Names That Mean Thicket

Bruce is a Norman place name made famous by the Scottish king Robert the Bruce, who won Scotland's independence from England in the fourteenth century. It's perennially popular in Scotland, but has been rarely used here for a generation -- though the impact of Bruces Lee, Springsteen, Dern and Willis, as well as Batman's Bruce Wayne -- still lingers. At one time Bruce was so widespread in Australia, it became a nickname for any Ozzie man. An interesting alternative is Brix, the Normandy place name where the Bruce family originated.

Rose and Briar are popular, and Hawthorn is cool – so why not the equally prickly Thorne? The E ending gives it a surnamey spin à la Hawthorne.

There's a Perth in Scotland and a bigger one in Australia; this name could make a statement similar to Heath.

Heavy and horsey.

Shaw is a streamlined and more modern-sounding Shawn, with many notable surname namesakes.