Life of Dad user Bill Smith needed help. He and his wife were just 6 weeks away from welcoming a son and, well, they didn’t know what to call him. Our tremendous Facebook community came through with hundreds of good, strong boy names, names for boys that could end up being the top baby names for boys in 2017.

If you are having a boy, here’s your ultimate guide to the top baby names of 2017 direct from real dads and moms!

XAVIER

Scott Redhair: I had my sons name picked when i was in year 6. Ive always loved the name Xavier, and many years later when my missus got pregnant i had decided if it was a boy I was calling him Xavier. My missus liked the name but we didnt find out the sex. When he was born it was the happiest moment of my life and me and my missus both looked at each other and knew he would be named Xavier.

HUDSON

Dave Harper: “FLAME BOY” … seriously though, we were after a name that wasn’t common (in the UK) but not too “out there” and we both agreed on Hudson, so my 3 year old boy is called Hudson Philip Michael (grandfather’s names for middle).

NOLAN

PRESTON

Tanisha Brunkard: My boys didn’t have a name until after they were born, we had absolutely no names picked out. Out first son it took us about a day, we named him Preston and our second didn’t have a name for about 2 weeks lol and we named him Nolan.

JAXX

Alex Lopez: In my opinion a strong name would be Maximus, and call him Max, or Leonidas and call him Leo. Maybe even just Rex. I didn’t want him to have a so common name. My wife eventually gave in, and his name is Jaxx.

BRAXTON

Cory Fletcher: Go for something that is strong and will look good on a resume or business card…. I was going to go with Braxton Mitchell…. but that’s only because his initials would be BMF.

NATHAN

Danielle DeWitt: I am the same way, I wanted a strong name for my son, and I wanted something “traditional” but not overly common. His name is Nathan Jerome. I also like Henry, Jonathon, Samuel, Charles, Joseph, Liam, Nolan & William.

HUNTER

Matthew Lewin My partner and I recently had a baby girl, but if it had been a boy I would have called him Hunter. Strong masculine unusual but not weird.

ABEL

Travis Nemitz Our boys names are Abel Paul and Nolan Lloyd!! Strong names and only ones in their classes with their names.

CAYDEN

CAIN

Sarah Richard Our boy is due in 8 weeks – we are naming him Cayden. We thought about the name Cain before deciding on Cayden.

MAGNUS

Brian Lowe If you ask me, there is no name more manly than that of a man who won the World’s Strongest Man competition multiple times, Magnus Ver Magnusson.

Some may go for highly unique, other like Chris Mickle remind you that if you want to ever find a personalized trinket in an amusement park or zoo, you might want to reconsider: May I suggest that whatever name you pick. Spell it the right way. Don’t go for a “weird” or “different” spelling. Your child will resent you when they are always having to explain how to spell their name and can never buy souvenirs when on holidays!

And finally, maybe the strongest name of them all, from Justin M Brooks:

Velociraptor

We hope this thread of great baby names helped our Life of Dad user in need! Unofficially tally puts NOLAN as the top choice for you, Bill!

What’s your top boy’s name? Share your best baby name for a boy with us on Facebook!

*Flickr photo by Paul Inkles, used under Creative Commons license.