Castle!

  1. Houghton
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "place in an enclosure"
    • Description:

      A family name, a bit haughty.
  2. Hudson
    • Origin:

      English place-name and surname
    • Meaning:

      "Hugh's son"
    • Description:

      Hudson has risen quickly up the charts over the past 30 years, getting a lot of its style value from New York's Hudson River. That makes it a nature name and a place name that's also got the fashion gloss of New York City.
  3. Irena
    • Jacey
      • Origin:

        English (modern)
      • Description:

        A modern coinage from the initials JC, or from a combination of Jay plus the popular -acey/-asey ending sound.
    • Jackson
      • Origin:

        English
      • Meaning:

        "son of Jack"
      • Description:

        Jackson is one of those names that's much more popular than you think, coming in near the top of our annual Playground Analysis, which ranks names by grouping all their spellings together. There were nearly 17,000 baby boys named Jackson -- along Jaxon, Jaxson, Jaxxon, Jaxen, Jaxyn, Jaxsen, and Jaxsyn -- which counted together makes it the Number 3 boys' name.
    • Jacque
      • James
        • Origin:

          English variation of Jacob, Hebrew
        • Meaning:

          "supplanter"
        • Description:

          James is one of the classic Anglo-Saxon names, a stalwart through the ages that is more popular—and yes, stylish—than ever today. It recently came out Number 1 in a poll of America's favorite boys' baby names, and is the most common male name, counting people of all ages, in the US.
      • Javier
        • Origin:

          Spanish variation of Xavier
        • Description:

          One of the most popular Spanish names for boys in the US, Javier is embodied for many Americans in the magnetic persona of Spanish-born Oscar-nominated actor Javier Bardem.
      • Jennifer
        • Origin:

          Cornish variation of Welsh Guinevere
        • Meaning:

          "white shadow, white wave"
        • Description:

          Jennifer is the Cornish variation of Guinevere, which ultimately derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. It has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century but came to prominence in the 20th. Playwright George Bernard Shaw chose Jennifer for the name of his leading lady in his play The Doctor’s Dilemma, which drew more attention to the name.
      • Jerry
        • Origin:

          Diminutive of Gerald or Jerome, German or Greek
        • Meaning:

          "ruler with the spear or sacred name"
        • Description:

          Jerry is one of those short forms that, like Mike and Debbie, rose to popularity on the coattails of their formal versions. The equivalents today are nickname names like Ellie and Theo.
      • Joanne
        • Origin:

          French variation of Joanna
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious"
        • Description:

          A Top 100 name from the 1930s all the way through the 1950s, it's now firmly in Mom -- or Grandma -- land and supplanted for babies by Joanna.....or even great-grandmother Josephine. In its heyday, it had a host of variations, including JoAnn and Jo-Anne.
      • Joe
        • Origin:

          Diminutive of Joseph
        • Meaning:

          "Jehovah increases"
        • Description:

          Joe is still the ultimate good-guy name, not at all diminished by its longevity or popularity or its everyman rep as Regular Joe, Cowboy Joe, G.I. Joe, Joe Exotic, Joe Blow, Joe Millionaire, Average Joe — and now President Joe (Biden).
      • Johanna
        • Origin:

          Hebrew
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious"
        • Description:

          Johanna is the version of this name used in Holland, Germany, and Scandinavia. The extra h makes Johanna a slightly more dignified version of Joanna.
      • John
        • Origin:

          Hebrew
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious"
        • Description:

          John reigned as the most popular of all boys' Christian names for 400 years, from the time the first Crusaders carried it back to Britain until the 1950s. Then American baby namers finally seemed to tire of this straight-arrow, almost anonymous John Doe of names, replacing it with fancier forms like Jonathan and the imported Sean and Ian.
      • Jon
        • Origin:

          Variation of John or Jonathan
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious; or gift of Jehovah"
        • Description:

          Streamlined version of the classic boys' names, sometimes a short form of Jonathan, which is in fact an entirely different name from John attached to a different Biblical personage. Jon feels more modern than the traditional John, but some may find it an overly slight variation on an already slim name. Jon Snow is a popular character on HBO's Game of Thrones.
      • Jordan
        • Origin:

          English from Hebrew
        • Meaning:

          "flowing down"
        • Description:

          Originally used for children baptized in holy water from the river Jordan, it became one of the leading androgynous names of the nineties. As the balance tips toward the boys' side, it's slipping on the girls' popularity chart. Alternate spelling Jordyn is now more popular for girls.
      • Joshua
        • Origin:

          Hebrew
        • Meaning:

          "the Lord is my salvation"
        • Description:

          Joshua, a Top 10 name from 1983 until 2010, has dropped out of the Top 50 but manages to present a relaxed, attractive image, with a bit of the Old West mixed in with its biblical persona.
      • Juliana
        • Origin:

          Latin
        • Meaning:

          "youthful or sky father"
        • Description:

          Long common in Europe, the elegant and regal Juliana, also spelled with two n's, has invaded these shores, in tandem with the more classic Julia. Together with Julian, the name derives from Julius, a Roman family name. Its origin is shrouded in history, but possible roots include Latin iuvenis, meaning "youthfu"; Greek ioulos, meaning "downy-bearded"; or Jovis, a form of Jupiter, which means "sky father".
      • Katherine
        • Origin:

          Greek
        • Meaning:

          "pure"
        • Description:

          Katherine is one of the oldest, most diverse, and all-around best names: it's powerful, feminine, royal, saintly, classic, popular, and adaptable. Long one of the top girls' names starting with K, Katherine has now been unseated on the popularity list by upstarts Kennedy and Kinsley, but a dip in popularity only adds to its charm.
      • Kay