-on Boy Names
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- Leon
Origin:
Greek variation of LeoMeaning:
"lion"Description:
Currently overshadowed by the bright and lively Leo, Leon feels a slightly more serious, more quietly confident than its short and trending counterpart.
- Winston
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"friend's town; joy stone"Description:
Long associated with the Churchill family and common in the West Indies, the distinguished Winston is back in style having been slightly neglected in the US after its brief flash of popularity during World War II. Familiar in England and Wales, recent years have seen in re-enter the Top 500 in the States.
- Grayson
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"the son of the bailiff"Description:
Grayson, which you might think of as a Jason-Mason substitute, has been rising through the US Top 1000 since 1984 and has ranked in the Top 100 since 2011.
- Hudson
Origin:
English place-name and surnameMeaning:
"Hugh's son"Description:
Hudson has risen quickly up the charts over the past 30 years, getting a lot of its style value from New York's Hudson River. That makes it a nature name and a place name that's also got the fashion gloss of New York City.
- Harrison
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of Harry"Description:
Harrison, a name made viable by Harrison Ford, is increasingly popular with parents who want an H name that's more formal than Harry or Hank but doesn't veer into the stiff Huntington-Harrington territory.
- Aaron
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"high mountain; exalted, enlightened"Description:
Aaron is a name of subtle contrasts: an unusual spelling that is easily recognizable; a solid Biblical choice that doesn’t feel exclusively tied to religion; a well-established name for boys but sometimes confused with the girls’ name, Erin; used internationally but with notably different pronunciations; classic like Andrew but not out of place with recent favorites like Weston or Jayden.
- Mason
Origin:
English occupational nameMeaning:
"worker in stone"Description:
Mason is an occupational surname that ranked among the Top 10 name for boys throughout the 2010s, after its choice as one of the first Kardashian baby names. It remained a Top 10 choice in the US until 2020 when it began trending downwards and a recent year saw it rank at #42, the lowest it's placed since 2005.
- Jackson
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of Jack"Description:
Jackson is one of those names that's much more popular than you think, coming in near the top of our annual Playground Analysis, which ranks names by grouping all their spellings together. Last year, more than 13,000 baby boys were named Jackson -- along Jaxon, Jaxson, Jaxxon, Jaxen, Jaxyn, Jaxsen, and Jaxsyn -- which counted together makes it the Number 5 boys' name.
- Carson
Origin:
English and Scottish surnameMeaning:
"son of the marsh dwellers"Description:
Carson is one of the most long-running popular androgynous baby names, with a dash of the Wild West via the legendary Missouri frontiersman Kit Carson. Dating back to when it was the name of Nancy Drew's Dad, Carson is still steadily in the Top 200 baby names.
- Orson
Origin:
Latin and EnglishMeaning:
"bear cub"Description:
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.
- Landon
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"long hill"Description:
Landon is a popular surname name; it's been dropping slightly in recent years but has surpassed its once more popular rhyming cousin Brandon. For some it may bring back nostalgic memories of Little House on the Prairie 's understanding Pa, played by Michael Landon.
- Colton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"from the coal or dark town"Description:
Colton is a trendy two-syllable choice, with the popular 'on/en' ending.
- Easton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"eastern town"Description:
Easton is a stylish Ivy League-ish place and surname name, more modern than Weston, on its way up for both sexes as part of the new direction baby names are taking, as in North and West. Easton was used for her son by Jenna Elfman--and by Elizabeth Rohm for her daughter.
- Edison
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of Edith or Adam"Description:
This rhythmic last-name-first-name projects the creativity and inventiveness of Thomas Edison. It's an English surname deriving from either Adam or Eda, a medieval diminutive of Edith.
- Samson
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"sun"Description:
With the prevailing popularity of Samuel, some parents are considering this more (literally) powerful biblical name, which shares the desirable nickname of Sam.
- Deacon
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"messenger, servant"Description:
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.
- Oberon
Origin:
Variation of AuberonMeaning:
"elf king; noble bear"Description:
The Shakespearean character Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream is King of the Fairies, but the name, with its bold 'O' beginning has plenty of strength alongside its magical qualities.
- Jameson
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of James"Description:
This is a strong new James varietal, sometimes shared by girls. An original way to honor Grandpa Jim, Jameson is swiftly moving up the charts, entering the Top 100 for the first time ever in 2017. Jameson is one of the hottest boy names starting with J, still the most popular first initial for boys' names. One small caveat: Jameson is also a brand of whiskey.
- Preston
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"priest's estate"Description:
Britney Spears put this old-fashioned surname name back on the map when she chose it as her son Sean's middle name, which the family uses as his first.
- Peyton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"fighting-man's estate"Description:
Peyton is the most-used spelling of this popular name, thanks to football star Peyton Manning. It rose to fame in the 90s and was solidly - or statistically - unisex in the early 2000s, however, the 2010s saw it shift to a more feminine leaning option. Nevertheless, with its surname-style and gentle sounds, Peyton could still fit in with the likes of Grayson, Everett, and Cameron.
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