Current Crushes - Name Dump

Drury

French

"dear one, sweetheart"

Rhythmic and energetic, Drury is of French origin, with the wonderful meaning of "dear one, sweetheart."

Schuyler

Dutch

"scholar"

This worthy name, imported by the early Dutch colonists, has been all but overpowered by the phonetic spellings -- Skyler for boys and Skylar for girls. With the surnames-as-first-names trend,…

Cullen

Irish

"holly tree"

Cullen is an appealing Irish surname name that upped its cool factor considerably when it became the Twilight family name of Edward et al. It's considerably less popular than it was at its peak in…

Auden

English

"old friend"

The poetic, soft-spoken Auden has recently started to be considered as a first name option, used for both sexes, appreciated for its pleasing sound as well as its link to the distinguished modern…

Balfour

Scottish

"the village by the pasture"

Historically interesting via the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which supported the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.

Barnabas

Aramaic

"son of consolation"

Barnabas, whose birth name was Joseph, was one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem, who undertook missionary journeys with Paul the Apostle, His name is a bit Old World compared to the…

Barzillai

Barzillai is a biblical masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning 'man of iron' or 'strong.' In the Old Testament, Barzillai was a Gileadite who showed loyalty to King David during Absalom's rebellion,…

Mathis

French and German form of Matthias or Matthew

"gift of God"

Very popular in France and Belgium, this name -- pronounced mat-tees, like the surname of the painter Matisse -- might make an appealing new way to say Matthew here.

Tarquin

Latin, Roman clan name

One of the few ancient Roman names that doesn't end in us, the rarely heard Tarquin has a decidedly creative, even dramatic flair, which could appeal to the parent looking for a strikingly original…

Whittaker

English

"white field"

If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.

Zephan

Hebrew

"God has hidden"

This shortened form of Zephaniah makes an original Old Testament choice. It might plausibly make an honor name for Stephen or Stephan, and comes with the appealing short form Zeph.