Boy Names Ending in R: Arthur, Kyler, Bear

Boy names ending in R cover all the styles. Archer and Asher were both among the fastest rising boy names last year, along with classic Theodore. Plenty of favorites, like Carter and Hunter, feel downright traditional these days. Others, like Alexander, earned that title long ago.

Of course, boy names ending in R have plenty of competition these days. Boy names ending in S feel terribly fashionable, with Brooks leading the way. And vowel endings, like A and O, feel fresher than ever.

The first version of this list, complied in 2016, tallied 78 boy names ending in R from the current US Top 1000.

That number has shifted just a bit. In calendar year 2019, a grand total of 85 made the list – an increase of six from the original version. And in 2020, that number ticked up to 91. Almost ten percent of the boys’ names appearing in the current US Top 1000 end with the letter R.

BOY NAMES ENDING IN R: THE LIST

1. OLIVER (#3)
2. ALEXANDER (#10)
3. THEODORE (#23)
4. ASHER (#32)
5. CARTER (#33)
6. CHRISTOPHER (#47)
7. HUNTER (#69)
8. COOPER (#74)
9. CONNOR (#78)
10. XAVIER (#92)
11. PARKER (#95)
12. RYDER (#108)
13. SAWYER (#116)
14. AMIR (#117)
15. RIVER (#129)
16. TYLER (#130)
17. JASPER (#138)
18. RYKER (#148)
19. ARCHER (#160)
20. KARTER (#161)
21. XANDER (#187)
22. ARTHUR (#162)
23. VICTOR (#200)
24. WALKER (#206)
25. TUCKER (#192)
26. PETER (#214)
27. OSCAR (#215)
28. KYLER (#244)
29. JAVIER (#249)
30. OMAR (#253)
31. WALTER (#274)
32. ZANDER (#280)
33. GUNNER (#308)
34. SPENCER (#316)
35. TANNER (#333)
36. MAJOR (#352)
37. NASIR (#359)
38. HECTOR (#364)
39. CESAR (#371)
40. IKER (#380)
41. EDGAR (#393)
42. PORTER (#423)
43. WILDER (#431)
44. CONNER (#439)
45. TREVOR (#407)
46. ZYAIRE (#447)
47. BAYLOR (#460)
48. ZAIRE (#522)
49. BAKER (#524)
50. DENVER (#527)
51. GUNNAR (#528)
52. DEXTER (#560)
53. SKYLER (#566)
54. TAYLOR (#597)
55. LEDGER (#626)
56. ANDER (#628)
57. SAMIR (#647)
58. EMIR (#650)
59. FLETCHER (#654)
60. JAMIR (#663)
61. ROGER (#679)
62. MILLER (#696)
63. SALVADOR (#698)
64. JAGGER (#718)
65. JUNIOR (#748)
66. BRIAR (#755)
67. KRISTOPHER (#827)
68. AMEER (#830)
69. THATCHER (#839)
70. KABIR (#859)
71. DIOR (#868)
72. KAISER (#869)
73. YAHIR (#880)
74. ZAVIER (#881)
75. ZAHIR (#889)
76. BEAR (#897)
77. JAIR (#899)
78. FISHER (#908)
79. ADLER (#920)
80. BRIDGER (#925)
81. AHMIR (#935)
82. DAMIR (#948)
83. SALVATORE (#954)
84. ALISTAIR (#963)
85. FOSTER (#965)
86. ZYAIR (#968)
87. ABNER (#971)
88. COLTER (#972)
89. ELIEZER (#993)
90. XZAVIER (#975)
91. TURNER (#997)

TRADITIONAL FAVORITES ENDING WITH R

Many traditional names appear on the list of boy names ending in R, including Alexander and Christopher, but also fast-rising Oliver, comebacks like Arthur, and not-quite-rediscovered possibilities, like Walter and Peter.

ANTIQUE BOY NAMES ENDING IN R

Boy names tend to be slightly less subject to trends, so it’s no surprise that antique choices like Edgar, Dexter, and Roger remain in the US Top 1000. They’ve fallen dramatically from their heights, but they remain in steady use – and could easily make a comeback.

ESTABLISHED SURNAME NAMES ENDING WITH R

Carter, Cooper, Hunter, Sawyer, and Parker have become go-to names for boys.

Others, like Tucker and Tanner, belong to the same category, but have fallen in use.

And a few more and up-and-comers, like Wilder, Bridger, and Ledger.

ALMOST SURNAMES ENDING WITH R

Ryder and Ryker do occur as surnames. Others, like Kyler? Maybe not so much.

RESPELLINGS WITH R ENDINGS

Swap out the C for a K and you’ll find Karter and Kristopher. Playing with Scrabble tiles transforms Xavier into Zavier, Xzavier, and adds an extra letter to Alexzander.

IMPORTS ENDING WITH R

Plenty of names count as traditional elsewhere. But in the US? They’re imports. Think Omar, Amir, and Iker; Javier, Salvador, and Cesar; Nasir, Yahir, and Samir.

WORD NAMES ENDING WITH R

Then come the word names: Jasper boasts centuries of use. Major has more history than you might guess. Junior finds favor elsewhere in the English-speaking world, notably South Africa. Meanwhile River surged from a seldom-heard hippie pick to a mainstream favorite.

RARE BOY NAMES ENDING WITH R

Love the sound of these names, but looking for something less popular? These cover all of the same categories as the more familiar choices – surnames and word names and imports, too. Some are super-wearable … others, not so much!

But they were all given to fewer than 200 boys born in the calendar year 2020.

1. ADAIR
2. ALDER
3. AMADOR
4. AMOR
5. ARBOR
6. AVENIR
7. AVIGDOR
8. AZAR
9. AZURE
10. BADER
11. BALTHAZAR
12. BANNER
13. BECKER
14. BEHR
15. BOOKER
16. BRENNER
17. BREWER
18. BRYER
19. CALDER
20. CALIBER
21. CARDER (and KARDER)
22. CARTIER (and KARTIER)
23. CARVER
24. CASPER
25. CHESTER
26. COPPER
27. CZAR
28. DECKER (and DEKKER)
29. DRAXLER
30. EDER
31. EIDER
32. EINAR
33. ELDER
34. ELIER
35. ELMER
36. ENDER
37. EVANDER
38. FRAZIER (and FRASIER and FRASER)
39. GASPAR
40. GREER
41. GROVER
42. GUNTHER
43. HATCHER
44. HOMER
45. HONOR
46. ISADORE
47. IVAR
48. JAMAR
49. JASIR
50. JETER
51. JOYNER
52. JUPITER
53. KASHMIR
54. KESSLER
55. KYAIRE
56. LAKER
57. LAMAR
58. LANDER
59. LEANDER
60. LESTER
61. MACARTHUR
62. MACGREGOR
63. MAHIR
64. MERCER
65. NATURE
66. NOMAR
67. OLIVIER
68. OLLIVANDER
69. OSMAR
70. PALMER
71. PIERRE
72. PROSPER
73. PRYOR
74. QUADIR (and QADIR)
75. RAIDER
76. RAINER
77. RANGER
78. ROPER
79. RUGER
80. RYLER
81. SANDER
82. SEGER
83. SILVER
84. SIR
85. SIRE
86. SLATER
87. STRYDER
88. STRYKER
89. SUTTER
90. SYLAR
91. SYLVESTER
92. TAMIR
93. TELLER
94. THAYER
95. THOR
96. THUNDER
97. TIGER
98. TRAPPER
99. TYMERE
100. TYR
101. VALOR
102. VANDER
103. VEER
104. VLADIMIR
105. WHEELER
106. WHITAKER (and WHITTAKER)
107. WILBUR
108. WINDSOR
109. ZEPHYR

What are your favorite boy names ending in R? Is there a category you like best?

First published on November 2, 2016, this post was revised substantially and re-published on September 23, 2020 and again on October 28, 2021.