47 Rare Boy Names That Are Unexpectedly Cool

Published July 15, 2020
Father and his son with Hawaiian shirts

Unusual and rare boy names don't have to be weird, old-fashioned, or hard to spell. If you like unusual names for boys, choose a boy name that sounds cool even if no one's ever heard it before.

Cool and Uncommon Short Names for Boys

Short names for boys are cool, even uncommon names, because they sound like nicknames. Look for one syllable boy names you can pull from longer names to use for your son.

  • Aero (air-oh) - air
  • Axton - swordsman's stone
  • Asar (ah-sar) - unknown; Greek form of Osiris, God of the Dead
  • Benno - bear
  • Bero (bair-oh) - to take or gather
  • Brage (brah-gee)- first
  • Druid (droo-ihd) - strong seer; Ancient Celtic priest or magician
  • Enos (ay-nohss)- man or mortal
  • Grae (gray) - unknown
  • Hero - hero
  • Ice - ice
  • Inigo (ih-nee-goh) - my
  • Kalix - most beautiful
  • Keefe - descendant of Caomh
  • Nido (ni-doh) - unknown
  • Omri (om-ree) - my sheaf
  • Orvar - arrow
  • Osten - stone island
  • Rodion (roh-dee-on) - song of the hero
  • Scion (si-on)- descendent
  • Taft - building site
  • Torin - chief
  • Yudel (yoo-dehl) - praise
  • Zayde - unknown
  • Zoar (zor) - light or brilliance
Toddler indoors

Extraordinary and Rare Long Names for Boys

From unique Biblical names to lesser known mythology names, longer names from distant places are unique today. Look for long names that sound cool as is and have a cool nickname you could easily shorten them to.

  • Adonai (ah-doh-ni)- my lord
  • Alderic (ahl-day-reek) - old ruler
  • Amatore - lover of God
  • Benesh - blessed
  • Caishen (ki-shen) - god of wealth
  • Coleman - dove
  • Draven - unknown
  • Hyperion - over
  • Jacobus (juh-koh-bus) - supplanter
  • Janeiro (juh-nayr-oh) - January
  • Jeconiah (jeh-koh-ni-uh) - God will establish
  • Ledger - tribe spear
  • Quintus (kwin-toos) - fifth
  • Raiden - thunder and lightning
  • Robinson - son of Robin or Robert
  • Taranis (tuh-ran-iss) - thunder
  • Tristram (trihss-trum) - riot
  • Vancho (vahn-choh) - God is gracious
  • Whittaker (wit-uh-ker) - white field
  • Yisroel (yiz-roy-al) - God contends
  • Yorick - farmer
  • Zhubin (zoo-bihn) - spear-like
    Portrait of cute laughing toddler boy in glasses

Finding Rare Names for Boys

While pop culture and literature can be great places to mine names, you're chosen moniker is more likely to stay rare if it's out of the public eye.

  • Check out the bottom 50 names or so from the U.S. Social Security Administration's annual popular names list.
  • Look for news stories on the rarest names in other countries, like rare names from the UK and around the world.
  • Use a baby name generator to create a new name using your names or your favorite baby boy names.
  • Explore your interests to find unique options such as music names or celestial names related to space.
  • Use your favorite common names as inspiration as you mix and match first, middle, or last syllables to create new names that resemble familiar names.

Names That Make Your Son Special

People like rare names because they help kids stand out from the crowd in a cool way. Keep in mind, though, that the rarest boy names are the ones you invent. Truly rare names will be hard to research and you probably won't find pronunciation guides, name meanings, or origins for them.

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47 Rare Boy Names That Are Unexpectedly Cool