Names of Nobel Prize Winners

This once perfectly respectable surname has suffered decades of abuse, not least by Jerry Lewis's character in the fifties. NFL running back Melvin Gordon stars for the Los Angeles Chargers.

A middle-aged, if not elderly, name associated with Israeli statesman and onetime prime minister Begin, this is a symbolic appellation for boys born on the holiday of Tishah-b'Ab.

Meredith has been considered primarily a girl's name since the fifties, before which it was more commonly used for boys. Comic actor Jay Mohr recently named his son Meredith, which might help it swing back into the blue column. The traditional Welsh pronunciation puts the stress on the middle syllable, making Red a cool nickname possibility.

Sounds like a displaced Dr. Seuss character.

Michael was the Number 1 American boys' name for almost half a century. While Michael has moved out of the Top 10 baby boy names, it's still widely used.

While the (male) French form is pronounced in English like the girls' name Michelle and the German form had a hard k-like sound in the middle, this variation of Michael is distinguished by being used evenly for girls and boys in the U.S. For either gender, though, pronunciation issues will dominate.

Mike Tyson put a twist on his own name by naming a son Miguel. It's the first name of Cervantes, the great Spanish novelist and poet who wrote Don Quixote.

One of the most familiar Russian names in the West, thanks to ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov and state head Mikhail Gorbachev.

Miller is an up-and-coming choice in the stylish occupational genre, among the fastest-rising names for both boys and girls in the US in 2023.

Feels akin to Brooks and Rivers, two other boys' names that double as plural nouns. It's been used as a first name for centuries, including by a two time governor of Virginia.

Once an upper-class British surname conjuring up the epic poetry of John Milton, it then descended to the antics of "Uncle Miltie" Berle, and now has left the stage completely.

Mitchell has had something of a roller coaster ride, showing some panache in the forties and fifties, when it was seen as a sharper alternative to Michael with its cool Mitch nickname, slipping a bit, then resurfacing in the 90s when it reached as high as Number 71. Mitchell Pritchett is one of the leading characters on the TV sitcom Modern Family.

An exceedingly friendly every-guy nickname that could rise alongside the likes of Ike, Sid, and Ned.

This variation of the popular Arabic name has now been in the Top 500 for several years. It wasn't even in the Top 1000 before the 1980s.

Moore is recommended as a rich and satisfying middle name choice, whether it relates to your own family history or not. Of the numerous outstanding Moore-surnamed namesakes, count sculptor Henry, writers Clement, Marianne and Brian, entertainers Demi, Dudley, Garry, Roger, Julianne, Melba and Mary Tyler, and provocateur Michael.

Morgan, once split evenly between the sexes, is a strong and attractive Welsh favorite, still a common boys’ name in Wales. Morgan is now more often a girls' name in the U.S. – about 2000 girls were given the name in one recent year, vs. 362 boys – though it's one of the most traditional unisex choices. Morgan was actually a Top 200 pick for boys in Victorian Britain!