Last Names That Are Adorable First Names

Tessin is a German surname drawn from several places in or near the Mecklenburg region of northeastern Germany. Rare as a first name, it can work for boys or girls.

A possibility for fans of the mystery writer, but most parents would prefer Dashiell.

It's too close to the fruit "melon" to make a good first name, but if there are Mellons on your family tree, why not put it in the middle? The English form of this surname is habitational, and at one time denoted someone from Meulan-en-Yvelines, a commune outside of Paris.

Common Asian surname also works as a first, as with the singer Chan Marshall, also known as Cat Power (and born Charlyn).

Ridge and Riggs have already made the US Top 1000, and Ridges feels like a possible progression. Rugged, rough-and-tumble, and cool, Ridges could be an unexpected root to vintage nickname Reggie.

Groves has yet to secure a place on the baby name charts, but we could see that changing very soon. Groves combines surname style with a nature meaning and a hotter-than-hot S ending. It's a recipe for success — just ask Banks, Brooks, and Wells.

Hunter is gaining favor among girls—for those in search of something less common, we recommend Hutton.

English surname used as one of the middles for Boris Becker's son Amadeus.

Pittsburgh's Mellon family — founders of Mellon Financial Corporation and Carnegie Mellon University, among other things — gives their surname old money panache. They are Irish by heritage, giving their surname the meaning "descendant of Meallán", Meallán being an Irish given name from the word for "pleasant".

This highly recognizable surname means "son of Artan," an Irish derivative of the name Art. It's most closely tied to Beatle Paul McCartney — we'd be willing to bet that some of the parents who give this name to their children each year are fans.

American powerhouse family name with a classy-yet-tough vibe.

Epes is often considered a variation of the surname Epps, which typically refers to the aspen tree, from the Old English word æpse. Some branches of Epes may have derived from the Middle English given name Eppe — Eoppa in Old English — from a root meaning "red". It has also been proposed the Eppe came from the Old Norse Øpi, meaning "cry out" or "shriek".

Julia Styles used Newcomb as the middle name for her son Strummer.

An undiscovered surname option that resembles the trendy choice Everett and boasts the stylish nickname Levi.

This Swedish surname is a a great name for those looking for a quiet nod to arachnids. Tamerlan Thorell was a notable arachnologist who described over 1,000 species of spiders and gave his name to the genus of Orb-weaver spiders.

This artistic surname name derives from a diminutive of Laurence/Lawrence, and was famously borne by the English painter LS Lowry.

The hazel tree meaning is on-trend, but it also sounds a lot like "hassle".

Upper-crusty surname name.

This lofty sounding surname might put in mind soaring skyscrapers, old castle turrets, or a city in France, but as a given name Towers has yet to catch on. Associated with Lord of the Rings, Mallory Towers, Fawlty Towers, Tim Powers, and a whole variety of other towers worldwide, there is the possibility that some may immediately think of the Twin Towers and understandably not wish to use the name.

Writer James Baldwin could make this an inspirational choice for a child of either sex.