Names That Mean Son

This would make an interesting name for a boy, if it weren't for the fact that the two most well known Fergies are female.

If you're looking for an Irish last name that moves beyond Casey and Cassidy, this one is pleasant sounding and worth considering. Kavanaugh, which can also be spelled Cavanagh, Cavenagh, Kavanagh, and Cavanaugh, is one of the few traditional Irish surnames not to start with Mc or O'. Kavanagh relates to the name first Kevin or Caomhan. Early kings of Leinster bore the name Kavanaugh.

Yancy has begun to rise in usage among baby girls, perhaps in part due to the similarity to the classically feminine name Nancy.

Magee became one of the first gender-bending Irish surname names so popular today thanks to New York television newswoman Magee Hickey. In case you don't know, the g is hard, as in Maggie, but with the opposite emphasis.

White-haired hero of the manga and anime series Bleach.

Gunnison, though given to just a few baby boys in recent years, is a name we have our eyes on. With strong surname style and a masculine, tough-guy image, Gunnison could give Jameson a run for its money.

As an English surname, Shields comes from the Middle English word scheld, meaning "hut" or "shelter." (This is also how the word "shell" was derived). The Irish Shields is an Anglicized form of Ó Siadhail — Siadhal may mean "slow-moving slothful."

Sounds like an endearment of Quinn.

A popular Slovene nickname-turned-independent-name that, believe it or not, is related to Bartholomew. Nejc sounds like Nate.

Cosmopolitan European form of the Greek name Aristides, as worn by an ancient statesman and an early saint.

Variation of the very trendy Addison, perhaps lending itself more obviously to the nickname Addy.

Would often be confused with Madison.

Interesting possibility for the son or grandson of a Gregory.

This common Jewish surname — originally spelled Volfson — works as a modern and on-trend segue to the cool nickname Wolf, if Wolfgang or Wolfric feel a bit too heavy. With animal names like Wolf (along with Bear and Fox) shooting up the charts in recent years, Wolfson has plenty of undiscovered potential. A famous bearer of the surname is British politician David Wolfson, who was knighted Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale.

A matronymic surname derived from Emonie and Emeny, which are of uncertain origins.

Appealing way, à la Dawson, to honor an ancestral Lawrence, given to a couple dozen baby girls per year in the US. Lawson is also an English pop rock band.

Ximen is not, as many think, the Spanish variation of Simon. It is derived from the medieval Basque name Semen (emphasis on the second syllable, but still completely unusable in the English-speaking world). It eventually gave way to many familiar Spanish names of today, including Jimeno and Ximena.

An English surname derived from the French place name Beauvais, which in turn comes from the name of an ancient Gaulish tribe, the Bellovaci.

A respelling of Bowen that gives the option of cozy nickname Wyn/Wynnie as well as Bo.

This variation of Biblical Benjamin is used in Ethiopia. The name is also spelled Benyam or Binyam.