Surnames AKA Last Names

Madigan

Irish

"little dog"

A jovial and jaunty Irish name, the title of a long-gone TV crime drama, this would make an appealing choice. Slight downside: Maddy is already a mega-popular nickname for Madeline/Madelyn and…

March

English word name

"month name"

Along with August, March is one of the month names perfectly suited to boys. This brisk single-syllable name – which derives from the name of Mars, the Roman god of war – is worth considering as…

Marsh

English nature name

Soft and mellifluous nature-surname name, situated miles away from the dated Marshall.

Mccabe

Irish, patronymic from the word for cape or hat

McCabe is an Irish patronymic surname that originated with Scottish mercenaries in Ireland who wore distinctive hats -- or cabas, which is also the name for capes.

Mclaughlin

McLaughlin is primarily a Scottish and Irish surname now occasionally used as a masculine given name. Derived from the Gaelic 'Mac Lochlainn,' meaning 'son of Lochlann,' it has deep Celtic roots.…

Mika

Finnish short form of Mikael

"who is like God"

This short form of Mikael, a variation of Michael, may originate in Finland but it's most popular in Germany and The Netherlands. Mika can make a cute and original way to honor a Michael in the…

Mills

Feels akin to Brooks and Rivers, two other boys' names that double as plural nouns. It's been used as a first name for centuries, including by a two time governor of Virginia.

Murray

Scottish

"settlement by the sea"

Murray, you may be surprised to discover, is a Scottish surname name --that of an ancient noble clan--with a sea-swept meaning, and just could be in the next wave of reevaluated grandpa names.…