Names That Mean Son

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.

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

Paterson is a surname-name to continue a line of Peters and also the name of a city in New Jersey, hometown of poets William Carlos Williams and Allen Ginsberg.

Stevens edges out Stephens for the more popular form of this surname in the US and the UK.

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

Benjamin for purists. See BENJAMIN.

In ancient Mesopotamia, Dumuzid was the god of shepherds and fertility and husband of the goddess Inanna. Tammuz, the Semitic transcription of the name, is more likely to be used today.

One of the lesser-heard (but possibly most usable) members of the quirky, dintinguished "Fitz" names.

The son at the end of many Scandinavian names makes them more consistent with modern American name tastes. While Nilsson may be the proper Scandinavian form of the name, many English speakers will try to spell it Nilson or Nelson.

Although appearing as a patronym (nope, it doesn't mean "son of Elizabeth"), Macbeth originated as a given name. It is derived from the Gaelic MacBeatha, describing a religious man.

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 really unusual choice that could be used to honor Grandpa Will.

This Romani name may derive from the Yiddish name Zindel, which is itself a name derived from Alexander.

An invented name that has its roots in DeAndre or D'Andre, which springs from "the son of Andrew." Feels like half Don or Dion, half Andre or Andrew, but not enough of something unto itself.

The surname of filmmaker J.J. Abrams, used as a first name. It first appeared on the US charts in 2020. The M1 Abrams is a model of army tank.

You may be more familiar with Jimena, the feminization of this name. Jimeno is just as upbeat and attractive — we'd love to see more parents embrace this rarity. It was given to fewer than five baby boys in the last year on record.

Nichol, a Medieval English form of Nicholas, has been pretty much lost to history but survives today in the surname form of Nichols.

With parents looking for fresh -son names, this Irish option — best-known on actor Liam Neeson — may appeal.