So you’re looking for a V names for boys. And for your own personal reasons, you’ve eliminated the most obvious, Victor and Vincent. But where do you go from there?  Admittedly, this isn’t the broadest group in the alphabet, but here are some very viable boy names starting with V you may not have considered.

　　

V names for boys

VALENTINO—One of the most romantic of names, the surname attached to dashing early cinema heartthrob Rudolph and related to the amorous February holiday. Valentino  currently ranks at #645. Ricky Martin used it for one of his twin boy names. Equally lovable: VALENTINE and the French VALENTIN (838). All are definitely apropos for a February cherub. Incidentally, actor Val Kilmer was christened the short form Val.

　　VALOR—A strong and positive virtue name possibility—especially in the middle spot. Actor Emile Hirsch put it in first place for his son. VALIANT might be a variant.

　　VARIAN—This World of Warcraft name hasn’t made it out of the gaming world yet, but we like its sound and accessibility.

　　VED—A Sanskrit name meaning ‘sacred knowledge’, it was familiarized in the wider world via acclaimed Indian writer Ved Mehta. And it’s the reverse of the more familiar Dev.

　　VERDI—An Italian surname name, both operatically musical and a color name—Verdi could have a lot of appeal for a green-centric family. Plus, sound wise, it could be a cousin for Birdie or Ferdie.

　　VERO—An Italian word name meaning ‘truth’, Vera’s twin brother boasts that lively o-ending.

　　VERSE—Could Verse join Poet and Story as a literary word name? Why not?

　　VIGGO—Thanks solely to Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen, this obscure (but catchy) old Norse name is attracting attention in the US—and is a particular Berry fave. Creative babynamers Natalie and Taylor Hanson picked it in 2008.

　　VING—When actor Ving Rhames dropped the furst syllable of the prosaic Irving, he created a new, energetic option among V names for boys.

　　VINNIE/VINNY—Put aside all your preconceptions and just think of this as a revivable nickname name, a la Freddie and Alfie. Our British name guru Eleanor Nickerson reported that Vinnie has already made his mark in the UK.

　　VIRGIL—Virgil is one of those names, like, say, Percy, that has an appealingly fusty charm. The name of a great early Roman poet and a prescient Irish saint, our Emma Waterhouse characterized it as ‘Geek Chic’.

　　VIRIDIAN—A rarely heard color name described as “a dark shade of spring green.” Just as Cerulean is becoming more and more accepted, some daring parents might consider this vivid possibility.

　　VITO—An Italian classic meaning life, Vito does have the unfortunate connection to The Godfather’s Don Corleone, played by both Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro. But it also bears the contemporary connection to urbane, high-profile art gallerist Vito Schnabel, son of painter Julian.

　　VITTORIO—An upbeat, victorious sounding Italian standard, with several ties to the great Italian La Dolce Vita era film days. VINCENZO is another in this category

　　And a few more to consider:

　　VADIM

　　VAN

　　VANCE

　　VANYA

　　VASILY

　　VAUGHN

　　VERNON

　　VERVE

　　VIDAL

　　VLADIMIR

　　Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on trends and celebrity naming, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry Twitter and Facebook accounts. You can follow her personally at Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed New York Review Books Classics novel Talk and a number of other books.