71+ Southern Boy Names, From Classic to Frontier Grit

Published on September 17, 2026

Southern boy names range from front-porch classics to names that sound like they came off an old land deed. There are 71 here, sorted so you can go straight to the style you want: the old family standards, the cowboy and frontier names, the place names, and the rare ones still hanging on. Every name comes with its meaning and its 2025 count from the Social Security Administration, so you can see which ones are genuinely rare and which ones just feel that way. If you have been hunting country boy names with some actual history behind them, start here.

This post may contain affiliate links — please read my full disclosure policy. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A word on how I picked these. A name earned its spot by actually being used in the South, not by sounding vaguely rural to somebody who has never been here. That means you will find names pulled from family lines, old maps, and the frontier era, and you will not find made-up spellings invented for the internet.

Be sure to also visit our 55+ Christian Baby Boy Names With Meanings From Scripture that have some great middle name options to go with our country boy names.

💕Don’t Leave Without Exploring These Fun Ideas!💕

Classic Southern Boy Names

Augustus

Origin: Latin
Meaning: exalted, venerable
Popularity: #407 in 2025

Octavian was granted the title Augustus, a Latin word meaning exalted or venerable, and it spread across Europe as a personal name from there. It peaked at 175 in 1880, the first year of American records, and has been climbing again from 465 ten years ago. Nearly 800 boys got it in 2025. Gus and Auggie are both waiting inside it, which takes the weight off considerably.

Beau

Origin: French
Meaning: beautiful, handsome
Popularity: #60 in 2025

French for beautiful or handsome, Beau spent centuries in English as a word for a suitor or a well-dressed man before anybody put it on a birth certificate. Beau Wilkes in Gone with the Wind helped it settle in around the middle of the twentieth century. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 203 ten years ago. Britain and the Netherlands use it for girls, but in America it stays firmly on the boys’ side.

Caleb

Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: possibly dog; whole heart
Popularity: #58 in 2025

Twelve spies went into Canaan and Caleb was one of them, which is why Puritans took the name up after the Reformation. The Hebrew probably relates to a word for dog, though another reading connects it to being whole-hearted. It peaked at 31 in 2009 and has been steady since, at 37 ten years ago. More than 324,000 boys have carried it since 1880.

Earl

Origin: English
Meaning: nobleman, warrior
Popularity: #2,236 in 2025

Nobility is the source: the Old English eorl meant nobleman or warrior, and the title only became a first name in the nineteenth century. Earl peaked at 20 in 1894 and has fallen a long way, down from 1,355 ten years ago. More than 289,000 boys have been given it since 1880, and only 63 of them last year. It is the most old-fashioned name here, which for some families is exactly the point.

Franklin

Origin: English
Meaning: freeman
Popularity: #359 in 2025

Freeman is the meaning, from the Middle English frankelin. Americans gave it in honor of Benjamin Franklin, then again for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It peaked at 33 in 1933 and is climbing again, up from 445 ten years ago. Frank and Lin are both available, and Frank is the one he will probably answer to.

Gus

Origin: English
Meaning: short form of Augustus or Angus
Popularity: #1,331 in 2025

Short for Augustus or for the Scottish Angus, Gus was an everyday nickname in America a century ago. It peaked at 121 in 1882 and has been sliding, down from 1,153 ten years ago. Only 145 boys got it as a full name in 2025. Friendly and slightly rumpled in a way very few names manage.

Hank

Origin: English
Meaning: short form of Henry
Popularity: #413 in 2025

Hankin, a medieval English pet form of John, is where Hank started, though Americans have used it for Henry since the seventeenth century, probably under Dutch influence. Hank Williams and Hank Aaron gave it a blue-collar, unmistakably American feel. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 535 ten years ago. Nothing else on this list sounds quite so much like a front porch.

Jesse

Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: possibly gift
Popularity: #184 in 2025

King David’s father was Jesse, and the Hebrew meaning is uncertain, possibly tied to words for gift or existence. English speakers took it up after the Protestant Reformation. It peaked at 26 in 1882 and has been remarkably steady lately, at 178 ten years ago. More than 432,000 boys have carried it since 1880, the highest total on this list.

Luke

Origin: Greek, Latin
Meaning: from Lucania
Popularity: #33 in 2025

Saint Luke, traditionally the author of one Gospel and of Acts, carried this name across the Christian world. It is the English form of the Latin Lucas and probably means from Lucania, a region in southern Italy. It peaked at 28 in 2014 and has barely moved since. Nearly 7,000 boys got it in 2025, so it is common, though it has never once felt trendy.

Roy

Origin: Scottish
Meaning: red
Popularity: #525 in 2025

Red is the meaning, since Roy is an anglicized form of the Scottish Ruadh, though people often hear the French roi meaning king instead. Rob Roy, the Scottish outlaw who died in 1734, fixed the spelling. It peaked at 18 in 1889 and has held steady lately, at 533 ten years ago. More than 408,000 boys have been given it since 1880.

Silas

Origin: Greek
Meaning: short form of Silvanus
Popularity: #71 in 2025

Companion to Saint Paul in the New Testament, Silas is probably a short form of Silvanus, and some read both as versions of the Hebrew Saul. George Eliot’s Silas Marner in 1861 is its best-known literary outing. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, having climbed from 128 ten years ago. Soft consonants over a biblical spine, which is a combination the South has always liked.

Wyatt

Origin: English
Meaning: brave in war
Popularity: #38 in 2025

War-hardy is the old meaning, from the Old English Wigheard by way of the medieval names Wyard and Wyot. Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the OK Corral did the rest. It peaked at 25 in 2017 and has been steady, at 34 ten years ago. More than 208,000 boys have carried it since 1880, the great majority of them recently.

Southern Surname Names for Boys

Barrett

Origin: English
Meaning: quarrelsome
Popularity: #171 in 2025

Argumentative people probably got this English surname first, since it likely comes from a Middle English word meaning quarrelsome or deceptive. The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning is its most famous bearer. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 313 ten years ago. The meaning is unflattering, but almost nobody knows it, which may be enough.

Beckett

Origin: Modern English
Meaning: little beak; or brook
Popularity: #141 in 2025

Several sources feed this surname, including a Middle English word for beak used as a nickname, another meaning brook, and a handful of place names. Samuel Beckett gives it a literary edge. It first appeared in the American data in 1992 and reached its best rank ever in 2025. Beck is the obvious short form, and it is a fine name on its own.

Bennett

Origin: English, Latin
Meaning: blessed
Popularity: #40 in 2025

Medieval England said Bennett where we say Benedict, and Benedict comes from a Latin word meaning blessed. It was the ordinary English spelling until the eighteenth century, then came back through the surname. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, a long climb from 154 ten years ago. More than 6,200 boys got it last year, so it is squarely popular now.

Briggs

Origin: English
Meaning: bridge
Popularity: #356 in 2025

Bridges gave us this surname, from the Middle English brigge. Briggs first appeared in the data in 1927 and peaked at 327 in 2024. It has climbed from 746 ten years ago. The double g and the s ending give it a swagger that Bridger does not have.

Carter

Origin: English
Meaning: cart driver
Popularity: #45 in 2025

Carts and the men who drove them are behind this occupational surname. Carter peaked at 24 in 2015 and has eased back a little since. More than 206,000 boys have carried it since 1881, nearly all of them in the last thirty years. Familiar enough that he will not be the only one, which matters more in some towns than others.

Cooper

Origin: English
Meaning: barrel maker
Popularity: #27 in 2025

Barrels made this name, since a cooper was the man who built them. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 77 ten years ago. Nearly 7,500 boys got it last year, more than any other name on this list. Coop is the nickname, and it does the job well.

Ellis

Origin: English, Welsh
Meaning: from Elias
Popularity: #243 in 2025

Elias wore down to Elis and then to the surname Ellis, and it also serves as an anglicized form of the Welsh Elisedd. It goes to girls as well as boys. Ellis peaked at 155 back in 1899 and is climbing again, up from 422 ten years ago. Gentle without being soft, which is a hard balance to strike.

Emory

Origin: English, from Germanic
Meaning: variant of Emery
Popularity: #883 in 2025

Germanic roots run under Emory, a variant of Emery with relatives across Europe including the French Emeric, the German Emmerich and the Hungarian Imre. It peaked at 240 in 1881 and has been slipping, down from 830 ten years ago. It now ranks higher for girls than boys, reaching 339 on that side in 2025. The Atlanta university keeps it Southern in most people’s ears.

Everett

Origin: English
Meaning: from Everard
Popularity: #77 in 2025

Everard is the old given name that hardened into the surname Everett. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, having climbed from 136 ten years ago. More than 135,000 boys have carried it since 1880. Ev is the short form, and it suits a small boy better than the full three syllables do.

Grayson

Origin: English
Meaning: son of the steward
Popularity: #51 in 2025

Stewards’ sons got this surname, which means precisely that. Grayson grew fast at the end of the twentieth century on the strength of sounding like Jason and Mason. It peaked at 32 in 2018 and has eased back, at 47 ten years ago. Gray is the short form, and it appears further down this list on its own.

Hayes

Origin: English
Meaning: from the Hayes surname
Popularity: #162 in 2025

Rutherford B. Hayes is the president behind this surname, which has more than one possible origin in English. It peaked at 160 in 2024 and has climbed hard from 539 ten years ago. More than 2,200 boys got it in 2025. The s ending gives it a finish that plain Hay would never have.

Hollis

Origin: English
Meaning: dweller by the holly trees
Popularity: #894 in 2025

Holly trees are the source, from the Middle English holis, given to whoever lived beside them. Hollis is used for girls as well as boys. It peaked at 292 in 1908 and is climbing again, up from 1,102 ten years ago. Softer than most surname names, and unusual enough to still feel like a choice.

Mason

Origin: English
Meaning: stoneworker
Popularity: #39 in 2025

Stoneworkers gave English this surname, and it moved into first-name use late and then very fast. Mason peaked at 2 in 2011, which is about as high as a name can get. It has been coming down since, from 3 ten years ago. More than 342,000 boys have carried it since 1880, and the great majority of those are under twenty.

Parker

Origin: English
Meaning: keeper of the park
Popularity: #102 in 2025

Park keepers gave us Parker, and it has become unisex in modern use. It peaked at 72 in 2015 and has been easing back ever since. Nearly 3,500 boys got it in 2025. Preppy rather than rural, which makes it the outlier in this section.

Southern Boy Names From the Land

Bowen

Origin: Welsh, English
Meaning: son of Owain
Popularity: #266 in 2025

Welsh for son of Owain, Bowen crossed from surname to first name in modern English. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 517 ten years ago. Nearly 1,300 boys got it last year. Two syllables ending in a soft n, which is the shape American parents keep coming back to.

Dallas

Origin: English or Scottish Gaelic
Meaning: valley house; meadow dwelling
Popularity: #238 in 2025

Two possible origins compete here: an Old English one meaning valley house and a Scottish Gaelic one meaning meadow dwelling. The Texas city was probably named for Vice President George M. Dallas, and the city is what most people hear. It peaked at 214 in 1995 and has been steady since, at 255 ten years ago. Used for girls in America as well, so it is not a locked-in choice either way.

Ford

Origin: English
Meaning: river crossing
Popularity: #474 in 2025

Crossings in a river gave English this surname, from the Old English word for a shallow place you could walk across. Henry Ford turned it into a car brand, which is now the loudest association by far. It peaked at 439 in 2021 and has climbed from 741 ten years ago. One syllable, no nickname, and it works as a middle name for almost anything.

Gray

Origin: English
Meaning: gray
Popularity: #1,418 in 2025

Hair or clothing got a person this surname, which simply means gray. Behind the Name lists it as a rare name used for boys and girls. It peaked at 838 back in 1889 and has drifted down from 1,275 ten years ago. Grayson gets all the attention, but the short form is the better name.

Hampton

Origin: English
Meaning: home town; meadow town
Popularity: #1,444 in 2025

Home town or water meadow town, depending which Old English sense of ham you take, joined to tun meaning enclosure. Behind the Name has no first-name entry for it, only the surname. It peaked at 505 in 1891 and has been rising again, up from 1,920 ten years ago. Long, formal, and it shortens neatly to Hamp.

Holden

Origin: English
Meaning: deep valley
Popularity: #297 in 2025

Deep valley is the meaning behind this English place-name surname. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye is why most people recognize it. It peaked at 217 in 2018 and has been steady, at 291 ten years ago. Whether you want the literary association is worth thinking through, since he did not have an easy time of it.

Houston

Origin: Scottish
Meaning: Hugh’s town
Popularity: #675 in 2025

Glasgow has the original Houston, a Scottish place name meaning Hugh’s town. Sam Houston, the president of Texas who died in 1863, is why a major American city carries it. It peaked at 319 in 1901 and is climbing again, up from 852 ten years ago. Texas will claim him, wherever you actually live.

Lane

Origin: English
Meaning: lane, path
Popularity: #250 in 2025

Narrow roads gave English this surname, for whoever lived along one. Lane peaked at 246 in 1995 and has come up again from 297 ten years ago. Nearly 1,400 boys got it in 2025. It sits with Cole and Reid as a one-syllable surname that never sounds like it is trying.

Lee

Origin: English
Meaning: clearing
Popularity: #727 in 2025

Clearing is the Old English meaning of leah, which is all the word itself carries. Behind the Name says the given name took hold in the American South in honor of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate commander, and that history is worth knowing before you use it. It peaked at 39 in 1900 and has fallen to 366 boys in 2025. It sits most comfortably as a middle name, which is where the South has generally put it.

Rhodes

Origin: English or Greek
Meaning: cleared land
Popularity: #575 in 2025

Either cleared land, from the Old English rod, or the Greek island whose name may mean rose or pomegranate. Rhodes reached its highest rank ever in 2025 and has jumped from 2,187 ten years ago. Just over 500 boys got it last year. One of the fastest climbers on this list, so expect to meet more of them.

Weston

Origin: English
Meaning: west town
Popularity: #55 in 2025

West town, plainly, from English place names. Weston reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 120 ten years ago. Nearly 5,500 boys got it last year. Wes is the nickname, and it carries a warmth the full name does not quite have on its own.

Old-Fashioned Southern Boy Names

Buck

Origin: English
Meaning: a male deer
Popularity: #1,993 in 2025

Deer gave this nickname its meaning, from the Old English bucc for a male deer. Buck last ranked in the American top thousand in 1982 and peaked at 365 in 1910. It has climbed sharply from 3,895 ten years ago, though only 76 boys got it in 2025. It is a nickname that has always worn better than a legal name, so consider it for the middle slot.

Emmett

Origin: English
Meaning: from a diminutive of Emma
Popularity: #121 in 2025

Emma is buried in here: the surname grew out of Emmot, a medieval pet form of that name, which comes from a Germanic word meaning whole or universal. Doc Emmett Brown in Back to the Future and the Twilight series both helped it along. It peaked at 103 in 2021 and has been steady, at 139 ten years ago. Nearly 3,000 boys got it in 2025.

Grady

Origin: Irish
Meaning: noble, illustrious
Popularity: #373 in 2025

Noble or illustrious is the meaning, from the Irish O Gradaigh, descendant of Grada. It has had a long run in the South and in rural America generally, and it was inside the top 200 as early as 1911. It peaked at 180 that same year and has held steady lately, at 353 ten years ago. More than 52,000 boys have carried it since 1887.

Harlan

Origin: English
Meaning: hare land
Popularity: #617 in 2025

Hares gave this English place name its meaning, hare land, which turned into a surname and then a first name. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, who died in 1911, prompted some American families to use it. It peaked at 253 in 1924 and is climbing again, up from 822 ten years ago. Harlan County keeps it firmly Appalachian in most people’s minds.

Judd

Origin: Medieval English
Meaning: diminutive of Jordan
Popularity: #1,704 in 2025

Jordan shortened to Judd in medieval England, and the modern first name arrives by way of the surname that grew out of it. It last ranked in the American top thousand in 1982 and peaked at 652 in 1970. It has fallen from 1,507 ten years ago, with 96 boys given it in 2025. Blunt and a little gruff, which is precisely the appeal.

Merritt

Origin: English
Meaning: boundary gate
Popularity: #1,505 in 2025

Boundary gate is the meaning, from an Old English place name that became a surname. Merritt is used for boys and girls, and it last ranked for boys in the United States in 1954. It peaked at 400 in 1899 and has climbed back from 2,032 ten years ago. The double t keeps it from reading as the word merit, just barely.

Monroe

Origin: Scottish
Meaning: from the mouth of the Roe
Popularity: #1,262 in 2025

Rivers again: Monroe is a Scottish surname meaning from the mouth of the Roe, a river in Northern Ireland. President James Monroe and Marilyn Monroe both carried it as a surname. It was largely a boys’ name in America until about 2009 and moved toward girls after Mariah Carey used it for her daughter in 2011. It peaked at 179 in 1882 and has been flat lately, at 1,269 ten years ago.

Pierce

Origin: English
Meaning: from the name Piers
Popularity: #505 in 2025

Piers is the given name behind this English surname. Pierce Brosnan starting on Remington Steele in 1982 is what began its American climb. It peaked at 394 back in 1886 and has eased back since, down from 466 ten years ago. Sharp and formal, and it holds up unusually well on a grown man.

Truman

Origin: Middle English
Meaning: trusty man
Popularity: #1,553 in 2025

Trusty man is the literal meaning of this Middle English surname, which is a lot to promise on day one. President Harry S. Truman and the writer Truman Capote are its two best-known bearers, and they set very different tones. It peaked at 248 in 1945 and has fallen from 973 ten years ago. Only 111 boys got it in 2025.

Turner

Origin: English
Meaning: one who works a lathe
Popularity: #1,107 in 2025

Lathes are the connection: a turner was the craftsman who worked one, from the Old English turnian meaning to turn. It peaked at 358 in 1888 and has been falling, down from 920 ten years ago. Just under 200 boys got it in 2025. Trade names are having a moment, and this is one of the few still sitting unclaimed.

Warren

Origin: English, from Norman French
Meaning: animal enclosure
Popularity: #240 in 2025

Rabbit enclosures or the Normandy town of La Varenne, take your pick, since the surname has both possible sources. President Warren G. Harding and Warren Buffett are the two people most attach to it. It peaked at 24 in 1921 and is climbing again, up from 400 ten years ago. It has never left the American top thousand, which very few names manage.

Southern Boy Names With a Trade Behind Them

Mack

Origin: English
Meaning: son
Popularity: #463 in 2025

Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with Mac or Mc all mean son, and Mack is what happens when you keep only that piece. It also works as an informal word for a man. It peaked at 96 in 1900 and has held steady lately, at 662 ten years ago. Short, friendly, and it will never once need explaining.

Porter

Origin: English, from Latin
Meaning: doorkeeper
Popularity: #560 in 2025

Doorkeepers gave English this occupational surname, from the Old French porte and the Latin porta. Porter peaked at 275 in 1880 and has been easing back lately, down from 377 ten years ago. Just over 500 boys got it in 2025. Warm and a little formal, and it carries from nursery to boardroom.

Shepherd

Origin: English
Meaning: sheep herder
Popularity: #246 in 2025

Sheep herders gave us Shepherd, and the meaning has not moved an inch since. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, an enormous jump from 1,109 ten years ago. More than 1,400 boys got it last year. The pastoral and the biblical readings sit right on top of each other, which is doing much of the work.

Tanner

Origin: English
Meaning: one who tans hides
Popularity: #475 in 2025

Hides and the people who tanned them are the origin of this surname. Tanner peaked at 82 in 1997 and has been falling since, from 224 ten years ago. Nearly 98,000 boys have carried it since 1913, most of them in the nineties. It reads as a nineties name right now, which usually means it is due back in twenty years.

Thatcher

Origin: English
Meaning: a thatcher of roofs
Popularity: #1,111 in 2025

Straw roofs are behind this one, from the Old English thaec, for a man who laid them. Its use as a first name is entirely modern, starting in the data in 1965. It peaked at 798 in 2019 and has fallen from 901 ten years ago. Thatch is the nickname, and it is either charming or a bit much.

Tucker

Origin: English
Meaning: cloth fuller
Popularity: #181 in 2025

Fullers pounded raw wool to clean and thicken it, and in parts of England they were called tuckers, from an Old English verb meaning to torment. It peaked at 173 in 2016 and has been steady, at 186 ten years ago. Just over 2,000 boys got it in 2025. Almost entirely an American given name, and it sounds it.

Walker

Origin: English
Meaning: wool fuller
Popularity: #78 in 2025

Treading wool was the job: a walker was a fuller who cleaned and thickened cloth with his feet. It peaked at 78 in 2022 and has climbed a long way from 341 ten years ago. More than 4,200 boys got it in 2025. Preppy in Virginia and rugged in Texas, which is a useful kind of flexibility.

Southern Boy Names With Frontier Grit

Bo

Origin: Modern English, Scandinavian
Meaning: variant of Beau; or to dwell
Popularity: #449 in 2025

Beau respelled phonetically gives you Bo, which is how most American families arrive at it. There is also an older Scandinavian Bo, from an Old Norse byname meaning to dwell or live, still common in Sweden and Denmark. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 618 ten years ago. Two letters, and somehow it still sounds like a cowboy.

Boone

Origin: English, from French
Meaning: good
Popularity: #423 in 2025

Daniel Boone is inseparable from this name, though the surname comes either from the Old French bon meaning good or from the Normandy town of Bohon. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 944 ten years ago. More than 760 boys got it last year. Backwoods in the best sense, and the double o keeps it from feeling stiff.

Cade

Origin: English
Meaning: round
Popularity: #248 in 2025

Round is the meaning, oddly enough, from an Old English nickname that became a surname. Cade first appeared in the data in 1953 and peaked at 201 in 2001. It has climbed back from 364 ten years ago. One syllable, no repeated letter, and it pairs with almost any surname you throw at it.

Dawson

Origin: English
Meaning: son of David
Popularity: #143 in 2025

Son of David is all Dawson means, but Dawson’s Creek is what actually put it on birth certificates in the late nineties. It peaked at 136 in 1999 and has climbed back from 238 ten years ago. Nearly 2,500 boys got it in 2025. The television association is fading, which is good news if you liked the name anyway.

Griffin

Origin: Welsh, Latinized
Meaning: from Gruffudd; the mythical creature
Popularity: #222 in 2025

Gruffudd, Latinized, gives you Griffin, and the English word for the lion-eagle creature came separately through Latin from the Greek gryps. Both readings are live at once, which is unusual in a name. It peaked at 214 in 2023 and has been steady, at 236 ten years ago. Griff is the short form and it is worth the whole name.

Hart

Origin: English
Meaning: a male deer
Popularity: #2,403 in 2025

Old English heorot meant a male deer, and this surname went to people who lived where deer were common or who resembled one. Behind the Name has no first-name entry for it. It has climbed steeply from 4,781 ten years ago, though only 57 boys got it in 2025. Just 1,211 have carried it in total, making it the rarest name on this list.

McCoy

Origin: Scottish
Meaning: son of Aodh
Popularity: #806 in 2025

Anglicized from the Scottish MacAoidh, McCoy is built on the given name Aodh, and McKay, McGee and Hughes are all relatives. Behind the Name has no first-name entry for it. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, up from 1,047 ten years ago. The real McCoy is a phrase your child will hear about every week of his life.

Travis

Origin: English
Meaning: to cross
Popularity: #434 in 2025

William Travis commanded the Texan forces at the Alamo, and Americans took up his surname in his honor. The word itself comes from the Old French traverser, meaning to cross. It peaked at 36 in 1979 and has fallen since, down from 257 ten years ago. More than 308,000 boys have carried it, which makes it a dad name right now and a grandpa name soon.

Tripp

Origin: Modern English
Meaning: to dance
Popularity: #522 in 2025

Dancing is the root here, from the Middle English trippen, though the modern word trip does most of the work in people’s ears. Tripp first appeared in the data in 1957 and peaked at 437 in 2022. It has climbed from 693 ten years ago. It is also what Southern families call a third-generation son, which suits it exactly.

Zane

Origin: English
Meaning: uncertain
Popularity: #324 in 2025

Uncertain origins are all Behind the Name can offer for Zane, which may come from a surname or may be a variant of John. The writer Zane Grey made it familiar in America. It peaked at 199 in 2018 and has been falling since, from 232 ten years ago. The z start still reads modern even though it has been in the data since 1914.

Southern Boy Names With a Story

Garrett

Origin: English, from Germanic
Meaning: spear rule
Popularity: #564 in 2025

Spear and rule are the Germanic elements, since Garrett grew out of the given names Gerald and Gerard. Pat Garrett, the sheriff who shot Billy the Kid, is the bearer most people know. It peaked at 74 in 2000 and has fallen since, down from 269 ten years ago. It has never left the American top thousand, so it is familiar without being fashionable.

Jackson

Origin: English
Meaning: son of Jack
Popularity: #36 in 2025

Jack was the medieval pet form of John, and Jackson simply means his son. It moved into first-name use through admiration for famous bearers of the surname, President Andrew Jackson among them. It peaked at 14 in 2021 and has eased back from 17 ten years ago. More than 297,000 boys have carried it, which puts it among the most used surname names in the country.

Landry

Origin: French, from Germanic
Meaning: land and power
Popularity: #996 in 2025

France gave several saints this name, including a fifth-century bishop of Sees and a seventh-century bishop of Paris. It is the French form of Landric, built from elements meaning land and power. It peaked at 668 in 2012 and has fallen from 862 ten years ago. Louisiana claims it hardest, and the sound belongs there.

Lincoln

Origin: English
Meaning: lake colony
Popularity: #69 in 2025

Romans named the city of Lincoln by joining a Celtic word for lake with the Latin for colony. Abraham Lincoln is why it became a first name, and there is no separating the two. It peaked at 40 in 2020 and has been steady, at 66 ten years ago. Link is the nickname, and it is better than it looks written down.

Murphy

Origin: Irish
Meaning: from O Murchadha
Popularity: #754 in 2025

Ireland’s O Murchadha, built on the given name Murchadh, is where Murphy comes from. It is used for girls as well as boys. Murphy peaked at 510 in 1892 and has climbed hard from 1,230 ten years ago. Cheerful and slightly comic, which is not a bad thing to hand a boy.

Nolan

Origin: Irish
Meaning: descendant of Nuallan
Popularity: #65 in 2025

Nuallan is the Irish personal name behind O Nuallain, which became the surname Nolan. It grew steadily as a first name from the 1970s onward and is common in modern French as well as English. It peaked at 57 in 2023 and has been steady, at 71 ten years ago. Nearly 4,900 boys got it in 2025.

Palmer

Origin: English
Meaning: pilgrim
Popularity: #995 in 2025

Pilgrims carried palm fronds home from the Holy Land as proof of the journey, and the ones who did were called palmers. The Latin palma is the root of it. It peaked at 386 in 1908 and has climbed back from 1,301 ten years ago. It now ranks higher for girls in the United States, reaching 232 on that side in 2025.

Presley

Origin: English
Meaning: priest clearing
Popularity: #1,819 in 2025

Elvis turned a surname into a first name, and the surname itself comes from an English place name meaning priest clearing. It peaked at 765 in 1881, long before Elvis, and has been falling lately from 1,332 ten years ago. It now ranks far higher for girls, reaching 225 on that side in 2025. Only 88 boys got it last year.

Rhett

Origin: English, from Dutch
Meaning: advice, counsel
Popularity: #188 in 2025

Margaret Mitchell gave Rhett Butler his name in Gone with the Wind in 1936, and nearly every Rhett since traces back to that book. The surname is an anglicized form of the Dutch de Raedt, meaning advice or counsel, carried by a prominent South Carolina family. It peaked at 149 in 2021 and has climbed from 276 ten years ago. Nothing on this list is more unmistakably Southern.

Sutton

Origin: English
Meaning: south town
Popularity: #332 in 2025

South town is the meaning, from any of the many English places called Sutton. It reached its highest rank ever for boys in 2025, up from 954 ten years ago. Behind the Name notes it is currently used more for girls than boys in America. Just over a thousand boys got it last year, so the boys’ side is real but smaller.

Truett

Origin: Modern English, from Old Norse
Meaning: place of resinous wood
Popularity: #521 in 2025

Trewhitt, an English town whose name has Old Norse roots meaning place of resinous wood, is where this surname started. Behind the Name files it under trendy surnames used as given names. It reached its highest rank ever in 2025, having climbed from 1,489 ten years ago. Almost entirely a Southern name, and it has the double t that makes Beckett and Barrett work.