the best of the classic southern names
Share
Copy link
This is a list of my favorite names that have a southern twist to them. Think of these names as wearing cute baby cowboy names.
- Annabelle
Origin:
Combination of Anna and Belle or French form of AmabelMeaning:
"loving"Description:
This is a charming name that rose steeply along with other-belle names, such as Isabelle, until the horror film Annabelle and its sequels knocked it out of favor. Made famous by the Edgar Allen Poe poem Annabel Lee. Annabelle is saucy and stylish, a tad upscale, has a sense of humor, is melodious and lively, but is unfortunately off its peak.
- Archie
Origin:
Diminutive of Archibald, TeutonicMeaning:
"truly brave"Description:
Archie made global news as the surprise first name of the newborn royal baby, son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aka Harry and Meghan. Archie has now officially transcended Archie Bunker and Riverdale's Archie to take the, um, throne as the quintessential retro nickname name.
- Beau
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"handsome"Description:
Beau suggests someone devilishly handsome, with a large measure of southern charm—a nice image to bestow on your boy. Often solely a nickname in the past, it's now standing firmly on its own. Beau has been on the Social Security list non-stop since 1969.
- Bellamy
Origin:
English and Irish from FrenchMeaning:
"fine friend"Description:
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.
- Bentley
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"meadow with coarse grass"Description:
Bentley, a somewhat stuffy British surname, previously associated primarily with an incredibly expensive English car, has had a recent surge in popularity, thanks largely to the reality TV shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, with Bentley being the name of the son of breakout star Maci (another new favorite) Bookout.
- Birdie
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"bird"Description:
Birdie was until recently a middle-aged Ladies' Club member wearing a bird-decorated hat --but now it's just the kind of vintage nickname (think Hattie, Josie, Mamie, Millie) that's coming back into style in a big way. Actress Busy Philipps named her baby Birdie (inspired by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson), as did soap star Maura West.
- Bluebell
Origin:
Flower name from EnglishMeaning:
"blue bell"Description:
Bluebell is one flower name that is used very quietly. Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell joined her former Spice Sisters in creative baby-naming with this adventurous -- some might say outlandish -- choice. Distinctive and charming? Or better suited to a farmyard animal? Your call.
- Bonnie
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"beautiful, cheerful"Description:
Bonnie is an adorable nickname name, heading back up the popularity list after a 50-year nap. A Top 100 girls' name throughout the rest of the English-speaking world, Americans are later to jump on the Bonnie bandwagon but now it's trending here too.
- Briar
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"a thorny patch"Description:
Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even better. It's one of the newly popular nature-word names, charting in the US for the first time in 2015 for both genders.
- Bridger
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"lives near the bridge"Description:
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.
- Briggs
Origin:
English variation of BridgesDescription:
Having only entered the US Top 1000 in 2012, Briggs is yet another ends-in-s surname name for boys currently on the rise, along the lines of Brooks and Hayes.
- Bronson
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of brown-haired one"Description:
This surname has a modern yet old New England feel, perhaps because of the association with the transcendental teacher and reformer Bronson (born Amos Bronson) Alcott, father of Louisa May. (One-time sitcom star Bronson Pinchot's full name is Bronson Alcott Pinchot.) A more muscular image comes via tough guy Charles Bronson.
- Brooklyn
Origin:
Place-name from DutchMeaning:
"marshland"Description:
Extreme makeover: Brooklyn has gone from jokey Borough Boy name in the 1990s to a leading girls' name starting with B. The status of New York's Brooklyn as hipster heaven is ironic as few bona fide Brooklyn hipsters would choose this name.
- Cannon
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
Cannon sits amongst other weapon names like Colt, Pistol, Lance, and Remington. Definitely a name that offers bombast.
- Charlie
Origin:
Diminutive of Charles or CharlotteMeaning:
"free man"Description:
Charlie is one of the friendly, tomboyish male nickname names--another is Sam-- now used almost as frequently for girls: in 2015, it ranked higher on the girls list than on the boys list for the first time. That makes Charlie one of the most popular unisex names around today. The name Charlie, for females, has been jumping up the charts since it reappeared, after a 50-year hibernation, in 2005.
- Clay
Origin:
English word name; diminutive of ClaytonDescription:
Clay is a rich, earthy one-syllable name with a southern-inflected handsome-rogue image, featured on soap operas and reality TV. Its longer forms are Clayton and Clayborne.
- Clayton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"place with good clay"Description:
Clayton is one of those names that feels like it could be recently popular but does in fact have a long history of use. It has made the US Top 400 every year since the records began, and though more recently it has been in decline, it is still given to more than 1000 babies every year
- Clementine
Origin:
French feminine version of Clement, LatinMeaning:
"mild, merciful"Description:
Clementine is a Nameberry favorite that broke back into the US Top 1000 in 2014 after more than half a century off the list.
- Cliff
Origin:
Topographical name or short form of Clifford or CliftonDescription:
Cliff is a familiar, timeless short form -- never too popular, yet widely known -- that you might also think of as a geographical name ala Vale or Field.
- Clifford
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"lives near the ford by the cliff"Description:
Clifford is beginning to overcome a slightly stodgy intellectual image and showing signs of possible revival. Kids might or might not like the association with the big red dog. In England, the Clifford family was a powerful family in the Middle Ages. In this country, it was well used for most of the twentieth century, peaking at Number 57 in 1909, but a Top 100 name through 1950. Most prominent American bearers: playwright Clifford Odets and jazz trumpet great Clifford Brown.