80 Cool & Cute Middle Names for Boys

Download Article

How to pick the perfect middle name for your baby boy

Co-authored by Sonya Prior and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: October 1, 2025 Fact Checked

Download Article

• Popular
|
• Unique
|
• Short
|
• Choosing a Middle Name
|
• Middle Name Generator
|
• Video

|Show more |Show less

So, you’ve picked out your baby’s first name, but now you’ve come across another challenge: choosing the middle name. Finding the perfect middle name for your son can be tough, but luckily, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ve gathered some of the best middle names for boys, including popular and unique options, with help from baby naming expert and content creator Sonya Prior and baby name expert Tara Collins. We’ll also provide some tips on how to pick the ideal middle name for your baby boy.

Middle Names for Boys

Baby naming expert and content creator Sonya Prior suggests these classic and unique boy names, like Arthur, Theodore, and Selwyn. Here are other great middle name suggestions for boys:

• Vintage: Alexander, Blake, Alfred
• Unique: Akirou, Percival
• Place-inspired: Somerset, Orlando

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

Popular Middle Names for Boys

Download Article

1. 
   Choose a popular middle name for a classic option. Many popular boys’ middle names have been used for years, and for good reason. These names are cute and modern, but traditional enough to stand the test of time. Here are some of our favorites:

   • Aiden (Irish for “little fire”)
   • Alexander (Greek for “defender of the people”)
   • Alfred (Old English for “wise elf”)
   • Anthony (Latin for “priceless one”)
   • Beau (French for “beautiful, handsome”)
   • Benjamin (Hebrew for “son of the south, son of the right hand”)
   • Blake (English for “black”)
   • Bryce (Scottish for “speckled, freckled”)
   • Cade (English for “round, barrel”)
   • Calum (Scottish for “dove”)
   • Daniel (Hebrew for “God is my judge”)
   • Elijah (Hebrew for “Yahweh is my god”)
   • Ethan (Hebrew for “solid, firm, enduring”)
   • Everett (English and German for “brave boar”)
   • Ezra (Hebrew for “help, helper”)
   • Felix (Latin for “lucky, happy, fortunate”)
   • Grant (Scottish and English for “great”)
   • Henry (Germanic origin, “ruler of the home”)
   • Jackson (English for “son of Jack”)
   • James (Hebrew for “supplanter”)
   • Jameson (English and Scottish for “son of James”)
   • John (Hebrew for “God is gracious”)
   • Jude (Hebrew for “praised”)
   • Lucas (Greek for “man from Lucania”)
   • Michael (Hebrew for “who is like God?”)
   • Nathaniel (Hebrew for “gift of God, God has given”)
   • Ray (French and German for “wise protector”)
   • Ryan (Irish for “little king”)
   • Silas (Latin for “woods”)
   • Trace (English and Irish for “brave”)
   • Vincent (Latin for “conquering, victorious”)
   • William (French and German for “will helmet, protection”)
   • Xander (Greek for “defender of the people”)
   • Zane (Hebrew and Arabic for “God is gracious, beauty”)

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Sonya Prior is a baby naming expert and content creator known as the BB Namer with over 30k followers across Instagram and TikTok. She is based in Auckland, New Zealand.

   Tara Collins is a baby name expert based in the Gold Coast, Australia. She goes by thenamenest on social media where she has over 205k followers.
Advertisement

Section 2 of 4:

Unique Middle Names for Boys

Download Article

1. 
   Pick a unique middle name that stands out from the crowd. Many parents love unique, trendy names, but it’s also a good idea to choose a name that will grow with your baby. If you’re thinking of a more traditional first name, consider a unique middle name to make your son feel special. Here are some examples:

   • Akirou (Japanese for “autumn son”)
   • Alfonso (German, Spanish, and Italian for “noble and ready”)
   • Ambrose (Greek for “immortal” or “divine”)
   • Andrés (Spanish and Icelandic for “manly”)
   • Asher (Hebrew for “blessed”)
   • Atticus (Latin for “from Attica”)
   • Avrum (Yiddish for “father of many”)
   • Cochise (Apache for “oak, wood”)
   • Cyrus (Greek for “far-sighted, young”)
   • Damon (Greek for “to tame”)
   • Donovan (Irish for “descendant of Donndubhán”)
   • Dorian (Greek for “gift”)
   • Emery (German for “industrious, powerful, ruler”)
   • Emmett (English and German for “universal”)
   • Helios (Greek for “sun god”)
   • Horacio (Spanish for “hour, time”)
   • Ignacio (Spanish for “fiery”)
   • Imani (Swahili for “faith”)
   • Jamal (Arabic for “beauty”)
   • Jax (American for “son of Jack”)
   • Jayce (Greek for “healer”)
   • Nikhil (Sanskrit for “whole, entire”)
   • Orlando (Italian for “famous land”)
   • Perry (English and Welsh for “pear tree”)
   • Percival (Old French for "rocky valley")
   • Ramsay (English for “garlic island”)
   • Randall (German for “wolf shield”)
   • Sebastian (Latin for “someone from Sebasate, venerable”)
   • Selwyn (Old English for "prosperous friend")
   • Somerset (Old English for “summer settlement”)
   • Stone (English for “rock, dweller by the rocks”)
   • Valentin (Latin for “strong” or “healthy”)
   • Winston (Old English for "joyful stone")

Section 3 of 4:

Short Middle Names for Boys

Download Article

1. 
   Choose a short middle name to accompany a longer first name. Collins says many parents choose shorter middle names to link the first and last name. If you plan on using a longer first name, a short middle name can provide a sense of balance to make sure your baby’s full name flows well together. Here are some of our favorite short boy names:

   • Alon (Hebrew for “oak tree”)
   • Brock (English for “badger”)
   • Chad (English for “protector, defender, warrior”)
   • Chase (English for “chase, hunt”)
   • Clark (English for “cleric”)
   • Cole (English for “charcoal”)
   • Dion (Greek for “follower of Dionysus”)
   • Henry (German for “home ruler”)
   • Jack (English for “God is gracious”)
   • Jacob (Hebrew for “supplanter”)
   • Jeong (Korean for “quiet, still, gentle, virtuous, loyal”)
   • Kurt (German for “brave counsel”)
   • Liam (Irish for “helmet of will, protection”)
   • Logan (Scottish for “little hollow”)
   • Mason (German for “stoneworker”)
   • Noah (Hebrew for “rest”)
   • Ross (Scottish for “headland”)
   • Tad (Greek and Aramaic for “heart”)
   • Tripp (Latin for “third”)
   • Uri (Hebrew for “my light”)
   • Van (English for “marsh”)
   • York (Celtic for “yew-tree place”)
   • Yūki (Japanese for “excellence, superiority, gentleness, permanence”)
   • Zeke (Hebrew for “God will strengthen”)
   • Need more ideas? Check out our Middle Name Generator!
Advertisement

Section 4 of 4:

How to Choose a Middle Name

Download Article

1. 1
   Say the full name out loud. If you already have your baby boy’s first name picked out, try saying the full name aloud with different middle names. This will help you find a name that flows well together, as well as help make sure the name is easy enough to pronounce.
2. 2
   Pay attention to initials. You may think you’ve found the perfect middle name, but take the time to write the full name down. Pay special attention to the initials to make sure they don’t accidentally spell anything inappropriate or embarrassing. Writing the name down will also help you make sure it isn’t too hard to spell!
3. 3
   Consider honoring a family member. “A lot of people want to honor their heritage, their background, their traditional family names, and things like that,” says Collins. “It’s a really good opportunity to use those things in middle names.” If there’s a name that’s been passed down for generations or you have an older male relative you really admire, consider using that name as your baby’s middle name. This will allow you to pay your respects to your family while still having the opportunity to choose a unique first name.
Advertisement

Middle Name Generator

1. Discover your ideal middle name

   The roles of our first and last names are pretty clear, but like their spot in the order, middle names occupy a murkier ground. Some people use middle names as a way of commemorating loved ones, and others see it as a free-for-all to have fun with. Whatever brings you to this Middle Name Generator, we will come up with middle names that certainly won’t be middling!

   • All fields are optional.

     First Name

     Last Name

     Gender Any (default) Man Woman Gender-Neutral

     Style/Vibe Any (default) Classic Modern Traditional Unique Other (write your own)

     Origin/Ethnicity Pick one or write your own African American Arabic Aramaic Armenian Australian Babylonian Basque Brazilian British Bulgarian Cambodian Celtic Chinese Czech Danish Dutch Egyptian English Filipino Finnish French Gaelic German Ghanaian Greek Haitian Hawaiian Hebrew Hungarian Icelandic Indian Irish Italian Jamaican Japanese Korean Latin Mexican Native American Nigerian Norse Norwegian Pacific Islander Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Sanskrit Scandinavian Scottish Slavic Spanish Swahili Swedish Swiss Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish Uncertain Other (write your own)

     See ad to

     Generate Names

     Response failed. Please try again.

     Retry

     Try the full generator here.

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!