Preppy Last Names

These preppy last names have the polished sound of New England boarding schools, old Boston families and country clubs, with the real meaning and origin of each name listed beside it.

178 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

Adams

Son of Adam, a presidential Boston family

English
Aldrich

Old and powerful ruler

English
Alsop

From Alsop-en-le-Dale, Ælli's valley

English
Ames

Friend, a Massachusetts industrial family

English
Andover

Ash-tree waters, a Hampshire place

English
Appleton

Farm where apples grow

English
Ashby

Farm by the ash trees

English
Ashford

Ford by the ash trees

English
Auchincloss

Field of the enclosure, from Scottish Gaelic

Scottish

B

Bancroft

Bean field

English
Bayard

Bay-coloured horse, a Delaware political family

French
Beacham

Beautiful field, from Beauchamp

English
Beckett

Little beak, or stream

English
Beekman

Man who lives by a brook

Dutch
Belmont

Beautiful hill

French
Biddle

Beadle, a messenger or court officer

English
Bingham

Homestead in a hollow, a Nottinghamshire place

English
Blair

Plain or field

Scottish
Bowdoin

From Baudouin, bold friend, a Huguenot family

French
Bowles

Maker of bowls

English
Bradford

Broad ford, the Plymouth Colony governor's name

English
Brandeis

From Brandýs, a town in Bohemia

Jewish
Brewster

Brewer, often a woman who brewed ale

English
Brinkley

Brynca's clearing

English
Brooks

Dweller by a brook

English
Buckley

Clearing where bucks roam

English
Bulkeley

Bullock clearing, a Cheshire place

English
Bundy

Free peasant, from Old Norse bóndi

English
Burden

Valley with a cowshed, or pilgrim's staff

English
Bush

Dweller by a bush or thicket

English

C

Cabot

Possibly big-headed, from a Norman or Jersey name

English
Calloway

From Caillouet, a pebbly place

English
Carlisle

Fort of Luguvalos

English
Carrington

Settlement associated with Cāra, a Cheshire place

English
Chandler

Candle maker

English
Chase

Huntsman

English
Chauncey

From Chauncy in northern France

English
Choate

An old New England family name of uncertain origin

English
Coffin

Bald, from Old French chauf

English
Collier

Charcoal burner

English
Coolidge

Possibly one from Cowlinge in Suffolk

English
Van Cortlandt

Possibly from the short land

Dutch
Cromwell

Winding stream

English
Crowninshield

Possibly crowned shield, a Salem merchant family

German
Cushing

Thigh armour, or from Cossey in Norfolk

English

D

Dalton

Valley settlement

English
Dana

Dane, or of uncertain New England origin

English
Davenport

Town on the River Dane

English
Delano

Of the alder grove, from French de Lannoy

French
Du Pont

Of the bridge, a Delaware industrial family

French
Dwight

From a medieval pet form of Diana or Dionysius

English

E

Ellsworth

Ella's enclosure

English
Emerson

Son of Emery

English
Emmet

Ant, or from a pet form of Emma

English
Endicott

End cottage, a Devon place

English
Eustis

Fruitful, from the name Eustace

English
Everett

Brave boar

English
Exeter

Roman fort on the River Exe

English

F

Fairbanks

Fine hillside

English
Fitzgerald

Son of Gerald

Irish
Forbes

Field or district, from Gaelic

Scottish
Frelinghuysen

From a Westphalian place, a New Jersey dynasty

Dutch

G

Gardiner

Gardener, the family of Gardiners Island, New York

English
Gardner

Gardener

English
Gerry

From a Norman form of Gerald, spear rule

English
Gilman

Servant of Gille, or Gilbert's man

English
Goodyear

Good year, a New Year greeting nickname

English
Grayson

Son of the steward

English
Griswold

From a lost place in Warwickshire, possibly gravelly wood

English

H

Hadley

Heather clearing

English
Hale

Dweller in a nook

English
Hallowell

Holy well

English
Hancock

Little Hann, a pet form of John

English
Harkness

Possibly headland of Harkr, from Old Norse

Scottish
Harper

Harp player

English
Harriman

Servant of Harry

English
Harrington

Farmstead on stony ground

English
Hastings

Followers of Hæsta

English
Havemeyer

Farm steward of an estate

German
Hayes

Hedged enclosure

English
Holbrook

Brook in a hollow

English
Hollingsworth

Enclosure by holly trees

English
Hollister

An old English occupational name of disputed meaning

English
Holmes

Dweller on a river island

English
Hopkins

Son of Hob, a pet form of Robert

Welsh
Hotchkiss

Son of Hodge, a pet form of Roger

English
Huntington

Hill of the hunters

English

J

Jay

Chatterer, from the jay bird

English

K

Kennedy

Helmeted head, a Hyannis Port dynasty

Irish
Kimball

Royal and bold, from Old English Cynebeald

English
Kingsley

King's clearing

English
Kirkland

Church land

Scottish

L

Langdon

Long hill

English
Lathrop

Barn farm, from Old Norse hlaða and þorp

English
Lawrence

From Laurentius, the laurel-crowned

English
Livingston

Leving's town, a New York manor family

Scottish
Lodge

Dweller in a lodge or cottage

English
Lorillard

A French Huguenot family name of uncertain meaning

French
Lowell

Little wolf, a Boston Brahmin family

English
Lyman

Dweller by a meadow

English

M

Mansfield

Open land by a hill called Mam

English
Mather

Mower or reaper

English
McAllister

Son of Alasdair, defender of men

Scottish
Merrill

Pleasant hill, or little Muriel

English
Minot

Little one, or from a French place

English
Montgomery

Gomeric's hill

Scottish
Morgan

Welsh Morcant, possibly sea-bright; a Gilded Age banking name

Welsh
Morris

Dark-skinned, from Maurice

Welsh

N

Norton

Northern farmstead

English

O

Otis

Son of Ote, wealth

English

P

Paine

Pagan or rustic, from Latin paganus

English
Palmer

Pilgrim bearing a palm branch

English
Parker

Keeper of a deer park

English
Parrish

Dweller in a parish

English
Peabody

Possibly a fop or showy dresser

English
Pemberton

Barley farm by a hill, a Lancashire place

English
Pennington

Farm paying a penny rent

English
Perkins

Little Peter

English
Phelps

Son of Philip, lover of horses

English
Phillips

Son of Philip

Welsh
Pickering

Settlement of Picer's people, a Yorkshire place

English
Pierce

Son of Piers, a form of Peter

English
Pinchot

Chaffinch, a lively person

French
Pratt

Cunning or astute

English
Prescott

Priest's cottage

English
Preston

Priest's settlement

English
Putnam

Puttenham, Putta's homestead

English

Q

Quincy

From Cuinchy in northern France

English

R

Radcliffe

Red cliff

English
Van Rensselaer

From Rensselaer, a Dutch patroon family of New York

Dutch
Rockefeller

From Rockenfeld, rye field

German
Roosevelt

Rose field

Dutch
Russell

Little red one

English
Rutledge

Red pool or stream

English

S

Saltonstall

Farmstead at the salt house, a Yorkshire place

English
Sargent

Servant or court officer

English
Schuyler

Scholar, or one who shelters

Dutch
Sears

Son of Saer, sea army or victory

English
Sedgwick

Farm of Sicg, a Cumbrian place

English
Sheffield

Open land by the River Sheaf

English
Sloane

Descendant of the raider, from Irish Ó Sluagháin

Irish
Spencer

Steward

English
Stanhope

Stony valley

English
Sterling

Little star, or from Stirling

English
Stockton

Farmstead built of logs

English
Stuyvesant

A Dutch colonial family of uncertain meaning

Dutch
Sutton

Southern farmstead

English

T

Taft

Homestead, from Old Norse toft

English
Thayer

Possibly one who tawed leather, or tanner

English
Thorndike

Dike with thorn bushes

English
Thornton

Thorn-bush farmstead

English
Tiffany

Epiphany, for one born at Epiphany

English
Townsend

End of the town

English
Tremaine

Farmstead with a stone, from Cornish

English
Tucker

Fuller of cloth

English

V

Vance

Fen dweller

English
Vanderbilt

From De Bilt near Utrecht, from bilt, a raised place

Dutch

W

Wadsworth

Wæddi's enclosure

English
Wainwright

Wagon maker

English
Walcott

Cottage of the Welsh or Britons

English
Warburg

Watchtower castle, a German-Jewish banking family

Jewish
Weld

Dweller by a forest or wold

English
Wendell

Wanderer, from the Germanic Wend people

English
Wentworth

Winter enclosure

English
Weston

Western settlement

English
Wharton

Farmstead by the River Wear, or a weir

English
Whitaker

White field

English
Whitmore

White moor

English
Whitney

White island, a name of New York society

English
Wigglesworth

Wincel's enclosure, a Yorkshire place

English
Wilder

Wild one

English
Winslow

Wine's burial mound, a Plymouth Colony family

English
Winthrop

Wine's village, a Massachusetts Bay founding family

English
Wolcott

Wulfa's cottage, a Connecticut governors' family

English
Woodbury

Fort in the wood

English
Worthington

Settlement of Worth's people

English
Van Wyck

From the district or quarter

Dutch
Wyeth

Possibly dweller by a landing place

English

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Results (6)

Walcott

Cottage of the Welsh or Britons

English
Stuyvesant

A Dutch colonial family of uncertain meaning

Dutch
Whitmore

White moor

English
Dwight

From a medieval pet form of Diana or Dionysius

English
Fitzgerald

Son of Gerald

Irish
Stanhope

Stony valley

English

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What makes preppy last names sound polished

The word preppy comes from the private preparatory schools of the northeastern United States, and it came to describe a style of dress, speech and taste associated with their students. The names linked to that world are usually English, Scottish or Dutch, often with two or three syllables, and many are place names from England. Winthrop, Pemberton, Carrington and Ashford all have that crisp, established sound that suggests sailing weekends and ivy-covered buildings.

Part of the appeal is history. Families such as the Cabots, Lowells and Saltonstalls, sometimes called the Boston Brahmins, held wealth and influence in New England for generations, and their surnames came to stand for old money. Dutch names from New York, like Van Rensselaer and Vanderbilt, carry a similar aura. None of this makes a name exclusive, of course. Plenty of families with these surnames have no connection to privilege at all.

From family name to first name

One hallmark of preppy style is using a family surname as a first name. Parents in old families often gave a son his mother's maiden name, which is how names like Parker, Carter, Spencer, Whitney and Sloane moved into the first name pool. The habit kept a family connection visible and signaled lineage. Today these names are popular far beyond any social set, but they still carry a hint of the boarding school roll call.

That makes many entries in this list flexible. Blair, originally a Scottish place name meaning plain or field, works as a first name or a surname. Kingsley, from an English place name meaning king's wood, sounds equally natural in either position. If you are naming a character, try pairing a surname used as a first name with a second, contrasting surname, such as Sloane Pemberton, for an instantly recognizable preppy effect.

Choosing a preppy name for a character

In fiction a preppy surname tells readers something before the character speaks. A name like Whitmore or Harrington suggests inherited money, summer houses and a certain confidence, which is useful for rivals, heirs and romantic leads in campus stories. Balance matters, though. Too many double-barrelled or aristocratic names in one cast can feel like parody, so mix a few polished names with ordinary ones to keep the setting believable.

The meaning column can add a layer of subtext. Many of these names describe English villages, estates or landscape features, such as Ashford, a ford by ash trees, or Carrington, a settlement associated with a man named Cara. A character who is proud of an old name might mention its origin, while one who is newer to wealth might not know it. Use the search and the generator to test combinations.

Frequently asked questions

What are some preppy last names?

Classic examples include Winthrop, Cabot, Lowell, Pemberton, Carrington, Ashford, Harrington, Whitney, Sloane and Vanderbilt. They are mostly English, Scottish or Dutch names associated with New England schools, old Boston and New York families and the traditional East Coast social world.

What makes a name sound preppy?

A preppy name usually has English or Dutch roots, two or three syllables and a link to places or long established families. Endings like ton, ford and ington are common. Names that double as first names, such as Parker or Whitney, add to the effect.

Where does the word preppy come from?

It comes from prep school, short for preparatory school, the private secondary schools that prepared students for elite colleges. By the mid twentieth century preppy described the students themselves, and later the clothing, manners and tastes associated with them, especially in the northeastern United States.

Are preppy names only for wealthy families?

No. Most of these surnames began as ordinary English place names or personal names and are carried today by people of every background. The preppy association comes from a few prominent families and from fashion, not from the names themselves, which have no built in connection to status.