An Ongoing List of Names

Brennan is a winning Irish surname name, more modern than Brian or Brendan, more unusual than Conor and Aidan. The only possible problem with Brennan: people might think you're saying Brendan.

Miller is an up-and-coming choice in the stylish occupational genre, among the fastest-rising names for both boys and girls in the US in 2023.

Elliot is another traditional boy name used for girls", a trend led by political commentator George Stephanopoulos and his actress wife Ali Wentworth.

Alexa was a steadily popular modern classic until Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa was released in 2013. It remains relatively well used in the US despite this, though its standing keeps dropping for obvious reasons. Too bad, because it's a strong and pretty name (which is probably why Amazon used it.)

Appealing way, à la Dawson, to honor an ancestral Lawrence. Lawson is also an English pop rock band. Lawson has history or use that dates far back, but it fell off of the charts in 1950. The name resurfaced in 2001 and has been climbing since. Lawson has that surname feel and -son suffix that parents are loving in recent years.

Kellan Lutz is the attractive young actor who plays Emmett Cullen in the Twilight series.

This name was transposed from the word for a church officer to a baby name when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe chose it for their son, after a baseball player ancestor, and Don Johnson followed suit. Its popularity also got a boost from Nashville character Deacon Claybourne -- only to fall a bit in recent years.

Keaton is an engaging surname with warmth, energy and a sense of humor, identified with silent comedian Buster Keaton and contemporary actors Michael and Diane Keaton. Given to around 290 boys in a recent year, it currently sits within the latter end of the US Top 1000.

Midcentury Irish-American favorite, never used in Ireland itself, being the generic word for "girl"; rarely given today.

Palmer is a name that derives from the fact that pilgrims often carried palms, thus the double meaning. It's a fresher sounding twist other surname style names, such as Spencer, Carter, Porter and Parker.

With its soft sounds, its unisex appeal, and its nature connection, Rowan has become a very popular name for both boys and girls, given to nearly four boys for every girl. The Rowen variation maintains the same gender split but is much less popular for both sexes, with nearly four times as many babies named Rowan as Rowen.

Kiersten is the version of Kirsten you use if you really really really don't want anyone to mispronounce it as ker-sten or kris-ten. But they probably still will.