Possible chosen names

Owen

Welsh

"young warrior; well-born"

Owen, a resonant Celtic name, has ranked among the Top 100 boys' names in the US for 20 years and is now at its highest point ever. Why do so many parents love Owen? It's a classic with a genuine…

Gabriel

Hebrew

"God is my strength"

Gabriel is a Biblical favorite, an angelic choice that's lighter and less patriarchal than some of his Old Testament brethren. Derived from the Hebrew name Gavri'el, Gabriel combines the elements…

Leon

Greek variation of Leo

"lion"

Currently overshadowed by the bright and lively Leo, Leon feels a slightly more serious, more quietly confident than its short and trending counterpart. Just as leonine as Leo and Leonardo, Leon is…

Chase

French

"to hunt"

Chase, with its sleek and ultraprosperous aura, is redolent of the worlds of high finance and international banking. Chase has been well used during the last few decades, seen as a character on 24…

Steven

English variation of Stephen

"garland, crown"

Steven, the phonetic and now predominant spelling of the classier Stephen, has finally dropped out of the Top 100 after seventy years. Steve has become one of the ultimate regular-guy names, right up…

Clay

English word name; diminutive of Clayton

Clay is a rich, earthy one-syllable name with a southern-inflected handsome-rogue image, featured on soap operas and reality TV. Its longer forms are Clayton and Clayborne. There have been TV…

Lance

English word name or English variation of Lanzo, German "long, pointed, medieval weapon; land"

"long, pointed, medieval weapon; land"

Though the fuller Lancelot has for the most part been shunned as a 'too-much-name' name, the short form Lance has been consistently in or around the Top 500 since 1938, climbing as high as Number 76…

Arson

Word name

"deliberately setting fire to property"

Sure, Arson is a crime, but anecdotally, many of the parents who choose this name do so because Arson = "our son."

Euston

Irish

"heart"

Euston is best known as a London railway station, which got its name from a stately home and village in the English county of Suffolk. Ultimately it is thought to mean "settlement of a person called…

Gabe

Short form of Gabriel, Hebrew

"God is my strength"

Gabe ranked in the Top 1000 from 1880 until 1905, when it fell into obscurity. There are fewer than 100 boys named Gabe, just plain Gabe, each year in the US, compared with over 10,000 named Gabriel.…

Janvier

Janvier is a masculine French name derived directly from the Latin 'Januarius,' meaning 'January' or 'relating to Janus.' Janus was the Roman god of doorways, transitions, beginnings, and endings,…

Quint

English from Quintus; diminutive of Quinton

Clint with a glint; used for flinty characters in old TV westerns and soap operas.

Sayer

English

"woodcutter or reciter"

One of the more subtle occupational surnames, Sayer is a pleasant, open, last-name-first name, particularly apt for a family of woodworkers -- or writers. Some parents are beginning to consider Sayer…