100 Short Boy Names

Ace means “of the highest order” in English. Aleksandar, a Macedonian form of Alexander, means “defender of man.” Ace is a Macedonian pet name for Aleksandar boys.

An Alp is a hero in Turkish. German folklore claims mythical Alps creatures sit on a victim’s chest, controlling dreams and causing nightmares. People awaken from the alp’s weight and cannot move.

Names starting with “Al” can use the suffix “-” to become “Al.” Alfredo was the birth name for actor Al Pacino and politician Al Gore. Allan is hockey player Al MacInnis; he played Alphonse in The Godfather, just as Al Capone did in The Godfather II.

The Norse name Alf means “elf.” Alf, a king in Norse mythology, proposed to Alfhild, a princess. Alfhild hid as a warrior to avoid marrying him, but she had to fight him. Alf’s fighting skill impressed Alfhild, so she decided to marry him.

Aodh is a Gaelic and Scottish name meaning “fire” in both languages. The long “A” or long “E” sound pronounces this ancient Irish name as AY or EE. In Scotland, it can sound like UH or YOO, depending on where you are.

Anh is a Vietnamese name, named after hero, brave, petal, and flower. Anh is the most famous Vietnamese baby name and works for either gender. People often use it as part of a longer, pluralized name.

Ant is a common abbreviation for Anthony and its variants. Ant Clemons gained recognition working with artists like Beyonce, Kanye West, Ty Dolla Sign, and Chance the Rapper.

‘Ash’ is a common British surname from a tree in England. People near ash trees got the Ash surname, which later became a first name. Ashley, Ashton, Artemus, and Asha are also Ash nicknames for any person.

Art has many origins and meanings. Spanish and Italian names like Arturo mean “bear king” and can shorten the English name Arthur. Some Celtic languages use “art” as a standalone given name meaning “bear.”

Baal comes from the Greek for “lord” or “master.” The Greek word Baal stems from the Hebrew word Ba’al, which means various gods, especially Hadad. Hadad was the god of rainstorms, thunderstorms, and lightning.

Beautiful means “beautiful” in French. Beau is a gender-neutral name in the UK and the Netherlands. The United States uses it almost only for boys. France rarely uses Beau as a name.

The Arabic word Badr means “full moon” when the moon is at its peak. Although Badr is gender-neutral, boys use it more often than girls, even though it is. Badr appears rarely in the Arab world.

The Limburgish name Baer means “noble and bright” in English. Baer is a good choice for those choosing between Albert and Baer because of a family name.

In Chinese, Bao has many meanings for a person. Pronounced POW, this gender-neutral name has various translations. “Honor” and “praise” are other possible meanings.

The English word “yellow” is a term of endearment. The Gaelic word for yellow, Bláán, was a Scottish first name. Scots adopted the surname Bláán, making it Blaine. Blaine became a first name again when using surnames as forenames grew popular.

Bede might mean “prayer” in Old English. St. Bede, an English monk in the 7th century, wrote works detailing the moon’s effect on tides and how Earth’s shape affects daylight length.

Björn comes from the Old Norse word for "bear." In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Björn gained a short popularity boost in the United States. Björn Ulvaeus, a Swedish pop group member from ABBA, likely caused this.

An Old English nickname for a boy, Blake, means someone who is “pale.” Both blaec (black) and blac (pale) could be the origin for Blake; the exact meaning is unclear.

The Scottish name Blair suggests “field,” “plain,” or “battlefield.” Blair, a black cat with magic, can create pumpkin explosions and summon a flying pumpkin in the Soul Eater anime and manga.

It is a French word for “lisping.” Physicist, mathematician, and inventor Blaise Pascal built the first mechanical calculator in 1642. The 18-year-old helped his father, a tax collector.

“Yellow” or “fair” are two possible meanings for the Scottish surname Boyd. The exact meaning of Boyd is debated. People from the Isle of Bute used the name Bhoid in Scottish Gaelic.

As an Old English name, Blythe translates to kind, joyful, or cheery. Percy Shelly’s poem Ode to a Skylark inspired Noel Coward’s play, Blithe Spirit. The poem’s first line is "Hail to thee, blithe Spirit."

Boyce means “wood” in English. Boyce was a popular short name for boys in the United States until the 1960s. In 1938, it ranked 529th as a popular boy’s name in the top 1,000.

Names meaning “raven” in Welsh and Irish are Bran. Bran Ferren was Walt Disney Imagineering’s former President of Research and Development. He was an artist, inventor, technologist, and scientist.

Abraham is the Hebrew word for “father,” and Bram is a short form of that name. Many Germanic languages say Bram sounds like BROM instead of BRAM, despite it being spelled BRAM in English.

Brock gets his name from the Old English word “broc,” making it Brock. Brock Lesnar, an American-Canadian mixed martial artist, and Brock Larson, an American mixed martial artist, share this surname. They were born six weeks apart in 1977 by chance.

“Brent” might mean a “steep hill” in Old English. Star Trek: The Next Generation and four later films made Brent Spiner a known figure. Spinner played Spock again in the Picard spin-off series.

Small rivers become Brooks in English. Brook gained fame as a short girl’s name in the early twentieth century, after first appearing as a boy’s name.

Brice means “speckled” in both French and English. In a French comedy film, an aspiring surfer named Brice de Nice lives an extravagant life funded by his father’s money. Brice must defend himself when his father gets arrested.

Burke comes from the Old English word for “fortress.” Though it started in England, this name does not appear widely there now. It sounds like “berk,” which means “idiot.”

The surname Chauncey is an ancestor of Chance. Chance is not just an English word meaning “luck” or “fortune,” as many people think. Initially, Chance was Chauncey, a Norman name whose meaning remains unknown.

Háriolus, a Germanic name meaning “army,” is the short form of Carl. Some websites claim Carl is an Old Norse name meaning “free man,” but that claim is wrong. Karl is a totally different name, even though they sound alike.

Cassidy’s nickname is Cass. Cass comes from the Irish surname “Caiside.” The name implies descent from the curly-haired people; “descendant of the curly-haired” is the direct meaning of Cass.

Cole is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “charcoal.” People have used it as a nickname since then. Medieval Europe called dark-skinned individuals “Cola”; Cola and Cole stem from the same family name that began as a first name.

Dutch people shorten Jacob to Coo. The Dutch pronounce Coos as KOSE, giving the O a long vowel sound instead of COOs.

The name “Chase” began as a name for a hunter. Moving coffins made Chase Vault in Barbados famous. People say the heavy lead coffins moved five times from their original spots when the vault opened for burial.

Clark started as an occupational surname for a clergyman or scribe. Clark ranked among the top 1,000 boy names in the United States every year since 1880, hitting #175 in 1881, despite the common error that it is a newer addition to that list.

Dirk's name means “Leader of the people” in Dutch. Douglas Adams wrote three books featuring Dirk Gently as the main character. Television series adapted these novels, using Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

Both Dutch and Scandinavian/Norwegian words for “day” translate to “day.” In Australia, "dag" has two meanings. It is an insult for someone eccentric, unfashionable, and silly. Daglock is the poop-caked wool on a sheep’s rear.

A surname began as Dale if the person lived near hills. Dale felt like an older man's name because it was very popular in the United States in 1953. In 2010, the name disappeared entirely.

“Dragon” is a surname in English. The Latin word Draco, meaning “dragon,” inspired the Old English Dracca and the Old Norse name Drake. English calls a male duck a drake; this is just a coincidence.

Dulf means “wolf” in Limburgish. Avoid this name; it is short and sweet. People like the sound of Dulf, but we learned it is short for Adolf, a name with a bad reputation.

The Scottish surname Duff means dark. Duff Green, a military leader, journalist, and businessman, organized three factories for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

Ernst means “serious” in the Germanic language. The German House of Hanover took the United Kingdom throne in the 18th century, bringing the name Ernst. Anglicization changed Ernst to Ernest to sound less Germanic.

Finn’s Irish baby name means “white” or “fair” in Gaelic. Another Old Norse name, Finn, was added. It comes from Finnr, which means “a Sami, a person from Finland” in this case.

‘Panther’ is an Arabic word for ‘panther.’ Cheetah, panther, and leopard all translate from the Arabic word Fahd, which also becomes Fahad and Fahed in English.

As a name, Faust means “lucky” in German. Dr. Faust Iosifovich Shkaravsky was a doctor and a military officer. After World War II, he led the team that performed autopsies on Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun to prosecute Nazis.

Fen means ‘exert’ or strive in Chinese. Fen is also a Frisian name, making it a Chinese name. Short forms of names starting with Frid, meaning “peace,” became Frisian names.

The name Flann comes from the Gaelic word for “red.” Use FLAN to pronounce it correctly. Flann works well for a baby boy or girl with red hair, or for parents avoiding names like Adam, Russell, or Reed, which all mean “red.”

The word “White” or “fair” translates to “Fionn,” an Irish word. Native English speakers often pronounce FEE-on or FIN, which is the correct Irish pronunciation, instead of FOON or FEEN.