User-created list
By alyshadragonfriend · Updated July 2023
Across 14 pages
of 14
Irish surname
Though you might think you were honoring baseball's Ken Griffey, most people would think you were using a term of endearment for GRIFFIN or GRIFFITH.
Japanese
"spring tree"
Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, well known in the U. S. , might inspire some namesakes. Haruki is a popular Japanese name meaning spring tree or bright tree, a lovely nature meaning combined with…
German
"battle warrior"
When it's spelled with two dots over the ' u ' in German, Gunther is pronounced GUWN-ter, but it has a much softer sound when the 'h' is voiced by English-speakers, as it was, for example, for the…
Irish
"leader"
Fallon was one of the first of the unisex surname names, but thanks to "Dynasty" in the 1980s it now has a feminine image. For a boy, try Phelan instead.
English surname
"cloth cleanser"
An occupational surname that hasn't made the limelight like Carter, Baker, etc., but is equally stylish.
Latin clan name
"timekeeper"
The ancient name Horace sounds fustily fuddy-duddy, and yet, with the resurrection of Homer, and the new interest in old Roman names...who knows. Its early popularity--it was in the Top 100 at the…
Diminutive of Jebediah, Hebrew
"beloved friend"
Both Jeb and Jed are very attractive Old Testament short forms with long and bright futures. Jeb's main current association is with the Bush brother and former governor of Florida, but the name was a…
Russian, Slovene and Polish variation of Felix, Latin
"happy, fortunate"
An Eastern European variation of the cheerful Felix, Feliks is a popular choice in Poland, and ranked in the Top 100 in a recent year. Associated with good fortune and good luck, this form would be…
English word name
"the season for gathering in agricultural crops"
Harvest has been occasionally used as a name since the eighteenth century, originally as evenly unisex, though it tips a bit in the girls' direction in the contemporary US. Given the rise of such…
English
"boar friend"
Son of Irving.
Italian variation of Philip, Greek
"lover of horses"
As classic as it comes in Italy — Filippo was once common during the Renaissance, and today remains in the Top 25.
A surprisingly wearable floral name for a boy.
"heathery field"
Hemingway readers will recognize this as the name of Papa's first wife (and, eventually, actress Mariel's grandmother). But in Victorian times, Hadley and Hedley were actually more popular for boys.
English variation of Hywel, an eminent Welsh king
A familiar and usable last name turned first. Or you could look at it as a homophone of the verb howl, which gives it a wilder feel.
Old Norse via Russian
"warrior"
Musical association with Igor Stravinsky, but also Dr. Frankenstein's right-hand man.
Halsten is a masculine name of Old Norse origin, derived from the elements 'hallr' meaning 'stone' or 'rock' and 'steinn' also meaning 'stone,' thus emphasizing strength and durability. This ancient…
Latin
"born in June"
Junius is one of those names that's growing on us, along with many of its Roman countrymen such as Julius and Atticus. We once thought it was a combination of the least attractive elements of Junior…
"God's peace"
Godfrey was very popular in the Middle Ages, but today you're more likely to hear it as a surname than a first name. It has a solid, old-man charm, but a couple of possible deal-breakers: the first…
Spelling variation of Hawthorne
The version with the e at the end relates to novelist Nathaniel, so that may be the one most parents attracted to this unusual name would choose. Hawthorn nudges it toward the nature category:…
Scottish variation of Welsh Ifor, English form of Norse Ívarr
"lord; yew tree, bow warrior"
Ivor, a favorite choice for upscale characters in Brit Lit novels by authors like P.G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh, is an interesting and unusual name just waiting to be discovered by parents in this…
