Boy names that start with Y
English produced almost no boy names beginning with Y — York is about the extent of it — so no Y name appears in the current U.S. top 100 and probably never will. Every other name on this page is an import, and a third of them turn out to be John or Joseph wearing a different alphabet: Yannis, Yusuf, Yohannes, Yosef. Yuri and Yamato show how far the letter travels once you leave Europe.
Y names that are really John or Joseph
Two Hebrew names, Yohanan and Yosef, account for more of the world's Y names than every other source combined. Here they are in eight languages.
- Yosefyo-SEFHebrew
He will add; may God add another son. The Hebrew original that every Joseph in the world descends from.
- YusufYOO-sufArabic
May God increase. The Qur'anic Joseph, whose story fills a sura named after him.
- YoussefYOO-sefEgyptian
The same name in its Egyptian and Levantine spelling, and one of the commonest boys' names in Cairo.
- YahyaYAH-yahArabic
The Arabic name of John the Baptist, long associated by folk etymology with the root for life.
- YannisYAH-neesGreek
Yahweh is gracious. The everyday Greek John, short for Ioannis.
- Yannickyah-NEEKBreton
A Breton pet form of John, made familiar outside France by the tennis player Yannick Noah.
- Yohanyo-AHNFrench
God is gracious. A French spelling of Johan, stressed on the second syllable.
- Yohannesyo-HAH-nesAmharic
The Ethiopian John. Two emperors of Ethiopia reigned under the name.
Y names from Europe
- YuriYOO-reeRussian
Farmer, earth-worker, by way of the Greek name George. Yuri Gagarin was the first human being in space.
- Yaroslavyah-ruh-SLAHFRussian
Fierce glory, two Slavic words bolted together. Yaroslav the Wise ruled the Kievan Rus in the eleventh century.
- Yevgenyyiv-GYEH-neeRussian
Well-born — a pedigree word put to work as a name. Pushkin's verse novel Yevgeny Onegin is the reference point.
- Yevhenyev-HENUkrainian
Well-born, noble. The Ukrainian form, with the softer h that distinguishes the language.
- YngveING-vehSwedish
From Yngvi, an older name of the god Freyr, and the ancestor the Ynglings claimed.
- YvesEEVFrench
Yew — the wood English longbows were made from. One syllable, entirely French.
- YorkYORKEnglish
Place of the yew trees, by way of Latin Eboracum and Norse Jórvík. A city and a duchy before it was ever a first name.
Y names from Asia, Africa and the Middle East
- Yaronyah-ROHNHebrew
He will sing; he will shout for joy. Modern Israeli use rather than biblical.
- YashYAHSHSanskrit
Fame, glory, renown. Short in a way Sanskrit names rarely are.
- Yavuzyah-VOOZTurkish
Stern; resolute; formidable. It was the epithet of Sultan Selim I before it was a given name.
- Yiğityee-EETTurkish
A brave young man; valiant. The soft g is silent and simply lengthens the vowel.
- YawYOWAkan
Born on a Thursday. One of the Akan day names of Ghana, given according to the day of birth.
- Yemaneyeh-MAH-nehTigrinya
Right hand; the right-hand side, with everything that implies about a favoured child.
- Yamatoyah-MAH-tohJapanese
Great harmony — and the name Japan once used for itself.
- YutoYOO-tohJapanese
Character-dependent: the kanji chosen decide the meaning, not the sound.
- YangYAHNGChinese
The sunlit side of the hill, the bright and active principle; or 洋, the open ocean.
- YongYOHNGChinese
Brave, courageous — the character 勇, read yǒng in Chinese and 용 in Korean.
- Yuxuanyoo-SHWENChinese
The whole sweep of space joined to a high, dignified bearing. A modern favourite in mainland China.
- YejunYEH-joonKorean
Often 藝 art or 睿 farsighted, joined to 俊 talented, outstanding. The hanja decide.