Names That Mean Gatekeeper

It may surprise you to know that surname name Porter was fairly popular in the US in the 19th and early 20th centuries, then went underground for 40 years only to reemerge at the turn of this century and climb the ladder again.

This upbeat, friendly surname name has appeared on television's Battlestar Galactica a handful of cartoons, and on a literary note, a character in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Sports fans might think of Boomer Esiason, the NFL quarterback turned color commentator. He's not the only athlete to answer to the upbeat nickname.

As wooden as its second syllable.