Three Letter Boy Names

Sef is a rising short form of Jozef in the Netherlands, where it outranks its parent form.

Among the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo, Yao is the name for babies born on Thursday.

The Slovene name for the month of May. It is used as a male name, which is unusual given that most translations are connected to the goddess Maia and considered to be feminine.

The cool clipped Des may be the part of the name wave of the future, with midcentury names like Des and Vic and Stan riding back into style on the heels of big brothers Max and Sam and Ray.

A nickname for Malcolm that at one point ranked independently on the US Top 1000. It still exists as an affectionate pet form, but you’re unlikely to hear a Malcolm introduce himself as Mal.

A too-literal spin on Owen.

Bartholomew is one vintage name with Biblical antecedents that hasn't risen again in the modern world, perhaps because short form Bart, as in Simpson, would be too difficult for a contemporary boy to bear. But antique nickname Bat might work better. Might.

Orm was a common name in the Viking Age, when children were often given names of animals. Animal names were thought to provide protection to those who had them.

Retro musical reference to classic Steely Dan rock album, but mostly for girls today.