Good Surnames

Asher—an excellent, soft and sensitive Old Testament choice—is a baby boy name on the rise, and is a Nameberry biblical favorite.

Bennett is Ben with a bow tie, kind of a cross between Benjamin and Beckett. It's been trending up on the popularity charts in recent years, and its choice by The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Jane Krakowski could shoot it even higher.

Bodhi is a Sanskrit name translated as "enlightenment" or "awakening" which relates to a Buddhist concept, wherein Bodhi is synonymous with the state of nirvana, being freed from hate, greed and ego. The Bodhi tree is a large fig tree under which the founder of Buddhism received enlightenment. Spelling variations include Bodie and Bode.

This is a name we've seen the potential of for some time now — A Greek island and a prestigious scholarship make for a preppy first name with the uber-stylish S ending. Needless to say we were not surprised that Rhodes cracked the Top 1000 in 2022, and we expect it to keep rising. Rhodes was recently chosen by actress Emma Roberts for her son, born in 2020.

Wells is a newly-famous baby name thanks to pregnancy guru Rosie Pope, who uses it as the short form of the buttoned-up Wellington, name of her youngest child.

A nature name, a word name, and a surname name, Brooks has plenty of cool factor. It gives off cowboy vibes and a sporty feel, while also maintaining a smart, collected image.

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.

Shepherd is an occupational surname with a pleasant pastoral feel. It was chosen for their son by the Jerry Seinfelds, which might inspire others to follow their lead.

Walter was seen as a noble name in the Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Walter Scott era, but it then spent decades in baby name limbo. Now quite a few independent-minded parents are looking at it as a renewable, slightly quirky, classic, stronger and more distinctive than James or John, second only to William among the handsome classic boy baby names starting with W.

Long associated with the Churchill family and common in the West Indies, the distinguished Winston has tended to be neglected here. The exception was during the World War II period, when Winston Churchill was a towering figure and his name reached Number 234. It's now enjoying something of a renaissance.

This lovely name is best-known as the surname of eponymous Bronte heroine, Jane Eyre, and would make an appealing and distinctive middle name for the child of fans of that book. While the surname Eyre is found mainly in England, its origins are Norse and it's thought to derive from Norse settlers. Still, the status of the classic books means Eyre deserves to stand proudly among English baby names.

Garrett, also spelled with one 't', is an Irish-inflected name that was in the Top 100 in the nineties, but has now slipped in popularity.

Fletcher is a common surname with a touch of quirkiness; it definitely fits into the So Far Out It's In category--and moving further in all the time along with other occupational names from Parker to Forester.

One of the new bird names, like Lark and Wren, this one's associated with the billing and cooing sounds of love. Soft and gentle, Dove also has the admirable association with peace.

As sturdy as Oak, but with stronger roots as a first name, Oakley ticks lots of boxes for modern trends. With its unisex vibe, its nature-based meaning, its surname-y feel, and its popular -lee ending, it's not wonder Oakley is on the rise.

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.

Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as one of the twin sons (the other being Lorcan) of Luna Lovegood, whom we learn about in the Harry Potter epilogue.

The jazzy, ultra-cool Dexter, like most names with an "x," has a lot of energy and dynamism.

Maddox, a previously obscure Welsh family name with a powerfully masculine image, suddenly came into the spotlight when Angelina Jolie chose it for her son in 2003. By the following year it was in the middle of the Top 1000, and it has risen since.

Actor Pierce Brosnan brings a strong helping of charm to this name. Pierce was actually a popular name long before Mr. Brosnan came along, from 1880 to the end of the 1930s.