scgogirl's list "Names I don't know if I like??" of 20 great name ideas: Lane - Dixon!

Names I don't know if I like??

Lane is a unisex name equally accessible to boys and girls. Breezy, cool and contemporary, it might equally put in mind country lanes and banks of wildflowers. 
 
As a word name, Lane means "small roadway or path", however, it could easily be used as a nickname or diminutive of Delaney, ("dark river"), Elaine ("shining torch"), or similar. Currently as a given name, it is used nearly 14 times more often on boys than it is on girls, however, the Layne spelling is used more evenly, the Laine form leans feminine, and Lainey is a Top 1000 choice for girls. 
 
As a common surname, Lane is attached to such celebrities as Diane and Nathan, while as a given name, it it used in the English translated version of the novel Concerning My Daughter by Hye-Jin Kim.

Lane

Radical Bradley. Radley is also the surname of one of the heroes of To Kill a Mockingbird. Boo Radley is a reclusive and mentally challenged neighbor who saves the Finch children.

Radley

Gentle yet rugged, cool but well established, Shay is straightforward and memorable. An anglicized spelling of the Irish Shea ("dauntless, fine, good" "hawk") and the Hebrew Shai ("gift"), Shay appeared in the Top 100 in Ireland and the Top 400 in England and Wales in a recent year.
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Also used as to describe a kind of horse-drawn carriage and sometimes used as a short form of Seamus, Shay has dropped in an out of the US Top 1000 since the 70s, most recently appearing on the charts in the 2020s for girls. In fact, it currently given twice as often to girls in the States than it is to boys (208: 98).

Shay

Calix is once-obscure name that is starting to see some use in the US, where 62 baby boys were named Calix in 2024. An indirect influence is the actress Calista Flockhart, who introduced Americans to the female version of this attractive Greek name to prominence.
 
Calix derives from the Latin word for chalice, calyx, which in turn came from the Ancient Greek word kálux, meaning "husk" or "pod." It is also considered a diminutive of Calixtus, a variation of the Late Roman name Callistus meaning "most beautiful." Calyx can also be spelled Calyx, as in the funnel or chalice-shaped part of a flower.

Calix

Huntley was best known as Brinkley's fellow news anchor back in the 60s and 70s, while in the UK, it might still be linked to a high profile murder case. Nevertheless, this surname style choice feels tough, trendy, preppy, and outdoorsy at the same time and may fit in with the likes of Hunter, Wesley, and Bentley.
 
As of 2024, the name is a truly neutral choice, given to 102 girls and 98 boys.

Huntley

Pax, one of the variations of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/411/baby-names-that-mean-peace">names meaning peace</a> that are newly popular in these less-than-peaceful times, got a lot of publicity when chosen by Brad & Angelina for their Vietnamese-born son. Parents attracted to Pax may also want to consider Paz, the unisex Spanish version, or Paxton, a growing-in-popularity surname choice that shares that magical X-factor.

Bea is a former old lady name that's cute again as a short form — and is now beginning to stand on its own. Bee is a variation that, like Bea, can work as a diminutive for any name that starts with the letter B, or in the middle. Bea actually stood alone on the popularity lists for four years at the beginning of the twentieth century — and it could happen again.
 Golden Girl Bea Arthur was born a Bernice.

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the curve (or trendsetting)—Ireland has been among the fastest-rising names of recent years. Other Irish place names include Shannon, Kerry, Galway, and Dublin.

Ireland

Lanie is a sweet, feminine name that originated as a diminutive form of names like Elaine, Alaine, or Melanie. With its roots in various European traditions, Lanie carries the meanings of its parent names, which include 'bright, shining light' or 'dark' depending on the origin. This short, melodic name gained recognition in the late 20th century as parents increasingly chose nickname forms as given names. Lanie strikes a balance between casual charm and understated elegance, making it versatile across ages and settings. The name has maintained a consistent but modest presence in name rankings, appealing to parents who want something recognizable but not overly common. Its friendly sound and gentle vibe give it an enduring appeal.

Lanie

Introduced by model Emme (born Melissa) and now a legitimate member of the Em-starting girls' name group, especially since it was chosen by Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony for their twin daughter.

Emme

Knight (as opposed to Night) is a name clad in shiny armor. This high-ranking word name was introduced by singers Kelis and Nas. Knight might join brothers King, Royal, and Noble in a new definition of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/453/royal-baby-names">royal baby names</a>.

Knight

A quaint and quirky flower name, until recently considered a bit too prim for most American classrooms but brought back to life in recent years by the attractive character of Primrose "Prim" Everdeen in the Hunger Games series. In the Top 300 girl names in England and Wales and on Nameberry, Primrose remains rare in the US, but is made more accessible by a raft of sweet nickname options, including Rosie and Posy.

 The flower name Primrose derives from Latin prima rosa, meaning "first rose", since primrose flowers are among the first to appear in early spring, heralding the coming of better weather. Primrose also has an alternative history as a Scottish surname deriving from the place name Penrhos, from the Welsh words pren "tree" and rhos "moor." The spelling was later altered due to association with the flower.

 In the H. E. Bates book and 90's British TV series, The Darling Buds of May, there is a character named Primrose Violet Anemone Iris Magnolia Narcissa Larkin, who has twin sisters named Zinnia and Petunia.

Primrose

Now that all names Adel- are the height of fashion, Adella is an unusual name that nevertheless sounds very trendy. Adella is one of Ariel's sisters in The Little Mermaid.

Adella

Finlay is a Scottish royal name: it belonged to Macbeth's father, Finlay MacRory--or Findlaech mac Ruaidri--that has a bit of a split personality. It has two acceptable spellings--Finlay and Finley, the first more popular in its native Scotland, where it ranks in the Top 10, the second in the US. It is also becoming more and more unisex in the States, with the Finley spelling now split between girls and boys, while Finlay was used last year for TEN TIMES as many boys as girls, about 50 to only five.

 Increasingly popular on the celebrity circuit, the splits are evident here too. Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen, and Sadie Frost have boys named Finlay, Chris O'Donnell and Holly Marie Combs have sons called Finley, and Lisa Marie Presley, Daniel Baldwin, and Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn have daughters named Finley; the latter couple were instrumental in making the gender switch in 2003.

Finlay

Finnigan is another way to spell Finnegan, one of the energetic Irish surname-names in vogue now. One note: While Finnigan, Finnian, Finley and so on are appealing names on their own, you don't need to use a longer form to get to Finn, which is a perfectly proper name all on its own.

Finnigan

Murray, you may be surprised to discover, is a Scottish surname name --that of an ancient noble clan--with a sea-swept meaning, and just could be in the next wave of reevaluated grandpa names. Currently Number 60 for baby boys born in its native Scotland; it was at its highest in the US in 1922, when it reached Number 208, but has been off the list since 1975. Could it be time for a comeback? TV Murrays have appeared on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Flight of the Conchords and Degrassi: The Next Gemeration.
 Lisa Kudrow used it as the middle name of her son Julian.

Murray

One of the more unusual of the current crop of strong, single-syllable boys' names, evoking the images of both old-fashioned blackboards and modern stepping-stones and countertops. 

Slate

This name of a character played by Kirsten Dunst in the movie Virgin Suicides, originally a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, is gaining attention, also thanks to the heroine Lux, Lady of Luminosity in the League of Legends games. Luz is the Spanish version.
 
Influencer Brooklyn Larsen named her daughter Lux in 2026.

Spunky Irish surname that still has a pugnacious feel from its lingering association with one of boxing's greatest champs, Jack Dempsey. Many people may associate it more with Patrick Dempsey these days—McDreamy from TV's Grey's Anatomy.

Dempsey

A relatively common surname, Dixon would be an inventive way to honor an ancestral Richard or Dick, the X form a lot livelier than the Dickson spelling, just as Dix is a more modern short form than Dick; it would be right at home alongside Dax and Jax.
 But you don't need us to point out the considerable downside of this name. Besides being a sexual slang term, dick is also the most common epithet describing someone who's a jerk or a meanie (trying to avoid other unsavory words here). And Dix sounds exactly like dicks, which makes it not the least bit easier a name to carry these days than Dick.