1450+ English Names

Of the names derived from titles, this is one of the least obvious (unless you are of German extraction). Chancellor also has the attraction of offering the exciting - and very on-trend - nickname Chance.

Lorelei would make a cooler choice.

We're not too surprised that Shelton Lee changed his name to Spike.

With the growing popularity for girls of such names as Aubrey and Audrey, Auberon feels like a fresh and viable option.

You might want to honor premier U.S. architect Frank Gehry--even though he was born Ephraim Goldberg. Gehry, pronounced like the more common surname Geary, may be a spin on the name Gary, which means spear, or derive from the Middle English word geary, which means fickle.

One of the rare English surname names originally derived from a female given name: Eoforhild, meaning "boar battle". Also spelled Averill, it's an extremely rare choice today, but shares sounds with fashionable Avery.

Rarely heard surname name that lacks the lightness of other o-ending names.

Unusual and simple nature name worthy of further consideration.

Eastman is a solid, old-style Atlantic seaboard surname. But as a first name, we think Easton works better.

Dimity is fairly common in Australia, but unheard of outside of it, which is surprising given its similarity to names like Amity, Verity, and Cassidy.

A surname with more force than most.

Stuffy presidential choice: consider Hayes instead.

This could be a new variation on the megapopular Braden-Caden-Haden bunch, or a nonmilitaristic form of Patton.

We can hear the kids teasing him from here.

Classy-sounding surname name usually bypassed in favor of the simpler Landon.

Berold is one of the more obscure boy names meaning bear, which also include Arthur, Orson, and (in a different vein) Teddy.

Variously spelled Swithun or Swithin, and associated with St. Swithin's day, July 15th, which is famous as a weather predictor a la Groundhog's Day: supposedly, the weather on his feast day will continue for forty days. This would certainly make a unique choice.

Boys' names beginning with "El" were all the rage in the 1910s, but today Elmore - along with Elwin, Ellsworth and others - has barely been used for decades. It has literary connections through writer Elmore "Dutch" Leonard. More recently, several children's book characters have given the name a cuddly feel: Holly Hobbie's Elmore the Porcupine, and Elmore Green in Lauren Child's "The New Small Person".

Again, North is so much crisper.

Harvard's sibling.