Surnames AKA Last Names

A surname very rarely heard as a first, associated with Hall of Fame basketball star Patrick Ewing and, in the 1980s, the oil-rich Ewing family on the nighttime soap, "Dallas"

Fallon was one of the first of the unisex surname names, but thanks to "Dynasty" in the 1980s it now has a feminine image. For a boy, try Phelan instead.

If you're looking for a pleasing namesake that's more modern than Darrell/Darryl, this would make an excellent choice. Farrell is an Anglicized form of the Irish Fergal, and was well used as a first name into the nineteenth century, before it faded to mostly surname use.

Felix is rising in the chart for boys, and its feminine variations are sure to follow. The best knows these days, thanks to the TV character, is Felicity, but there's also Felicia and Felice. Like Lucia, Felice is a name with different pronunciations depending on where it's used. The Italians pronounce it fa-LEECH-ay, but the Americanized version is feh-LEESE.

As a member of two trendy name categories, animal and occupational, this name broke into the Top 1000 in 2004 and would make a nice tribute to an angler Grandpa.

There are many more appealing Irish surnames than Foley, and certainly more positive meanings. If Foley is a genuine family name, this would be all right in the middle.

Actor French Stewart introduced this one to the lexicon. French is part word name, part place name, and part surname-name, reminiscent of celebrity baby names that reference a nationality rather than simply a place, such as Moroccan.