Names That Mean Son

An undiscovered patronymic surname, Gibson blends the cool, rugged feel of names like Bridger, Riggs, and Hudson with the clunky charm of names like Gilbert, Wilbur, and Digby. Associated with the popular brand of guitars, it could make an unexpected, music-related option.

Strong and vital Asian birth order name.

Derived from a Scottish surname, Mckenzie is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Coinnich, Coinnich being one of the original Gaelic forms of Kenneth. As a given name, it took off for girls in the US in the 70s, thanks to actress Mackenzie Phillips, and it has always been less popular for boys. While Mackenzie was chosen for 86 boys in the US last year, the Mckenzie spelling was used for just 7.

Septimus is one of the more dashing of the birth-order Latin number names that were revived by the Victorians. So even if you don't anticipate son number 7, you might be bold enough to consider this relic, certainly preferable to sixth-son name Sextus.

Presidential name that makes a fresh substitute for MacKenzie or McKenna. Possible spelling variations include MacKinley, MacKinlee, Makinleigh ad almost infinitum. McKinley is one of the Scottish names for girls that can work equally well for boys.

Too tied to those well-publicized twins.

Waspy, but preferable to Nanny Diaries satiric name Grayer. Grayton Greydon, Greyton.

Bowen is a Celtic surname representing two separate Celtic strains, one Welsh and one Irish, and entered the US Top 1000 (for boys) for the first time in 2011. It comes complete with cute nicknames Bo and Winnie.

Ximeno is sometimes falsely credited as the Basque variation of Simon. It actually comes from Semen, a medieval Basque name that is completely unusable today, for obvious reasons. All the more reason to go with Ximeno.

An attractive Irish surname that is currently used exclusively for girls in the US, likely due to the feminine associations with the first name Kerry and with skating champion Nancy Kerrigan.

The surname name Jenson is in the British Top 100 thanks to champion race car driver Jenson Button. Jenson might be an honorific for an ancestral John, the English form of Jens or Johannes, or even Jen.

Apt choice for an architect's child, honoring German-born Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a central figure in modern design, and universally referred to as Mies.

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.

The possibility of the nickname Maddy (or the even spunkier Moxie) makes this have some potential as a modern, unisex name for a girl - if you can get past the strongly masculine meaning.

While the traditionally spelled Madison has been among the most popular names in the 21st century, this version isn't exactly unpopular. Nevertheless, the second d is superfluous.

A winning last-name-first Celtic choice, Flynn is still mostly used for boys, such as the son of Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr. Though Flynn is definitely one of the Irish surname names, from Quinn to Flannery to Makenna, that makes one of the trendy boy names for girls".

Popular in the African American community, the De- prefix makes this a choice for sons of Marcuses.

Branson is a fairly recent addition to the Top 1000, first breaking in at Number 988 in 1995. While it may not be a common sighting yet, it fits the trend of more popular cousins Mason, Grayson, Hudson, and Carson.

Adan is one of those names that feels familiar because it is in fact a variation of several other names. Used in Hispanic cultures, it is a form of Adam, more conventionally spelled with an accent as Adán. In English, it can be seen as a spelling variant of the uber-popular Aidan, Aiden, Aden, etc., while in Arabic, it is a unisex choice, and alternative form of Eden.

Widespread popularity in the Latino community has propelled this name up the charts in the US. Ximena is the more popular version, given to about three times as many baby girls as Jimena, maybe because of that edgy initial X.