It's In The Name

Evocative word name that's refreshingly straightforward. Overtones of Christianity and penalty. More subtle option: Cruz.

This British river name sounds sleek and strong but perhaps a bit too energetic.

Dash is a nickname that can stand on its own and sounds, well, dashing. Connected these days with Kardashian enterprises.

Before there was Aspen, Denver was the Colorado city name of choice, and it reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015 after a 14 year absence as a stylish two-syllable boys’ name with its trendy -er ending. Its decade of greatest use was the 1920s, when it reached as high as Number 422.

The energetic Diego is rising rapidly along with a lot of other authentically Spanish baby names that work perfectly well with surnames of any origin.

Diesel, which you can think of as a word name for the fuel or as a German surname that derives from a pet form of Matthew or Mathias, is a new entry to the American name lexicon thanks to celebrities Jennie Finch and Casey Daigle, who chose it for their son, baby brother of Ace. Diesel might also be thought of as one of the neo-macho names, joining such bros as Harley, Ranger, and Breaker.

This old short form might be seen as a little dubious by some, though it could make for a fun pet name or an update on Roger.

Drummer entered the baby name lexicon thanks to blogger No Big Dill, who chose it for her newborn son, who joins five older sisters. Drummer is right in step with other occupational names in vogue now, from Archer to Gardener. Let's just hope Drummer doesn't prefer to play the piano.

Solemn but soaring name with patriotic symbolism.

An older form of Everett that stays closer to its Germanic roots. Distinguished Everard is the name of several historical figures and literary characters, including a minor hobbit in The Lord of the Rings. Yet, even now that Ever- names are the height of style, Everard hasn't been seen on the charts for decades.

Falconer is one choice that has morphed rapidly from outlandish to possible, even attractive, thanks to the fashion for occupational names. And really, if Archer is getting popular and Miller seems normal, why not Falconer?

Shepherd is soaring in the charts, so why not Farmer? Perhaps because, unlike some of the occupation names that are so popular today, it is still an everyday word. Even so, if you're looking for a name that fits modern trends but no one else is using, Farmer could be the one.

Even if you're hoping for a fiery child, this seems like playing with fire. One celebrity--Steve Vai--was bold enough to use it for his son.

As a member of two trendy name categories, animal and occupational, this name broke into the Top 1000 in 2004 and would make a nice tribute to an angler Grandpa.

Fleet is one of the uncountable number of new word name possibilities, and a particularly cool choice at that. Connoting speed, Fleet beats Rush any day. Might be short for Fleetwood, but we prefer it on its own.

Flint is one of the new macho names on the rise today, part old-school tough guy, part rebel. You won't find a tougher, steelier-sounding name; it's part of a genre on the rise along with cousins Slate, Stone and Steel.

The long association to the Ford Motor Company doesn't stand in the way of this being a strong, independent, single-syllable name.

The Forest variation of Forrest, used by actor Whitaker, nudges the meaning more toward the woods and away from the woodsman.

Woodsy names are fashionable for boys, as are surnames and occupational names, so Forester scores on all three. It can also be spelled Forrester.