Ford

The long association to the Ford Motor Company doesn't stand in the way of this being a strong, independent, single-syllable name.

Owen Wilson named his son Robert Ford--although the baby's name was first released as Ford Linton.

Among notable namesakes are writer Ford Madox Ford, author of The Good Soldier, who was born Ford Hermann Hueffler but changed his Germanic name to honor his grandfather, the Pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Madox Brown; and sportswriter Ford Frick, who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

There are many more outstanding surnamed-Fords, including the presidential Gerald (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr) and his wife Betty, industrialist Henry and actor Harrison, to name a few.

Ford can work on its own or be a short form of a name such as Clifford.