Names That Mean Blond

Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn put this name in play as a first name, but David Bowie (born with the considerably less marketable moniker of David Robert Jones) gave it charisma. He changed his surname in 1965 to avoid confusion with the then popular Davy Jones of The Monkees, borrowing it from the American hero of Alamo, Jim Bowie.

Music legend David Bowie lends his adopted surname considerable charisma to this stylish Scottish name for girls and boys. Born David Robert Jones, he changed his name to avoid confusion with The Monkees' Davy Jones.

Aubin might be seen as a fresher and more decidedly masculine twist on Aubrey, though the two are not related. This stylish French choice derives from the Roman Albinus or Albus, meaning "white, bright" or sometimes "blonde". Pronounced with a strong O sound and with a barely there 'n', the name ranked just outside the Top 200 in its native France in a recent year.

An ancient Roman clan name, Flavia is one choice that's unusual but historic. Now a Top 60 name in Italy, Flavia has been a rarity in the US, but with the upswing in F names for girls, this could change. Seen more in literature than real life, Flavia was used as far back as an1580 romance, then in a William Dean Howells novel and as a Princess in The Prisoner of Zenda. Although the original pronunciation is FLAH-via, Flavie (as in flavor) could make a cute nickname.

This presidential name is in style limbo today - or, some might say, in the the sweet spot of familiar but little-used.

Has a bit of a hayseed image, and that oy sound is tough to work with.

Vintage surname that's fallen out of use, but perhaps deserves a revival.

That extra a adds a world of grace to this name.

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

Transformation of the stolid Gilbert into an animated surname name.

Flavius is an ancient Roman family name associated with a dynasty of emperors. It has an appealingly flavorful first syllable, and is the name of a stylist in the Hunger Games series.

Flavio is derived from Flavius, a surname used in Ancient Rome. These family names, or cognomens, were given to distinguish branches of the clan and were chosen based on a characteristic of an important bearer. In this case, the Flavius family patriarch was likely blond-haired.

If this name makes you think of Victorian novels, it's because Fairfax was part of Mr Rochester's name in Jane Eyre, and the surname of a minor character in Jane Austen's Emma. It has a distinctly aristocratic feel, despite its straightforward meaning. Fairfax is also a city in Virginia.

Place name and surname that sounds a tad snooty.

As with the English-language cartoon Blondie, more a description than a name.

There are many names that mean redhead or dark, fewer that mean blond, but this is an intriguing little-known option from the Basque region of Spain, deriving from the Latin Flavianus.

This name of the wife of Mark Antony (no, not Marc Anthony) in ancient Rome sounds a tad too anatomical for a modern girl.