Middle Names for Boys
Short middle names for boys with a documented meaning, in current U.S. use. 528 names.
Most common origin labels on this list: English (200), Muslim (162), Hebrew (47).
Most used for boys in 2024: Asher, 8,123 births.
Names 201–300 of 528 (page 3 of 6)
How names qualify
A name is listed when a boy record in our data has a documented meaning, the name has 50 or more births for boys in the SSA 2024 national file, so families can find it in use, and it is short: 2 syllables or fewer, or 5 letters or fewer, in a single word. A short middle name leaves room for a long first or last name. 117 more boys' names meet the other tests but are longer, and 1,778 have no documented meaning of their own in our data yet.
SSA counts spellings, not origins: the meaning shown is the one recorded in our data for the same spelling and sex.
Syllables are estimated from spelling with an English-style rule, so they can be off for names pronounced differently from how they are spelled. The row shows the estimate and the letter count that the rule used.
How well a middle name flows depends on the first and last name next to it, so this list does not rate flow. The middle name generator scores a whole name.
169 of the 528 names come from the Muslim-names dataset (Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Kurdish and related origins). Names from other traditions appear only where their recorded meaning fits the rule.
Births and ranks are SSA national data: see the source note under the table.
Each row shows the meaning recorded for that name in our data. A name can have other meanings and other origins.
Middle Names for Boys
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Gender | Length and U.S. births |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy | Diminutive of Thomas, which means “twin” | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 358 births |
| Idris | A Prophet, the biblical Enoch/ Henoch. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 347 births |
| Zamir | Conscience, Mind, Heart, Idea, Comprehension | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 347 births |
| Ambrose | immortal, divine | Ancient Greek | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 345 births |
| Huxley | woodland clearing, glade, insult, scorn, mockery | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 345 births |
| Magnus | great | Latin | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 340 births |
| Roger | fame-spear | Germanic | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 340 births |
| Zahir | Apparent, evident, one of the attributes of Allah. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 339 births |
| Keith | wood | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 336 births |
| Cayson | Variant of Cason, which means “house” | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 332 births |
| Hugh | heart, mind | Germanic | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 332 births |
| Lochlan | Variant of Lachlan, which means “land of the lochs, loch or fjord land, i.e. Scandinavia” | Scottish Gaelic | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 323 births |
| Aryan | the honorable people | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 320 births |
| Quentin | fifth | Latin | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 318 births |
| Alvin | elf friend | Old English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 316 births |
| Casen | Variant of Cason, which means “house” | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 316 births |
| Kaiser | Emperor, King | Muslim | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 314 births |
| Kyree | sun, lord | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 313 births |
| Robin | Diminutive of Robert, which means “shining glory” | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 310 births |
| Karim | noble, generous | Arabic | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 305 births |
| Emery | amalric, vigor, bravery, ruler, home | Germanic | Boy | 5 letters, about 3 syllables; 302 births |
| Gage | pledge | English | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 297 births |
| Axton | stone | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 294 births |
| Abner | father of light, father, light | Hebrew | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 293 births |
| Lance | Diminutive of Lancelot, which means “land” | Germanic | Boy | 5 letters, about 1 syllable; 290 births |
| Avi | father | Hebrew | Boy | 3 letters, about 2 syllables; 288 births |
| Jagger | peddler | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 285 births |
| Cason | house | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 283 births |
| Douglas | black, stream | English | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 283 births |
| Issac | Variant of Isaac, which means “he laughs, he will laugh” | Hebrew | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 283 births |
| Eugene | well born | Ancient Greek | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 276 births |
| Ayan | appear | Muslim | Boy | 4 letters, about 2 syllables; 275 births |
| Melvin | bad, settlement | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 275 births |
| Reuben | son | Hebrew | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 275 births |
| Stanley | stone, meadow | English | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 275 births |
| Byron | at the byre or cattleshed | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 272 births |
| Mitchell | michael, big | English | Boy | 8 letters, about 2 syllables; 258 births |
| Calum | dove | Scottish Gaelic | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 257 births |
| Zev | wolf | Hebrew | Boy | 3 letters, about 1 syllable; 257 births |
| Langston | long, tall, stone | English | Boy | 8 letters, about 2 syllables; 256 births |
| Meir | one who shines | English | Boy | 4 letters, about 2 syllables; 253 births |
| Curtis | polite, courteous, or well-bred | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 249 births |
| Ameer | Chieftain, ruler, prince, commander, lord, leader, master. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 248 births |
| Maurice | moor; dark, swarthy | Latin | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 248 births |
| Khalid | immortal; glorious; eternal | Arabic | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 246 births |
| Kabir | Great, grand, magnificent, senior, Allah's epithet. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 245 births |
| Arden | high | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 242 births |
| Cedric | beloved, spectacular bounty | Welsh | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 242 births |
| Nazir | Observer, supervisor | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 242 births |
| Darren | oak | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 238 births |
| Neo | new | English | Boy | 3 letters, about 2 syllables; 232 births |
| Zavier | Bright | Muslim | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 232 births |
| Imran | Population, civilization, careful observance of rules of etiquette. Father of Maryam (Mother of Prophet Isa) i.e. Mary, mother of Jesus. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 231 births |
| Laith | Lion | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 1 syllable; 231 births |
| Cain | craftsman | Hebrew | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 230 births |
| Ira | watchful | Hebrew | Boy | 3 letters, about 2 syllables; 230 births |
| Shlomo | peace | Hebrew | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 230 births |
| Wallace | foreign | English | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 229 births |
| Kingsley | from the king's wood, glade or meadow | English | Boy | 8 letters, about 2 syllables; 228 births |
| Noa | movement | English | Boy | 3 letters, about 1 syllable; 228 births |
| Vance | marsh, bog | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 1 syllable; 226 births |
| Ishaan | Ishana | Sanskrit | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 225 births |
| Stefan | to crown, that which surrounds, crown, wreath | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 225 births |
| Brendan | high, exalted | Irish | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 221 births |
| Mike | Diminutive of Michael, which means “who is like God?” | English | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 221 births |
| Joan | God is gracious | English | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 220 births |
| Harley | hare's meadow | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 218 births |
| Isa | A Prophets Name (Jesus) | Muslim | Boy | 3 letters, about 2 syllables; 216 births |
| Osman | Tender youth, A nice pen (a literary person), Name of the third Caliph of Islam | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 216 births |
| Carl | free man | Germanic | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 215 births |
| Bronson | a man named brown's | English | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 214 births |
| Lev | lion | English | Boy | 3 letters, about 1 syllable; 213 births |
| Kacey | Variant of Casey, which means “descendant of (a person named) Watchful” | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 211 births |
| Talon | heel | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 211 births |
| Aslan | Aslan is a Turkish name for boys that means lion. | Turkish | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 210 births |
| Brennan | descendant of braonán, moisture, drop, descendant of branán, raven | English | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 207 births |
| Howard | high, guard | Germanic | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 207 births |
| Arham | Merciful, Kind, generous. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 202 births |
| Palmer | a pilgrim from the holy land | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 202 births |
| Kelvin | narrow, wooded, river | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 201 births |
| Ernest | vigor, strife | Germanic | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 200 births |
| Rodney | hrōdanīeġ, hrōdanīġ, fame, island | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 200 births |
| Gordon | of gordon (berwickshire), son of muirneachán | English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 199 births |
| Andreas | manly, man | Ancient Greek | Boy | 7 letters, about 2 syllables; 195 births |
| Rishi | , sage | Sanskrit | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 193 births |
| Yasir | Wealthy | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 193 births |
| Fox | a vulpine animal | English | Boy | 3 letters, about 1 syllable; 192 births |
| Bobby | Diminutive of Robert, which means “shining glory” | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 189 births |
| Zayan | Beauty, prettiness. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 188 births |
| Yaseen | The opening letters of the first verse of surat Ya Sin (36:1). An epithet of the Prophet Muhammad. | Muslim | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 186 births |
| Jean | God is gracious | English | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 184 births |
| Kasey | Variant of Casey, which means “descendant of (a person named) Watchful” | English | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 179 births |
| Umar | Life-time, age, Name of the second Caliph, The meaning of 'Umar' is linked with 'Aamir', prosperous, full of life, large, substantial. | Muslim | Boy | 4 letters, about 2 syllables; 179 births |
| Gerald | spear, might, power | Germanic | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 178 births |
| Tzvi | gazelle | Hebrew | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 178 births |
| Jair | he will light up | Hebrew | Boy | 4 letters, about 1 syllable; 177 births |
| Nova | new | English | Boy | 4 letters, about 2 syllables; 176 births |
| Ayman | Lucky blessed, righ-hand, right, on the right, fortunate. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 175 births |
| Bilal | Water, moisture, freshness, river, sea. A Sahabi i.e. the companion of Prophet Muhammad. | Muslim | Boy | 5 letters, about 2 syllables; 175 births |
| Edmund | prosperity, protection | Old English | Boy | 6 letters, about 2 syllables; 175 births |
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names (national data, 1880-2024). Counts are Social Security card applications for births in the United States; names with fewer than 5 births in a year are not listed, and spelling variants are counted separately. Baby Name Wizard is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA.