Medieval Occupations and Titles

One of the hot two-syllable T names of the nineties (along with Tyler, Trevor, and Taylor), and well represented on soap operas; Tanner is still widely used, but its popularity is declining.

This early Scottish title -- known to us via Shakespeare's Macbeth -- has recently surfaced as a baby name possibility, familiar sounding through its similarity to names like Zane and Wayne.

Thatcher is an open and friendly freckle-faced surname, fresher sounding than Tyler or Taylor, that dates back to the days of thatched-roof cottages. It is catching on with modern parents—it reached the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2013.

A not uncommon surname in Northern England that remains uncommon as a first name everywhere.

Turner is a name that's both preppy and painterly, recalling the exquisite watercolor seascapes of British painter J.M.W. Turner. An occupational name in the Taylor-Carter mold, Turner is a more distinctive choice than many of the usual suspects.

The presidential Tyler rocketed up popularity charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s (it ranked Number 9 for that entire decade), along with cousin Taylor, becoming almost pandemic across the land-- and to make matters more confusing, both (especially Taylor) have been used for girls as well.