Celebrity Names · Name Image
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 13 pages
of 13
Japanese
"large"
Kodai Senga, a Japanese professional baseball player and pitcher for the New York Mets, introduced this one to the US audience. Kodai, with its similarity to the more familar Koda and Kai, just might…
Spanish surname and nature name
This name has two distinctive associations: the Southwestern natural formation of a gully or stream, and the Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo.
Ashanti, Akan, Twi
"African ethnic group; warlike"
Although Ashanti is a much better known name via the female hip-hop singer, Asante is also an appealing way to honor Asante or Ashanti heritage. It's the name of a people and language based in Ghana.
English
"at the wide river"
Most parents would prefer BRADLEY or BRADFORD to get to eternally cool nickname BRAD--unless they wanted to honor cricket legend Donald Bradman, considered the greatest batsman of all time.
Welsh
"fort near a slope"
Noted bearers of this surname include a metaphysical poet, a Nobel Prize winner, and a baseball Hall of Famer, so there's plenty of hero-name inspiration.
Latin
"merciful and gentle"
This surname related to Clement is strongly associated with Major League pitcher Roger Clemens, winner of more Cy Young awards than any other pitcher in baseball history, and has a softer sound than…
English surname
"jackdaw"
In keeping with other short names like Poe and Bo, Coe is a surname that could easily move into first place. It has a sports hero factor as well, in Olympic runner Sebastian Coe — who later became a…
Slavic
"gift"
If you're a movie fan or a sports fan, you might be attracted to this name, via the film "Donnie Darko" or the Serbian-born basketball star Darko Milicic. It is kind of dark, though.
American, modern invention
This unusual name belonging to three generations of Deltha Lee O'Neals, the third being a football cornerback for the New England Patriots, could equally--or better--be used for a girl.
Irish place-name
With Galway and Ireland in play as names (not to mention Shannon and Kerry), there's no reason this one can't work, too.
English and French from Latin
"enduring"
Durant's meaning signifies staying power, a good quality to impart to your child. Notables with the surname Durant include Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Will and Ariel Durant, most famous for their…
Diminutive of Earl, English, or word name
"nobleman, warrior; early"
A word that's been used, very infrequently, as a name for hundreds of years. Interesting sound and meaning.
English from Greek
"noble, well-born"
A surname very rarely heard as a first, associated with Hall of Fame basketball star Patrick Ewing and, in the 1980s, the oil-rich Ewing family on the nighttime soap, "Dallas"
French, English
"lamp lighter"
An old surname with an intriguing sound an uncertain origin, although it may derive from a French word for "lantern" – perhaps referring originally to one who made or lit lanterns.
English word and nature name
"to swindle"
Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel. Only five baby girls were named Finch in the most recent year, and four times as many baby boys.
"fisherman"
Unusual alternative to Fisher with a brisker surname appeal.
Irish
"rough peace"
Occasionally used in the African-American community to honor Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey, known as "Emperor of the Kingdom of Africa," though his first name is more frequently chosen. Another…
German surname
Gehrig might have been used as a sports hero name honoring legendary baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, but the association with the disease he gave his name to makes it a no-no.
Celtic, meaning unknown
The connection to a knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend gives this name a hint of nobility. Geraint Thomas was a Welsh cyclist who competed in the 2008 Olympics.
"firstborn son"
Ichiro is a good classic choice for the first boy in a Japanese family.
