Drover, an ancient occupational surname, is right in step with today's styles and would make a distinctive choice. Drover and brothers are fresh updates of such now-widely-used names as Carter and Cooper.

Dropping the H off hot surnames gets you a whole new name. The trend is multiplying: Hadley becomes Adley, Harley become Arley, Harlow becomes Arlowe, and now Halston becomes Alston.

English surname used as one of the middles for Boris Becker's son Amadeus.

Borne by an early Egyptian pharaoh in around 2850 BC, Nebra's meaning is contested. A likely possibility however is that it means "Lord of the sun", implying the pharaoh's rule over the sun, which wasn't viewed as independent deity during his reign.

Calloway is one of those irresistibly jaunty, animated three-syllable surnames, like Sullivan and Finnegan — but this one has the added attraction of jazzy ties to the immortal "Dean of American Jive," Cab Calloway. For a girl, this could be an unconventional route to the cool nickname Callie.

Lynda and Linden meet Kendall and Randall in this surname-style choice, familiar in South African, owing to its use by author and activist Olive Schreiner in her 1883 novel, The Story of an African Farm. In the book, Lyndall is borne by a female character and drawn from the maiden name of Schreiner's mother.

Also spelled as Lyndell and Lyndal, Lyndall is likely an English surname name meaning "lime tree valley" or "linden tree valley", giving it an an outdoorsy feel. Alternatively, however, Lyn may be drawn from the Welsh word for lake, lending it the meaning "lake in the valley".

Upper-crusty surname name.

The name of a town in North Carolina, Ellerbe is derived from the Old English surname Elwordebi, meaning "Aelfweard's farmstead". Contracted and altered overtime, it appears in various forms, including Elleby, Ellerby, Elerbie, and more.

An old-fashioned term for a coal miner, or nowadays, a sister to Harper and Piper.

Sander would be an unconventional short form of Alexandra, variation of Sandra, or surname-name for girls. It was given to 41 baby boys in the US last year but no girls, but it certainly can be a gender-neutral choice.

Sommers is a surname-y spin on the word name Summer, made all the more fashionable by the final S. If Hayes, Rivers, and Brooks can be trendy gender-neutral names, why not Sommers?

Fans of the classic French designer would now more fashionably choose Coco.

While Kendrix is predominantly used on boys — likely owing to its musical namesakes, Kendrick Lamar and Jimi Hendrix — the most noteworthy Kendrix (as yet) is in fact Kendrix Morgan, also known as the Pink Galaxy Ranger from the Power Rangers franchise.

Updates Lindsey for the 21st century.

This multicultural name is a sweet but solid sounding pet form of Hebrew and Yiddish origin, used as a nickname for Rhoda, Rosa, or Rada. It can also be considered an English surname, derived from either the given names Rudolf or Ridel meaning "fame wolf" and "ride" or from the place name Ryedale meaning "rye valley".

This variation of the surname Loeb works even better than the original as a first name, though any child named Loew will inevitably have to endure a lifetime's worth of "high and...." jokes. Other leonine options: Leopold or Lionel.

A surname not often heard as a first, except in the case of English Gardner, the American track and field Olympian.

Writer James Baldwin could make this an inspirational choice for a child of either sex.

Royal and Rory are both in the US Top 1000 for girls where they join a number of surname-inspired names ending in -son, from long-time favorite Madison to the newer Emerson. The yet to rank Royson could be a new consideration with its rosy feel, but tougher edge.

A last name as a first name, Redell began to appear in England after the Norman invasion. Likely connected to the names Raymond and Radulf, it could mean "counsel, advice, decision". Another possible interpretation is that it merges the word red with the word dell to form the meaning "red valley". This could also mean it borrows from land feature in the Lake District of England, known as Red Dell.