If you watch old Westerns about Texas, you hear names like Tex, Laredo, Rio, Hondo, Amarillo. You’ll hear dialogue like this: "Tex, you seen Rio around? Nope, but I saw Amarillo riding off to look for Laredo, and you know wherever Laredo is, Rio's close by." (Tex, have you seen Rio around? No, but I saw Amarillo riding off to look for Laredo, and you know wherever Laredo is, Rio is close by.)
You can’t tell whether they’re talking about people or places.
In modern Texas, you don’t often meet people named Hondo and Laredo anymore.
Texas babies are now more often named after larger Texas cities: Dallas, Houston, Austin.
In fact, walk into any first-grade classroom and you may hear the teacher give a quick tour of the state: "Austin, you and Dallas come up here and help Houston plant these bluebonnets." (Austin, you and Dallas come up here and help Houston plant these bluebonnets.)
It’s fascinating that the original cities took the surnames of their founders, and now children are being given those surnames as first names.
Some smaller towns have also joined this trend. It seems we’ve moved farther east since the days of the Old West. Tyler is quite popular. Crockett too. And so is Beaumont. Beaumont always sounds very Texan to me, but it also sounds like someone who might be a character in a Jane Austen novel: "My dear Miss Emma, I'd like the honor of introducing you to Mr. Beaumont Farnsworth." (My dear Miss Emma, I would like the honor of introducing you to Mr. Beaumont Farnsworth.)
Twenty years ago, the most popular names for boys in Texas were Michael, Christopher, and Joshua. For the past 10 years, José, Jacob, and Daniel have dominated, although Jayden, Noah, and Ethan have recently been rising rapidly.
The most popular Texas names for girls 20 years ago were Ashley, Jessica, and Amanda. Over the past decade, the top girls’ names in the state have been Sophia, Isabella, and Emily, followed very closely by Emma and Mia.
If you’re looking for Hispanic names, there are many great suggestions among Texas cities and towns. Antonio, of course; Goliad, which is almost an anagram of Hidalgo. And there’s Hidalgo itself, also a Texas town. Refugio could be an option, although locals mostly pronounce it "Refurio." I don’t know where that extra "r" comes from. Mercedes would be a lovely option. Roma would be nice... also the capital of Italy.
Actually, if someone wanted to name their new baby after both a major world capital and a Texas town, they would have several options for such a "two for the price of one" deal. We have them all—Paris, London, Moscow, Athens, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Berlin... well, New Berlin, but that’s close enough.
And if you want something different from everyone else, cities and towns that are rarely chosen might be worth considering for your new Texas baby name:
Wichita, after Wichita Falls; good for either a boy or a girl. Wichita Jones. You never hear Falfurrias. Falfurrias Rodriguez. Waco? Waco Williams? Abilene, boy or girl. You never hear Corpus used. Corpus Roca would be good for a future weightlifter. Alpine would work for either a boy or a girl. Sherman. Victoria. Lubbock for a boy. Lubbock Anderson. And let’s not forget counties. I named one of my sons after Dawson County. I named him Dawson, not County. If I ever have another boy, I’ll name him after Falcon Dam and just call him Dam. Dam Strong.
