Surname Names

Better for an Air Force base than a baby.

A surname with more force than most.

Palin, as in, yes, one-time VP candidate Sarah, has emerged as a hot new first name, usually for girls.

Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris both hail from Galway.

Evocative of the sand dunes at the beach, Doone is a relatively rare surname found in Scotland, Ireland and England. It was recently used with this spelling by Olympic medalist Amanda Beard; photographer Diane Arbus named her daughter Doon, inspired, yes, by walks along the sand dunes during her pregnancy.

The surname of father-son British writers Kingsley and Martin could work very well as a first, though its Amy connection makes it sound a tad feminine.

Cowboyish occupational name that's one of the hottest choices below the Top 1000, increasing in rank more than 5000 places since the year 2000. Roper may not be a unique choice much longer.

Stowe, the name of a beautiful mountain town in Vermont as well as the surname of the great author Harriet Beecher, is one of the oldest last names on record. The meeting place the name Stowe refers to is part of a church. Stowe might make a distinctive and meaningful middle name for skiers or Uncle Tom's Cabin fans.

One of the surname names used more in the last century, à la Milton and Morton.

If you like the Irish surname feel, there are loads of more congenial options.