Names That Mean Son

Yancy has two separate American origins — first as the Native American term for "Yankee," and second as the Americanized variation of the common Dutch surname Jansen. Jan being the Dutch form of John, Yancy could work to honor anyone in your life with a John-related name.

Macallister as a first name is attracting new attention as the name chosen by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and venture capitalist Zack Bogue for their young son. Macallister is usually heard as a patronymic surname, meaning son of Alasdair or Alistair or any one of the spellings of the Scottish form of Alexander. Like all other names of this type, Macallister leads to the cute short form Mac.

If Braden and Caden, why not Baden?

Popular in the African American community, the De- prefix makes this a choice for sons of Marcuses.

A relatively common surname, Dixon would be an inventive way to honor an ancestral Richard or Dick, the X form a lot livelier than the Dickson spelling, just as Dix is a more modern short form than Dick; it would be right at home alongside Dax and Jax.

Too tied to those well-publicized twins.

Thomas Edison’s surname is an inventive take on Addison when used for girls. It's an English surname deriving from either Adam or Eda, a medieval diminutive of Edith.

The number one surname in Denmark could make a sophisticated and stylish girl's name. Jensen Huang is the (male) cofounder of AI giant Nvidia.

Kazuo is a boys' name well-used in Japan though not well-known in the U.S. Kazuo Ishiguro is the author of Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. The emphasis is on the first syllable.

Although Maguire is such a prominent Irish surname —it ranks in the Top 40 in the Emerald Isle —this lively and cheerful family name has rarely been used as a first, unlike more familiar examples like Ryan, Riley and Reagan. The powerful and distinguished Maguire clan was known for their courage, leadership and resilience. The name's many notable associations include the unionizing Pennsylvania coal miners known as the Molly Maguires, actor Tobey Maguire and Dixie Chick Martie Maguire. Other spellings are McGuire and McGwire; two other handsome Irish surnames to consider are Malone and Magee.

Actor Pierce Brosnan made his sharp-sounding name famous, and now it's given to a couple dozen baby girls per year too.

Ericson, also spelled Erickson and Erikson (and with -sen endings too), is a Nordic surname that makes a strong choice. Ericson may continue the trend Harrison, Jefferson and Jackson started.

This inventive spelling of Graycen was among the fastest-risers of the year in 2019. It hit a peak in 2020, and dropped for both genders in 2021.

Although the Mc or Mac prefix always means "son of", the first names McKenna and MacKenna are used in the US exclusively for girls, with the McKenna spelling outpacing this one 14 to 1. There are no boys recorded with either spelling of the name.

Some names referring to expensive things -- Tiffany, Armani, Porsche -- are in fact declasse, but Price transcends that label with its simplicity and strength.

Another masculine surname that's gaining followers in the female camp. About 6 percent of the babies named Anderson today are girls. The son ending confers a meaning that's literally masculine, but that didn't stop Allison, Addison, and Madison from feeling right for girls.

The popularity of handsome Welsh surname Maddox led to the creation of this spelling variation, connected to baseball great Greg Maddux.

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

Derived from a Scottish surname, Mckenzie is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Coinnich, Coinnich being one of the original Gaelic forms of Kenneth. As a given name, it took off for girls in the US in the 70s, thanks to actress Mackenzie Phillips, and it has always been less popular for boys. While Mackenzie was chosen for 86 boys in the US last year, the Mckenzie spelling was used for just 7.

Nelson on a boy is a steady, somewhat formal classic. On a girl, it's fresher, less expected, and could be shortened to Nell or Nellie.