Potential Character Surnames

Larry Hernandez is at it again — the reality TV star known for his show Larrymania has successfully popularized each of his three daughters' names. He and Kenia Ontiveros created totally new names for their girls — Daleyza, Dalary, and Dalett, who was born in May 2020.

Makes a Biblical favorite new and interesting.

Delicate ballerina name with grace, charm, and heft courtesy of Jane Austen's Mr.

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.

Beach boy name of the 1960s, Darrell is still a presence on the charts and may graduate into a stately surname name.

This British river name sounds sleek and strong but perhaps a bit too energetic.

Enough parents have found naturalist Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, a worthy hero to keep Darwin relatively consistently in the Top 1000 (it dropped off in 2021 but is back in 2022)—though some might just like its trendy two-syllable sound. It has a lovely meaning too—"dear friend."

Davin is one of those hybrid names that is appealing for both genders, though it is more common for boys. Though Davin has a strong and attractive sound, either David or Devin would be preferable. It has been declining in use over the last decade.

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.

This name obviously has the prefix De- that denotes "son of"—in this form it can mean either "son of Angelo" or "from the angel."

Brawny name chosen for his son by rocker Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue.

Heard more often as a surname in Italy, its meaning has also been linked to the dolphin--which would make a cool nursery motif.

This old Cornish name took on a whole new identity via Denzel Washington, who has inspired several thousand namesakes. The actor was named after his father, who was named for a Dr. Denzel, who delivered him.

Classically, the De- prefix indicates "son of," so any variation of this name could work for the child of a dad named Shawn or Sean.

This buoyant name has the same bouncy rhythm as Rafferty and Barnaby, but is virtually unused. It has plenty of literary cred, too: characters in The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native have all borne the name.