'-son' Names For Boys

Hudson

English place-name and surname

"Hugh's son"

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…

Mason

English occupational name

"worker in stone"

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…

Harrison

English

"son of Harry"

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…

Carson

English and Scottish surname

"son of the marsh dwellers"

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…

Dawson

English

"son of David"

Dawson was scarcely heard as a first name before the debut of Dawson's Creek in 1998, at which point it leaped up more than 550 places in one year. The character Dawson Leery, played by James Van Der…

Greyson

English

"son of the steward"

Greyson and Grayson, nephews of Jason, are both on the fast track. Both variations have made their way all the way up to the Top 100 since 2016. Gray/Grey makes a nice nickname. The name of the child…

Bryson

English

"son of Brice"

A surname name that can transition to first -- it entered the Top 1000 in 1980 and is now firmly in the Top 100. Actress NeNe Leakes chose it for her son. R&B singer Bryson Tiller's popularity may…

Jason

Greek

"to heal"

Jason, the Number 3 name for the entire decade of the 1970s -- thus the title of our original baby-naming book, Beyond Jennifer & Jason -- is more likely to be dad's name now than baby's, but it's…

Emerson

English

"son of Emery"

Emerson is a dignified, somewhat serious name associated with transcendental thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson. Much more popular now for girls since Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher used it for her…

Kayson

Modern invented name, or English "enclosed town" "calf town"

"calf town"

Kayson is one of several variations of the boys' name Cason , a favorite of the 2010s when it appeared in many different forms, from the Casen to Kaisen to Cayson. Likely inspired by the popular…

Benson

English

"son of Ben"

Benson has outgrown its long association with a wisecracking TV butler with a fresh new association: singer songwriter Benson Boone. Parents may see it as an alternate route to nickname Ben, very…

Anderson

English from Scandinavian

"son of Anders"

Rugged and tough, Anderson shot up quite a bit on the pop list in the 2000's, no doubt in large part due to the prominence of white-haired cable newsman Anderson Coopers, more recently, it has…

Lawson

English

"son of Lawrence"

Appealing way, à la Dawson, to honor an ancestral Lawrence. Lawson is also an English pop rock band. Lawson has history or use that dates far back, but it fell off of the charts in 1950. The name…

Kyson

English

"son of Kyle"

An update of Tyson for parents who prefer the Ky nickname to Ty. It was the middle name of a character on Heroes .

Samson

Hebrew

"sun"

With the prevailing popularity of Samuel, some parents are considering this more (literally) powerful biblical name, which shares the desirable nickname of Sam. Samson was, of course, the…

Tyson

English

"firebrand"

As parents were finding too many Tylers at the neighborhood playground, they began looking to Tyson as an alternative, no longer concerned with possible connections to Mike Tyson or Tyson chicken.

Wilson

English

"son of Will"

Wilson is a substantive presidential choice far less prevalent than Taylor or Tyler, and with the advantage of being a new route to friendly nickname Will. We see Wilson growing in popularity as an…

Jamison

A variation of Jameson. Both names have climbed in popularity in recent years, though Jameson remains the preferred spelling.

Nelson

English

"son of Neil"

Nelson is a rather stiff and dated surname name that is sometimes used to honor distinguished South African activist Nelson Mandela, as Celine Dion did for one of her twin boys. Other notable…

Cason

Modern invented name or surname

"calf town; brave in battle"

Cason rose up the chart as a rhyming variation on the popular Jason, Mason and Brayson. Als spelled as Casen, Kasen and Kason, it may be considered a surname-style name, borrowed from Cawston meaning…