Alternatives to Braden
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About this list
The names
Hudson
English place-name and surname
"Hugh's son"
Hudson has risen quickly up the charts over the past 30 years, getting a lot of its style value from New York's Hudson River. That makes it a nature name and a place name that's also got the fashion…
Mason
English occupational name
"worker in stone"
Mason is an occupational surname that ranked among the Top 10 name for boys throughout the 2010s, after its choice as one of the first Kardashian baby names. It remained a Top 10 choice in the US…
Walker
English occupational name
"cloth-walker"
Walker is both a Waspy surname name—as in the W in George W. Bush—but it also has a gentle ambling quality and a creative connection to such greats as writer Walker Percy and photographer Walker…
Landon
English
"long hill"
Landon is a popular surname name; it's been dropping slightly in recent years but has surpassed its once more popular rhyming cousin Brandon. For some it may bring back nostalgic memories of Little…
Cade
English
"round, barrel; battle"
Strong and modern, Cade shot up the popularity lists around the millennium—it was as high as Number 201 in 2001. Now, it has declined in popularity slightly, but nevertheless remains in the US Top…
Holden
English
"hollow valley"
Holden is a classic case of a name that jumped out of a book and onto birth certificates--though it took quite a while. Parents who loved J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye are flocking to the…
Wade
English
"at the river crossing"
Wade has never been outside the US Top 1000 for boys - there's a reason for that. It has a clean spelling, fresh sound and is neither too trendy (unlike Kade or Cade) or too old-school (like Richard…
Corbin
English and French surname
"crow, raven"
Corbin, the name of the castle where the Holy Grail was said to be hidden, came to the fore in the 1980s via actor Corbin Bernsen when he was the high profile star of LA Law , but its use is only now…
Kiefer
German
"barrel maker; pine"
Kiefer is a strong occupational surname associated with "24" star Kiefer Sutherland, but one that could well join the other 'er' surnames currently in favor. Keifer is a German surname transferred to…
Brock
English
"badger"
Brock is a rock solid name, with a touch of preppy sophistication. It ranked solidly in the 200s-300s from 1975 until 2014, but has since tumbled a bit. Among Brocks who lived up to their name are…
Brendan
Irish
"prince"
According to Irish legend, Saint Brendan the Voyager was the first European to touch American soil, and his name has been established here for decades, peaking in the late 1990s. Brendan first…
Trenton
English, place-name
"Trent's town"
There's only one Trenton, New Jersey, but it's a widely used name, more for its fashionable -on ending than the reference to the city. Since 2007, however, Trenton has been on a steady decline.…
Brannon
Irish variation of Brennan
Occasionally used as an alternative to Brandon or Brennan.
Bailey
English occupational name
"law enforcer, bailiff"
Extremely amiable, open-sounding surname that's gradually being taken over by the girls.
Slater
English occupational name
"maker of slates"
Slater has a more genial, friendly feel than most trade names. Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance used it for one of their twins. On the nineties TV show Saved by the Bell , the character A.C.…
Bram
Dutch variation of Abraham, Hebrew
"father of multitudes"
Bram has an unusual measure of character and charm for a one-syllable name; it started as a hipper-than-Abe diminutive of the biblical Abraham, but is also an independent Irish and Dutch name, made…
Eamon
Irish variation of Edmund
"wealthy protector"
Eamon is one of the traditional Irish names that has not yet emigrated to the US. This Irish name pronounced ay-mon was popularized by early president of the independent republic Eamon de Valera…
Carden
English occupational name
"wool carder"
Highly unusual but stylish-sounding occupational name, with a pleasant association with gardens.
Zaden
Modern invented name
A nouveau member of the Aidan/Braden/Jaden group. Yet another variation on a too-trendy genre -- never the most original way to go, even if there aren't yet many Zadens on your block. Still, a Z…
