User-created list
Potential Character Surnames
Across 34 pages
of 34
Ramsey
English, Scottish
"garlic island"
Tough, cool, and rugged, Ramsey is a Scottish and English surname that has plenty of potential as a given name. Similar in style to Murray, Murphy, and Rafferty, it was chosen for around 90 boys and…
Randall
English
"shield-wolf"
Medieval name without much of a future.
Ranger
French
"forest guardian"
The list of occupational boys' names continues to expand, and this is one of the latest to ride onto the range. With a hint of cowboy and Western, a sprinkle of preppy surname, an outdoorsy,…
Ransom
English
"shield's son"
Ransom may be rakish and handsome, but it carries an unavoidable association with holding someone for ransom. But that kind of bad boy image might be exactly what attracts you to Ransom in the first…
Rashad
Arabic
"having good judgment"
In the US, Rashad is one of the most popular and best-known Arabic names, through several sports and entertainment celebrities.
Reagan
Irish
"little king"
Inextricably tied to the former president, Reagan is a handsome surname name with a cool, current sound. Gender-neutral nickname Ray/Rae is also very on-trend right now. Reagan has been more popular…
Ren
Japanese, Latin
"water lily, lotus, romantic love, move forward; reborn"
A very popular unisex name in Japan, Ren is a concise and versatile choice that could work across multiple languages. A rising star in England and Wales where it ranks in the Top 1000, it is also on…
Rian
Irish
"little king"
More authentic and original form of Ryan, but far less common of the two spellings in the US. There were about 170 baby boys named Rian in the US last year, versus over 4000 named Ryan. In its native…
Rodolfo
Spanish
"bold wolf"
Romanticizes Rudolph and distances the name from the red-nosed reindeer. After remaining steadily in the US Top 500 for much of the twentieth century, Rodolfo has been slipping of late.
Rogan
Irish
"redhead"
Rogan makes a great, roguish alternative for the more popular Logan, Ronan and Rowan.
Rogue
English word name
"independent, uncontrolled"
Now that names like Cannon and Gunner, fit for comic book heroes, are rising up, Rogue may fit right in.
Rolando
Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese variation of Roland, German
"famous throughout the land"
Rolando, along with brother name Orlando, are among the most attractive and appealing of Latinate names. It has been in the US Top 1000 every year since 1946.
Ross
English and Scottish
"upland, peninsula"
Like Friends , Ross is off the air and into syndication as a baby name, having plummeted from its zenith in the late 80s to fall off the US Top 1000 in 2013. Today, Ross is more likely to be a dad…
Ruger
German surname
"renowned spear"
Ruger is a German surname most famous as a gun name, which explains its popularity as a baby name in the US. If Cannon, Gunner, and Pistol are your type of name, you might like Ruger -- but we're not…
Rylee
Spelling variation of Riley, Irish
"courageous"
The -ee suffix is decisively feminine, so it's no surprise that male usage of this name lags behind female usage.
Rylen
Variation of Rylan
Rylen is the more-unusual spelling variation of Rylan and the even more popular Ryland. It also takes a cue from the long-trendy surname-name Riley and adds the newly-trendy n ending.
Ryo
Japanese
"exceed; cool; refreshing; distant; reality"
Also spelled as Ryō, this Japanese name holds international appeal, thanks to its cool -O ending, and concise, stylish feel. Used as a unisex name in Japan and said with equal emphasis on both…
Sailor
Occupational word name
A word name that has sailed onto birth certificates of both genders, especially since Liv Tyler used it for her son. For boys, Saylor and Sailor are used about equally, but were together given to…
Salo
Salo is a masculine name with multiple cultural origins. In Finnish, it's both a place name and personal name. In Jewish traditions, it often serves as a diminutive of Solomon, meaning 'peace.' The…
Sami
Diminutive of Samuel, and Arabic
"exalted"
Soundalike cousin of Sammy, cute but slight on its own.