names

Zeppelin

German word name from Slavic

"zeppelin; flail"

In a baby name landscape where word names and names that start with Z are infinitely cool, there are few options for parents who want to combine trends. Zeppelin is one of the best names at the…

Fifer

Scottish occupational name

"piper"

This musical choice fits right in with all the new hard-working Millers and Gardeners. It's also a Scottish demonym, referring to an inhabitant of the historic Scottish county of Fife.

Malloy

More obscure Irish surname-name, also spelled Molloy, that's prime for use.

Carver

English

"wood carver"

Carver is an occupational name with an artistic bent, associated with wood carving predominantly, though it could also be linked to those who carve from stone, marble, ice, and pumpkins. More…

Arkady

Russian from Greek

"from Arcadia"

Arkady is a rhythmic Russian saint's name from the Greek meaning "from Arcadia." As a literary name, it belongs to a genteel character in Turgenev's Fathers and Sons and a much less benign one in…

Winslow

English

"friend's hill"

Winston meets Marlow in this surname-style choice, blending old-fashioned charm and a hint of stuffiness with a bit of modern edge and breeziness too. Borne by the distinguished American landscape…

Roux

French from Latin

"russet"

Roux is the name of the dashing Johnny Depp character in Chocolat . Roux is French from a Latin word meaning russet or brownish red; it's also a cooking term for a mixture of flour and butter that…

Thatcher

English occupational name

"roof thatcher"

Thatcher is an open and friendly freckle-faced surname, fresher sounding than Tyler or Taylor, that dates back to the days of thatched-roof cottages. It is catching on with modern parents—it reached…

Amory

German

"industrious"

Amory is the kind of executive-sounding surname name that became popular in the 1990s. Amory Blaine is the protagonist of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, This Side of Paradise .

Tennessee

Native American, Cherokee, place-name

"bend in the river or meeting place"

When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size. Reese Witherspoon…

Texas

Place-name

After Dallas, Austin, and Houston, the new cowboy on the block, complete with old-school Western nickname, Tex. Quietly used as a name since at least the late 19th-century, Texas was given to around…

Timber

Nature name

Though some forward-looking parents are now choosing wood-related names like Oak, Pine, and Ash, this generic option would be even more avant garde.

Thierry

French variation of Theodoric

"ruler of the people"

A hugely popular choice in France back in the 60s and 70s, Thierry took the number one spot in 1964,though it has since dropped out of the French Top 500. Derived from the Germanic Theodoric (not a…

Gentry

English

"aristocracy"

A distinctive surname that, despite its meaning, has a cowboy swagger, a la Autry.

Wynn

Welsh

"fair, blessed"

Wynn or Wyn is a Welsh male name deriving from the very productive gwyn element, which forms part of all Welsh names ending -wyn or -wen, as well as the Gwen names and the Irish Fin- names. Wynn is a…

Omri

Hebrew

"my sheaf"

Old Testament name of a king of Israel, related to the harvest.