Scientist Names

  1. Dalton
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "the settlement in the valley"
    • Description:

      Dalton is a name with multi-faceted appeal. Many are attracted to the name's resemblance to other two-syllable n-ending favorites: Colton, Holden, and cousins. Others see it as a trendy Western name, recalling the legendary Dalton Brothers gang. It also has something of an upscale, preppy feel connected to the exclusive New York private school.
  2. Darwin
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "dear friend"
    • Description:

      Enough parents have found naturalist Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, a worthy hero to keep Darwin relatively consistently in the Top 1000 (it dropped off in 2021 but is back in 2022)—though some might just like its trendy two-syllable sound. It has a lovely meaning too—"dear friend."
  3. Edison
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  4. Faraday
    • Origin:

      Scottish surname
    • Meaning:

      "wood man"
    • Description:

      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 measurement for electricity - a 'power'ful name for any little boy.
  5. Fleming
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "man from Flanders"
    • Description:

      If it's not too phlegmatic for you, this surname and name of a Scottish clan could honor a number of people, especially Alexander Fleming, the father of antibiotics, and Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.
  6. Franklin
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "free landholder"
    • Description:

      A doubly Presidential name, via Pierce and Roosevelt, Franklin was given an initial boost via the fame of Benjamin Franklin. It also has a literary tie to the main character of the Wilkie Collins classic The Moonstone.
  7. Galen
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "calm, healer"
    • Description:

      Many will associate this name with Galen of Pergamon, the second-century physician considered to be the founding father of medicine. A more recent reference is Star Wars character Galen Erso. The name still projects a gentle, scholarly image, while sharing sounds with more popular names like Aiden and Nathan. Bonus: it's also an anagram of Angel.
  8. Halley
    • Origin:

      Scottish and English
    • Meaning:

      "hall or woodland clearing"
    • Description:

      The Halley version of this popular name family hit the Top 1000 only once, in 1986, inspired by Halley's Comet, named for astronomer Edmund Halley.
  9. Halley
    • Origin:

      Scottish and English
    • Meaning:

      "hall or woodland clearing"
    • Description:

      While this has a distinguished male namesake -- astronomer Edmund Halley and his comet -- it still strays too close to the superpopular feminine Hailey family to work for some parents for a boy. Fewer than five baby boys were given the name last year, but that could change as formerly-female names become more acceptable for boys.
  10. Herschel
    • Kelvin
      • Origin:

        Scottish
      • Meaning:

        "narrow or wooded river"
      • Description:

        A tributary of the River Clyde in Scotland, called in Scottish Gaelic Abhainn Cheilbhinn: caol ("narrow") or coille ("wooded") + abhainn ("river"). As a surname, it derives from the name of the river.
    • Lyell
      • Mendel
        • Origin:

          Yiddish variation of Menachem
        • Description:

          Mendel is an Old World Jewish name that is also the surname of the founder of genetics.
      • Newt
        • Origin:

          English
        • Meaning:

          "a small salamander"
        • Description:

          Rarely used on its own and irrevocably tied to former House Speaker Gingrich -- who was christened Newton.
      • Priestley
        • Ramsay
          • Origin:

            English
          • Meaning:

            "low-lying land"
          • Description:

            A surname occasionally used as a first, as in former attorney general Ramsey Clark. This spelling is now closely associated with the psychopathic Game of Thrones villain Ramsay Snow (later Ramsay Bolton), and so is probably best avoided as long as the show and books are popular.
        • Rutherford
          • Origin:

            English
          • Meaning:

            "cattle ford"
          • Description:

            Stuffy presidential choice: consider Hayes instead.
        • Thomson
          • Watson
            • Origin:

              English and Scottish surname related to Walter
            • Meaning:

              "son of Wat"
            • Description:

              What with the resurgence of W names like Weston and Walter, the prominence of high profile actress Emma and golfer Bubba, and even the attention paid to Watson, the IBM computer on "Jeopardy" (named for IBM's founder, Thomas Watson) this name could be in line for a revival of its own.