New Surname Names :: H

Inspiration :: Hollis (art by James Hollis)

Halsey

Origin: English

Meaning: Habitation Name

Similar Names: Elsie, Ashley, Hallie.

Hann

Origin: English

Meaning: Variation of a Medieval name

Features: 

Similar Names: Anne, Hannah, Hans.

Harran

Origin: English

Meaning: Nickname for a tall, thin person

Similar Names: Aaron, Hayden, Holden.

Harriot

Origin: French

Meaning: Variation of the name Henri.

Features: A alternative formal version of Harry.

Similar Names: Harriet, Harry, Hetty.

Hart

Origin: English

Meaning: Stag

Features:

Similar Names: 

Hasel

Origin: English

Meaning: Hazel tree

Features: Hazel is seen as such a girl name that Hasel could be a compromise for boys.

Similar Names: Hazel, Rowan, Hayes.

Heikkilä

Origin: Finnish

Meaning: Nickname for Henry

Features: Exotic and pretty.

Helyn

Origin: English

Meaning: Person from Hayling

Features: Familiar sounds. It modernises Helen.

Similar Names: Helen, Ellen, Celyn.

Hendra

Origin: Cornish

Meaning: Habitation name

Features: Sounds heathery and wild.

Similar Names: Alexandra, Henry.

Henley

Origin: English

Meaning: Habitation name

Features: Similar to Henry but with but of expensive flair. Also a place name.

Similar Names: Henderson, Henry.

Hermida

Origin: Spanish

Meaning: Hermit

Features: A Hermione alternative for those who are not a fan of the Harry Potter links.

Similar Names: Hermione.

Herriot

Origin: English and French

Meaning: Variation of Henry

Features: It links to the famous vet James Herriot and could be a good choice for those in the veterinary profession.

Similar Names: Harry, Harriet.

Hilse

Origin: German

Meaning: Lives near a holly tree

Features:

Similar Names: Elise, Elsa.

Halliday

Origin:

Meaning:

Features:

Similar Names:

Hollis

Origin: English

Meaning: Lives near holly trees.

Features: A cool-person name with lots of energy. 

Similar Names: Holly, Holiday, 

Houston

Origin: Scottish

Meaning: Habitation name

Features: Place name, word name and surname name - a hat trick of features.

Similar Names: Camden, Austin.

New Surname Names :: G

Inspiration :: Gardiner (art by Jeremy Gardiner)

Gable

Origin: French

Meaning: Feature of architecture.

Features: A word name that doesn't sound too wordy. Also contains 'able' which is a positive sound to most ears. 

Galera

Origin: Spanish and Catalan

Meaning: Sailor/Shipbuilder

Features: Pretty name with a meaning that could be used for honouring a friend or family member.

Galiana

Origin: Spanish and Catalan

Meaning: Rooster

Similar Names: Julianna, Eliana.

Garcia

Origin: Spanish

Meaning: Bear

Similar Names: Darcy, Cynthia, Grace.

Gardiner

Origin: English

Meaning: Occupational name

Features: Occupational name with a nature twist.

Garland

Origin: English

Meaning: Maker of Garlands

Features: Beautiful, occupational meaning with a gender-neutral air.

Gildea

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Servant of God

Features: Exotic sounding with

Gioiella

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Joy

Features: Frilly with a lovely meaning and the option of the nickname Ella.

Similar Names: Ella, Joelle, Joy, Giulia

Gren

Origin: Swedish

Meaning: Branch

Features: Good meaning, simple name. Unfussy but not too light.

New Surname Names :: F

Inspiration :: Farren (painting by David Farren)

Farren

Origin: English

Meaning: Occupational name for an oxherd

Features: Neutral sounds and fits in the popular two-syllable, -n ending surnames.

Similar Names: Darren, Aaron, Mason, Soren.

Feehally

Origin: Liverpudlian

Meaning: Variation of Fitzhenry

Features: Sounds Irish, energetic and friendly.

Similar Names: Rafferty, Flannery.

Fennell

Origin: English

Meaning: Grower or seller of fennell

Features: Nature name, occupational name with the option of the nickname Nell.

Similar Names: Merrill, Fern, Nell.

Fiala

Origin: Czech

Meaning: Violet

Features: Beautiful meaning, unusual with familar sounds.

Similar Names: Viola, Fenella, Nuala.

Fiorelle

Origin: French

Meaning: Little flower

Features: Pretty with lots of French flair.

Similar Names: Elle, Flora, Isabelle.

Flinn

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Reddish

Features: Has similarities to Finn but looks less flimsy than Flynn. It would make a really cool girls' name.

Similar Names: Finn, Flynn, Sloan. 

Foy

Origin: French

Meaning: Faith

Features: Simplicity in one syllable.

Similar Names: Faith, Roy, Fay.

Freidis

Origin: Jewish

Meaning: Joy

Features: Lovely meaning, unusual ending.

Similar Names: Freya, Frida, Phyllis.

New Surname Names :: E

Inspiration :: Emlyn (Painting of Newcastle Emlyn)

I seem to gravitate towards E- names when choosing names to put on my personal lists but sometimes I cannot find less popular choices. I love the likes of Emily and Emmeline although sometimes I just want something new and exciting. My favourite on this list has to be Elizalde for her spunky z and elegant, sophisticated style. I added a new category of 'similar names' so you can see how these more unusual names can be used as alternatives to chart toppers.

Eade

Origin: English

Meaning: Nickname for Edith

Features: Short, sweet with a neutral sound.

Similar Names: Eve, Eden

Ealey

Origin: English/Irish

Meaning: Habitation name

Features: Nicknamey sound but a ‘proper’ name.

Similar Names: Ellie, Eli

Eame

Origin: English

Meaning: Uncle

Features: Simple with a pleasing sound.

Similar Names: Emmy, Emme, Emma.

Ebi

Origin: English

Meaning: Wild + Boar

Features: Cool –i ending and the simplicity of three letters.

Similar Names: Eli

Echelle

Origin: French

Meaning: Ladder

Features: Has the supermodel style –elle ending but without the popularity of Estelle or the dated feel of Michelle.

Similar Names: Estelle, Michelle, Elle.

Edzard

Origin: German/Frisian

Meaning: Edge, brave, strong.

Features: The z updates Edward but keeps a familiar feel.

Similar Names: Edward, Ezra.

Elcy

Origin: English

Meaning: Elf victory

Features: The c spelling seems to make it more of an androgynous name and adds a bit of a sensible touch to the nicknamey Elsie.

Similar Names: Elsie, Eli, Lucy.

Elizalde

Origin: Basque

Meaning: Topographic name

Features: A rarer, fresher version of Elizabeth with one fewer syllable to worry about.

Similar Names: Elizabeth, Mathilde, Isolde.

Elphey

Origin: English

Meaning: Elf battle

Features: Not the most substantial of names but longer than Alf or Fay/Fey.

Similar Names: Alfie, Fey.

Elzas

Origin: German/Jewish

Meaning:

Features: Sounds unusual but strong and easy to pronounce.

Similar Names: Ezra, Eleazer, Eliaz.

Emary

Origin: English

Meaning: Bravery and power

Features: The fashionable Em- beginning and classic Mary ending make this much more than a creative spelling of Emory.

Similar Names: Emory, Mary, Emily,

Emberry

Origin: English

Meaning: Bravery and power

Features: A daring choice with a subtle naturey twist.

Similar Names: Ember, Huckleberry.

Emmel

Origin: English

Meaning: Bravery and power

Features: A tailored version of many popular girls’ names. It has a soft but not airy sound.

Similar Names: Emmy, Emmeline, Amael.

Emslie

Origin: Scottish

Meaning: Habitation name

Features: Another variation on popular girls’ names and a useful way to link a name to Scotland.

Similar Names: Lindsey, Leslie, Emily.

Emson

Origin: English

Meaning: Variant of Emma

Features: Different to the rising Emerson and more sleek as it only has two syllables.

Similar Names: Emerson, Emma, Anderson.

Esslin

Origin: English

Meaning: God + protector/helmet

Features: Easy to pronounce, strong meaning and a pretty surfer style sound.

Similar Names: Agnes, Evelyn.

New Surname Names :: D

Inspiration :: Dorsey (painting by Jed Dorsey)

Below are some surname names beginning with D that are either in usage but unusual or very rare.

 

Dalby

Origin: English

Meaning: Habitation name

Has the same feel as popular surname names Avery and Hudson but slightly less bold sounding.
 

Dauphin

Origin: French

Meaning: Dolphin

Dauphin fits all the name trends – it is an international name, a word name and has a nature meaning. Quite a daring choice.
 

Deegan

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Descendent of Dubhceann

Sounds like popular Tegan but with the energetic double e to perk it up a bit.

Delius

Origin: Greek

Meaning: From Delos

Historical, musical and grand. Del would be such a cute nickname.
 

Devaney

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Dark-haired

Delaney is rising but Devaney is unheard of. Another sing-song Celtic surname to add to the list.
 

Doherty

Origin: Gaelic

Meaning: Descendant of Dochartach

Yet another sing-song Celtic surname to add to the list.
 

Dolcetta

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Sweet

Fits in with all the multi-syllabic –a ending girls names like Amelia and Arabella. Etta would probably be a better nickname than Dolly at this period of time unless your daughter is a so-uncool-she-is-cool kind of daughter.
 

Dorsey

Origin: English

Meaning: Dark

It doesn’t have the literary connections of Darcy but all the same benefits of being a nickname-sounding surname name.
 

Dove

Origin: Gaelic

Meaning: Black, bird name.

Dove hasn’t worked its way into many of the bird-name lists I have seen, probably because of its odd phonology but the beautiful imagery and symbolism make this name a winner.



From Surname to First Name :: B

You may want to read the first post in this series which looks at some undiscovered A surnames. Here it is.

Below are some surnames beginning with A that are already in usage as first names but are still quite unusual:

Below are some surname beginning with B that are very rare for first names:

Bade     

Origin: English

Meaning: Battle

Short and Strong but slightly reminiscent of a monk (probably because of the likeness to Bede)

Baena    

Origin: Spanish

Meaning: Habitation name

Sounds like a modern invention but with some strength behind it. Think Bernadette but without the negative connatations.

Baeza    

Origin: Spanish

Meaning: Habitation name

Fiery and daring but with the familiar two syllable, -a ending pattern.

Barrio    

Origin: Spanish

Meaning: Man who lives on the outskirts of town

A dated name (Barry) + a trendy O name = a new and improved surname name. Also the name of a font (which might be a nice occupational nod to a typographer or other designer)

Beatty   

Origin: Scottish and Northern Irish

Meaning: Short form of Bartholemew and an anglicised form of Biadhtach.

It might get confused with Betty or ‘beat’ but pronounced correctly (bee-ah-tee) it sounds pretty sweet.

Behenna  

Origin: Cornish

Meaning: Unknown

You’ve heard of Morwenna and Rowenna but Behenna will be new to many people. You could use the nickname Bea.

Bertolf    

Origin: German

Meaning: Famous wolf

What a name and what a meaning! An extremely brave choice but there is probably someone somewhere who is brave enough to use it.

Bracken   

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Speckled. Spotted.

Full of nature and adventure. Bracken might be a bit too ‘real’ for some people but with names like Fox, Wolf and Cedar coming into use, Bracken could become popular too.