Last Names That Are Adorable First Names

Kenyon is a very engaging British surname name, the middle y giving it a kind of southwestern canyonesque undertone.

Guthrie, one of the most attractive Scottish names that's also a surname, has a particularly romantic, windswept aura, with a touch of the buckaroo thrown in.

Keller is a German surname that originated as an occupational name for a cellar or store master, which seems to be the background of several of the most stylish new German names for boys. One of the stylish new two-syllable -er ending names for boys, Keller is rising up the ranks heading for the Top 1000. It may be an honorific for Helen Keller.

Popularized for girls after Kirsten Dunst portrayed high school cheerleading captain Torrance Shipman in the 2000 movie Bring it On. Tori is an easy nickname.

One "bald" name we can get behind, thanks to pioneering African-American author James Baldwin – though the name is now also associated with the Baldwin brothers, particularly Alec.

In German, the word eisen means "iron." It was adapted as a surname for Ashkenazi Jews — many of which were ornamental and had no ties to one's family history. Metals such as gold (Gold), silver (Zilver or Silver), copper (Kupfer or Copper), and iron (Eisen) were common elements in ornamental surnames. Eisen was also seen as a habitational surname for someone from Eisenstadt, Austria.

Levander combines the poetic qualities of Leander with the might Evander, and then adds in a dash of Lavender too. Sometimes used as a surname, it could be a sound-alike to the Italian Levante, a twist on the Leo variant, Levan, or a play on the aforementioned Greek Leander.

Traditionally a Scottish habitational surname, but today could be viewed as a mashup of Melanie or Melissa and Rose.

While Corrigan is a widely-used Irish surname, a Corrigan or Korrigan is a fairy or sprite-like creature in Breton folklore. The Cornish word korrik means gnome. These creatures can be good or evil, male or female, but the important thing in Nameberry terms is that we love their name!

More unusual than Forest or Forrest, Field is a nature name that is simple, evocative, and fresh--sort of the male equivalent of Meadow.

Field and Fields are both relatively common surnames, noted bearers including department store owner Marshall Field, poet Eugene Field (Wynken, Blynken and Nod) and actress Sally. Those with the plural include W.C. Fields, cookie company founder Debbi, and entertainers Gracie and Kim Fields.

The Wylie spelling (with that feminine Y) is much more common among girls than Wiley, but both have been climbing the ranks. Could Wiley be the next Riley?

Darling has history as an English surname, but it would most likely be read as a quirky and loving word name, a la Sweetheart or Honey.

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.

Fielding isn't an occupational name, exactly, though it does relate to someone who works in or lives in a Field. Although there have been a handful of people, real and fictional, with the first name Fielding, the most famous Fielding is eighteenth century writer Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones.

Berkeley, with an extra E, is the more familiar variation of this name, associated with the California school. But it's the streamlined Berkley that has proven itself to be more popular as a baby name, at least in the US.

If Dayton, like Trenton and Camden, is finding favor with parents, it's more because of its popular two-syllable surname feel and -on ending than the industrial city in Ohio.

Though Embry became famous as the name of a boy werewolf in Twilight, we think its Em- beginning and -y ending make it perfectly appropriate for a girl. You might consider it as an alternative to Emma, Emily, or Aubrey. Embry or Embury is an established English surname. 

Most closely associated with famed English novelist George Orwell (whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair), this English surname is now occasionally sported as a literary first name. Given its meaning, Orwell could also be used by those looking for a more subtle alternative to River.

Wylie is one Celtic surname with as much appeal for girls as for boys. Wylie is ripe for spelling variations: Wiley is as appropriate as Wylie but when you spell it Wylei, as Corey Parker did for his son, you're getting into yooneek naming territory.

Ames is that jewel of a name that's simple and familiar while at the same time being unusual and rare. With gender neutral surname names ending in S trending today -- think Brooks, Wells, Oakes -- Ames can make a perfect update on Amy or Amanda.