Baby Name Meanings · Middle Names, Surnames, and Nicknames · Nature, Place and Word Names · Unisex Baby Names
Occupational Names
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About this list
Most occupational baby names were originally surnames that described a person's job. Names related to jobs have taken on significant style value over the past years and are destined to rise even further.
Harper is the top occupational name for girls while Mason is the most popular occupational name for boys.
Along with Harper, occupational names ranking in the US Top 300 for girls include Skylar, Piper, Parker, Bailey, Taylor, Sawyer, and Saylor.
Along with Mason, occupational names ranking in the US Top 100 for boys include Carter, Hunter, Carson, and Cooper.
While technically gender-neutral, occupational names have traditionally been used more often for males and still are more often given to baby boys. Unique occupational names we like for either gender include Baird, Booker, Dancer, Drummer, Fielder, Fifer, Mercer, Painter, Poet, Sailor, Shepherd, and Whistler.
Occupational names can work as a nod to parents' or grandparents' professions or a family business. Or you can choose them, of course, because you simply like the sound and feel.
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The names
Harper
English
"harp player"
You might think of Harper as the hottest name of the last decade, jumping from obscurity to the Top 10, where it remained until last year. Victoria and David Beckham's choice of Harper for their…
Cooper
English occupational name
"barrel maker"
The genial yet upscale and preppy Cooper was one of the first occupational last names to catch on -- and Cooper remains a pleasing option. Cooper began his rapid climb in 1982 and is a popular choice…
Carter
English occupational name
"transporter of goods by cart"
Carter has ranked in the Top 100 since the the turn of the millennium, but despite its recent popularity, it's not a trendy new name. In fact, Carter is one of those names that just misses ranking in…
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…
Archer
English
"bowman"
Archer is an Anglo-Saxon surname that feels more modern than most because of its on-target occupational and Hunger Games associations. And it's a nice way to bypass the clunky Archibald to get to the…
Parker
English occupational name
"park-keeper"
One of the first generation of surname names, along with Porter and Morgan, Parker's still one of the most appealing and remains firmly in the Top 100 for boys. About three times as many boys as…
Sawyer
English
"woodcutter"
Sawyer is a surname with a more relaxed and friendly feel than many others, and is one of the hottest occupational names right now, with the Nameberry seal of approval. Sawyer is becoming one of the…
Dean
English
"church official"
Dean may sound to some like a retro surfer boy name, but it is once again climbing up the popularity chart in the USA. For decades it was associated with Dean (born Dino) Martin; more recent…
Hunter
English
"one who hunts"
Hunter has been dropping a bit for the past few years but is still one of the leaders of a distinctive band of boys' names that combines macho imagery (Hunter, Austin, Harley) with a softened…
Piper
English occupational name
"pipe or flute player"
Piper is a bright, musical name that entered the list in 1999, one year after the debut of the TV series Charmed , which featured a Piper, and it's been a consistent riser since. Piper Kerman is the…
Colter
English
"colt herder"
A variation on the popular Colton, Colter has been climbing up the US charts since 2010. Given to around 1000 boys each year, it is now in the Top 500, and ticks the boxes for being a cool…
Tucker
English occupational name
"fabric pleater"
Tucker has more spunk than most last-name-first-names, and also a positive, comforting ("Tuck me in, Mommy") feel. Tucker got something of a preppy image via bow-tied conservative TV commentator…
Bailey
English occupational name
"law enforcer, bailiff"
Bailey — a jaunty surname — was first used for a female TV character in 1978 in the show WKRP in Cincinnaati , then caught on big time. Bailey's still an appealing choice, though, and a celebrity…
Baker
English occupational surname
One of the most appealing of the newly hip occupational names, evoking sweet smells emanating from the oven. Much fresher sounding than than others that have been around for a while, like Cooper, and…
Tyler
English occupational name
"maker of tiles"
The presidential Tyler rocketed up popularity charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s (it ranked Number 9 for that entire decade), along with cousin Taylor, becoming almost pandemic across the…
Cohen
Hebrew
"priest"
Cohen is a common last name among Jews and an important spiritual name in the Jewish religion, associated with the hereditary priests who claimed descent from the biblical Aaron. As a result of its…
Shepherd
Occupational name
"sheep herder"
Shepherd is an occupational surname with a pleasant, pastoral feel, an outdoorsy vibe, a gentle sound and a cool, contemporary energy. The name has been rising steadily in the US since the mid-2000s,…
Marshall
English
"one who looks after horses"
Earthy but sophisticated, Marshall is an occupational surname, and despite the sounds, it isn't military or martial in any way. Rather, it stems from the Norman French for someone caring for horses.…
Paige
English, occupational name
"page to a lord"
Paige is more name, and less word than the occupational Page. Paige is also sleek and sophisticated a la Brooke and Blair and reached as high as Number 47 in 2003, when there was a very popular…
Spencer
English
"house steward, dispenser of provisions"
Spencer is a name that has everything: it's both distinguished sounding and accessible, dignified but Spencer Tracy-like friendly. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl),…
