Last Names That Are Adorable First Names
- Cully
Origin:
Irish, English, ScottishMeaning:
"descendent of the wolf warrior; holly; colony; from Cully; dove"Description:
A last name as a first name that also has the feel of nicknames like Callie, Tully, Tally and Tilly, Cully could derive from an anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Colla.
- Bryant
Origin:
Variation of Brian, IrishMeaning:
"strong, virtuous, and honorable"Description:
Bryant has a longer history as a first name in the US than its father name Brian, ranking among the Top 1000 since the list began in 1880 while Brian only jumped on in 1925.
- Gray
Origin:
Color nameDescription:
This color name, spelled either Gray or Grey is rapidly catching on. Actress Jenny von Oy recently called her daughter Gray Audrey.
- Tierney
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"descendent of a lord"Description:
An uncommon Irish-accented surname that seems particularly well suited to a girl. Tierney Sutton is a well-known jazz singer. Tierney, in its original Tiarnach form, was the name of several saints. It can also join the ranks of Old Hollywood names, via the haunting actress Gene Tierney. ER actress Maura Tierney is a current surname bearer.
- Bowie
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"blond"Description:
Music legend David Bowie lends his adopted surname considerable charisma to this stylish Scottish name for girls and boys. Born David Robert Jones, he changed his name to avoid confusion with The Monkees' Davy Jones.
- Gates
Origin:
English surnameMeaning:
"person living near town gates"Description:
Reality TV star Raven Gates gave her on-trend s-ending surname to her son, named Gates Zev. Gates joins an impressive lineup of celebrity babies with similar names, including Hillary Duff's Banks and Emma Roberts' Rhodes. Gates is also famously the surname of Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.
- Caruso
Origin:
Italian surnameDescription:
Naples-born Enrico Caruso was one of the greatest opera singers of all time. Recordings of his powerful singing voice are still in circulation today, nearly 100 years after his death.
- Brom
Origin:
Diminutive of Bromley, EnglishMeaning:
"broom meadow"Description:
Attached to one of the heroes of Christopher Paolini's megapopular fantasy novel Eragon, this name sounds strong yet sensitive.
- Dillon
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"loyal"Description:
Different origin from the Welsh Dylan, but increasingly used as a variant spelling to honor Bob Dylan or Dylan Thomas. Still, the Dylan spelling is found 20 times as often as Dillon.
- Pendleton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"overhanging settlement"Description:
Pembroke's brother.
- Branson
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of the raven"Description:
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.
- Colson
Origin:
English surnameMeaning:
"son of Nicholas"Description:
Author Colson Whitehead introduced this surname-name to the lexicon, perfect for a son or grandson of a Nicholas, a Nicole, or a Colin. Or anyone else who likes the sound for that matter, since there are plenty of Jacksons and Harrisons whose parents are not called Jack or Harry.
- Armani
Origin:
Italian surname derived from Herman or Arman, German or PersianMeaning:
"soldier; wish,hope"Description:
One of the designer baby names -- Chanel and Gucci are others -- that have appeared in this era of branding everything from your purse to your offspring. It helps that the name is similar to more established choices, such as Amani, Marnie, Amy, and Aria.
- Ward
Origin:
English occupational nameMeaning:
"guard, watchman"Description:
Until recently Ward was, like Wally, a Cleaver name, but today's parents are seeing it as a cooler nickname for Edward than Eddie, and are also beginning to use it on its own.
- Hale
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"someone who lives in a hollow; strong and hearty"Description:
This name projects a sense of well-being, as in "hale and hearty", while also having a nature-adjacent meaning, referring to someone who lives near a hollow, a nook, or a remote area of land. Rhyming word hail adds a hint of storminess to the name too.
- Adley
Origin:
Variation of HadleyDescription:
Adley made the Top 1000 at Number 735 in 2012 on the heels of sister name Hadley, only to vanish again in 2013. But now, with the popularity of Adelaide and Adeline, it has leaped upward and entered the Top 1000 once again. Adley feels in step with name trends of the moment, but will it survive the ages? Other such mashups have not.
- Randolph
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"shield-wolf"Description:
Randolph is a timeworn classic that had its last hurrah in the 1940s, when Randolph (born George) Scott was starring in westerns, but then was probably done in by its tricky nickname Randy (which, strangely enough, was itself a Top 50 name in the fifties and sixties).
- Tudor
Origin:
Welsh and Romanian variation of Theodore, Teodor, or TheodoricMeaning:
"gift from God; ruler of the people"Description:
Known as a British royal family line as well as a style of architecture, this name feels both solemn and formidable, but with an intriguing "dark-academia" feel to it too. Currently in the Top 1000 in England and Wales, it is also used in Romania and Moldova.
- Zola
Origin:
African, Congolese; also literary nameMeaning:
"piece of earth"Description:
When the Eddie Murphys named their fourth daughter Zola, it affirmed the up-and-coming status of the name, which has African roots, but also literary links to Emile Zola. Zola may also be recognizable to some as the adopted daughter of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd on the hit, long-running show Grey's Anatomy.
- Copeland
Origin:
English surnameMeaning:
"bought land"Description:
Up-and-coming surname name that may evoke thoughts of ballet dancer Misty Copeland or one of the many towns called Copeland.
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