Modern Hero Names

Woolf

Variation of Wolf, animal name

The spelling Woolf inevitably conjures writer Virginia. If you're a fan of Mrs. Dalloway and the Bloomsbury group, Woolf might be a creative way to combine a trendy animal name with an original honor…

Mingus

Scottish, variation of Menzies

"tenants of a manor"

Supermodel Helena Christensen named her son in honor of jazz great Charles Mingus, opening up a whole category of jazzy possibilities: Kenton, Calloway, Ellington, Gillespie, Mulligan, Tatum, and…

Loewy

Swiss and German nickname for brave person

Enigmatic choice of enigmatic John Malkovich.

Zevon

Musician name

The late great singer-songwriter Warren Zevon would make a worthy namesake.

Faraday

Scottish surname

"wood man"

This unusual Scottish surname was made immortal by Michael Faraday, a British scientist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His name is now a unit of scientific…

Faulkner

English

"falconer"

Faulkner is an old occupational surname that was used for someone who kept and trained falcons when falconry was a popular sport in medieval Europe. Anyone using it in contemporary America would…

Salinger

French, Saint Léger

Fervent fans of The Catcher in the Rye might want to consider this as a literary tribute. More mainstream alternative: Holden.

Rohmer

German surname

"pilgrim; fame"

Like other stylish choices from Roman to Romy to Romeo, Rohmer is a German surname that relates to both Roman pilgrims and the root word for fame. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Noah Baumbach chose this…

Spike

English word name

"a very large nail"

Spike is part mid-century nickname-name, ala Buster or Buck, and part word name, with an all-over cool creative dude feel thanks to directors Spike Lee and Spike Jonze. Mike Myers named his son…

Gehry

Variation of Geary, Irish or English

"spear or fickle"

You might want to honor premier U.S. architect Frank Gehry--even though he was born Ephraim Goldberg. Gehry, pronounced like the more common surname Geary, may be a spin on the name Gary, which means…

Cuba

Place-name

"abundant fertile land; great place"

Soul singer Cuba Gooding and his actor son of the same name put this unexpected geographical name on the map for boys, but it has a longer history of use than you might expect. Deriving from the…

Swift

English, Irish

"quick, windblown"

Surname with strong ties to singer Taylor Swift and writer Jonathan Swift. It could make a fun and quirky middle name.