Hullo! Soooo I am kind of loving my mother’s maiden name- Luvender- for a boy! Nickname [name_f]Lu[/name_f], Luvie or Luve. That made me think and now I wonder: do surnames work as good first names? Does it depend on the name? And does Luvender work as a baby boy name? Lastly, does anyone have surnames they like as first names? Thank you!! 
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I think it depends on the surname.
In the case of Luvender, I can only picture it working as a fn on a girl as it is one letter off from [name_f]Lavender[/name_f]. On the other hand, it would make a great mn for a boy imo. No one said a nn can’t be based off a mn 
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I love a lot of the surnames as first names but I have to agree with @shells15 that Luvendar is only one letter off [name_f]Lavendar[/name_f] so better suited to a girl, or as a middle for a son. If applicable, maybe your maiden name works as a fn?
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Luvender sounds so cool!! I think that could be awesome for a boy, especially for a middle. I think in general it depends on the name for it to me a first, but Luvender I think makes the list! I don’t really have any specific surname names that I like.
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Because this is so close to [name_f]Lavender[/name_f], I think it might be easier to wear as a middle; you would be able to avoid the constant misspellings and mispronunciations. Additionally, because [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] is typically a girl’s name, even though I think it would be great on a boy, it might be better in a middle spot. Luvender is cool, though!
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Agreed, love it! Great nickname options too!
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I would keep it the middle spot, because it will likely be misspelled/mispronounced a lot!
In general, I think yes! It’s a very traditional thing to do when it’s a family name (like your mother’s maiden name), which makes it feel rather classy to me. 
Yes, I think it does depend on the name. Luvender is very similar to [name_f]Lavender[/name_f], which some might consider to be more feminine, but I certainly think it could work. (Though, tbh, I think it might work even better as a mn.)
[name_f]My[/name_f] personal favorites: [name_u]Ellis[/name_u], [name_u]Emerson[/name_u], [name_u]Hadley[/name_u], & [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
My paternal aunt sort of did this. Our last name sounds like Karën (different spelling). When she got married, she took her husband’s last name. Then they named their first daughter Karën.
I’ve always thought the decision was a bit odd because her brothers still had the last name. So they were calling their niece the same name as their last own last name. Idk how anyone feels about it nowadays, but I remember the slight “odd” factor being mentioned back in the day. Not an out-right dislike or anything.
My personal surname as a first name fav is [name_u]Jensen[/name_u]
I love so many surnames as first names.
Nash
[name_m]Wells[/name_m]
[name_u]Monroe[/name_u]
[name_u]Hayes[/name_u]
[name_u]Davis[/name_u]
[name_m]Gable[/name_m]
[name_m]Slater[/name_m]
[name_u]Sutton[/name_u]
[name_m]Piers[/name_m]
[name_m]Turner[/name_m]
[name_u]Clarke[/name_u]
[name_u]Palmer[/name_u]
I don’t usually love surnames as first names, but Luvender is stunning! For me it depends on the name, for example [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] works in my opinion, but [name_m]Smith[/name_m] would work better in the middle spot. And [name_f]Lu[/name_f], Luvie and Luve are cute nicknames! Some that I like…
Brooks
[name_u]Emerson[/name_u]
[name_u]River[/name_u]
[name_u]James[/name_u]
[name_u]Kyle[/name_u]
[name_u]Lyle[/name_u]
[name_u]Taylor[/name_u]
[name_u]Ellis[/name_u] ()
[name_u]Hadley[/name_u]
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
[name_u]Hayes[/name_u]
[name_u]Sutton[/name_u]
[name_u]Anderson[/name_u]
Maybe I do really like surnames as first names after all… [name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps!
I can see it getting mistaken to [name_f]Lavender[/name_f], but it would make a nice middle name.
I think this is a pretty common [name_u]Southern[/name_u] tradition so they totally work! In fact, both of my brothers have FNs that are surnames from our family tree: Ch@pm@n & Gr3sh@m! I’ve always thought they sounded very presidential and refined 
Very cool! Luvender does remind me a bit too much of [name_f]Lavender[/name_f], but I feel like if you really love it you could make it work!
In general, I would say they do work! And the added bonus of using a family surname is that you have a proven excuse to have used that name. Luvender is a cool and unique name. If someone asked you about it, and you answered “it’s my mother’s maiden name”, I don’t think anyone would question it. It does lean slightly toward a girl’s name to my ear but not too much.