Once in a while some pop culture phenomenon comes along that doesn’t just reflect the name gestalt of its day, but actually influences it. This was the case with the glossy nighttime soaps of the late 70s and early 80s–most particularly Dynasty—which were all about wealth and greed, ambition, melodrama, campy catfights –and humungous shoulder pads.

The writers on these shows were quite ingenious in the way they came up with names that reflected perfectly those values and vices. Male names that were short, sleek, and powerful. Sophisticated, boyish women’s names like Arliss that were a complete reversal of  the previous decades’ unisex nicknamish names like Jodie and Jamie. Elegant surname names such as Blake Carrington.

Probably the most influential was the name of Blake’s ex-wife, that evil viper, Alexis. Despite the character’s villainy, her name took off, and was instrumental in the success of other Alexi: Alexandra, Alexa, Alex et al. In the year before Dynasty debuted in 1982, there were scarcely 1500 girls given that name across the country; by 1999, it had reached #3 on the list, with the birth of 19,000 baby Alexises.

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The grooviest type of new names for boys are the surname names, either the real – Carson, Hunter, Porter – or those that simply have a surname look and feel, such as Drake or Deacon.

Okay, okay, I know there are people with the surnames Drake and Deacon, Gunner and Ryder, but I don’t think that’s why those names are popular.  It’s more that they aren’t conventional first names that’s important, I think, than that they fit any other kind of mold.

In terms of names that convey the new masculine image, the huge surnameish trend is interesting because it makes boys’ names in some ways more formal and traditional than they were before.  What sounds more imposing, after all:  Jefferson or Jeff?  Jacoby or plain old Jake?

It may be the move away from family names – when’s the last time someone you know named their baby a junior? – as well as from religious and ethnic strictures is what makes these new names for boys so appealing to parents.  Names like Fletcher and Hayden convey the aura of family lineage and power without any of the nasty obligations: no endless Thanksgiving dinners or visiting Uncle Theodore in the nursing home to make sure you sew up your inheritance.

Rather, you can wear these faux family names as lightly as a Ralph Lauren sweater.  And on a similarly shallow note, the surname trend is partly inspired by celebrities and their characters who are often called by their last names: Beckham (a big winner in the 2008 popularity poll), Chandler, and Donovan, for instance.

While these names are all prominent on the 2008 popularity list for boys, many are of course used for girls too.  In the past, once a name crossed to the girls’ side, many parents abandoned it for boys, but that’s not happening as much today — a positive development, we think.  For a closer look on surname names and gender identity, see our blog on unisex names.

REAL SURNAMES

Beckham
Blake
Brennan
Bryson
Carson
Chandler
Clay
Cohen
Cole
Dawson
Donovan
Fisher
Fletcher
Grady
Grayson, Greyson
Griffin
Hayden
Hudson
Hunter
Jackson
Jacoby
Jagger
Kane
Landon
Lennon
Lincoln
Logan
Maddox
Marley
Mason
Nolan
Parker
Pierce
Porter
Quinn
Reid or Reed
Riley
Ronan
Rowan
Tanner
Tucker
Weston

FAUX SURNAMES

Braxton
Brock
Caden, Kaden and bros
Colton and Colten
Corbin
Dallas
Dalton
Dane
Deacon
Devin
Drake
Easton
Gunner
Jaxon
Jett
Kade
Keegan
Kelvin
Kingston
Kobe
Kyler
Maverick
Paxton
Peyton
Reese or Reece (or the Welsh Rhys)
Ryder
Ryker
Rylan
Sage
Slade
Talon
Tate
Trace
Trey
Trip or Tripp
Wade
Zayden et al

Tomorrow, new boys’ names imported from around the world.

Back when there was a very limited stockpot of names, and there might be, for example, two Roberts in a village who had to be distinguished from one another, they began to be identified by nicknames and by the names of their fathers: one would be known as Robert Will’s son, the other Robert John’s son, and soon an elaborate system evolved based on the names of grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

Similar patronymic systems, with names meaning “son of,” took root in most cultures. In Danish, the suffix added was sen, in Swedish son, in French de, in Armenian ian, in Basque ez, in Norman fitz, in Scotland Mac or Mc, in Ireland O’, Mac or Mc, and in Wales, simply the letter s–Jones meaning John’s son.

Though all these surname names relate to paternal lineage, in these days of last-name-first and boys-for-girls, there are a lot of patronymics that can work for girls as well: Mackenzie and Madison are good examples that have already been totally accepted. Some of the many other possible “son of” names follow–those that have been used for girls are starred.

*ADDISON
ANDERSON
ANSON
BADEN
BATES
BENSON
BEVAN
BEVIS
BOWEN
*BRYSON
CAVANAUGH
DAVIS
DAWSON
DEJEAN
DIXON
*EDISON
*ELLISON
*EMERSON
FITZGERALD
FITZHUGH
FITZPATRICK
FITZWILLIAM
HARRISON
JACKSON
*JAMESON
JEFFERSON
*JENSEN
*JUDSON
KERMIT
MACAULEY
McCALLISTER
MacDUFF
*McKENNA
*McKENZIE/MACKENZIE
*MAGEE
MORRISON
NILES
O’HARA
O’REILLY
O’SHEA
PARRY
PIERCE
POWELL
QUILLIAM
*QUINNEY
ROYCE
TENNYSON