User-created list
the best of the classic southern names
Across 6 pages
of 6
Bellamy
English and Irish from French
"fine friend"
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…
Honey
Word name
Honey entered the US Top 1000 for the first time ever in 2024, following the lead of parents in England, who've elevated this nickname-name to the Top 300 girls' names in the UK. Honey's popularity…
Jagger
English occupational name
"carter"
Jagger is a swaggering Rolling Stone of a name that's been picked up by a number of fellow celebs, including Lindsay Davenport and Brett Scallions--while Soleil Moon Frye pulled a gender switch when…
Shepard
Occupational name
"sheep hearder"
A phonetic variation of Shepherd, an occupational surname. Sam Shepard, the actor and playwright, is a notable figure to use this spelling for his last name. As a first name, this spelling is closely…
Stone
Word name
Though some may find such names rather harsh and severe, increasing numbers of parents are gravitating toward this kind of flinty, steely, stony single-syllable name. Many know the name via the…
Heath
English
"the heathland dweller"
Rugged and outdoorsy, Heath was an obscure choice until the 1960s when it was used in the television series, The Big Valley for character Heath Barkley. It peaked in the 70s when it reached the US…
Sunday
Day name, English from Latin
"day of the Sun"
Sunday is among the most usable of the day names with its sunny first syllable, its sweet sound, and its potential to be both a sassy or a spiritual choice. The name initially made headlines in 2008…
Scout
Word name
"one who gathers information covertly"
Scout, a character nickname from To Kill a Mockingbird (her real name was Jean Louise), became a real-life possibility when Bruce Willis and Demi Moore used it for their now-grown middle daughter,…
Bronson
English
"son of brown-haired one"
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…
Cliff
Topographical name or short form of Clifford or Clifton
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
English
"lives near the ford by the cliff"
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…
Dayton
English, variation of Deighton
"place with a dike"
If Dayton, like Trenton and Camden, is finding favor with parents, it's more because of its popular two-syllable surname feel and -on ending than the industrial city in Ohio.
Gatlin
English
"wandering man"
Gatlin has risen into the Top 1000 in recent years on the strength of its association with the Olympic champion sprinter Justin Galtin as well as the Gatlin Brothers of Nashville fame. The name has…
Golden
Word name
Like Silver, a shimmering metallic color name, that may lean too dazzling for some, but more grounded for others, thanks to its similarity of Alden, Auden, Elden and Gordon. Given to 100 babies in a…
Gus
Diminutive of Augustus, Angus, Gustave, Augustin, Augusten, Augustine, August
Gus is a homey grandpa nickname name that can work as a short form for any of the above or stand on its own as a cutting-edge replacement for Max and Jake--though it was off the Top 1000 from 1978…
Huckleberry
Word name and literary name
Everybody knows Huckleberry Finn, the Mark Twain character named, Twain said, for the 19th century slang term for "humble." A few modern parents have put it on a birth certificate, including "Man Vs.…
Lawerence
Lawerence is a variant spelling of the more common Lawrence, a masculine name with Latin roots. Derived from 'Laurentius,' meaning 'from Laurentum' (an ancient Roman city), the name is associated…
Rawlings
English surname
"son of Raul"
Rawlings was a surname brought to England with the Norman invasion and has ties to the name Raul, which means "wolf counsel."
Roscoe
English, Norse
"deer forest"
Fairly popular a hundred years ago but out of the US charts since 1978, the quirky yet edgy Roscoe feels very much in step with the trending o-ending boy names popular now, such as Milo, Hugo, and…
Rhetton