Modern Meaningful Boy NamesWhat makes modern meaningful boy names?

You know them when you hear them, of course. But definitions prove elusive. They’re not necessarily Christian, though they’re undeniably spiritual in a broad sense. They’re usually word names, though they’re not always terms heard in everyday speech. In most cases, modern meaningfuls can be chosen by a parent for their deep significance – or just because of their cool, edgy style.

Some of these qualify as virtue names, but not all. Modern meaningful boy names require the hearer to think for a minute, and unpack the significance of the name before you can know for sure.

While many of these have never cracked the US Top 1000, others could be considered mainstream. And most of them are gaining in use. But a mix of rich meaning and modern sound makes them powerful choices for a son today.

Read on for seventeen of my favorite modern meaningful boy names.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Arrow

Arrow: Baby Name of the DayCurrent US popularity rank: unranked
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: unranked

At first glance, Arrow belongs with the weapon names, stocked on the same shelf as Remington and Wesson. But an arrow flies straight and hits the target, making this an almost virtue name. Another appealing association? Cupid inspires love with a well-aimed arrow. Factor in a popular superhero and a stylish sound, and no surprise that we’re slowly hearing more of Arrow. Arrow-related surname Archer is trending, too. While more popular for boys, it’s gaining in use for girls, too.

Read more about Arrow here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Bodhi

Current US popularity rank: #314
2017 US popularity rank: #303
2016 US popularity rank: #363

Bodhi comes from the Sanskrit word for enlightenment. It’s no mere vocabulary word, though; instead, it describes a rich and nuanced spiritual concept. And yet there’s some evidence that parents fell for the sound of this name first. Bodhi debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2010, some years after Olympic skiier Bode Miller became a household name. (Bodhi and Bode share the same pronunciation, but claim different backstories.) Bodie also ranks in the US Top 1000, but the meaning-rich Bodhi fares best today.

I’ve yet to write about Bodhi! In the meantime, you can read about Bode here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Credence

Credence: Baby Name of the Day

Current US popularity rank: unranked
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: unranked

Credence sounds like a Plymouth Rock baby name, a virtue seldom heard on real children. And it keeps that tone in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Harry Potter prequel movie featuring siblings Chastity, Modesty, and eldest brother Credence. But shift your thinking, and Credence feels like a very modern meaningful choice. The Latin credo means I believe, and the name takes on musical overtones, too, thanks to 1960s legends Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Read more about Credence here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Creed

Creed: Baby Name of the Day

Current US popularity rank: #962
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: #982

If Credence makes this list, then so should Creed. It shares a musical connection, and a silver screen one, too, as well as those same Latin roots. For Hollywood purposes, movie title Creed comes from Apollo and Adonis, the father and son boxers whose life stories continue to intersect with boxing legend, Rocky Balboa, ever since we met the fictional fighters in 1976. That lends this name some muscle, along with a deep meaning. The combination pushed Creed into the US Top 1000 as of 2016, but it teetered back out the following year, only to return again in 2018.

Read more about Creed here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Ever

Current US popularity rank: unranked
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: unranked

File Ever somewhere between Ev- names for girls, like Evangeline, and Ev- go-tos for boys, like Everett. It leans slightly more popular for boys, but fails to make the US Top 1000 for either gender. Milla Jovovich used it for a girl; Alanis Morisette gave the name to a son. Either way, Ever conjures up the eternal. It comes from Old English, and tends to be used in poetic phrasing: ’twas ever thus and teenage vows of love and loyalty: forever and ever. But it appears in everyday speech, too, making this a rare word name that feels both workaday and lofty at once.

Read more about Ever here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Fisher

Current US popularity rank: unranked
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: unranked

Fisher fits with so many stylish r-ending boy names. But it belongs with the modern meaningfuls thanks to a popular Bible verse. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Their new daily catch will become souls rather than sustenance. It serves as a powerful image, and one that many people will recognize, regardless of their faith tradition. As for Fisher, with surnames like Hunter and Cater so in favor, it fits right in, too.

I’ve yet to write about Fisher, but please check back and I’ll update when I do.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Messiah

Current US popularity rank: #203
2017 US popularity rank: #198
2016 US popularity rank: #218

Messiah caught everyone’s attention when a Tennessee judge forcibly renamed a child, changing his legal name from Messiah to Martin. The judge’s order didn’t stand, but it put the name in the spotlight. Messiah refers to a savior; the judge declared it was potentially offensive to Christians. But here’s the thing: Messiah has been heavily used for boys this century. And it’s not new, either – we can find the name in use in the nineteenth century. Today it fits right in with Elijah and Isaiah – a modern meaningful intended to honor one’s faith.

I’ve yet to write about Messiah! Check back and I’ll update when I do.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Pax

Current US popularity rank: unranked
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: unranked

Pax fits with X-heavy boy names like Jax and Dax. But it’s also a name with history galore. It comes from the Latin word for peace – think Pax Romana. In ancient Rome, Pax served as the goddess of peace. And yet sound makes this one just right for a son. The Jolie-Pitts trail-blazed the name’s use when they adopted son Pax Thien in 2007. Unlike Maddox and Knox, Pax failed to soar into the US Top 1000. But it has risen steadily in use, almost exclusively for boys. It makes a great brother for Bodhi, or an alternative to Creed.

Read more about Pax here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Phoenix

Current US popularity rank: #252 (boys); #353 (girls)
2017 US popularity rank: #268 (boys); #363 (girls)
2016 US popularity rank: #292 (boys); #443 (girls)

Unisex Phoenix could be taken as a place name, along with London and Savannah. But myth gives us the phoenix, a long-living bird that eventually caught fire, only to rise renewed from its ashes. The Greeks mentioned the bird; so do Dante and Shakespeare. It symbolizes resurrection, but also renewal and reinvention in a more general sense. This works within a faith context, or as a more general virtue name. It’s significant in the Harry Potter ‘verse, and X-Men gives us Jean Gray.

Read more about the name Phoenix here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Ransom

Current US popularity rank: unranked
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: unranked

Ransom often brings to mind a demand for payment. The word conjures up police procedural dramas. Except when used as a name, it probably references the idea of Christ dying to ransom our sins. It shares roots with the word redemption. In 1 Timothy 2:6, it reads “he gave himself as a ransom,” though some translations prefer redemption, or even sacrifice. In any case, that shifts the image of the name and makes it quite meaningful – and wearable. After all, Ransom rhymes with handsome.

Read more about the name Ransom here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Sage

Current US popularity rank: #438 (boys); #307 (girls)
2017 US popularity rank: #472 (boys); #309 (girls)
2016 US popularity rank: #546 (boys); #354 (girls)

Sage refers to a color, a spice, and wisdom – not a bad trifecta. It can be a noun – think of the Seven Sages of (ancient) Greece, or an adjective applied to a wise person. The herb ultimately traces its name to the Latin word for healthy, and the color reflects the shade of dried sage leaves. If you like your names unisex, and can’t decide between nature names and meaningful ones, this name has it all.

Read more about Sage here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Shepherd

Current US popularity rank: #718
2017 US popularity rank: #797
2016 US popularity rank: #863

Shepherd entered the US Top 1000 in 2016, after years of slowly gaining in use. Alternate spelling Shepard is gaining, too. The name reflects the same Christian imagery as Fisher. Often Jesus is depicted as a shepherd tending his flock of faithful. And yet, the name also feels down-home, a simple and unpretentious name – and, at the same time, a slightly preppy one, too. In other words, Shepherd could appeal to a broad range of parents. It captured the New Names Showdown 2017 championship.

Read ore about Shepherd here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Shiloh

Current US popularity rank: #702 (boys); #562 (girls)
2017 US popularity rank: #815 (boys); #582 (girls)
2016 US popularity rank: #871 (boys); #611 (girls)

Biblical place names feel fresh and popular, and they tend towards the meaningful, too. But Shiloh fits on this list better than many. That’s because it predated Jerusalem as a major worship site. The Ark of the Covenant was kept there. In the Old Testament “Shiloh” can also mean the messiah. More modern uses include the Civil War Battle of Shiloh (named for a church in the area) as well as a 1991 children’s novel about a dog called Shiloh. With the upbeat -o ending, and rich meaning, Shiloh wears well for a son or a daughter.

Read more about Shiloh here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: True

True: Baby Name of the Day

Current US popularity rank: unranked
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: unranked

Some modern meaningful boy names keep under the radar. Bodhi and Ransom and Sage might not immediately make others think of the names’ significance. But True? True occurs in everyday language. It’s clearly a virtue name. The Puritans even used it. And yet it feels fresh and modern in a way that Mercy and Patience simply do not. Like many word names, it’s unisex. 44 boys and 31 girls were named True in 2016 – of course, that’s before a Kardashian chose it for a daughter. If you’d like something a little longer, consider Truman, Truett, or Truly.

Read more about the name True here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Wilder

Wilder: Baby Name of the Day

Current US popularity rank: #523
2017 US popularity rank: #573
2016 US popularity rank: #723

At first glance, Wilder doesn’t fit with modern meaningful boy names. Except that Wilder often refers to two ideas: first, the importance of the natural world. And second, the idea that “all good things are wild and free,” as famously said by Thoreau. The name mixes a preppy, buttoned-down sound with ideals about freedom and rugged individualism. No wonder Wilder cracked the US Top 1000 in 2015, rose more than 200 places in 2016, and continued to climb in the following years.

Read more about Wilder here.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Zen

Current US popularity rank: unranked
2017 US popularity rank: unranked
2016 US popularity rank: unranked

Could there be any better quality for a child than a Zen-like state of calm? As with Bodhi, this one goes beyond mere virtue name. Zen refers to a school of Buddhism; it literally translates to meditation or thought. There’s an entire practice around the idea of Zen. That could make this name problematic for parents without cultural experience in the tradition. But if you can embrace the idea it represents, Zen combines a cool sound and a powerful meaning. Zoe Saldana’s youngest son is named Zen.

I’ve yet to write about Zen, but check back and I’ll update this post when I do.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names: Zion

Current US popularity rank: #183 (boys); unranked (girls)
2017 US popularity rank: #199 (boys); #928 (girls)
2016 US popularity rank: #212 (boys); #930 (girls)

Sound-wise, this name could be Ryan with a Z. And it makes for a cool-sounding Biblical place name. But Zion means more, and that’s why it makes the list of modern meaningful boy names. It’s an alternate place name for Jerusalem, where Mount Zion stands just outside of the city. Zionism refers to efforts to create a Jewish state in Israel. In many faith traditions, it represents a utopia, or a promised land – and the word can be used in a more general sense, too. It’s gained in use dramatically since the 1990s, especially for boys.

I’ve yet to write about Zion, but check back and I’ll update this post when I do.

That wraps up the modern meaningful boy names – though there are so many more I could add to this list!

Do you have any favorites that would fit this category? Would you consider any of these names for a son?

First published September 1, 2017, it was updated on July 23, 2019.

Modern Meaningful Boy Names

About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

You May Also Like:

What do you think?

3 Comments

  1. The arrow can also be tied to Khalil Gibran’s poem “The Prophet”. There is a section named “On Children” where he compares children to arrows and parents to the bow.

  2. Arrow, Fisher, Shepherd, and Wilder are my favorites. I also like the idea of Valor as a meaningful name. And I do definitely like names with meaning behind them.