Finally a Boys' List

Dalton is a name with multi-faceted appeal. Many are attracted to the name's resemblance to other two-syllable n-ending favorites: Colton, Holden, and cousins. Others see it as a trendy Western name, recalling the legendary Dalton Brothers gang. It also has something of an upscale, preppy feel connected to the exclusive New York private school.

One of the more subtle occupational surnames, Sayer is a pleasant, open, last-name-first name, particularly apt for a family of woodworkers -- or writers.

The aristocratic--if not haughty--Roderick was nevertheless consistently in the Top 1000, reaching as high as Number 221 in 1967, when it was not uncommon to run into a Rod or a Roddy. It's at a low point right now, but we can envision it being revived as a neglected, dignified grandpa name, perhaps when Rod is no longer a potentially embarrassing nickname..

Guthrie, one of the most attractive Scottish names that's also a surname, has a particularly romantic, windswept aura, with a touch of the buckaroo thrown in.

Less popular than Emery, this name also attributes to Emory University. Both spellings of the name lean more heavily to the girls' side, but this one is not quite as unbalanced.

Alcott evokes shades of nineteenth-century New England, and memories of the author of the books Little Women and Little Men. Louisa May Alcott was the daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott, noted educator, writer and philosopher, and colleague of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Abbott is a neglected masculine surname with religious overtones as the head of a monastery. Though the feminine nickname Abby could be a slight drawback, Abbott is still an attractive offbeat possibility.

Billionaire Sumner Redstone, the nonagenarian owner of CBS and Viacom, practically has a monopoly on his first name — for now. But Hunter, Asher, and Ryder have ushered in a major vogue "-er" names, so it may only be a matter of time before parents discover this one.

Inventive name for the child of a writer.

Heron may feel like a very usable nature name -- the heron is a long-legged wading bird -- but it was also the name of a 1st century Greek inventor and of an Egyptian saint. Highly unusual yet easy to understand and meaningful on several levels, Heron is a fantastic choice.

Iain, this authentic Gaelic form of John, has been well used in Scotland since the early twentieth century, used concurrently with the shortened Ian spelling, but is rarely seen in the US.

In the old days, this might have been a short form for Dewitt, but today it's more likely to appear as a witty word name. We approve.

Two-syllable place-names are stylish, and this one is attached to a British city noted for its white chalk cliffs, but there are a couple of minuses: associated with the fish, Dover sole, and also rhymes with the doggy Rover.

A new entry is the fashionable new occupational name category -- and a jolly job it must be -- with the added attraction of relating to the great early 20th century American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler, of "Whistler's Mother" fame.