no extra cost.
- Origin: Dutch, Hebrew
- Meaning: Father of a multitude
- Pronunciation: BRAEM
- Variations: Bramm
- Namesakes: Bram Stoker, an Irish author known for his 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. Bram Gay, a British trumpet player for the Royal Opera House in London.
- Popularity: Bram ranked 2,422nd for U.S. boys in 2025 and reached its best rank, 1,995th, in 2016. It has charted since 1948.
Brandon
Brandon comes from the Old English brom, meaning gorse-bush, and dun, meaning hill, which together give the fire hill reading. It is often bundled in with Brendan, though the two arrive by different roads. Its early-1990s peak was near the very top of the U.S. charts, and it has come down gently rather than crashed. That leaves it in the useful middle: instantly familiar, no longer everywhere.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Fire hill
- Pronunciation: BRAEN-Dahn
- Variations: Branden
- Namesakes: Brandon Allen, an American football player for the Cincinnati Bengals. Brandon Lee, an American actor, and son of Bruce Lee.
- Popularity: Brandon ranked 261st for U.S. boys in 2025, and its best year was 1992, when it reached 6th. It has charted since 1914.
Branston
Branston is an uncommon English surname for someone from Brandeston, built from brant and tun, a farmstead or village where Brant lived. It reads as a surname first and a given name second, which is exactly the register the Braxton and Brixton family live in. It only started charting in the U.S. in 1999. Bran carries it day to day.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Son of Brand
- Pronunciation: BRAEN-Stahn
- Variations: Bransten, Branstun
- Popularity: Branston last charted in the U.S. in 2022, at 11,068th, and its best year was 2016 at 6,784th.
Brecken
Brecken is the modern spelling of the Irish Breccan, from the Gaelic Breacan, which meant little freckled one. Speckled is the other standard reading. It rose quickly through the 2010s and has eased back since. That leaves it in that comfortable band where it is recognized but not repeated. Your son does not need freckles to earn it.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Freckled
- Pronunciation: BREH-Kahn
- Variations: Breckin
- Namesakes: Brecken Palmer, an American actor appearing in the 2005 film Yours, Mine, and Ours.
- Popularity: Brecken ranked 1,252nd for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 712th in 2017, and has charted since 1990.
Brendon
Brendon comes from the Gaelic Breandan and the Irish Brenainn, and the Welsh breenhin adds prince, king, and brave to the pile. This spelling has fallen sharply since its best year, dropping to 2,683rd after a best rank of 318th in 1998. The royal meanings have not gone anywhere.
- Origin: Gaelic
- Meaning: Prince, king
- Pronunciation: BREHN-Dahn
- Variations: Brenden
- Namesakes: Brendon McCullum, a New Zealand cricket coach for the England Cricket test team. Brendon Urie, an American singer, and member of the band Panic! at the Disco.
- Popularity: Brendon ranked 2,683rd for U.S. boys in 2025. Its best year was 1998, at 318th.
Brett
Brett refers to the Celtic people of Briton and Brittany, in the northwest of France, by way of the French Bret. It is a name that describes where a family came from rather than what anyone did or looked like. Its peak was in the mid-1980s, which gives it a clear generational stamp. One syllable, two spellings, and no nickname to negotiate.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Of Briton
- Pronunciation: BREHT
- Variations: Bret
- Namesakes: Brett Ratner, an American film director known for the Rush Hour film series. Brett Moffitt, an American stock car driver and winner of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship.
- Popularity: Brett ranked 1,382nd for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its best rank of 69th in 1986. It has charted since 1926.
Briggs
Briggs comes from the English brigge, for someone from the village near a bridge. The final s gives it the same clipped, modern feel that carried Brooks and Banks up the charts. It has climbed sharply in the last decade and now sits near its all-time high, and it is short, sturdy, and resists every attempt to shorten it further.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bridges
- Pronunciation: BRIHGZ
- Namesakes: Adam Briggs (known as Briggs), an Indigenous Australian rapper who co-founded the hip-hop duo A.B. Original in 2016.
- Popularity: Briggs ranked 356th for U.S. boys in 2025, close to its best rank of 327th in 2024, and it has charted since 1927.
Brighton
Brighton comes from the Old English Beorhthelmes tun, meaning Beorhthelm’s farmstead, and the modern spelling reads instead as bright town. It is a seaside resort on the south coast of England, which gives the name a holiday brightness English speakers pick up immediately. It is unisex on the U.S. charts and rare in either direction. Bri and Brighty both work, though most families just say the whole thing.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bright town
- Pronunciation: BRIY-Tahn
- Variations: Brighten
- Popularity: Brighton ranked 1,872nd for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 1,163rd in 2012, and has charted since 1983.
Britten
Britten describes someone from Brittany, in northwest France, and it stretches to cover anyone from Great Britain. It is the softest of the Brit- spellings, closer to Britton than to Britain itself. It has never been common in the U.S. and slipped off the charts entirely in recent years. Your young man can enjoy the name wherever he ends up calling home.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: From Brittany
- Pronunciation: BRIH-Tahn
- Variations: Briten, Britton
- Popularity: Britten last charted in the U.S. in 2021, at 7,686th, and its best year was 1973, when it reached 2,869th.
Brixton
Brixton is a neighborhood in south London whose name began as the Stone of Brixi, a Saxon lord. It arrived on the U.S. charts only in 2001 and climbed fast, riding the same wave as Braxton and Paxton. There is a lot of history packed into a name that sounds entirely modern. Brix is the short form, and it is a good one.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Brock’s town
- Pronunciation: BRIHK-Stahn
- Namesakes: Brixton Karnes, an American actor known for the 2000 TV movie The Mary Kay Letourneau Story.
- Popularity: Brixton ranked 744th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 549th in 2021, and first charted in 2001.
Brock
Brock is a medieval English surname used as a nickname for anyone thought badger-like, which in that era meant stubborn rather than unkind. It may also be a short form of Brockert. It peaked in the early 2000s and has settled comfortably inside the top 1,000 since. One syllable, hard consonants at both ends, and a genuinely cute animal behind it.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Badger
- Pronunciation: BRAAK
- Variations: Brocke
- Namesakes: Brock Brower, an American writer for The New York Times Magazine. Brock Ingram, an Australian Paralympic rower who competed at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
- Popularity: Brock ranked 810th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 243rd in 2003, and has charted since 1914.
Brogen
Brogen is the Irish surname McBrogan turned inside out, meaning son of Brogan, and it may reach back to the Irish king Breogan. A brogue is a heavy ankle-high shoe, which is where the small shoe reading comes from. It is unisex, uncommon in either direction, and easy to spell once heard. The footwear meaning suits a boy who never stops moving.
- Origin: Gaelic
- Meaning: Small shoe
- Pronunciation: BROW-Gahn
- Popularity: Brogen last charted in the U.S. in 2022, at 9,114th, and its best year was 2009 at 4,600th.
Bronson
Bronson means son of the brown-haired one, with a second reading of son of the dark man, and it began in ninth-century Devon. It has a rough and ready sound that has kept it on the U.S. charts for over a century without ever crowding the top. Its strongest decade is the one just past. Bron is the short form worth knowing about.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Son of the brown-haired one
- Pronunciation: BRAHN-Sahn
- Variations: Bronsen, Bronsun
- Namesakes: Bronson Pinchot, an American actor known for the ABC sitcom Perfect Strangers (1986 to 1993). Bronson Arroyo, an American baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- Popularity: Bronson ranked 1,046th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 667th in 2015, and has charted since 1913.
Bronx
Bronx is the New York City borough, named for the Bronx River and for Jonas Bronck, who settled the area in 1639. Bronx first charted in the U.S. in 2003 and is at its highest point on record in 2025. The x ending does the same work it does in Brixton and Maddox. It is a confident choice. It is unlikely to be duplicated at the playground, too.
- Origin: Dutch
- Meaning: Bronck’s land
- Pronunciation: BRONCKS
- Popularity: Bronx reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025 at 1,133rd, and it first charted in 2003.
Bruno
Bruno’s German root brun means brown and also armor, and it began as a nickname for someone with brown hair, skin, or clothing. It is used far more in Germany, Italy, Brazil, and Poland than in the U.S., a rare spread for a two-syllable name. It has charted in the U.S. every year since federal records began and is currently near the top 700. Warm, round, and impossible to mispronounce.
- Origin: German, Italian
- Meaning: Brown
- Pronunciation: BRUW-Now
- Variations: Bruino, Brunoh
- Namesakes: Bruno Giacomelli, an Italian race car driver and winner of the 1978 Formula Two championship. Bruno Kirby (born Bruno Quidaciolu), an American actor known for the film Donnie Brasco.
- Popularity: Bruno ranked 740th for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1880, with a best rank of 259th in 1915.
Bryan
Bryan comes from the Irish briig, meaning might or power, and it is the anglicized cousin of the surname O’Brien. This spelling peaked in the late 1970s and has drifted down since, though it remains firmly inside the top 400. It is one of the very few names where the alternative spelling is just as familiar as the original. The hill reading gives it a plain, grounded image behind all that power.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Hill
- Pronunciation: BRIY-aen
- Variations: Brian
- Namesakes: Bryan Adams, a Canadian musician who’s sold between 75 million and 100 million records worldwide. Bryan Cranston, an American actor, known for the AMC drama series Breaking Bad.
- Popularity: Bryan ranked 336th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 42nd in 1977, and has charted since 1883.
Bryce
Bryce derives from the Celtic brych, meaning blemish, by way of the Latin Bricius, meaning spotted. It is one of those names whose meaning is far less flattering than its sound. It touched the U.S. top 100 around the turn of the millennium and has held a solid place ever since. Both spellings, Bryce and Brice, chart, and neither has ever needed a nickname.
- Origin: Gaelic
- Meaning: Speckled
- Pronunciation: BRIHS
- Variations: Brice
- Namesakes: Bryce Stringam, a Canadian politician in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1955 to 1959. Bryce Alderson, a Canadian footballer for Portugal FC in the Canadian Soccer League.
- Popularity: Bryce ranked 357th for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 92nd in 2000, and has charted since 1908.
Bryn
Bryn is the Welsh word for a hill. It also works as an offshoot of Bryan and a short form of Brynmor and Brynley. It reads more often as a girl’s name in the U.S. On a boy, that makes it genuinely uncommon. Three letters, one syllable, and a landscape behind it. Your Bryn can climb his own hill.
- Origin: Welsh, Gaelic
- Meaning: Hill
- Pronunciation: BRIHN
- Variations: Bryne
- Namesakes: Bryn Merrick, a Welsh musician, and member of the rock band The Damned. Bryn Vaile, an English sailor and gold medalist at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Bryn ranked 2,021st for U.S. boys in 2025, was strongest in 2011 at 744th, and has charted since 1949.
Buck
Buck comes from the Old English bucca, a male deer or male goat, and American slang piled a dollar bill and a cowboy on top of it. Almost no name carries this much Western imagery in four letters. It has been in the federal data since 1880 and peaked before the First World War. Saddle up.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Male deer
- Pronunciation: BUHK
- Variations: Buc
- Namesakes: Buck Owens, an American country musician first known for the Bakersfield sound of country music. Buck Houghton, an American TV producer known for The Twilight Zone series.
- Popularity: Buck ranked 1,993rd for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its best rank of 579th in 1913. It has charted since 1880.
Buddy
Buddy is the plainest friendship name in English, a diminutive that grew out of comrade and brother. It peaked in the mid-1930s and has been fading ever since, which puts it firmly in the vintage-nickname category alongside Bobby and Barney. Used as a legal first name today it is a deliberate throwback. It is hard to say without smiling, which may be the whole argument for it.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Friend, mate
- Pronunciation: BUH-Deey
- Variations: Budy
- Namesakes: Simmie Sims III (known as Buddy), an American rapper and member of the hip-hop group Zoink Gang. Buddy Rich, an American jazz band leader of the Buddy Rich Orchestra between 1945 and 1948.
- Popularity: Buddy ranked 4,418th for U.S. boys in 2025 and has charted since 1893, with a best rank of 202nd in 1935.
Budimir
Budimir is built from the Slavic budi, meaning to be, and mir, meaning peace, and it is often read as the one who awakens peace. Few names carry an action and an ideal in the same breath. Four syllables give it a formal, almost diplomatic weight, though Bud is waiting as the short form, which lightens it considerably.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: To make peace
- Pronunciation: BUW-dih-Mihr
- Namesakes: Budimir Lončar, a Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yugoslavia from 1987 until 1991. Budimir Jolović, a Macedonian-Serbian basketball player for Nikol Fert.
- Popularity: Budimir stays below the SSA’s five-birth publication line, so no U.S. ranking exists for it. It is mainly used in Serbia.
Bunyan
Bunyan comes from the Welsh Enion. It started as a nickname for someone with a swelling or hump. A kinder reading points to a puffed-up fruit tart. For American ears the tall-tale lumberjack arrives first, and that is not a bad association at all. It has not appeared in the federal data since the 1960s.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Swelling
- Pronunciation: BUHN-Yaen
- Variations: Bunyon
- Namesakes: Bunyan Joseph, the first elected Bishop in Anantapur-Kurnool Diocese, India. Bunyan Vijayam, an Indian geologist, known for his 1959 Technical Report of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
- Popularity: Bunyan last charted in the U.S. in 1962, at 4,111th, and its best year was 1913, when it reached 2,114th.
Burke
Burke was an English surname built on burh, and it means someone from the fortified settlement. The Normans carried it into Ireland, where it became one of the most established surnames in the country. It is a stronghold in one syllable, hard-edged and short. It has charted in the U.S. for well over a century without ever drawing a crowd.
- Origin: Norman-Irish, English
- Meaning: Stronghold
- Pronunciation: BERK
- Variations: Burk
- Namesakes: Burke Hanford, an American Naval Medal of Honor recipient during the Boxer Rebellion. Burke Shelley, a Welsh musician, and bassist for the rock band Budgie.
- Popularity: Burke ranked 2,649th for U.S. boys in 2025, was strongest in 1968 at 959th, and has charted since 1881.
Byron
Byron began with the Old English phrase for a place by the cowsheds, and it served as a surname for cattle herders long before it became a first name. Lord Byron did the rest, attaching a poet’s reputation to a farmyard word. It has never left the U.S. charts since records began and still sits close to the top 1,000. Few names manage to sound this romantic while meaning a barn for cows.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Barn for cows
- Pronunciation: BUY-Raan
- Variations: Byrone
- Namesakes: Byron Krieger, an American fencer and gold medalist at the 1951 Pan American Games. Byron Brown II, the current mayor of Buffalo, New York.
- Popularity: Byron ranked 981st for U.S. boys in 2025, reached its best rank of 196th in 1967, and has charted every year since 1880.
