College Baby Names

Bryn is an up-and-coming gentle, yet substantial, Welsh name that would also be effective in the middle spot. In Wales it's a traditional boys' name, but it's far more popular for girls now in the US.

Bentley, a somewhat stuffy British surname, previously associated primarily with an incredibly expensive English car, has had a recent surge in popularity, thanks largely to the reality TV shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, with Bentley being the name of the son of breakout star Maci (another new favorite) Bookout.

Even if it is the Number one surname in the U.S.--with more than 2.5 million bearers--we still think that Smith would make a cool first or middle name, whether or not it has family history.

While it may sound a little dated, Lamar is a name that has never been outside the US Top 1000, but it is in danger of falling off the list.

Mackenzie begat McKenna - a catchy but very trendy choice. While the Mc or Mac prefix means "son of," this is much more popular as a girl name in the US, peaking at #177 in 2002.

Less common than other virtue names, Liberty is nonetheless a name with a long American heritage.

Olaf, though sainted and regal in Norway, is slightly oafish here. It is one of those names that has become completely familiar in the U.S. without ever becoming assimilated. Now that he's a comical character in Disney's Frozen, he might get some more attention.

Rider is a rock-and-roll baby name, in every sense of the term, though usually spelled Ryder, as in the sons of Kate Hudson and John Leguizamo.

Truman is an upstanding presidential name that radiates an aura of integrity and moral truth, values any parent would want for a child. It seems definitely headed for a revival.

Arbor is an original unisex tree-related choice we're sure to hear more of. Highly unusual now, Arbor takes its place alongside other new arborial names ranging from the mighty Oak (or Oakley) to the more delicate Birch to the more flowery Juniper, Acacia, and Hazel.

This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.

Whitman, a namesake surname for poet Walt, would be much more suited to a boy, probably because of that "man" part. Whit or Witt makes an uplifting short form which can be used on its own.

Though Embry became famous as the name of a boy werewolf in Twilight, we think its Em- beginning and -y ending make it perfectly appropriate for a girl. You might consider it as an alternative to Emma, Emily, or Aubrey. Embry or Embury is an established English surname. 

A somewhat solemn appellation, Anselm is a saint's name, connected to the twelfth century archbishop of Canterbury, and in modern times tied to the German neo-expressionist painter Anselm Kiefer.

Even if you'd like your daughter to attend the venerable women's college, don't saddle her with this pretentious British surname.

Lesley as a masculine name derives from Scottish habitational surname origins, combining elements meaning "garden of holly" or "holly meadow." Though now more commonly used for girls in the United States, Lesley has a long tradition as a boy's name in Scotland and England. The masculine usage remains more prevalent in the UK, while Americans often prefer the spelling "Leslie" for boys.

One instance where a phonetic spelling might be better.

Webster is one of several W-starting surname names back on the drawing board, now that it has recovered from its childlike eighties sitcom identity.

The island home of Odysseus, and city site of Cornell University, sounds soft and pleasant enough to make it a candidate for babynamehood.

Kenyon is a very engaging British surname name, the middle y giving it a kind of southwestern canyonesque undertone.