Names That Mean Meadow

Lleyton is the novel spelling publicized by Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt. Other double 'L's are found in such Welsh names as LLOYD and LLEWELLYN. VARIATIONS: LAYTON, LEYTON

English surname most notably used by Ashley Hebert for her son in 2014.

Bromley is an English surname-name that's more possible as a first name now than ever before. The -ley suffix has been adopted for many names, and surnames such as Bromley are fashionable.

Better for an Air Force base than a baby.

We can't account for the popularity of this name, for either a boy or a girl, given the first syllable, the tacky connotations with a luxury car, and the range of other options which are more harmonious to the ear. Nonetheless, nearly 200 girls were names Bentley in the US in 2015.

With the sprightly "Ren" and "Wren" currently in fashion, and "ley" a productive suffix to create new names, this combination was inevitable, and is chirpy and appealing. Renley has been on the US charts for girls since 2012, and for boys since 2013. It probably got a boost from the Game of Thrones character Renly Baratheon, albeit with a slightly different spelling.

Acker is a surname name that has not seen much use to date, but given it's lush nature meaning (and the fact that it also means "friend" in Somerset slang) this could be a cute choice for parents looking for something fresh. An added bonus its link to English "Master of the Clarinet" Acker Bilk. The Dutch version, Akker, is also an option.

Surname name with feminine final ley. The Welsh name Bryn, though also unisex and veering toward the girl world, is far more attractive.

Mama's boy.

Prideaux is a Cornish place name and surname that is occasionally attested as a girls' first name. It likely stems from the French phrase "pré de eaux", meaning meadow of waters. For fans of Margaux, Prideaux might be a less-common and very pretty alternative.

Yeardley (born Martha) Smith is the unusual name of the voice of Lisa Simpson; not advised unless your surname is Smith or Jones.

Huntley was best known as Brinkley's news partner several decades ago. With the new genre of girls' names that are unusual surnames ending with the lee sound -- think Mosley, Yardley -- Huntley or Huntlea or Huntleigh might rise for girls.

An English surname originally denoting someone living near a farmstead in the forest. Makes an attractive and unusual addition to the -ley name family.

Likable Irish surname name, but bound to be confused with Clooney.

In an earlier time Shirley was used primarily for boys, but the tide turned with the publication of Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley in 1849, the story of a character whose parents had selected the name for a boy child, then decided to use it anyway when he turned out to be a she.

Let's hope he's "burly".

A softer take on Hunter. Huntley is evenly distributed between girls and boys, coming in at 47% female and 53% male at last count.

The suffix Bran is familiar as raven-related since Game of Thrones, and the -ley suffix has been popular since the 1990s heyday of Ashley.

The cake company pretty much knocked this otherwise-pretty compilation name out of consideration for most parents.

English surname that's very rarely found as a first name. The Colorado city was named after Horace Greeley, the nineteenth-century congressman and founder of the New-York Tribune.