Draw boy names with the meaning and origin printed under each one. Narrow the list by first letter or syllable count, type your surname to see the full name, then star the keepers.
Cameron
Crooked nose
Tadhg
Poet, philosopher
Theodore
Gift of God
Rhys
Ardour, enthusiasm
Omar
Flourishing, long-lived
Felix
Lucky, happy
Lachlan
From the land of lochs, a Gaelic name for Norway
Arjun
Bright, white, clear
Matteo
Gift of God
Soren
Danish form of Severinus, stern
Asher
Happy, blessed
Remy
Oarsman, from Remigius
Every card shows what the root of the name meant. Most meanings are pleasant. A few are blunt. The first draw on this page includes Cameron, from the Gaelic cam sròn, crooked nose. Nobody at a school gate in Glasgow hears a nose in Cameron, and for most families the meaning never comes up again. Some parents care a great deal. Read the line under the name before you tap the star.
| Name | Root meaning | Our take |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron | Crooked nose | Safe. The surname use buried the meaning centuries ago. |
| Calvin | Bald | Safe. A Roman nickname few people know. |
| Kennedy | Misshapen head | Safe in practice. The surname association is far stronger. |
| Cecil | Blind | Worth a pause if a grandparent reads Latin. |
| Caleb | Devoted, tied to the Hebrew word for dog | Fine. Many read the dog link as loyalty. |
A first name gets said with the surname at every roll call, doctor visit, and graduation. Type your surname in the panel and each card shows the full name with a note when something is off. The checks are simple on purpose:
The last sound of the first name runs into the first sound of the surname. Rhys Sullivan said fast turns into "Ree Sullivan". Ross Sanders has the same problem.
Felix Fraser, F. F. Some families love the alliteration. To other ears the name sounds like a comic book hero. Your call.
Two one-beat names, as in Finn Shaw, sound clipped. Seven or more beats in total, as in Maximilian Castellano, gets shortened by everyone, so pick the nickname you prefer before someone else does.
The syllable count for your surname is a rough guess from its vowels. Say the pair out loud before you trust the note. Silent letters in surnames such as Featherstonehaugh fool any vowel count.
Irish and Welsh names follow their own spelling rules. Tadhg, also in the first draw, is said like the start of "tiger". Outside Ireland, expect a teacher to misread the name on day one. Some families accept the yearly correction. Others pick the anglicised form, Teague.
The origin is the language this spelling comes from. Hamish sits under Scottish as the Gaelic form of James, although James goes back to Hebrew. The meaning line traces the older root when the two differ. Ethan stays Hebrew, even though most people meet the name on American birth charts.
The pool holds 228 names across 14 origins:
Pick one origin to keep siblings or a fictional family sounding related. Mixing origins works too. Arjun and Felix share a house in plenty of real families.
Each meaning follows the root of the name as given in standard name dictionaries and etymology references. Where scholars disagree on the root, the name is left out of the pool rather than given a guess.
Not in one draw. Across draws the page sends the names you have already seen, and the server skips them until your filter runs out of fresh names. Once the fresh names run out, repeats come back and the status line says so.
No. The surname check runs in your browser. Only the origin, letter, syllable, and count settings go to the server.
By common English pronunciation. Leonard counts as two, LEN-ard. Accents shift a few names, so treat the count as a guide, not a rule.
The origin label shows the language of the spelling you see. The meaning line follows the name back to its older root, so you get both.
Yes. Lock the origin to one language to keep a family consistent, and use the meaning line when a name should hint at the character. A detective called Lorcan, little fierce one, says something before he speaks.
