wellwellwell's list "Middle Names (Boy)" of 3 great name ideas: Harris - Reeve!

Middle Names (Boy)

When Harrison is too much, but Harry isn't enough, try this stylish surname name with a touch of British flair. It briefly reentered the US Top 1000 for the first time since 1988 in 2016, but has since dropped just below the radar again.

 Harris is wildly popular in Scotland, where it is also a geographical name, belonging to one of the largest of the country's many islands. Harris consistently ranks in the Top 10 for boys in Scotland, and in the Top 300 in neighboring England and Wales.

 Harris is also an extremely popular surname, among the Top 25 <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/top-last-names-in-the-us">most common last names in the US</a>.. A famous current bearer is Kamala Harris, who in 2021 became the first ever female vice president of the US, as well as the first African American and first Asian American vice president.

Harris

In the past, Orson has felt like a one-person moniker, tied to film director Orson Welles, who dropped his given name of George in favor of his more distinctive middle. While the Citizen Kane creator seemed to own the name during his lifetime, it's now an interesting possibility for any parent seeking an unusual yet solid name. It's started to appear to the celeb set too -- both Paz Vega and Lauren Ambrose have little Orsons.
 
Unusual but grounded, Orson sounds enough like the word "awesome" that it immediately feels really cool. It is derived from an old Norman nickname, meaning "bear cub", giving it the animal/nature connection of the popular Arthur, Oscar, and Leo, plus the possibility of well-loved nicknames Teddy and Bear.
 
While it hasn't appeared in the US Top 1000 since the beginning of the 20th century, over the last decade use of Orson has more than tripled. Given to around 130 babies in 2023 - the highest number of Orsons born in a single year so far - it could well continue to rise up the charts. 
 
Other noteworthy namesakes include the comic actor Orson Bean and theDesperate Housewives character Orson Hodge. 
 Orson also appears in a 15th century story about two brothers named Valentine and Orson, in which the latter was carried off by a bear and raised as one of its cubs. And, for a literary connection, in Charlotte Bronte's novel Villette, the narrator Lucy Snowe gets called the French variation of the name Ourson as one of the many nicknames bestowed on her by Ginevra Fanshawe.
 
In the UK, Orson is in the Top 500 and it is also a Namberry favorite.

Orson

Cool and dignified, sophisticated and modern, Reeve might be seen as alternative to long-familiar Reese. A medieval occupational name, a reeve was an English manor officer responsible for overseeing the discharge of feudal obligations; as such, it has been linked to bailiffs and sheriffs. 
 
Given to more than 30 boys in a recent year, it is also occasionally used a girl name (notably by aviators Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, for their youngest child). Currently, plural form Reeves outranks it across the board however.