Boy Names That Start with A

404 namesBoy

The letter A opens some of the oldest names in the Western tradition. Alexander comes from Greek and means defender of the people, carried by Alexander the Great and by many kings and saints since. Adam is the first man in the book of Genesis, Aaron appears in the Hebrew Bible as the first high priest of the Israelites, and Andrew, from a Greek word linked to manliness and strength, was one of the apostles. Anthony comes from an old Roman family name, with Antonio as its Spanish and Italian form.

Beyond the classics, A names include a lively modern group. Aiden, Ayden and Aidan are versions of an Irish name meaning little fire, so the main decision among them is spelling. Asher is a Hebrew name meaning happy or blessed, Ashton began as an English place name meaning ash tree town, and Austin started out as an English surname. Angel is widely used in Spanish-speaking families, often with the Spanish pronunciation.

Because these names begin with an open vowel, they tend to sound bright and flow easily into most surnames. Watch for last names that also start with a vowel, which can blur the two together when spoken quickly. Longer choices such as Alexander, Anthony and Adrian offer shorter forms, and Alex appears here as a full name in its own right.

Most popular right now

Alexander Boy

a-lihg-ZAN-dur

“defender of men” · Greek

#30

Aiden Boy

AY-duhn

“little fire” · Irish

#62

Anthony Boy

AN-thuh-nee

“uncertain; from the Roman name Antonius” · Latin

#46

Andrew Boy

AN-droo

“manly, brave” · Greek

#73

Angel Boy

AYN-juhl

“messenger” · Greek

#67

Aaron Boy

EH-ruhn

“uncertain; possibly exalted” · Hebrew

#80

Adrian Boy

AY-dree-uhn

“from Hadria” · Latin

#74

Austin Boy

AWS-tuhn

“great, venerable” · English

#113

Asher Boy

ASH-ur

“happy, blessed” · Hebrew

#28

Adam Boy

AD-uhm

“man; possibly earth” · Hebrew

#101

Top 300 of 404 names

Sorted by current popularity. US rank uses 2025 data for the name's most common sex; the trend compares births with five years earlier. Tap a column heading to re-sort.

Name	Meaning	Origin	US rank 2025	5-yr trend
Alexander	defender of men	Greek	30	↓ -30%
Aiden	little fire	Irish	62	↓ -42%
Anthony	uncertain; from the Roman name Antonius	Latin	46	↓ -15%
Andrew	manly, brave	Greek	73	↓ -26%
Angel	messenger	Greek	67	↑ +5%
Aaron	uncertain; possibly exalted	Hebrew	80	↓ -21%
Adrian	from Hadria	Latin	74	↓ -16%
Austin	great, venerable	English	113	↓ -23%
Asher	happy, blessed	Hebrew	28	→ -3%
Adam	man; possibly earth	Hebrew	101	↓ -7%
Ayden	little fire	American (modern coinage)	257	↓ -56%
Alex	defender of men	Greek	232	↓ -29%
Aidan	little fire	Irish	326	↓ -22%
Axel	father of peace	Scandinavian	79	↓ -11%
Ashton	ash-tree town	Old English	197	↓ -34%
Antonio	Roman family name; meaning uncertain	Italian	176	→ -4%
Alejandro	defender of men	Spanish	195	→ +3%
Alan	uncertain; possibly little rock or handsome	Breton	191	→ -3%
Amir	prince, commander	Arabic	105	→ +4%
August	venerable, great	Latin	81	↑ +63%
Abraham	father of many	Hebrew	209	↓ -12%
Andres	manly, brave	Spanish	200	→ +2%
Abel	breath	Hebrew	231	↓ -28%
Arthur	uncertain; possibly 'bear'	Welsh	87	↑ +64%
Adriel	flock of God	Hebrew	84	↑ +50%
Archer	bowman	English	98	↑ +54%
Andre	manly, brave	French	368	↓ -27%
Atlas	possibly to bear, to endure	Greek	75	↑ +115%
Ace	one who excels; the top card	English	164	↑ +17%
Ali	exalted, high	Arabic	306	↑ +10%
Andy	short for Andrew, manly	English	565	↓ -31%
Anderson	son of Andrew	Scottish	363	↓ -17%
Angelo	angel, messenger	Italian	304	↑ +6%
Arlo	—	English	148	↑ +44%
Adonis	lord	Greek	241	↓ -13%
Atticus	of Attica	Latin	281	↑ +8%
Allen	uncertain; variant of Alan	English	578	↓ -20%
Aden	little fire	Irish	1,008	↓ -43%
Adan	man, earth	Spanish	482	→ -1%
Armando	army man	Spanish	556	↓ -7%
Albert	noble and bright	Germanic	614	↓ -16%
Alijah	variant of Elijah	American (modern coinage)	469	→ -3%
Arturo	uncertain; perhaps 'bear'	Spanish	627	↓ -6%
Asa	healer, physician	Hebrew	483	↑ +8%
Abram	high father	Hebrew	742	↓ -32%
Alec	defender of men	Scottish	977	↓ -50%
Alberto	noble and bright	Italian	819	↓ -20%
Alonzo	noble and ready	Spanish	511	↓ -6%
Alfredo	elf counsel	Italian	820	↓ -7%
Augustus	venerable, majestic	Latin	407	↑ +34%
Arjun	white, bright, shining	Sanskrit	490	↑ +23%
Ahmed	most praised	Arabic	703	↓ -10%
Ahmad	most praised	Arabic	669	↓ -5%
Ayaan	often said to mean gift of God	Arabic	465	→ +3%
Alvin	elf friend	Old English	838	↓ -22%
Aziel	God is my strength	Hebrew	186	↑ +233%
Alessandro	defender of men	Italian	497	↑ +42%
Ares	—	Greek	290	↑ +150%
Apollo	—	Greek	445	↑ +6%
Aarav	uncertain; popularly 'peaceful'	Sanskrit	710	↓ -10%
Aldo	old, elder	Italian	960	↓ -19%
Alden	old friend	English	598	↑ +24%
Archie	genuine and bold; pet form of Archibald	Scottish	301	↑ +78%
Aryan	noble	Sanskrit	872	→ +2%
Aron	variant of Aaron	Hebrew	711	↑ +10%
Allan	uncertain (variant of Alan)	Scottish	1,013	↓ -20%
Alonso	noble and ready	Spanish	785	↑ +9%
Abdiel	servant of God	Hebrew	607	↓ -16%
Amos	carried, borne by God	Hebrew	730	→ -0%
Augustine	venerable	Latin	545	↑ +56%
Abdullah	servant of God	Arabic	763	↑ +18%
Alvaro	uncertain; possibly all guard	Spanish	777	↑ +23%
Alfonso	noble and ready	Spanish	1,012	↑ +7%
Aydin	bright, enlightened	Turkish	1,315	↓ -43%
Amare	—	American (modern coinage)	2,333	↓ -64%
Arian	uncertain; several possible sources	Welsh	965	↓ -10%
Axton	from an English place name	English	906	↓ -42%
Adrien	from Hadria, a Roman town	French	1,159	↓ -10%
Anakin	invented for Star Wars	American (modern coinage)	648	↑ +18%
Alfred	elf counsel	Old English	840	↑ +17%
Aydan	variant of Aidan, 'little fire'	Irish	1,853	↓ -37%
Alexzander	variant of Alexander, 'defender of the people'	American (modern coinage)	2,126	↓ -58%
Avi	my father	Hebrew	832	↑ +22%
Aaden	little fire	Irish	8,910	↓ -86%
Anders	manly	Scandinavian	984	↓ -16%
Agustin	venerable	Spanish	952	↑ +20%
Ameer	prince, commander	Arabic	980	↓ -15%
Aidyn	little fire	Irish	2,994	↓ -70%
Ayan	uncertain; varies by language	—	762	↑ +37%
Antoine	French form of Anthony	French	1,708	↓ -25%
Azriel	God is my help	Hebrew	529	↑ +223%
Axl	father of peace; variant of Axel	American (modern coinage)	1,123	↓ -40%
Ander	manly; Basque form of Andrew	Basque	728	↓ -15%
Abner	my father is light	Hebrew	874	↑ +25%
Anton	uncertain; form of Anthony	German	1,389	↓ -12%
Anson	son of Agnes or of Hans	English	1,728	↓ -50%
Adler	eagle	German	871	↑ +14%
Atreus	often said fearless	Greek	582	↑ +54%
Alistair	defender of men	Scottish	897	↑ +17%
Aditya	belonging to Aditi; the sun	Sanskrit	1,886	↓ -11%
Azrael	help of God	Hebrew	656	↑ +75%
Azael	God has made	Hebrew	645	↑ +150%
Achilles	uncertain; Greek hero	Greek	1,290	↓ -21%
Ambrose	immortal	Greek	735	↑ +27%
Ahmir	prince, commander	Arabic	1,231	↓ -31%
Adolfo	noble wolf	Spanish	1,887	↓ -18%
Andreas	manly, brave	Greek	1,276	↓ -6%
Amar	immortal	Sanskrit	1,388	↓ -8%
Avraham	father of many	Hebrew	1,034	↑ +11%
Amias	loved	Latin	642	↑ +20%
Alaric	ruler of all	Germanic	1,063	↓ -26%
Aedan	little fire	Irish	3,659	↓ -61%
Aarush	first ray of the sun	Sanskrit	1,668	↓ -37%
Aurelio	golden	Italian	681	↑ +154%
Amarion	modern blend, likely of Amari and Marion	American (modern coinage)	1,291	↑ +29%
Antony	from a Roman family name, origin unknown	Latin	1,622	↑ +42%
Aleksander	defender of men	Polish	1,425	↓ -5%
Arnav	ocean, sea	Sanskrit	2,887	↓ -27%
Armaan	wish, desire	Persian	1,635	↓ -21%
Antwan	uncertain (form of Antoine)	American (modern coinage)	2,606	↓ -32%
Alton	old town	English	1,602	↑ +15%
Aayan	modern name of uncertain meaning	Arabic	1,571	↓ -45%
Adiel	ornament of God	Hebrew	1,141	↑ +29%
Aston	east settlement	Old English	1,852	↓ -30%
Arman	wish, ideal	Persian	1,204	↑ +58%
Alek	short for Alexander, defender	Greek	2,604	↓ -54%
Atreyu	coined for a hero in The Neverending Story	German	1,839	↓ -34%
Ansel	from Anselm; god and helmet	German	1,138	↑ +14%
Ash	ash tree	English	1,177	→ -4%
Aksel	Scandinavian form of Absalom; father of peace	Scandinavian	1,267	→ -5%
Atharv	name of a Vedic sage	Sanskrit	1,132	↓ -8%
Avyaan	modern Indian name of uncertain meaning	Sanskrit	858	↑ +55%
Ajay	unconquerable	Sanskrit	2,230	↓ -26%
Abdul	servant of; used with a name of God	Arabic	1,867	↓ -24%
Akeem	wise	Arabic	2,078	↓ -51%
Alexandro	defender of the people	Spanish	2,643	↓ -30%
Aryeh	lion	Hebrew	1,281	↑ +29%
Arnold	eagle power	Germanic	1,477	↑ +36%
Anas	friendliness, companionship	Arabic	1,292	↑ +16%
Ayman	right-handed, blessed, lucky	Arabic	1,095	↑ +75%
Avion	airplane	French	2,306	↓ -50%
Abdulrahman	servant of the Most Merciful	Arabic	1,564	↑ +40%
Aamir	prosperous, full of life	Arabic	2,035	↓ -41%
Arham	uncertain; several suggested meanings	Arabic	1,176	→ -4%
Ammar	one who builds, long-lived	Arabic	1,241	↑ +63%
Azaiah	modern name modeled on Isaiah	American (modern coinage)	749	↑ +293%
Asaiah	modern blend of Asa and Isaiah	American (modern coinage)	773	↑ +147%
Adin	delicate, gentle	Hebrew	2,766	↑ +12%
Alessio	defender	Italian	867	↑ +146%
Alexandre	defender of the people	French	2,148	↓ -29%
Ansh	portion, part	Sanskrit	2,109	↓ -28%
Aaryan	noble	Sanskrit	2,020	↓ -20%
Aizen	uncertain; Japanese Buddhist name	Japanese	1,081	↑ +75%
Avrohom	Ashkenazi form of Abraham, 'father of many'	Yiddish	1,810	↓ -18%
Akiva	form of Jacob, 'supplanter'	Hebrew	1,466	↓ -17%
Alexavier	blend of Alex and Xavier	American (modern coinage)	4,545	↓ -62%
Abdirahman	servant of the Most Merciful	Arabic	3,241	↓ -53%
Axle	variant of Axel, father of peace	Scandinavian	1,709	↓ -26%
Anish	supreme, having no master	Sanskrit	6,473	↓ -69%
Adnan	settler; ancestor of the northern Arabs	Arabic	1,539	↑ +49%
Amin	trustworthy, faithful	Arabic	1,603	↑ +26%
Angus	one strength	Scottish	2,363	↓ -17%
Aayden	variant of Aiden, little fire	American (modern coinage)	6,144	↓ -69%
Aslan	lion	Turkish	860	↑ +294%
Athan	immortal; short for Athanasius	Greek	2,678	↓ -19%
Avian	of birds	English	1,699	↑ +22%
Andrei	form of Andrew, manly	Russian	2,517	↓ -12%
Agastya	name of a revered Vedic sage	Sanskrit	929	↑ +136%
Azai	uncertain; modern coinage	American (modern coinage)	809	↑ +112%
Armon	castle, palace	Hebrew	1,870	↑ +12%
Arion	legendary Greek poet and horse	Greek	2,092	→ -4%
Adriano	Italian form of Adrian, from Hadria	Italian	2,304	↑ +15%
Andrey	Russian form of Andrew, manly	Russian	3,379	↓ -43%
Ammon	hidden; also "people"	Hebrew	2,798	↓ -26%
Amado	beloved	Spanish	1,169	↑ +96%
Advik	unique	Hindi	1,401	↑ +35%
Antwon	variant of Antoine (Anthony)	American (modern coinage)	5,222	↓ -56%
Aj	from the initials A. J.	American (modern coinage)	1,932	→ +3%
Abdullahi	West African form of Abdullah, servant of God	Arabic	2,992	↓ -39%
Ajani	he who wins the struggle	Yoruba	2,146	↑ +40%
Alister	variant of Alistair, form of Alexander	Scottish	1,689	↓ -8%
Ayush	long life	Sanskrit	3,769	↓ -31%
Anay	without a superior, a name of Vishnu	Sanskrit	2,646	↓ -14%
Aharon	Hebrew form of Aaron	Hebrew	2,077	↓ -8%
Aram	high, exalted	Hebrew	1,771	↑ +26%
Arvin	—	German	2,127	↓ -12%
Aurelius	golden	Latin	991	↑ +219%
Ayub	Arabic form of Job	Arabic	1,854	↑ +15%
Avyan	modern Indian name; meaning uncertain	Sanskrit	1,334	↑ +22%
Azlan	variant of Aslan, lion	Turkish	978	↑ +239%
Abhinav	new, novel	Sanskrit	7,200	↓ -67%
Archibald	genuine and bold	Germanic	1,145	↑ +92%
Alder	alder tree	Old English	1,402	↑ +48%
Amadeus	love God	Latin	1,634	↑ +18%
Adonai	my Lord; Hebrew title of God	Hebrew	1,942	↑ +16%
Abbas	stern, austere; also lion	Arabic	2,284	↓ -13%
Adyn	variant of Aiden, little fire	American (modern coinage)	8,262	↓ -81%
Augustin	venerable, great; from Augustus	Latin	1,743	↑ +69%
Aman	peace, safety	Arabic	2,285	↑ +33%
Ayven	modern variant of Aven or Evan	American (modern coinage)	2,112	→ 0%
Abdulaziz	servant of the Almighty	Arabic	2,718	↓ -14%
Aren	uncertain; perhaps a variant of Aaron or Arne	—	2,080	↑ +13%
Abe	short for Abraham: father of multitudes	Hebrew	2,207	↑ +21%
Aariv	modern name, often said king of wisdom	Sanskrit	1,393	↑ +30%
Aric	variant of Eric: ever ruler	Old Norse	4,259	↓ -33%
Antoni	Polish form of Anthony; origin uncertain	Polish	2,286	↑ +27%
Armin	from Herman: army man	German	2,038	↑ +40%
Aariz	respectable, noble man	Arabic	1,837	↑ +51%
Abiel	God is my father	Hebrew	1,688	↑ +142%
Aviel	God is my father	Hebrew	1,394	↑ +82%
Azaan	the call to prayer	Arabic	2,150	↓ -16%
Aayush	long life	Sanskrit	4,396	↓ -61%
Asad	lion	Arabic	1,919	↑ +7%
Alpha	first letter of the Greek alphabet	Greek	2,079	↑ +8%
Ashten	variant of Ashton: ash tree town	American (modern coinage)	3,665	↓ -17%
Abhiram	delightful, pleasing	Sanskrit	2,941	↓ -30%
Ashwin	horse tamer; a Hindu month	Sanskrit	3,765	↓ -31%
Adryan	variant of Adrian: from Hadria	American (modern coinage)	4,399	↓ -68%
Alain	French form of Alan; meaning uncertain	French	2,836	↓ -8%
Akhil	whole, complete	Sanskrit	5,614	↓ -36%
Asael	God has made	Hebrew	1,793	↑ +271%
Aziz	powerful, beloved	Arabic	2,008	↑ +67%
Ayansh	often said to mean part of the divine	Sanskrit	1,710	→ -1%
Ames	English surname, from Old French "friend"	English	1,754	→ 0%
Aadi	first, beginning	Sanskrit	3,089	↓ -19%
Ashtin	variant of Ashton: ash tree town	American (modern coinage)	4,555	↓ -29%
Abelardo	Spanish form of Abelard; uncertain	Spanish	2,834	↓ -29%
Ameen	trustworthy, faithful	Arabic	2,391	↑ +12%
Advaith	non-duality, unique	Sanskrit	2,642	↓ -34%
Aramis	from the Musketeer character; uncertain	French	3,663	↓ -39%
Amere	variant of Amir, prince	Arabic	4,714	↓ -59%
Anirudh	unobstructed, unstoppable	Sanskrit	3,585	↑ +15%
Abdallah	servant of God	Arabic	2,258	↑ +38%
Axell	variant of Axel, "father of peace"	Scandinavian	2,007	↓ -15%
Aleksandr	Russian form of Alexander, "defender of men"	Russian	2,837	↑ +13%
Ahaan	dawn, first light	Sanskrit	1,621	↑ +76%
Arik	variant of Eric, "ever ruler"	Old Norse	3,316	↓ -24%
Akram	most generous	Arabic	2,208	↓ -10%
Akai	uncertain; modern name built on Kai	American (modern coinage)	1,753	↑ +42%
Alston	from an English place name	English	5,617	↓ -59%
Atharva	name of a Vedic sage	Sanskrit	2,057	→ -4%
Artem	Russian form of Artemios, "of Artemis"	Russian	3,185	↓ -23%
Aeden	variant of Aidan, "little fire"	Irish	6,153	↓ -33%
Amon	faithful, trustworthy	Hebrew	3,038	↓ -29%
Alen	variant of Alan, of uncertain meaning	Breton	3,244	↓ -10%
Avan	—	—	3,854	↓ -22%
Akash	sky, open space	Sanskrit	4,402	↓ -42%
Armand	French form of Herman, "army man"	French	3,852	↓ -20%
Alias	variant of Elias; my God is Yahweh	American (modern coinage)	1,572	↑ +80%
Arius	Greek name, possibly warlike	Greek	2,677	↓ -11%
Auston	variant of Austin, from Augustine "venerable"	English	5,055	↓ -44%
Ahron	variant of Aaron	Hebrew	2,091	↑ +32%
Allister	variant of Alasdair; defender of men	Scottish	2,995	↓ -35%
Alekzander	respelling of Alexander; defender of men	American (modern coinage)	5,616	↓ -41%
Avin	modern variant of Evan or Avi	American (modern coinage)	3,960	↓ -10%
Alastair	Scottish form of Alexander; defender of men	Scottish	2,147	↑ +72%
Ayoub	Arabic form of Job	Arabic	2,232	↑ +40%
Arjan	bright, white; also Dutch form of Adrian	Punjabi	1,492	↑ +174%
Anwar	brighter, more luminous	Arabic	3,129	↑ +15%
Amaury	French form of Amalric; work ruler	French	4,403	→ 0%
Akshay	imperishable, eternal	Sanskrit	6,158	↓ -33%
Amadou	West African form of Ahmad; praiseworthy	Arabic	3,037	↑ +11%
Atom	smallest particle, or an Armenian name	English	3,384	↓ -32%
Arron	variant of Aaron, of uncertain meaning	Hebrew	6,838	↓ -48%
Amadeo	love God	Italian	1,869	↑ +40%
Alexandros	defender of men	Greek	2,644	↑ +69%
Anibal	Spanish form of Hannibal, grace of Baal	Spanish	3,128	↑ +19%
Abimael	my father is God	Hebrew	2,765	↓ -6%
Adian	modern variant of Aidan; little fire	American (modern coinage)	7,686	↓ -60%
Amaru	serpent or dragon	Quechua	2,390	↓ -5%
Adil	just, fair	Arabic	2,641	↑ +32%
Alexei	defender	Russian	3,245	↓ -12%
Aleczander	variant of Alexander, defender of men	Greek	10,745	↓ -78%
Asante	thank you	Swahili	2,769	→ +4%
Adalberto	noble and bright	Spanish	6,811	↓ -54%
Abbott	abbot, father; English surname	English	3,949	↓ -23%
Abisai	Spanish form of Abishai, father is gift	Hebrew	3,757	→ -3%
Arnulfo	eagle wolf	Germanic	3,762	↑ +53%
Adem	form of Adam, man, earth	Turkish	4,398	↓ -45%
Abdurrahman	servant of the Most Merciful	Arabic	2,719	↑ +31%
Anjel	variant of Angel, messenger	Spanish	8,305	↓ -40%
Aldair	modern Spanish name, uncertain origin	Spanish	4,053	↓ -21%
Aarin	variant of Aaron; meaning uncertain	Hebrew	3,513	↓ -55%
Aleksandar	Slavic form of Alexander, defender of men	Slavic	4,711	→ 0%
Amaan	safety, protection	Arabic	4,713	↓ -50%
Antione	variant of Antoine, from Antonius	French	7,228	↓ -27%
Asim	protector, guardian	Arabic	2,393	↑ +63%
Alexsander	variant of Alexander; defender of men	Greek	8,280	↓ -55%
Alphonse	noble and ready	French	2,516	→ -2%
Arath	—	—	4,549	↓ -12%
Antwone	variant of Antoine; meaning uncertain	American (modern coinage)	5,878	→ 0%
Akil	intelligent	Arabic	5,405	↓ -41%
Armen	Armenian	Armenian	3,134	↑ +41%
Arnoldo	form of Arnold; eagle power	Spanish	4,057	↑ +30%
Alfie	pet form of Alfred, "elf counsel"	English	2,056	↑ +50%
Alphonso	noble and ready	Spanish	4,712	↓ -9%
Anand	joy, bliss	Sanskrit	5,872	↓ -21%
Abran	Spanish form of Abraham; father of many	Spanish	6,150	↓ -12%
Amer	prosperous, long-lived	Arabic	4,404	→ +4%
Amiel	God of my people	Hebrew	2,645	↑ +133%

This page shows the most popular names. For every name with a full profile, see the A to Z directory.

Most popular right now

Top 300 of 404 names

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