51 Old & Unique Southern Names For Boys & Their Meanings

The Southern states include Virginia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky. I have hand-picked 51 unique and old Southern names for boys with meanings included.

List Of 51 Southern Names For Boys:

Claiborne

Claiborne means ”boundary of clay.” William C.C. Claiborne was the first governor of the state of Louisiana.

Beauregard

Meaning “beautiful to look at,” the French Beauregard is linked to Château De Beauregard, a privately owned château in the Loire Valley.

Hezekiah

In the Bible Hezekiah was the 13th king of Judah. He was succeeded by his son, Manasseh. King Hezekiah had a water tunnel dug under Jerusalem.

Calhoun

Calhoun has its origins in the Gaelic term caladh (”narrow corner”). Calhoun is also a variant of the Scottish Colquhoun, a habitational name from the barony of Colquhoun in Dunbartonshire.

Prentiss

Prentiss is symbolizing a ”learner” or ”apprentice.”

Atticus

Atticus is in the top 1,000 names for boys in the US in the last two decades. Atticus means “man of Attica.” Atticus Finch is a fictional character from the book ”To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Herschel

Herschel is of Yiddish origin and is meaning ”deer.” Variations include Hershel and Herschelle. Georgia’s Herschel Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.

Rhett

Rhett is an Anglicization of the Dutch surname de Raedt.

Leroy

Leroy is a boy’s name with Norman origins, and is symbolizing ”the king.” Variations include LeRoy, Lee Roy, LeeRoy, and Leeroy. American aeronautical engineer Leroy Grumman co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co. in 1929.

Orville

Orville is a masculine name with Germanic and French origins, and it means ”golden city.”

Roscoe

Roscoe is rooted in the Old Norse words for ”deer wood.”

Lemuel

Lemuel signifies ”devoted to God.” In the Bible, King Lemuel is mentioned in Proverbs 31:1 and 4. ”The sayings of King Lemuel, an inspired utterance his mother taught him.” Proverbs 31

Waylon

Waylon is a variant of Wayland which means “land by the road.”

Facts about the Southern US

The South is a diverse meteorological region with numerous climatic zones.

People in South Carolina weren’t allowed to get tattoos until 2004.

In the past, the South relied heavily on agriculture.

The Southern United States is one of the four census regions of the US.

There’s an island in South Carolina where only monkeys are allowed.

Wiley

Wiley is a habitational name and it means “of the willows.” Its etymology is linked to the River Wylye. Variations that I like are Willey, Willie, Willy, Weillie, Wyly, Weyley, and Weylie.

Lucius

From Latin lux “light,” Lucius is related to the Latin verb ”lucere.” Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh king of Rome. Tarquinius is mentioned in the 4th book of The Trials of Apollo.

Spurgeon

Spurgeon comes from the Norse for “little branch.”

Tennessee

For an interesting option for your baby boy, I give you Tennessee, after the central Southern state.

Gideon

“Hewer” or “feller,” Gideon comes from the Hebrew gaḏa. Gidieon, Gédéon, Guideon, and Gideone are different variations and spellings. Gideon was an Israelite prophet mentioned in Judges 6–8 in the Hebrew Bible.

Lavern

Lavern has its origins in the Gaulish word vern (alder tree).

Elsworth

Elsworth means ”Eli’s farm.” Spelling variations include Ellsworth and Ellsworthy.

Cornelius

Cornelius comes from the Latin element ”cornu,” which means horn. Cornelius the centurion was the first Gentile baptized in the Book of Acts.

Crockett

Crockett has its origins in the Middle English word croket, which means ”a large curl.”

How to choose a good Southern name for your boy

Take a peek at your family tree.

Be careful of the possible nicknames. In the South US, nicknames are given to match a person’s personality.

Some Southerners use their middle names to honor the loved one they are named after.

Before you make a final choice, say the Southern name out loud.

Zeb

“Yahweh has bestowed.” Zeb can be a short form of Zebedee or Zebulon.

Presley

Presley is a good way to honor the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.

Dillard

Dillard is from the Old English name “Deorleod” (”dear to the people”).

Tillman

Tillman is an occupational name and is symbolizing “one who plows the earth.”

Rufus

Meaning ”red-haired,” Rufus is rooted in Latin. Rufus is also mentioned in the Bible. ”Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way …” Mark 15:21

Amos

Amos is Old Hebrew and symbolizes “to carry” or ”burdened.”

Fletcher

Arrowsmith or arrow maker. Fletcher is an occupational name from Old French fleche.

Delmont

Delmont means “from the mountain.”

Decatur

Decatur is an unusual name, meaning ”resolute.”

Zebediah

Zebediah has Hebrew origins, and is meaning ”gift of Jehovah.”

Odell

Odell means ”woad hill.”

Radford

Radford is an English toponymic name, and it means red ford.

Macon

Macon has a meaning that I love, “one who works with stone.” Macon has French origins.

Harlan

Harlan is in the Old English elements here (which means ”warrior”) and land (territory).

Buren

Buren means ”of the bower.”

Silas

Silas is a cognate of Silvanus, “of the forest.”

Boone

It appeared into English from the Old French bon. Daniel Boone (1734-1820) pushed the trail into Kentucky, one of the 10 Southern states on your list.

Augustus

Augustus is symbolizing “venerable” or “majestic” in Latin. Southern families trimmed it to Gus for daily use.

Jubal

“Stream.” In Genesis 4:21 Jubal is called the forefather of everyone who plays the harp and pipe.

Thaddeus

Thaddeus has Aramaic roots and is symbolizing “heart” or “courageous.” Southern boys have the nickname Thad.

Barnabas

“Son of encouragement.”

Ambrose

Ambrose comes from the Greek ambrosios, “immortal,” and is the same word behind ambrosia aka the food of the gods. Saint Ambrose is the patron of beekeepers.

Jethro

Jethro is Hebrew for “abundance” or “excellence.”

Ezekiel

Hebrew for “God strengthens.”

Obadiah

Obadiah means “servant of Yahweh.” Obadiah also known as Abdias is the author of the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible.

Enoch

Enoch is the man who “walked with God” and was taken up without dying according to Genesis.

Cassius

Muhammad Ali was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky. Cassius is from the Latin cassus, “hollow” or “vain.”I have a soft spot for the short form Cash which sounds current.

Lafayette

The Marquis de Lafayette was the Frenchman who fought beside Washington. It means “beech grove.”

Marcellus

Marcellus is the Latin diminutive of Marcus, so the meaning is “little Marcus” and by extension a young son of Mars, the god of war.

Booker

Booker is an English trade name for a “maker of books.”

Otis

Otis grew out of the medieval given name Ode, a cousin of Otto that is rooted in a Germanic word for “wealth.”

Hollis

“By the holly trees.”

Abner

Abner is Hebrew for “father of light.”

Virgil

Virgil has origins in Publius Vergilius Maro who was the Roman poet of the Aeneid.

Grover

Grover is someone who lived “by a grove” of trees.

Uriah

“Yahweh is my light.”

Elmore

The “moor where elm trees grow.” Novelist Elmore Leonard was born in New Orleans in 1925.

Landry

Landry comes from the Germanic land plus ric and is meaning “ruler of the land.” Cajun families shorten it to Ti-Lan, “little Landry.”

Clovis

Clovis is from old words for “fame” and “battle.”