Two Syllable Boy Names

The surname Patel comes from the state of Gujarat, where it was given to members of the landowning and agrarian caste, the Patidar. Today it's the most common last name among the Indian diaspora, with about 150,000 Patels in both America and the United Kingdom.

No, it's not a typo: it's William as a Welsh speaker would spell it. Gwilym is the more traditional Welsh version, though.

For now at least, Parton conjures up the larger-than-life image of Dolly. For an American boy, Patton or Peyton would probably be a better bet.

Brought to national attention by Amy Schumer, who used it as a middle name for her son Gene. Attell is the surname of her frequent collaborator, comedian Dave Attell. Several months later, she realized her son's full name sounded like genital and changed it to Gene David.

One of the most ancient names we still know today, Ramesses ("born of Ra, the sun god") was the name of eleven pharaohs, perhaps including the one in the Moses story. Ramesses first entered the US charts in 2007, and is now used occasionally as a royal historic name with all the grandeur of ancient Egypt.