Occupational Names

Weaver, which made an appearance as a first name on the U.S. Top 1000 in the late 19th century and then vanished, may rise again along with its occupational brethren, from already-popular choices such as Cooper and Parker to au courant ones like Archer to occupational hotties of the future, including Booker and Sayer.

Some surnames should stay surnames.

Sean and Robin Wright Penn chose this name for their son to honor their friend Dennis Hopper; others might associate it with the painter Edward. Couldn't be more spirited.

Whether pronounced like the wag of a tail or as the correct German VAHG-ner, this might be something a devoted opera buff could consider as a middle name.

One of the less common members of the currently popular craftsmen's guild, Becker once had a self-named sitcom, and is also associated with Wimbleton tennis legend Boris Becker.

About 40 baby boys were named Artist -- not Picasso, not Art -- in the US in one recent year. But not so odd, when you consider all the occupational names, from Sawyer to Sergeant, stylish today. The name Artist is also starting to register on the girls' side of the ledger, making Artist a name as gender-neutral as the occupation.

Jeter, which of course is used as a first name only because of Yankee star Derek, rhymes with Peter and may be derived from the French surname Jette, which was often bestowed on foundlings because it means "thrown out," or the German Jetter, an occupational name meaning "weeder." If your husband insists on Jeter, counter with Percival.

Gardener is surely one of the most pleasant and evocative of the occupational options, calling up images of green grass and budding blooms. The name can also be spelled without the first 'e', as in Gardner (born George Cadogan Gardner) McCay, a hunky TV heartthrob of the 1950s and 60s. Gardner is a much more common surname spelling, associated with screen legend Ava, mystery writer Erle Stanley and art collector and patron Isabella Stewart, founder of Boston's Gardner Museum.

Could join such up-and-comers as Miller and Gardener.

Member of a newly chic name genre. Bonus: its relationship to author William Faulkner.

Cutter was an old-fashioned term for a tailor or barber that was eventually adopted as a surname. That gives it more legitimacy than many of the other aggressive boy names — Striker, Shooter, Breaker, et al. — but Cutter remains equally threatening.

The name Parson might have seemed ridiculous even a few years ago, but when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe named their son Deacon, they opened up a whole new field of ecclesiastical cool. Bishop, Priest, and Pastor are other possibilities.

Chosen by aviators Charles and Anne Lindbergh for their daughter, Reeve is another single-syllable surname waiting to be borrowed by the girls.

Rider is a rock-and-roll baby name, in every sense of the term, though usually spelled Ryder, as in the sons of Kate Hudson and John Leguizamo.

A German occupational surname deriving from the German word Bad, meaning "bath". Its most famous bearer in recent years has been (the notorious) RBG – former Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, making this a great feminist name or a nod to a lawyer in the family. Its simple, dynamic, er-ending sound fits right in with the likes of Hunter, Carter and Baker.

Chaplin carries two very distinctive images: the beloved Little Tramp and a minister, often to the military. It was the baby-name choice of Ever Carridine in 2010.

A simple, self-possessed, somewhat serious surname, which might work better as a middle.

Adventurous and unusual choice from this trendy group in the wild new world of baby names.