Dad Names

Most Bills today are dads...or grandpas. The younger Williams are usually nicknamed Will, or called by their full names.

An elegant, continental name for the post-Steve era. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 1949 and has been on the list every year since except for a year off in 2008.

A variation of Corey, this spelling has also been on a steady decline since the early-1990s. Its days are likely numbered on the US popularity charts altogether.

Shaun is the least popular spelling of the once-wildly popular name, more usually spelled Sean or Shawn. Parents who have a reason to choose this name now would (and should) most likely go with the original Sean. Alternate spelling Shawn is four times more popular.
Shaun (and Shawn) were considered the feminized spelling of the name back when it was becoming a unisex name in the early 1970s. In all spellings, Sean has become once again decidedly masculine.

Brice, much more often spelled Bryce, is an old saint's name that now has a sleek and sophisticated image—it feels elegant and efficient. Of the two spellings, Bryce is much more popular for both sexes.

Football great Brett Favre single-handedly kept this name in the limelight, though it continues to sink in popularity.

Deriving from an English locational surname meaning "white island", Whitney was in rare but regular use for boys in the US until the early 1960s, when actress Whitney Blake popularized it for girls. It received a further big boost on the girls' side in the 1980s, thanks to singer Whitney Houston. Now falling rapidly down the rankings, it could be time to reclaim this one for the boys, if only as a neat way to cool-guy nickname Whit.

While Skylar is currently the most popular spelling choice for girls - and the spelling seen most often - the Skyler option is more (statistically) unisex. Given to boy and girls in nearly equal numbers each year, it ranks around the middle of the US Top 1000 and is given to more than 400 boys every year.

Classical and Shakespearean name that may appeal if you like your names long, flowing and multicultural.

Juan, the Spanish version of John, is ubiquitous in the Spanish-speaking world, and is familiar internationally via such references as Don Juan and San Juan.

The Darien spelling, which relates to the posh Connecticut town, peaked at Number 393 in 1994 but more recently has been just hanging on at the bottom of the Top 1000. Still, a name with an appealing sound and feel that may ascend again.

This name of three ancient saints, one Wayans brother, and an NFL wide receiver makes an energetic choice.

German might seem like an unlikely occupant of the Top 1000 list, unless you realize that it's a Spanish name, with the accent on the second syllable. It's been on the U.S. list since 1973.

A Hispanic classic that has lost some momentum in recent years. It could be misunderstood by some as Jamie -- which is how it's pronounced on Game of Thrones.

A royal name in Spain, Felipe could make a lively alternative to the English sounding Philip. It has ranked on the US Top 1000 almost every year since the beginning of the twentieth century, but has never risen above the Top 300, making it a familiar without being overused.

Jarvis, one of the original two-syllable nouveau boys' choices, is a saint's name with a certain retro charm and a nice quirky feel. Though Jarvis peaked in the late 1880s, he is beginning to sound fresh again.

Richard is far from fashionable, but Ricardo is one of the most popular Spanish names for boys in the US. And it does sound far more appealing that the English version.

While Kendall originally started as a boys’ name, and remained more or equally popular for boys until the early 1990s in the US, it now feels almost synonymous with Kendall Jenner, of Kardashian fame.

A common epithet of Christ, frequently heard in the Hispanic community, Salvador could also be a great choice for artistic parents, given the continuing popularity of Dada and Surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. (If Monet and Raphael get a look in, why not Salvador?)

In the US, this spelling is less common than mid-century favorite Jeffrey, and it has faded from popularity faster. This more British spelling is the usual form for historical figures like Geoffrey Chaucer and the Welsh historian Geoffrey of Monmouth, and as such it may feel more rooted and enduring.