As time passes, things change, and this is especially true when it comes to naming babies. What once was popular has been replaced by hip and trendy names. Inspiration for modern baby boy names these days comes from celebrities, TV shows or movie characters, or pop culture (think superheroes, for example). I would be lying if I said Oliver Queen, aka The Green Arrow, didn’t partially influence the name of one of my sons.
We see fewer “Johns” and more “Arlos.” There are so many influences on baby naming, and it shifts often. My boys have some of the most common names, Oliver and Liam, and even though they are modern and popular, you likely wouldn’t have seen them many decades ago. That’s the beauty of things changing, though. There will also be more modern and unique names out there.
36 Last Names as First Names
Did you know using last names as first names is becoming more common? It’s fun to come up with a brand-new name that sounds sophisticated, cool, and modern. See if any of these names interest you.
1. Anderson
2. Baker
3. Barrett
4. Bennett
5. Carter
6. Cooper
7. Donovan
8. Emerson
9. Fallon
10. Ford
11. Foster
12. Gibson
13. Harrison
14. Hayes
15. Hudson
16. Jackson
17. Jameson
18. Jefferson
19. Lincoln
20. Kingston
21. Miller
22. Morrison
23. Murphy
24. Nelson
25. Nixon
26. Parker
27. Porter
28. Princeton
29. Remington
30. Samson
31. Sawyer
32. Smith
33. Truman
34. Walker
35. Wells
36. Wilson
45 Short Modern Boy Names
There’s nothing better than a short and sweet baby name. We picked 45 of our favorite one-syllable modern baby boy names. They even make great middle names, too. Names like Beck, Fox, and Jett are trendy and fun.
1. Ace
2. Ash
3. Bear
4. Beau
5. Beck
6. Blaze
7. Cade
8. Chance
9. Colt
10. Crew
11. Cruz
12. Dax
13. Drake
14. Fox
15. Fritz
16. Grant
17. Gray
18. Hawk
19. Hugh
20. Ike
21. Jace
22. Jett
23. Kai
24. Kent
25. Knox
26. Kyle
27. Max
28. Nash
29. Pax
30. Pierce
31. Quinn
32. Redd
33. Reid
34. Rhett
35. Rhys
36. Saint
37. Saul
38. Spike
39. Taj
40. Tate
41. Van
42. Wade
43. Wolf
44. Wynn
45. Zeke
48 Classic Modern Boy Names
If you are into classic or traditional names, these are modern but timeless. Names like Benjamin or Liam are still trendy, while Hugo and Roman have a chance to rise to the top.
1. Aaron
2. Aidan
3. Alexander
4. August
5. Benjamin
6. Bradley
7. Caleb
8. Charles
9. Christopher
10. Conrad
11. Daniel
12. David
13. Dominic
14. Elijah
15. Emmett
16. Evan
17. Gabriel
18. Garrett
19. George
20. Griffin
21. Hugo
22. Isaac
23. Jacob
24. Jeremiah
25. Liam
26. Louis
27. Lucas
28. Mason
29. Matthew
30. Micah
31. Milo
32. Nathaniel
33. Nolan
34. Oliver
35. Oscar
36. Owen
37. Roman
38. Rubin
39. Ryan
40. Samuel
41. Sebastian
42. Solomon
43. Theo
44. Tristan
45. Tyler
46. Vincent
47. Xavier
48. Zachary
38 Unique Modern Boy Names
Unique names are always a great way to go. The names we chose for this list are modern but rarer boy names than any others we have chosen. Plus, they all sound cool, like Legend and Osiris!
1. Adler
2. Archer
3. Atlas
4. Azriel
5. Bentley
6. Bodhi
7. Brooks
8. Cairo
9. Caspian
10. Cedar
11. Easton
12. Emir
13. Fenix
14. Gael
15. Harlow
16. Hendrix
17. Holden
18. Jagger
19. Killian
20. Koa
21. Legend
22. Maddox
23. Major
24. Oakley
25. Onyx
26. Orion
27. Osiris
28. Ranger
29. Rhodes
30. River
31. Royal
32. Ryder
33. Shepherd
34. Talon
35. Tatum
36. Titan
37. Wilder
38. Zephyr
43 More Modern Boy Names
We found so many names we fell in love with, these included! Some of these modern baby boy names are relatively common, while others are less so. Look to see if any of them feel like the perfect match.
1. Alfie
2. Arlo
3. Asher
4. Axel
5. Callum
6. Cameron
7. Cayden
8. Dallas
9. Ellis
10. Ezra
11. Finley
12. Gideon
13. Greyson
14. Gunner
15. Harley
16. Ira
17. Jonas
18. Julian
19. Justice
20. Keegan
21. Landon
22. Leo
23. Levi
24. Luca
25. Mateo
26. Maverick
27. Orlando
28. Otis
29. Otto
30. Paxton
31. Preston
32. Quentin
33. Remy
34. Rowan
35. Spencer
36. Sterling
37. Thatcher
38. Tobias
39. Tyson
40. Weston
41. Xander
42. Zayden
43. Zion
There you have it — over 200 modern baby boy names to choose from! We listed everything from last names that make great first names to short, classic, unique ones, and more. We hope you found the perfect name for your baby boy or that this list at least gave you some good inspiration. Congrats on your little one!
Want more ideas for your baby boy? Check out our other baby names lists, like cool boy names, short boy names, nicknames for boys, and the hottest baby names for 2023. Have fun choosing a beautiful name you love for your baby boy!
