Preppy Boys

Rafferty

Irish

"floodtide, abundance, prosperity"

Jaunty and dapper, Rafferty is one of the most engaging of the Irish surnames, used by Jude Law and Sadie Frost for their son in 1996. Derived from the Irish, O'Raighbheartaigh, it means "(spring)…

Niall

Irish

"cloud"

Niall is pronounced nye-al--something like Neil, but this Irish spelling of the name makes it much more current and cool. This is an ancient name borne by several of the high kings of Tara, the most…

Eames

English

"son of the uncle"

An upscale surname with a nice modern design connection to the creators of the Eames chair and other midcentury furniture classics, Charles and Ray Eames.

Augie

Short form of August and variations

Augie is an adorable and, at this point, fresher sounding short form than Gus of the rising August and all its variations, from Augustine to Augustus. The Adventures of Augie March is a 1953 novel by…

Topher

Diminutive of Christopher

The new kid on the block in terms of Christopher short forms, it was introduced into the mix by actor Topher Grace, who didn't like Chris.

Piers

Greek

"rock"

Piers was the first version of Peter to reach the English-speaking world, via the Normans, but it's never made it in the US, despite its large measure of understated panache. This might change due to…

Matheiu

Matheiu is a French variant of Matthew, though less common than the standard French spelling Matthieu. The name derives from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, meaning 'gift of God' or 'gift of Yahweh.'…