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Surname Names

Fox
By Fox
Updated Mon May 22 2023
A list of names derived from surnames, or commonly seen as surnames - therefore mostly androgynous and generally modern/educated-sounding. Actually composed for a video game with a large cast, where the setting called for most characters to be named after their profession, but good for pleasant-sounding unisex names in general. I'll be subverting the "traditional" gender for most of these, though really most of them shouldn't have one anyway, since surnames are neither male nor female.
  1. Everett

    • Origin:

      English variation of the German Eberhard

    • Meaning:

      "brave as a wild boar"

    • Description:

      Everett is a preppy but outdoorsy name, with wintery New England vibes. In the last decade, it’s had a leap in popularity, perhaps because of its similarity to trendy girls’ names like Ava and Scarlett, or perhaps because it offers a fresh alternative to 90’s style Evan and Brett.
  2. Ellis

    • Origin:

      English surname derived from Elijah or Elias or Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "my God is Yahweh; benevolent"

    • Description:

      Ellis is a former Old Man Name turned gender-neutral choice for the 21st century. It's one of the less used names in the currently popular El-family, unless you're in the UK, where it's a Top 100 choice.
  3. Nolan

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "champion"

    • Description:

      The friendly and sporty feeling Nolan blends some of the best qualities of other popular boy names. With the gentle but energetic sounds of Noah, a hint of the classic Nicholas, and the cool, surname-style vibe of Greyson or Colton, it makes for a familiar and grounded choice.
  4. Logan

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "small hollow"

    • Description:

      According to exclusive Nameberry data, Logan is officially the Number 1 gender-neutral name in the US, but that statistic is somewhat misleading given that nearly 90 percent of the baby Logans born in 2024 were boys.
  5. Riley

    • Origin:

      English, Irish

    • Meaning:

      "rye clearing; courageous"

    • Description:

      Riley—an upbeat, friendly surname name—is red hot for girls and still going strong for boys. If you haven't been spending much time around babies recently, you may be surprised to learn that Riley is the most popular girls' name starting with R and also the Number 1 Irish name for girls in the US.
  6. Archer

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "bowman"

    • Description:

      Archer is an Anglo-Saxon surname that feels more modern than most because of its on-target occupational and Hunger Games associations. And it's a nice way to bypass the clunky Archibald to get to the cool nickname Archie.
  7. Parker

    • Origin:

      English occupational name

    • Meaning:

      "park-keeper"

    • Description:

      One of the first generation of surname names, along with Porter and Morgan, Parker's still one of the most appealing and remains firmly in the Top 100 for boys. About three times as many boys as girls get this occupational name. The association with Charlie Parker gives Parker itself a jazzy edge, and it also has a nature-related meaning. Rosie O'Donnell has a son named Parker.
  8. Sawyer

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "woodcutter"

    • Description:

      Sawyer is a surname with a more relaxed and friendly feel than many others, and is one of the hottest occupational names right now, with the Nameberry seal of approval. Sawyer is becoming one of the top unisex names. Both Sara Gilbert and Diane Farr used Sawyer for their daughters, while it was given a boost as a boys' name by the character Sawyer on Lost, an alias for the character really named James Ford.
  9. Reid

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "red-haired"

    • Description:

      The Reid spelling is the most popular by half, probably because it feels more like a name than Reed, which looks more like a word. It's used occasionally for girls but this name is firmly in the boys' camp.
  10. Spencer

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "house steward, dispenser of provisions"

    • Description:

      Spencer is a name that has everything: it's both distinguished sounding and accessible, dignified but Spencer Tracy-like friendly. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice.
  11. Hudson

    • Origin:

      English place-name and surname

    • Meaning:

      "Hugh's son"

    • Description:

      Hudson has risen quickly up the charts over the past 30 years, getting a lot of its style value from New York's Hudson River. That makes it a nature name and a place name that's also got the fashion gloss of New York City.
  12. Harper

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "harp player"

    • Description:

      You might think of Harper as the hottest name of the last decade, jumping from obscurity to the Top 10, where it remained until last year.
  13. Mason

    • Origin:

      English occupational name

    • Meaning:

      "worker in stone"

    • Description:

      Mason is an occupational surname that ranked among the Top 10 name for boys throughout the 2010s, after its choice as one of the first Kardashian baby names. It remained a Top 10 choice in the US until 2020 when it began trending downwards and a recent year saw it rank at #42, the lowest it's placed since 2005.
  14. Tate

    • Origin:

      English from Norse

    • Meaning:

      "cheerful"

    • Description:

      A strong single-syllable surname with a joyful meaning, Tate is finding a place on more and more birth certificates.
  15. Alden

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "old, wise friend"

    • Description:

      Hot young actor Alden Ehrenreich, the new Han Solo, gives this formerly-stodgy surname name an attractive new image, making it a fresh successor to Aiden or Holden. Before it got this fresh shine, Alden was among the classic Thanksgiving baby names.
  16. Nash

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "by the ash tree"

    • Description:

      Nash is an English surname whose sound puts it right in step with currently trendy names like Cash, Dash and Ash. It first came to prominence via TV character Nash Bridges, portrayed by Don Johnson in the late nineties, and also via mathematician John Nash, played by Russell Crowe in the acclaimed film A Beautiful Mind.
  17. Piper

    • Origin:

      English occupational name

    • Meaning:

      "pipe or flute player"

    • Description:

      Piper is a bright, musical name that entered the list in 1999, one year after the debut of the TV series Charmed, which featured a Piper, and it's been a consistent riser since. Piper Kerman is the memoirist whose prison experiences provided the basis for the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black.
  18. Bowen

    • Origin:

      Welsh, Chinese

    • Meaning:

      "son of Owen; wave of writing, wave of literature"

    • Description:

      Bowen is a Celtic surname representing two separate Celtic strains, one Welsh and one Irish, and entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2011.
  19. Sullivan

    • Origin:

      Irish surname

    • Meaning:

      "black-eyed one"

    • Description:

      Sullivan is a jaunty Celtic three-syllable name, with a real twinkle in its eye. It was immortalized in the 1930s classic film Sullivan's Travels and was chosen for one of Patrick Dempsey's twin boys. Nickname Sully is equally jaunty.
  20. Walker

    • Origin:

      English occupational name

    • Meaning:

      "cloth-walker"

    • Description:

      Walker is both a Waspy surname name—as in the W in George W. Bush—but it also has a gentle ambling quality and a creative connection to such greats as writer Walker Percy and photographer Walker Evans, whose father was also named Walker.