Surnames AKA Last Names

Always the less common spelling of Irish classic Neil, Neal has been on a fifty-year slide, and now doesn't even make the Top 1000. It has a streamlined, surnamey appeal in this spelling.

More often used in Britain than here, where most names ending in ville fall into the unthinkable class, this might make an exception via fans of the musical Neville Brothers.

Forever the upstairs neighbor on The Honeymooners.

The use of O-prefixes could create the next wave of Irish-inflected names, offering an innovative way of honoring a relative with the old-fashioned moniker Brian. On Downton Abbey, the surname O'Brien was heard so often, it began to seem like a first.

Perfect name for the child of dog enthusiasts, and much more distinctive than the trendy Connor.

Owen, a resonant Celtic name, has ranked among the Top 100 boys' names in the US for 20 years and is now at its highest point ever.