Scottish Names

Ilisa is a spelling variant that's less appealing than the original.

Kerr, a simple, unusual unisex middle-name choice, can be pronounced either car or kehr.

Prettier: the growing-in-popularity Paisley, a suburb of Glasgow, or even Scotland itself, used as a middle name by Kourtney Kardashian.

If used at all these days, it would be to honor artist Jackson, whose first name would be far preferable.

A city and river in Scotland; this is upbeat and cheery, but doesn't seem that appropriate as a name.

The Mc and Mac surnames are asserting themselves as first names and this is one of the most popular. Though outside the U.S. Top 1000, it's among the fastest rising names for boys.

While this has a distinguished male namesake -- astronomer Edmund Halley and his comet -- it still strays too close to the superpopular feminine Hailey family to work for some parents for a boy. Fewer than five baby boys were given the name last year, but that could change as formerly-female names become more acceptable for boys.

Interesting possibility for the son or grandson of a Gregory.

Between "Old MacDonald" and Big Mac allusions, this would be a risky choice.

Guthrie, folk singer Woody's last name, makes a perfectly fine first choice for a girl. Names such as Guthrie that have no gendered history can make true nonbinary names.