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Habitational Surnames

Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Fri May 30 2025
Habitational Surnames

Habitational surnames originated to denote the place where a person lived.

Habitational surnames might be broad, like Blair, which means "dweller on the plain", or Logan, meaning "small hollow". In the days when many fewer first names were in common use, you could distinguish people as William from the hollow or William from the plain.

Other habitational surnames indicate a particular town or country, like Desmond, which denotes someone from South Munster in Ireland, or Sebastian, which means "from Sebastia".

Many habitational surnames have now migrated to become firsts, such as Everly or Brooks. Most habitational surnames have been traditionally used for boys, but many are becoming gender neutral. Names ending in -ley, which means meadow, have often been used for girls.

These habitational surnames are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

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Gender Neutral Names

  1. Logan

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "small hollow"

    • Description:

      According to exclusive Nameberry data, Logan is officially the Number 1 gender-neutral name in the US, but that statistic is somewhat misleading given that nearly 90 percent of the baby Logans born in 2024 were boys.
  2. Graham

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "gravelly homestead"

    • Description:

      Well used in England and Scotland since the fifties, the smooth and sophisticated Graham is catching on here.
  3. Arden

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "valley of the eagle; high"

    • Description:

      Arden, the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It, is a stylish A name with a strong, straightforward image. Another reason to love Arden: its similarity to "ardent." Arden is solidly unisex, with the current gender distribution running about 49 percent girls and 51 percent boys.
  4. Beckett

    • Origin:

      English and Irish

    • Meaning:

      "bee hive, little brook or bee cottage"

    • Description:

      Beckett is one of the big baby name hits of the decade.
  5. Brooks

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "of the brook"

    • Description:

      A nature name, a word name, and a surname name, Brooks has plenty of cool factor. It gives off cowboy vibes and a sporty feel, while also maintaining a smart, collected image.
  6. Rhodes

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "where roses grow"

    • Description:

      This is a name we've seen the potential of for some time now — A Greek island and a prestigious scholarship make for a preppy first name with the uber-stylish S ending. Needless to say we were not surprised that Rhodes cracked the Top 1000 in 2022, and we expect it to keep rising. Rhodes was recently chosen by actress Emma Roberts for her son, born in 2020.
  7. Lincoln

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "town by the pool"

    • Description:

      Lincoln cracked the Top 50 for boys' names for the first time in 2016, more than 150 years after the death of its most famous bearer. This is especially remarkable because, as crazy as it seems now, Lincoln was deeply out of fashion as recently as the late 90s, consistently hovering near the bottom of the Top 1000.
  8. Winston

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "friend's town"

    • Description:

      Long associated with the Churchill family and common in the West Indies, the distinguished Winston has tended to be neglected here. The exception was during the World War II period, when Winston Churchill was a towering figure and his name reached Number 234. It's now enjoying something of a renaissance.
  9. Riley

    • Origin:

      English, Irish

    • Meaning:

      "rye clearing; courageous"

    • Description:

      Riley—an upbeat, friendly surname name—is red hot for girls and still going strong for boys. If you haven't been spending much time around babies recently, you may be surprised to learn that Riley is the most popular girls' name starting with R and also the Number 1 Irish name for girls in the US.
  10. Lennox

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "elm grove"

    • Description:

      Lennox is an aristocratic and powerful Scottish surname name made truly special by that final x. The worldwide fame of British boxer--World and Olympic champion--Lennox Claudius Lewis brought the name into the spotlight as a first name, while as a last it's tied to Eurythmics singer Annie L.
  11. Ford

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "dweller at the ford"

    • Description:

      The long association to the Ford Motor Company doesn't stand in the way of this being a strong, independent, single-syllable name.
  12. Blair

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "dweller on the plain"

    • Description:

      In the USA, Blair is gaining momentum, rising quickly for the last 10 years and likely to continue to climb. In England and Wales, where Blair has political connotations – calling to mind former prime minister Tony Blair – it is much less common, although it is in use for boys in its native Scotland.
  13. Desmond

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "one from south Munster"

    • Description:

      Desmond is a sophisticated and debonair name, with noble ties to 1984 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop Desmond Tutu, and with some great nicknames: Des/Dez, Desi/Dezi.
  14. Percy

    • Origin:

      French surname from place name Perci-en-Auge

    • Description:

      Percy is an adorable old name that is finally shedding its pampered Little Lord Fauntleroy image in this new era of boys with soft yet traditionally male names like Jasper and Elijah. Originating as an aristocratic Norman name, Percy became fairly widespread in England--and to some extent in the US--as an offshoot of the fame of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
  15. Hayes

    • Origin:

      English surname and nature name

    • Meaning:

      "hedged area"

    • Description:

      One of those simple, straightforward English surnames -- and with a presidential pedigree -- that's easy to translate into a first. Chosen by both Kevin Costner and Jessica Alba for their sons, it has been climbing the US charts since 2009.
  16. Harlow

    • Origin:

      English surname

    • Meaning:

      "rock hill or army hill"

    • Description:

      Jean Harlow (born Harlean Carpenter), the original platinum blonde bombshell, was a symbol of 1930s glamour, a factor that first Patricia Arquette and then Nicole Richie and Joel Madden probably had in mind when they gave their daughters the distinctive surname name Harlow.
  17. Wells

    • Origin:

      Surname from place name

    • Meaning:

      "spring"

    • Description:

      Wells is a newly-famous baby name thanks to pregnancy guru Rosie Pope, who uses it as the short form of the buttoned-up Wellington, name of her youngest child.
  18. Hayden

    • Origin:

      English place name

    • Meaning:

      "hay valley"

    • Description:

      Hayden – a formerly obscure name that's risen to huge popularity – has dipped in this year's ratings. Though Hayden is among the most distinctive of the bunch, it gets lost in the crowd of Jaidens, Bradens, Aidans, and endless variations. Associated with Hayden Christensen, of Star Wars fame.
  19. Colton

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "from the coal or dark town"

    • Description:

      Colton is a trendy two-syllable choice, with the popular 'on/en' ending.
  20. Everly

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "wild boar in woodland clearing"

    • Description:

      Sweet and stylish, with a sporty, energetic undertone, Everly is a name that ticks lots of boxes.