Dad Names

Long considered Mr. Hall's exclusive property, it's now ready to be adopted by others.

One case where a spelling variation improves the name, Britton is used about four times as often as Britain for both genders. Currently, the count of baby Brittons is running at about 4 to 3 in favor of the boys.

Sharp attractive short form which has a nautical translation in German: "keel" (although it isn't used as a name there).

The craze for surname names is now moving beyond the English and Irish to include worldly Spanish names for boys like this historic one currently in the Top 1000.

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.

Familiar as a Latin surname but has potential as a first.

Synthesized name in the Justin/Dustin mold, but has an unpleasant similarity to the diaper rash ointment called Desitin.

No longer a one-person name, as a number of parents have been inspired by basketball great Shaquille O'Neal to adopt it for their own future athletes.

In the US, Rashad is one of the most popular and best-known Arabic names, through several sports and entertainment celebrities.

Variation of Christian.

While it may sound a little dated, Lamar is a name that has never been outside the US Top 1000, but it is in danger of falling off the list.

Unisex option Dominique peaked for boys at Number 170 in 1991, perhaps due to the popularity of basketball player Dominique Wilkins. It's one of the most truly gender-neutral baby names right now.

Standard Latin classic.

Tyrell is kind of part Tyrone or Tyler, part Terrell, but less than the sum of those parts.

The German, Scandinavian and Czech variant of Joseph, borne by several notable European artists and athletes, as well as the brutal Soviet dictator Josef (or Iosif) Stalin.

There are ordinary folk named Prince, Earl, and Duke, so why not this rank of nobility as well? Many spellings compete, the most common being Marquis, Marquise, and Marquez. Rapper 50 Cent chose the Marquise version for his son; David Caruso chose Marquez.

The name of a type of nautical knot and the surname of an English soccer star feels very at home in a world of Kendricks and Merricks.