1450+ English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

Undiscovered single-syllable surname option, a friendly alternative to Reed.

For fans of the (female) author A. S. ; makes an interesting alternative to Wyatt or the hotelish Hyatt.

A bit too close to "quandary" and "queen".

Blakeley is one of the many -ley ending surnames that is being adopted as a first name, taking the 80s unisex darling Blake into the new millennium.

We don't see this one making it unless you have a compelling family reason.

A possibility for fans of the mystery writer, but most parents would prefer Dashiell.

One of those feminizations that came over shortly after the Mayflower but has been lost at sea ever since.

Pleasant surname connected to humorist James Thurber, with a sound as happy as a baby's gurgle.

Keats is both poetic and easier to pronounce (it's keets) than Yeats (which is yates).

Simple and down-to-earth, but would probably work best as a middle name.

One of many stuffy British W surnames that would subject an American boy to years of teasing before growing into it at age fifty.

Possible middle name to honor an ancestral Philip.

Dickinson is a possibility for Richard's boy, though that Dick nickname is problematic no matter how you get to it.

Legitimizes the newly coined Denim, as does the Scottish place-name Denholm (both pronounced DEN-um).

The name of the king of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; could work just as well for your little sprite.

Intriguing meaning, but stuffy sound.

Big Band-ish name could easily be confused with Darcy.

A popular first name in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, giving rise to surnames Gifford et al. Could enjoy a comeback thanks to trendy Griffin.

A surname associated these days with Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston.

He'll have to prove his humility.