Were you one of the cool kids at school? If you were, you’d know what it’s like to captain the football team, see and be seen at the best places, and get invited to the trendiest parties.
Cool last names matter if you want your kid to ace cheerleading or become prom king. Maybe you’re a cosplay queen looking for cool character name ideas? So, don your Ray Bans, pull up your collar Elvis-style, and check out our list of cool surnames.
235 Cool Last Names for Characters
From badass and cute, cool last names, give your child the status they deserve.
- Abarca – straight from the Basque region, this name means “sandal.”
- Abraham – a cool Hebrew boy’s name meaning “father of multitudes.”
- Adair – in Old German, Adair translates as “wealthy spear.”
- Adams – a popular last name for boys meaning “earth” in Hebrew.
- Adler – from Old Germanic, meaning “eagle,” this name is the epitome of cool.
- Aetos – this classic Greek and early Christian name means “eagle.”
- Ainsley – possibly means “one’s own meadow” or “hermitage wood clearing.”
- Albright – is a great medieval name meaning “illustrious, powerful, and complete.”
- Amana – a rare Hebrew name meaning “faithful, integrity, and trust.”
- Amos – meaning “borne of God,” this Hebrew name is perfect for pious kids.
- Andino – this strong Latin surname starting with a, would suit your little “man warrior.”
- Argyle – a beautiful Scottish place and a classic knitting pattern, meaning “diamond.”
- Ashcroft – an Old English name meaning “ash paddock” or “ash enclosure.”
- Ashford – this place name describes a “ford by the ashes” in Old English.
- Baines – a short and sweet Scottish and English surname meaning “bones.”
- Bale – a cute Greek name for “royal and kingly” children.
- Balfour – this super-posh Gaelic name means “grazing land.”
- Bandello – an exotic Italian name meaning “emotional and strong.
- Barlowe – possibly means “bare hillside” or “hill” in Old English.
- Bates – this Old English name with French origins means “kind and caring” or “peace.”
- Baughan – a unique Welsh name for tiny kids, meaning “small and little.”
- Beaumont – taken from several place names, Beaumont means “fair and lovely.”
- Beddoe – a rare Welsh and English name for feisty kids meaning “battle and war.”
- Bellagamba – this pretty and exotic Italian name means “enlightenment.”
- Benjamin – from the Bible, this Hebrew name means “son of the right hand.”
- Betteridge – an uncommon Middle English name meaning “fight/battle.”
- Blackwood – a Scottish name first recorded in Ayrshire meaning “black wood.”
- Blair – a common Scottish surname meaning “plain field” or “battlefield.”
- Bridgewater – the place name in Somerset, meaning “Walter’s bridge.”
- Bristow – an Old English name meaning “assembly place by the bridge.”
- Burton – a classic Old English name meaning “fortified town.”
- Caddel – meaning “battle,” this name couldn’t sound any more Welsh.
- Cane – a short Old English name for sweet kids meaning “stalk of sugar.”
- Carlisle – a place name in England meaning “protected tower” or “from the walled city.”
- Carmichael – this name has an interesting aesthetic, meaning “follower of Michael.”
- Carter – a Scottish/Irish occupational name meaning “transports goods by cart.”
- Cassidy – an ideal Irish name meaning “clever and curly-haired.”
- Channing – perfect for a “young wolf,” but it could also mean “church official.”
- Chapman – an Old English occupational name meaning “merchant or marketman.”
- Charleston – this fancy name is best suited to a “son of Charles.”
- Chatham – a military town in Kent, England, meaning “from the soldier’s land.”
- Conti – is a cool Italian name for sultry kids meaning “companion.”
- Cranleigh – an Old English name meaning “meadow of the cranes.”
- Craven – a cool name, but maybe “a cowardly man” isn’t such a hot meaning.
- Crawford – cool and unusual “C” last names don’t get better than “a ford where crows gather.”
- Cromwell – a powerful Scottish name for one “who lives by a winding stream.”
- Cross – a short Old English name meaning “lives near a crossing.”
- Cruise – is a variant of Cruz, a Spanish name meaning “cross.”
- Cunningham – this Scottish name derives from “cunny hame,” meaning “rabbit home.”
- Dagon – of Hebrew origins with several meanings, including “fish” and “coin.”
- Damaris – of Latin and Greek origin, meaning “gentle and calf.”
- D’Angelo – a unique Italian surname meaning “from the angel.”
- Darvell – a unique English variation of a French name meaning “town of eagles.”
- Davidson – a Scandinavian and English name meaning “beloved one” and “son of David.”
- Dawson – this trendy-sounding English name means “son of David.”
- Deville – of French Norman origin, meaning “settlement of.”
- Devlin – a perfect Scottish and Irish name for “fierce and courageous” children.
- Diablo – okay, so this Spanish name meaning “devil” is either cool or creepy.
- Driscoll – an English and Gaelic name meaning “descendant of the messenger.”
- Eastwood – an English surname describing a family “living east of a wood.”
- Edris – this English name means your kid might grow up “rich and powerful.”
- Edwards – a regal surname meaning “prosperous or rich guard.”
- Ellis – this ultra-spiritual name means “Yahweh is my God.”
- Elrod – a powerful Hebrew name meaning “the king.”
- Elsher – you’re in aristocratic company with this name meaning “defender of men.”
- Fairweather – of Scottish and English origin, meaning “fair (beautiful) weather.”
- Faraday – of Irish decent, meaning “man’s wood.”
- Finch – taken from the bird, Finch is a creative and whimsical name.
- Finley – possibly Scottish and Irish, this unusual name is ideal for a fictional character.
- Finnegan – meaning “fair” or “son of Fairhead,” this one has a magical feel.
- Firth – this topographic Gaelic name means “arm of the sea” and “barren land.”
- Fitzroy – given initially to illegitimate royal sons, meaning “son of the King.”
- Fleet – if you live near a “rapidly rushing stream,” Fleet is the perfect name.
- Fleetwood – a variation of Fleet, meaning “woods with a stream.”
- Ford – other than the car manufacturer, Ford means “river crossing” in Old English.
- Fox – possibly referring to a fox catcher or a fox den; it’s an uncommon name.
- Francis – of Latin, Italian, and Old English origin, meaning “Frenchman.”
- Gable – an awesome German name meaning “God is bright.”
- Gainsborough – this place name means “stronghold of a man called Gegn.”
- Galbraith – derived from the Gaelic word “gall,” meaning “stranger.”
- Gallagher – this classic Irish name means “descendant of Gallchobhar.”
- Garland – of Old French and English origin, meaning “land of the spear” or “wreath.”
- Garner – the perfect gender-neutral name for green-fingered kids, meaning “gardener” in Old English.
- Godwin – meaning “God’s friend,” this Old English name has an epic ring.
- Grayson – meaning “son of the gray-haired one” this name has no mysterious message.
- Gresham – is derived from the Old English for “grazing homestead.”
- Haddon – this posh English “H” surname meaning “hill of heather” has a beautiful meaning.
- Hadley – similar to Haddon, meaning “field of heather.”
- Hamilton – has multiple meanings, including “flat-topped hill,” “crooked hill,” or “beautiful mountain.”
- Hammond – this English surname derived from French and Old Norse, means “home.”
- Harcourt – a French and English habitational name meaning “court farmyard.”
- Hargreaves – this intimidating name means “grove of the hares.”
- Haverford – of Welsh origin, meaning “goat crossing.”
- Havers – meaning “he-goat,” this Anglo-Saxon name has a mythical feel.
- Healey – a mixture of Gaelic and Old English, meaning “ingenious.”
- Hendrix – the Dutch version of Henry, this rockstar’s name means “home-ruler.”
- Holcombe – a place name in England meaning “sunken valley.”
- Holmes – this famous Middle English surname means “island.”
- Ingalls – this Germanic name has a beautiful meaning of “angel.”
- Ingersoll – a Germanic-sounding place name with English roots meaning “of Ingersaul.”
- Ingham – of Old Norse and English origin, meaning “homestead.”
- Ingleby – an old-fashioned placename meaning “farmstead of the English.”
- Inglewood – a place name in England meaning “smart and good.”
- Irving – taken from the Scottish town of Irving, meaning “green, fresh water.”
- Ivers – from the French name meaning “yew, archer, bow army.”
- Jaeger – a classic Germanic fantasy name meaning “hunter.”
- Jagger – cool last names don’t come more rockstar, meaning “carter.”
- Jameson – this ancient Hebrew name translates as “son of James.”
- Jarvis – derived from the French name Gervais, Jarvis means “spear.”
- Jellicoe – meaning “handsome body,” this Old English name could also mean “spirited.”
- Jenkins – meaning “son of John,” most cool surnames come from Old English.
- Jessup – a traditional Hebrew name meaning “Jehovah increases.”
- Jolliffe – is derived from the French word “joli,” meaning “happy, lively person.”
- Keating – meaning “ urbane,” this Irish name has a fantasy feel.
- Kempsey – another topographical English name with an uncertain meaning.
- Kendal – this gender-neutral place name means “valley of the River Kent.”
- Kennedy – a colossal U.S. President, this Irish name means “helmet-shaped head.”
- Kensington – this ultra-exclusive London borough means “town of Cynsig’s people.”
- Kettering – this place name describes the town famous for shoe manufacturing in England.
- Kilgore – this Scottish name could mean “son of a short lad” or “church on a hill.”
- Kingsley – this majestic surname is of Old English origin, meaning “king’s meadow.”
- Kingston – Jamaica’s capital, meaning “the king’s settlement.”
- Lacey – this French nobleman’s surname means “from Lassy.”
- Landon – from Old English, this modern-sounding name means “long hill.”
- Lansdowne – a name connected with ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain.
- Lauderdale – of Old Norse and English origin, meaning “valley of Lauderdale.”
- Lennon – a rockstar Beatle’s name of Irish origin meaning “dear one” or “lover.”
- Lennox – a unisex Scottish name meaning “elm or elm trees.”
- Llewelyn – if you think your child is “like a lion,” this Welsh name is perfect.
- Lockwood – an Old English habitational name meaning “enclosure and wood.”
- London – the famous capital city derived from the Roman Londinium.
- Loxton – a habitational English name meaning “winding one” and “farmstead estate.”
- Lyndhurst – meaning “wooded hill with lime trees growing,” is also a village in England.
- Maitland – a sci-fi nickname meaning “ungracious individual.”
- Mallory – derived from Old French, Mallory means “unlucky.”
- Marsdon – this habitational name is Anglo-Saxon and means “boundary valley.”
- Masters – derived from Latin, this Anglo-Scottish name meaning “magister” has mystical qualities.
- Matthews – derived from Hebrew, your tiny tot is a “gift of God!”
- Mayfair – a prestigious borough of London, Mayfair is believed to mean “beautiful.”
- McCartney – belongs to singer/songwriter Paul McCartney and means “son of Artan” in Irish.
- Meredith – meaning “great chief or warrior,” this Welsh name is perfect for your little prince.
- Merrick – from Roman and Welsh origin, meaning “fame and power.”
- Merriweather – is a popular Old English nickname for cheerful people, meaning “happy weather.”
- Montgomery – meaning “the hill of a powerful man,” with a dystopian feel.
- Mortimer – this Anglicised version of the French “morte mer” means “dead sea.”
- Nash – a futuristic name for a fictional character, meaning “by the ash tree” in Old English.
- Oakley – means “from the oak meadow” or “field of oak trees” in Old English.
- Oakshott – derived from Old English, translating as “oak corner.”
- O’Brien – of Irish origin, meaning “son of Brian,” also meaning “strength and noble.”
- O’Donnell – in Gaelic, it means “descendant of Domhnall.”
- Ogden – this traditional Old English name describes an “oak valley.”
- O’Hara – meaning “descendant of Eaghra” there’s a theme with Irish names with the prefix “O.”
- O’Reilly – another Irish name meaning “descendant of Raghallach.”
- Osbourne – derived from the Old Norse name Asbjorn, meaning “divine bear.”
- Osgood – a Scandinavian pagan god meaning “Goth of the Heavens” in Old English.
- Paget – meaning “young page” or “young servant,” this Old English word has style.
- Parish – derives from Old French, meaning “ecclesiastical locality.”
- Parry – is of Old Welsh origin, meaning “son of Harry.”
- Pembroke – a Welsh place name meaning “bluff, headland.”
- Penley – the most English of cool “P” surnames meaning “enclosed pasture meadow.”
- Pennington – last names for characters are rarely more stylish, meaning “livestock enclosure.”
- Penrose – of Welsh and Cornish origin, meaning “top of the heath.”
- Platt – derives from the French word “plateau,” meaning “ground without slope.”
- Pomeroy – derived from the French word “pomme,” meaning “apple orchard.”
- Price – the English pronunciation of the Welsh name Rhys, meaning “son of Rhys.”
- Quartermaine – means “four hands” and derives from an English occupational name.
- Quennell – a distinctly French name that translates as “small oak.”
- Quincy – from the Latin Quintus, meaning “fifth.”
- Quinlan – this Gaelic name means “fit, shapely, and strong.”
- Quirke – derived from the Gaelic MacCuirc, meaning “heart.”
- Radcliffe – this Lancastrian name of Anglo-Saxon origin means “red cliff.”
- Rathbone – in Old English, Rathbone means “reedy brook” and “short” in Welsh.
- Ravenswood – this name does what it says because it means “forest/wood of ravens.”
- Rawlings – is of Old French origin, meaning “son of Raul.”
- Read – if your child has “red hair,” consider Read as a suitable name.
- Redmond – a great Irish name with an even better meaning of “wise protector.”
- Rosewood – this English name comes directly from the rosewood tree.
- Rowley – this unisex name means “from the rough meadow” in Old English.
- Rowling – a medieval English name meaning “son of Ralph.”
- Rutherford – is derived from Scottish and Old English, meaning “cattle crossing” or “cattle ford.”
- Salisbury – the name for this ancient English town means “fortress.”
- Sanderson – means “alexander’s son,” with links to ancient Greek and Scandinavia.
- Sandringham – the royal estate in England, derived from the French “Sant Dersingham.”
- Sinclair – this English name derives from the French meaning “from St. Clar.”
- Somerset – from the county in England, translating as “summer settlement.”
- Stanhope – meaning “from the stony hollow,” this traditional English name has class.
- Sterling – this attractive Old English surname is perfect for your “little star.”
- Strathmore – a cool Scottish and Irish name that means “emotional, strong, and entertainer.”
- Staunton – traced back to the Normans, Staunton means “from the stony farm.”
- Summers – an ancient Anglo-Saxon name meaning “son of Summer” and “horse driver.”
- Tanner – is an occupational name for a “leather maker.”
- Templeton – an Old English name derived from “temple” and “ton,” meaning “temple town.”
- Tennyson – from the famous Alfred Lord Tennyson, meaning “son of Dennis.”
- Thackeray – a traditional Old English name meaning “place with thatching.”
- Thornycroft – this official-sounding surname is an Old British term for a “thorny field.”
- Thurlow – a solid surname meaning “thor’s hill” in Old English.
- Travers – a derivative of “traverser,” meaning “to cross” or “traverse.”
- Tremont – is an English derivative of a French name meaning “over the hill.”
- Trevelyan – a quaint Cornish place name meaning “from the farm at the mill.”
- Ullman – this Jewish Germanic name means “man from Ulm.”
- Ulverton – derived from Old Norse and English meaning “farmstead or village.”
- Umbridge – from the Latin “umbra” (shadow), Umbridge means “hidden darkness” in Old English.
- Underwood – is English for a dwelling at the foot of a forest, meaning “under the wood.”
- Upshaw – derived from Old English, meaning “upper wooded area” or “thicket.”
- Upton – put simply, this English name means “upper town.”
- Urquart – a Scottish clan name derived from Gaelic, meaning “thicket.”
- Vanderbilt – meaning “from the hill,” and the name of the famous Dutch/American family.
- Vane – from the weather and wind device attached to a pole, meaning “banner.”
- Venables – an Old French noble family name meaning “hunting ground.”
- Vernon – another name from the Norman conquests of 1066 meaning “alder grove.”
- Vining – a habitational Old English name describing someone “from Fyning.”
- Walters – from the Germanic boy’s name meaning “ruler of the army.”
- Waterford – the translation of this French-derived name is “ford over water.”
- Waverley – translating as “meadow of quivering aspens;” few names have such descriptive meanings.
- Wentworth – for pasty kids, this Old English name means “pale man’s settlement.”
- Westwood – some cool “W” surnames are obvious, like this one meaning “west wood.”
- Wilberforce – derived from Old English, Wilberforce means nothing more glamorous than “ditch.”
- Winchcombe – a place name in England meaning “valley with a bend in it.”
- Winthrop – this posh-sounding Old English surname means “friend’s village.”
- Worthington – an Old English surname meaning “enclosure or fenced farm.”
- Xander – a cool Greek diminutive of Alexander pronounced “ZAN-der,” meaning “defender of men.”
- Xanthe – pronounced “SAN-TEH” and means “golden and yellow” in Greek.
- Xavier – pronounced “SHA-v-ier,” this popular Spanish name derives from Arabic and means “new house.”
- Yardley – the name of several places in England, meaning “dweller of the yard-lea.”
- Yarrow – from the pretty flower, meaning “healing and love” in Greek.
- Yates – an occupational name meaning “gates” for someone who was a gatekeeper.
- Yeardley – last names for characters don’t come any better than Yeardley, meaning “enclosed meadow.”
- Yorke – associated with the ancient English city, meaning “from the farm with yew trees.”
- Zabinski – our first Polish name to make the list, meaning “frog.”
- Zafar – an Arabic name meaning “victory, triumph, to win.”
- Zanders – another diminutive of Alexander, meaning “man’s defender” in Greek.
- Zanetti – this Italian name derives from the Hebrew name John, meaning “graced by God.”
- Zayne – another Hebrew name derived from John, meaning “God is gracious.”
- Zephyr – from Greek mythology, Zephyr means “west wind.”
- Ziegler – a popular German surname meaning “brick-maker.”
