Wonderful Word Names for Boys

No longer tied to the hapless Ace Ventura, this jaunty, high-flying nickname name is starting to take flight among celebrity and other parents, with its countless positive references to doing well in tests and poker games, on the tennis court and golf course, and in the air.

Alder is an occasionally-used name that derives from an old English surname and also might refer to the alder tree, whose wood is used to make electric guitars.

Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or any other "Ash" name.

Like River and Lake, a cool, refreshing modern water-related choice.

Bear has suddenly lumbered onto the baby name landscape. Perhaps inspired by British adventurer Bear Grylls (born Edward Michael), first celebrity chef Jamie Oliver used it as the middle name for his boy Buddy, and more recently Alicia Silverstone called her son Bear Blu., followed by Kate Winslet's Bear Blaize. It's part of a current trend normalizing once aggressive animal names like Wolf and Fox. Bear is now Number 218 on Nameberry and in the Top 900 in England.

This one's cutting right to the chase, but with such names as Justice and Peace on the rise, why not? And we guarantee your seven-year-old son will love it, though your 17-year-old, maybe not so much. Could be used as a middle name, as Talisa Soto and Benjamin Bratt did.

Like Sky and Sunshine, this fluffy name from the hippie 1970s has floated back onto the naming radar.

Cyan is a highly unusual blue-green color name, a classmate of Celadon and Cerulean. It does come with the homey nickname Cy.

Lovely entry into the tree name genre, joining Maple, Pine, Oak, and Willow.

A light and breezy nature name that's currently in style limbo, despite its pleasant meaning.

Many African tribes have a tradition of naming children for the day or time they were born -- Friday, Afternoon -- a practice finding new life in the Western world as word names become more popular.

Subtle but clear unisex way to signal peace, especially in middle place.

Drew, which projects a polished, somewhat intellectual impression, is rapidly becoming the Andrew nickname of choice, replacing the past favorite, Andy. It is fully capable of standing on its own, which it has for many decades, non-stop since 1942.

Although this is traditionally seen as a female name, via the classical mythological nymph who pined away for Narcissus until all that remained of her was a disembodied voice — it can also be used for boys. Remember that old song, 'Little sir echo, how do you do?'

Anyone who's seen "The Book of Mormon" or visited Utah knows this as the title taken by male Mormon missionaries during their term of service. We'd advise anyone who lives somewhere with any significant Mormon population to avoid it for that reason.

Strong, straight, and leafy, one of the new tree names used mostly as middles.