Boy names that start with F
F is the quiet letter of the alphabet's front half — no F name appears in the current U.S. top 100 — and that is exactly its appeal. Finn gives you one clean syllable, Felix gives you a Roman word for luck, and neither will be doubled in the classroom. Below are 36 F names, all linked to a full entry.
Most popular F names
No rank numbers here, because there is nothing honest to number: every F name is outside the current U.S. top 100. These are the ones American parents actually reach for.
- FinnFINIrish
Fair, bright, white. Fionn mac Cumhaill led the Fianna in Irish legend; one syllable, no baggage.
- FelixFEE-liksLatin
Fortunate, lucky, happy. A Roman cognomen worn by four popes and by the composer Felix Mendelssohn.
- FinleyFIN-leeScottish
Fair-haired hero, from Gaelic Fionnlagh. Given to girls as well as boys in the States, which cuts both ways.
- FinneganFIN-uh-gunIrish
Descendant of Fionnagán, the little fair one. James Joyce borrowed it for a wake.
- FlynnFLINIrish
Descendant of the red-haired one, from Ó Floinn. A surname that sits comfortably up front.
- Fernandofer-NAHN-dohSpanish
Bold protector — peace and daring bolted together in Germanic. Kings of Castile and Aragon wore it.
- Franciscofran-SEES-koSpanish
The Frenchman. Saint Francis of Assisi gave Spanish and Portuguese their most-used F name.
- Felipefeh-LEE-pehSpanish
Lover of horses. Spain's reigning king, Felipe VI, is the latest of six.
- FordFORDEnglish
A shallow river crossing. Blunt, monosyllabic, and unmistakably American.
- FletcherFLECH-urEnglish
Arrow-maker, from Old French flechier. An occupational surname with a hard, clean start.
Classic F names
The old guard: emperors, presidents, and a saint who talked to birds.
- FrancisFRAN-sisLatin
Frenchman. The saint of Assisi, and the name the first Jesuit pope chose on his election in 2013.
- FrederickFRED-rikGermanic
Peaceful ruler. Frederick the Great of Prussia in one century, Frederick Douglass in the next.
- FranklinFRANK-linEnglish
A free landholder — a man who owned the ground he farmed. Two U.S. presidents were given it.
- FrankFRANKGermanic
A Frank; free. Frank Sinatra made it sound like a decision rather than a shortening.
- FabianFAY-bee-unLatin
Of the Fabius clan, traditionally read as bean grower. Fabius Maximus beat Hannibal by refusing to fight him.
- FergusFUR-gusIrish
Man of vigour. Kings of Ulster and of Dál Riata answered to it; still ordinary in Ireland and Scotland.
- ForrestFOR-istEnglish
Of the woods. A surname that became a first name in the American South and never quite left.
- FraserFRAY-zerScottish
Honestly unexplained — one of the Scottish surnames no etymologist has cracked. Clan Fraser is its home ground.
Unique F names
Rare in the United States, ordinary somewhere else. Every one of these is a real name in current use.
- FoxFOKSEnglish
The animal. As a surname it began as a nickname for a man who was cunning, or red-haired, or both.
- FrejFRAYNorse
Lord. Freyr, the Norse god of fair weather and good harvests, in his Swedish spelling.
- FolkeFOL-kehSwedish
The people; a host. One of the plainest and oldest names in Sweden.
- FarkasFOR-koshHungarian
Simply the Hungarian word for wolf — and, oddly, for 'the tailed one'.
- FyodorFYOH-durRussian
Gift of God — the same name as Theodore, wearing an f. Dostoevsky is why you recognise it.
- Farhadfar-HAHDPersian
Won, attained. In Persian romance, Farhad is the stonecutter who carved a mountain for love of Shirin.
- FarisFAH-risArabic
Horseman, knight. The same root gives Arabic its word for horsemanship.
- FemiFEH-meeYoruba
God loves me — the everyday short form of Olufemi.
- FitsumFIT-soomAmharic
Perfect, complete, whole. An Ethiopian name with nothing left over.
- Florantefloh-RAHN-tehFilipino
Flowering, in bloom. The hero of Francisco Balagtas's 1838 verse romance Florante at Laura.
F names from around the world
Frederick and Francis are the two great travellers of this letter; each has a form in nearly every European language.
- Francescofrahn-CHEH-skoItalian
The Frenchman; the Frank. Long the most given boy's name in Italy.
- Federicofeh-deh-REE-kohItalian
Ruler in peace. The director Federico Fellini in Italy, the poet Federico García Lorca in Spain.
- FilipFIH-lipCzech
Friend of horses. The Slavic Philip — short, level, and used from Prague to Warsaw.
- FrederikFREDH-rekDanish
Peaceful ruler. Ten Danish kings have carried it, the most recent crowned this decade.
- FlorisFLOH-rissDutch
Flowering, in bloom. Medieval counts of Holland bore it; the Netherlands never dropped it.
- Farajifah-RAH-jeeSwahili
Consolation — comfort, relief after hardship.
- FarahFAH-rahSomali
Joy, gladness. Common enough in Somalia to serve as a family name; the runner Mo Farah wears it that way.
- Folarinfaw-LAH-rinYoruba
Walk with honour — an instruction handed to the child at naming.