100 Best Rock Songs With Boys' Names in Their Titles

I have been an online writer for over five years. I am passionate about books, philosophy, music, and the music industry.

A number of rock songs have boys' names in their titles. Sometimes, these songs create wild stories about characters who have these names. Other times, the name in the title is more of a mystery—maybe it's a reference to a person of historical significance, maybe it's just meant as a metaphor or an allusion, or in some cases, maybe the name just sounds good. Whatever the reason, there are thousands of songs with boys' names in their titles.

The list below showcases an epic number of rock songs with boys' names in their titles. If you feel inspired to share a story or want to add a song title to the list, feel free to leave a comment below.

Top 10 Best Rock Songs With Boys Names in the Title

1. “Charlie Brown”—Coldplay
2. “Hey Jude”—The Beatles
3. “Adam's Song”—Blink-182
4. “Casey Jones”—Grateful Dead
5. “John Wesley Harding”—Bob Dylan
6. “Hey Joe”—Jimi Hendrix
7. “Tom Sawyer”—Rush
8. “Jumpin' Jack Flash”—The Rolling Stones
9. “Me and Michael”—MGMT
10. “Little Willy”—Sweet

#11—20

11. “Jack & Diane”—John Mellencamp

12. “Nico and the Niners”—Twenty One Pilots

13. “Jeremy”—Pearl Jam

14. “Danny Says”—Ramones

15. “The Ghost of Tom Joad”—Bruce Springsteen

16. “Martin”—Zac Brown Band

17. “Little James”—Oasis

18. “Oh, George”—Foo Fighters

19. “Vincent”—Don McLean

20. “Benjamin”—Tori Amos

What Do Names in Song Titles Signify?

• People from the singer's real life, such as friends, family members, romantic partners, etc.
• Homages to fictional characters from books, movies, etc.
• Famous people from history.

#21—40

21. “Poor Tom”—Led Zeppelin

22. “Floyd the Barber”—Nirvana

23. “Me and Bobby McGee”—Janis Joplin

24. “A Song for Jeffrey”—Jethro Tull

25. “Charlie”—Red Hot Chili Peppers

26. “Michael”—Franz Ferdinand

27. “Salvatore”—Lana Del Rey

28. “Kody”—Matchbox Twenty

29. “Alec Eiffel”—Pixies

30. “Not Now John”—Pink Floyd

31. “Luka”—Suzanne Vega

32. “Tommy the Cat”—Primus

33. “Justin”—Korn

34. “Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo”—Bloodhound Gang

35. “Telegram Sam”—T. Rex

36. “James Dean”—Eagles

37. “Narcissus”—Alanis Morissette

38. “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!”—Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

39. “You Can Call Me Al”—Paul Simon

40. “Bobby Jean”—Bruce Springsteen

Themes in These Songs

• Overcoming hardship.
• Reconnecting with friends and loved ones.
• Missing lost loved ones.
• Honoring heroes.
• Falling in and out of love.

#41—60

41. “Lido Shuffle”—Boz Scaggs

42. “Gabriel's Message”—Sting

43. “Andy Warhol”—David Bowie

44. “Be Good Johnny”—Men at Work

45. “What a Catch, Donnie”—Fall Out Boy

46. “Ronan”—Taylor Swift

47. “Matthew and Son”—Cat Stevens

48. “Louie Louie”—The Kingsmen

49. “Captain Jack”—Billy Joel

50. “Romeo and Juliet”—Dire Straits

51. “Happy Jack”—The Who

52. “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”—Pink Floyd

53. “Lazarus”—Porcupine Tree

54. “Alfie”—Lily Allen

55. “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver”—Primus

56. “Basil”—Mark Knopfler

57. “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg”—Iron Maiden

58. “Hey, Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)”—Blessid Union of Souls

59. “Maxwell's Silver Hammer”—The Beatles

60. “Richard Cory”—Simon & Garfunkel

#61—80

61. “I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am”—Herman's Hermits

62. “Alex Chilton”—The Replacements

63. “You Don't Mess Around With Jim”—Jim Croce

64. “Tommy Gun”—The Clash

65. “Arnold Layne”—Pink Floyd

66. “Jacob's Ladder”—Huey Lewis & the News

67. “Perry Mason”—Ozzy Osbourne

68. “Danny Nedelko”—Idles

69. “Adam Raised a Cain”—Bruce Springsteen

70. “Bob Dylan Blues”—Syd Barrett

71. “The Ballad of John and Yoko”—The Beatles

72. “Shadow Moses”—Bring Me the Horizon

73. “Joe's Garage”—Frank Zappa

74. “Brendan's Death Song”—Red Hot Chili Peppers

75. “Richard III”—Supergrass

76. “Harry Hood”—Phish

77. “Clint Eastwood”—Gorillaz

78. “Papa Won't Leave You, Henry”—Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

79. “The Ballad of Curtis Loew”—Lynyrd Skynyrd

80. “John the Fisherman”—Primus

#81—100

81. “Dirty Harry”—Gorillaz

82. “Bobby Brown”—Frank Zappa

83. “Stevie”—Kasabian

84. “Curly”—The Move

85. “Buddy Holly”—Weezer

86. “Jojo”—Boz Scaggs

87. “Lucifer Sam”—Pink Floyd

88. “Boris the Spider”—The Who

89. “Johnny Can't Read”—Don Henley

90. “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”—The Beatles

91. “Sister Ray”—The Velvet Underground

92. “Joey”—Concrete Blonde

93. “Willie the Pimp”—Frank Zappa

94. “Kevin Carter”—Manic Street Preachers

95. “Jacob's Ladder”—Rush

96. “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”—Paul Simon

97. “Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues”—Bob Dylan

98. “Buck Rogers”—Feeder

99. “What's the Frequency, Kenneth?”—R.E.M.

100. “Angry Johnny”—Poe

Other Notable Songs With Boys Names

• “Abraham, Martin and John”—Dion
• “Gale Song”—The Lumineers
• “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”—Jim Croce
• “Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?”—Green Day
• “Linden Arden Stole the Highlights”—Van Morrison
• “Charlie Brown's Parents”—Dishwalla
• “Red Sam”—Flyleaf
• “Uncle John's Band”—Grateful Dead
• “Can't Keep Johnny Down”—They Might Be Giants
• “Alexander the Great”—Iron Maiden
• “Captain Lou”—NRBQ
• “Ted, Just Admit It...”—Jane's Addiction
• “Ralph Wiggum”—Bloodhound Gang
• “Walter's Walk”—Led Zeppelin
• “Danny's Song”—Loggins and Messina
• “Norman 3”—Teenage Fanclub
• “Gerry's Reel”—The Corrs
• “Atlas”—Coheed and Cambria
• “Lullaby for Wyatt”—Sheryl Crow
• “Billy Davy's Daughter”—Stereophonics
• “Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song)”—Steve Earle
• “Naeem”—Bon Iver
• “An Original Man (A Song for Keith)”—The Yardbirds
• “Vlad the Impaler”—Kasabian
• “Fred Bear”—Ted Nugent
• “Connor”—The Feeling
• “Sam's Town”—The Killers
• “Just Like Vince Taylor”—Golden Earring
• “Baby Elian”—Manic Street Preachers
• “It's O.K. John Joe”—Dexys Midnight Runners
• “Lazarus”—David Bowie
• “Adam's Apple”—Aerosmith
• “I Wrote Holden Caulfield”—Screeching Weasel
• “Bob”—Primus
• “The Sound (John M. Perkins' Blues)”—Switchfoot
• “Huck and Jim”—Franz Ferdinand
• “Matthew Arnold's Field”—Ben Watt
• “Oliver Boy (All of Our Boys)”—Flogging Molly
• “Yo George”—Tori Amos
• “Andrew”—Bowling for Soup
• “Harry's Song”—Barclay James Harvest
• “Richie and Reuben”—Fountains of Wayne
• “Joe's Head”—Kings of Leon
• “Ballad of Dwight Fry”—Alice Cooper
• “Jackie Brown”—John Mellencamp
• “Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?”—Chris Rea
• “Saint Claude”—Christine and the Queens
• “Andy, You're a Star”—The Killers
• “Ty Cobb”—Soundgarden
• “Harry's Place”—Bruce Springsteen

• “The House Jack Built”—Metallica
• “Little Saint Nick”—The Beach Boys
• “The Diary of Horace Wimp”—Electric Light Orchestra
• “Mr. Noah”—Panda Bear
• “Dear John”—Styx
• “Jesus of Suburbia”—Green Day
• “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner”—Warren Zevon
• “Happy Birthday, Johnny”—St. Vincent
• “She's Just a Girl, Eddie”—The Darkness
• “Kissing Willie”—Jethro Tull
• “Boogie With Stu”—Led Zeppelin
• “Daniel”—Bat for Lashes
• “Martin Sheen or JFK”—Yellowcard
• “Tennessee Jed”—Grateful Dead
• “Gary Gilmore's Eyes”—The Adverts
• “Amos Moses”—Jerry Reed
• “Oliver's Army”—Elvis Costello
• “The Ballad of John Henry”—Joe Bonamassa
• “St. Stephen”—Grateful Dead
• “Hey Judas”—Black Star Riders
• “Gabriel and Me”—Joan Baez
• “Lollipop (Ode to Jim)”—Alvvays
• “Carry on… Jon”—Blackmore's Night
• “Thunderclap for Bobby Pyn”—Sonic Youth
• “Al's Coral”—Howler
• “Peter”—Jamie T.
• “Daniel”—Devendra Banhart
• “The Jack”—AC/DC
• “Goodbye Earl”—Dixie Chicks
• “Mr. Jack”—System of a Down
• “Caesar”—I Blame Coco
• “Jack-in-the-Green”—Jethro Tull
• “For Billy”—Highly Suspect
• “Andrew in Drag”—Magnetic Fields
• “Roll on John”—Bob Dylan
• “Swim With Sam”—A Balladeer
• “Jackie Wants a Black Eye”—Dr. Dog
• “Martin Eden”—The Twilight Singers
• “Chip n' Tony”—Alejandro Escovedo
• “Ivan Meets G.I. Joe”—The Clash
• “Right, Said Fred”—Bernard Cribbins
• “Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic”—Deep Purple
• “Seamus”—Pink Floyd
• “Holy Moses”—Echo & the Bunnymen
• “Alvar”—Goldfrapp
• “Jimmie Standing in the Rain”—Elvis Costello
• “Prince Johnny”—St. Vincent
• “Set the Ray to Jerry”—Smashing Pumpkins
• “Charlie Don't Surf”—Funeral for a Friend
• “Jack Ruby”—Deep Purple

• “Damien”—Iced Earth
• “Monty Got a Raw Deal”—R.E.M.
• “Lee”—Tenacious D
• “Ill Ray (The King)”—Kasabian
• “No Bed for Beatle John”—John Lennon & Yoko Ono
• “Elias”—Dispatch
• “Rudie Can't Fail”—The Clash
• “A Boy Named Ben”—John Evans
• “The Ballad of Leonard and Charles”—Exodus
• “I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?”—A Day to Remember
• “Carrie & Lowell”—Sufjan Stevens
• “Terry's Song”—Bruce Springsteen
• “Roscoe”—Midlake
• “Loyal Like Sid & Nancy”—Foster the People
• “Dirty Frank”—Pearl Jam
• “Handsome Johnny”—Richie Havens
• “Eli's Coming”—Three Dog Night
• “Jack the Ripper”—Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages
• “Chic 'N' Stu”—System of a Down
• “Major Tom (Coming Home)”—Peter Schilling
• “The Life of Riley”—The Lightning Seeds
• “Jimmy Olsen's Blues”—Spin Doctors
• “Clay”—Goldfrapp
• “Go-Getter Greg”—Ludo
• “Tommy Can You Hear Me?”—The Who
• “Bob”—NOFX
• “Silvio”—Bob Dylan
• “Milo (Interlude)”—Modest Mouse
• “Lonesome Johnny Blues”—Cracker
• “St. Jimmy”—Green Day
• “Uncle Jonny”—The Killers
• “Dirk Wears White Sox”—Adam & The Ants
• “Key Entity Extraction III: Vic the Butcher”—Coheed and Cambria
• “Harry Was a Champion”—Chas & Dave
• “Every Goliath Has Its David”—The Boy Least Likely To
• “Billy Brown”—Mika
• “Joe the Lion”—David Bowie
• “Peter and the Gun”—Palma Violets
• “One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)”—Coven
• “Jesus and Woody”—Ry Cooder
• “Nice Man Jack”—John Miles
• “Simon”—Lifehouse
• “Jed the Humanoid”—Grandaddy
• “Ronnie and Neil”—Drive-By Truckers
• “Song to Woody”—Bob Dylan
• “The Ballad of Paul K”—McFly
• “Rylan”—The National
• “Anthony”—Nickel Creek
• “Terrence Loves You”—Lana Del Rey
• “John I'm Only Dancing”—David Bowie

• “Oh Marcello!”—Regina Spektor
• “Jimmy”—Tool
• “Sean Flynn”—The Clash
• “Noah and Jacob's Song”—Three Bad Jacks
• “Brandon”—Motley Crue
• “Johnny Cash”—Lenny Kravitz
• “Dysentery Gary”—Blink-182
• “William, It Was Really Nothing”—The Smiths
• “Joanie Loves Johnny”—Screeching Weasel
• “Daniel”—Bill Ryder-Jones
• “It's a Shame About Ray”—The Lemonheads
• “Raoul”—The Automatic
• “Wendell Gee”—R.E.M.
• “The Ballad of Billy the Kid”—Billy Joel
• “Mick Avory's Underpants”—The Kinks
• “Jack vs. Jose”—Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers
• “Simon Diamond”—The Coral
• “Leonard”—Sharon Van Etten
• “Ballad of Hollis Brown”—Bob Dylan
• “John Sinclair”—John Lennon
• “Hey, Johnny Park!”—Foo Fighters
• “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead”—XTC
• “Jake”—Lisa Loeb
• “Charlie Ain't Home”—ZZ Ward
• “Garry"—The Dean Ween Group
• “Johnny's Band”—Deep Purple
• “Prayer for Taylor”—Michael W. Smith
• “Joe the Georgian”—Al Stewart
• “Black Bart”—Volbeat
• “Soap Star Joe”—Liz Phair
• “Junior's Farm”—Paul McCartney & Wings
• “Cousin Kevin”—The Who
• “Mephisto and Kevin”—Primus
• “Johnny Guitar”—Pearl Jam
• “Steve McQueen”—Sheryl Crow
• “The Ballad of Sal Villanueva”—Taking Back Sunday
• “King Tim III (Personality Jock)”—The Fatback Band
• “James and the Cold Gun”—Kate Bush
• “Wild Billy's Circus Story”—Bruce Springsteen
• “Jonathan”—Barclay James Harvest
• “Brad Logan”—Rancid
• “Peter Brady”—Screeching Weasel
• “Donovan”—Happy Mondays
• “Tom Traubert's Blues”—Tom Waits
• “Outlaw Pete”—Bruce Springsteen
• “The Ballad of Jack and Haley”—Ike Reilly
• “Just Like Eddie”—Heinz
• “Scheme Eugene”—Red Light Company
• “Jock the Singing Welder”—Sting
• “Charlie Darwin”—The Low Anthem

• “Simon the Bullet Freak”—Uriah Heep
• “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”—Sufjan Stevens
• “Brian Eno”—MGMT
• “Michael's Song”—The Coral
• “The Ballad of Richie Lee”—Spiritualized
• “Do You Remember Walter?”—The Kinks
• “Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky”—Red Hot Chili Peppers
• “Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues”—Danny O'Keefe
• “Making Plans for Nigel”—XTC
• “John Cage Bubblegum”—Stereolab
• “Harry May”—The Business
• “Keith Don't Go (Ode to the Glimmer Twin)”—Nils Lofgren
• “Alexis”—Rory Gallagher
• “Jerome”—Barenaked Ladies
• “The Barry Williams Show”—Peter Gabriel
• “Johnny Bye Bye”—Bruce Springsteen
• “Cowboy Dan”—Modest Mouse
• “Danny Callahan”—Conor Oberst
• “Norman”—The Orwells
• “John Cockers”—John Mellencamp
• “Steve McQueen”—The Automatic
• “Ben's Song”—Sarah McLachlan
• “Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)”—Grandaddy
• “If Eilert Loevborg Wrote a Song, It Would Sound Like This”—Broken Records
• “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)”—Radiohead
• “Dr. John”—Mika
• “Jonathan Low”—Vampire Weekend
• “Bassem Sabry”—Of Montreal
• “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”—Simon & Garfunkel
• “Ned Kelly”—Johnny Cash
• “Dr. Jimmy”—The Who
• “Romeo and Jane”—Tonio K.
• “Sam Stone”—John Prine
• “Hey Paul”—The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
• “Michael Picasso”—Ian Hunter
• “Joey”—Bob Dylan
• “In Search of Peter Pan”—Kate Bush
• “Derek Bentley”—Ewan MacColl
• “Joel the Lump of Coal”—The Killers
• “Boogie for George”—UFO
• “Oh Henry”—The Civil Wars
• “James”—MGMT
• “So Long Jimmy”—James Blunt
• “Lewis Takes Action”—Owen Pallett
• “Jonathan”—Fiona Apple
• “Davy the Fat Boy”—Randy Newman
• “Go Down, Moses”—Natalie Merchant
• “Johnny Bagga' Donuts”—Palma Violets
• “Frank D Fixer”—Jason Mraz
• “Hello Joe”—Beatsteaks

© 2020 Ansel Pereira