Name like a local - Dallas

Collins is a surname name that has made the girls' Top 1000 thanks to its use for the daughter of the real-life Blind Side heroine. As of 2019, Collins climbed into the US Top 500. This derivation of the Greek Nicholas—which means "people of victory"—or the Irish and Scottish Colin—which may itself be a Nicholas derivation or an Anglicization of the word for pup—has a stylish feel made more so by that final s.

Banks is a topographical surname that refers not to those places where people keep their money but to riverbanks or hillsides, and specifically the people who live and work on them. A name with two very different connotations then, Banks manages to sound smart, preppy, and upwardly-mobile, with a touch of rugged, outdoorsy charm too.

Merritt has a long and distinguished history as a surname; the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut and the Merritt Building testify to that. But it wasn't until Emmy-winning actress Merritt Wever came along that we gave it much thought as a girls' name. And we aren't alone. It's grown tremendously in popularity since the premiere of Nurse Jackie, in which Wever played a key role. More than 100 baby girls a year are now named Merritt in the U.S.

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.

Fallon is one of several boyish surname names introduced in the over-the-top 1980s nighttime soap Dynasty. Despite being a "mom" name, Fallon is making a surprise comeback. It returned to the US Top 1000 in 2019 and has been rising since then, as a new generation of parents fall in love with the sound. It is especially popular in the Southern states.

Quirky in the way that all Q names are quirky, Quincy was once a buttoned-up, patrician New England name, an image countered in recent years by the talented and ultracool musician Quincy Jones (middle name: Delight; nickname: Q).

Miller is an up-and-coming choice in the stylish occupational genre, among the fastest-rising names for both boys and girls in the US in 2023.

Duncan is jaunty, confident, and open, a Scottish royal name that's brimming with friendly charm and makes it into our golden circle of names that are neither too popular nor too strange. Popularity aside, Duncan is one of the most classic Scottish names for boys.

Following in the footsteps of popular brother Brady, Grady is another lively, ebullient Irish surname name. The O'Gradys (originally O Gradaugh) were an ancient clan that produced an impressive number of bishops.

Perhaps the most remarkable O'Grady descendant is Muhammad Ali, whose mother's maiden name was Grady.

With a soft sound, a preppy feel, and a unisex style, Palmer is a last name that's been climbing up the charts for girls in the US. Having entered the Top 1000 in 2018, more recent stats place it in the Top 300. More than four times as many girls received the name than boys in 2023, though Palmer is a name on the rise all round.

Merritt is an old-style surname name that could be seen as a positive virtue name. It was used in the late 19th and early 20th century for boys, reaching the Top 400 in 1899, and is notable today for being one of the names most evenly divided between boys and girls. Emmy winner Merritt Wever helped popularize it for girls.

An x makes any name cooler, so that Baxter has a bit more pizzazz than the original Baker. Baxter had some currency as a first name a century ago--it was on the popularity lists sporadically from 1880 till the 1920s, peaking at Number 515 in 1886-- which means it's just about due for a comeback. And we can see Bax as a worthy follow-up to Max and Jax.

A recent addition to the Most Popular list, Bridger has the trendy two-syllables and 'er' ending, and a historical reference to Jim Bridger, a foremost nineteenth-century frontiersman, explorer, trapper, scout, and teller of tall tales.

Monroe is a presidential name which, thanks to the immortal beauty of Marilyn Monroe, is catching on fast for baby girls. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon chose it for their twin daughter, honoring Marilyn Monroe. Their use of Monroe as a girls’ name did much to revive this Old Man name, a la Sydney, as a newly fashionable choice for girls.

Cool and contemporary, yet gentle and easy-going, Winslow blends the elements of other stylish choices, including Willow, Marlow, Winnie, Winter, Sloane, and Elowyn. Its most famous namesake is landscape painter Winslow Homer, which lends it a touch of creativity and fair.

This stuffy English surname and hotel name took on Twilight cool when attached to vampire Carlisle Cullen. Inspired by the character, it's more popular in this spelling than as Carlyle and more widely used for boys than for girls.

America has fallen in love with Hayes and Brooks and Banks and Rhodes, and now, parents are turning to Townes. With its fashionable S ending and image that can read as preppy or country or cowboy, depending on the context, Townes feels destined for mainstream success.

Though this name of a sturdy tree that can live for centuries was quite popular for boys in the first half of the twentieth century, at this point in time we can see Linden as a fresh-sounding possibility for a little girl named to honor an Aunt Linda. Early pagans and Christians embraced the Linden as a holy tree, thought to aid healing and often planted near churches. The Linden is the mythological symbol of truth, peace, and justice; court cases and marriage ceremonies were often held beneath Linden trees. The Linden tree is associated with the goddess Freya.

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 resurfaced in 2001 and has been climbing since. Lawson has that surname feel and -son suffix that parents are loving in recent years.

Bellamy is emerging as an up-and-coming girls' name, an Irish surname-y riff on the super-popular Bella series of names. While the Bella connection makes Bellamy sound a little trendier and more popular than it really is, we see the name possibly rising through the ranks for both genders in the coming years.