Bennett

A medieval English vernacular form of Benedict, from the Latin benedictus meaning blessed, Bennett once belonged mostly to surname-as-first-name territory, à la Pride and Prejudice's clergy-adjacent Mr. Bennet. Tony Bennett's four-decade cabaret reign and a wave of parents reaching for sturdier, more classic-sounding choices revived it in the 2000s. It now ranks 60 and is given to about one in 337 American babies, chosen increasingly for girls as well. Two crisp syllables, one good nickname in Ben, and the faintly bookish air of a name that has read the Rule of Saint Benedict at least once. Quietly confident; never shouty.