Names That Mean Son

Author Colson Whitehead put his name on the map, and now variations such as Colsen and Colsyn are shooting up along with it.

Although appearing as a patronym (nope, it doesn't mean "son of Elizabeth"), Macbeth originated as a given name. It is derived from the Gaelic MacBeatha, describing a religious man.

Rawlings was a surname with ties to the name Raul, which means "wolf counsel." Rawlings is used as a first name for one of the girl sextuplets on TV's Sweet Home.

Traditional Japanese name for the fifth-born son makes for a unique baby name in the West.

Would often be confused with Madison.

If you're looking for a Nicholas substitute or namesake, Nicholson would make a more distinctive path to the likable nickname Nick, fitting in with other newer patronymics like Anderson and Harrison. Unusual but not outlandish, it is associated with writer Nicholson Baker, library advocate and author of Vox. And as a surname, of course, with Jack.

There are seemingly infinite ways to spell Jackson — in fact, if you add all of them up, it becomes the most popular boy name in America. Jaxsyn is mid-to-low range popularity among all the variations.

Perfect name for the child of dog enthusiasts, and much more distinctive than the trendy Connor.

Yancy has begun to rise in usage among baby girls, perhaps in part due to the similarity to the classically feminine name Nancy.

A respelling of Bowen that gives the option of cozy nickname Wyn/Wynnie as well as Bo.

Thomas Edison’s surname is an inventive take on Addison when used for girls. It's an English surname deriving from either Adam or Eda, a medieval diminutive of Edith.

Watts is a patronymic surname derived from Watt, a popular Middle English nickname for Walter. Today, Watts makes a contemporary and stylish way to honor a Walter in your life.

This inventive spelling of Graycen was among the fastest-risers of the year in 2019. It hit a peak in 2020, and dropped for both genders in 2021.

McKay is the Anglicized form of Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh" in Gaelic. Aodh is the origin of names such as Aidan and Hugh, making McKay a subtle way to honor people with those names.

An English surname derived from the French place name Beauvais, which in turn comes from the name of an ancient Gaulish tribe, the Bellovaci.

At first glance, Alson appears to be a streamlined version of Alison, however, the names are unrelated. Alison is a variation of Alice, not derived from a surname, while Alson would have originally been bestowed upon sons of men named Allen, Alexander, or the like.

Ingmar is known here almost solely through Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Ing was the powerful Norse god of fertility and peace, who lent his name to several mortal variations, more notably to English-speakers the female Ingrid.

A respelling of Bowen that gives the option of cozy nickname Wyn as well as Bo.

The surname Witten (and variants such as Whitten) is a patronym derived from Witte or Witt, which was a nickname for people with white hair or a pale complexion in Germany and the Netherlands. It makes a very cool (and rare!) name for a son — the stylish nickname Witt seals the deal.