10 Armenian Names You Never Thought of Using: Boys

Kyle Steed via Dribbble

Back for round two of Armenian names! It's the boys' turn this week, and I've got a great list of names today (many that you've probably never even heard of). So let's get right to it! Tell me in the comments: What's your favorite Armenian name for a boy?

Armen- Armen is a handsome name that has roots in both Armenia and Russia. In Russia he is a variant of the names Armand and Herman, but in Armenia, he comes from the name of the country.

Haro- Haro is a multicultural surname name that's more popular in Armenia as a first. Not much information is known about the Armenian form, but he may come from Harout, which in turn is derived from Harutyun.

Levon- Impeccably stylish Levon should be all the rage right now, but instead he's an under-the-radar choice. Blogger Petite Biet has a son named Levon. If you name your son Levon, he will share his name with Armenian royalty and an Elton John song.

Narek- Narek comes from the name of an Armenian town which nowadays falls in modern Turkey. The name is sometimes translated as Nareg in Western Armenia, but I think most American parents will prefer the former.

Ohan- Ohan is the Armenian form of John. He'd be the perfect choice for an Armenian-American boy--Ohan has a modern sound and is fresh to American ears, yet has old-world Armenian roots. How perfect!

Sahak- Do you love Isaac? It's hard not to. He's an undisputably great name, but that leads to high rankings (Isaac is at #31). However, Sahak--Isaac's Armenian variation--is practically unheard of in the US. He shares all the same sounds with his Hebrew cousin, but not the popularity. That makes Sahak an A+ choice.

Sourin- Although the two are unrelated, Armenian Sourin is very similar to Scandinavian Soren. The latter is quite trendy right now, making Sourin a good alternative. Unlike Soren, Sourin's pronunciation puts the stress on the second syllable. 

Sufjan- You may have heard of Sufjan Stevens, the American folk hipster rocker, but I bet you didn't know his name was Armenian. Sufjan is actually a variant of Sufyan, which is also used in Arabic culture. Either spelling is usable for a baby boy.

Toros- Toros is the Armenian form of Theodore, although he may remind people of the Spanish word for bull, "toro." He may be confused for Taurus (not coincidentally the constellation of the bull). If you prefer classic names with unusual nicknames, you can call your little Theodore--or Thelonius--Toros.

Zako- Zack may be out of fashion, but Zako feels energetic and fresh. He's an Armenian name, as well as a Hungarian version of Zachariah. He works as both a full name and a nickname, so take your pick!

Names with "an"

I recently got an email from a reader asking for some naming inspiration.

Fiona writes:

My first 2 children both have a theme of "an" - Marianne and Kassandra. It happened accidentally, but the more we think about future names, the more we seem attracted to this sound. It would be great to have some help and inspiration please! 
Our second child was only born this year, so we are jumping the gun a little but we do plan a 3rd child (hopefully, as obviously thanks to mother nature's blips, having a child is not in our complete control!) and our experience is that it is never too early to start thinking about names.

With many thanks,
Fiona 

Past the page break I have put together an exhaustive list of names with -an in them. I've italicised the ones I think work best with Marianne and Kassandra. Feel free to leave your thoughts or suggestions for Fiona in the comments. If you have a naming question that you would like me to post on the blog, feel free to email me at skihm (at) hotmail (dot) com. 

Chicago Names: City Streets

I'm all about subtle honor names--names that honor someone in a way that isn't obvious or flashy. Using the name of the street such honoree grew up on definitely fits into the "subtle honor" category. In fact, I have the name of the street I was born on on my short list for potential middles. Today I'm featuring Chicago street name--this is the city I live in, after all. I would love to make this a series to compare street names of cities around the country. Let me know which city you'd like to be featured next!