UK Baby Names

Dane is a more masculine Dana alternative, with added style edge. Dane has been on the US Top 1000 for more than seventy years, having entered the list in 1945.

If you like soft, lispy Welsh names like Gwyneth, or want an alternative to Delilah, Adele, or Edith, consider this out-of-the-ordinary option.

Singer Macy Gray has popularized this cute and upbeat choice—once solely associated with the department store—a modern replacement for Stacy and Tracy.

The seventh most common surname in Scotland, once associated only with soup, is now being considered as a last-name-first choice, accessible but unusual.

Chris is a long-running nickname used almost equally for boys and girls. While past its prime, Chris stands out as sounding completely appropriate for both sexes, perhaps because of its widespread use as a short form of both the popular Christopher and Christine. Chris manages to retain its crisp appeal even though its fashion moment is over.

A simple one-syllable name that has been on the popularity list since the mid-1980s, Drake is most associated today with the single-named rapper (born Aubrey). The name peaked at Number 197 in 2010 and has since been on a slow decline, but it still can be counted among the stylish contemporary boy names starting with D.

This unusual (to non-Welsh speakers) is near the top of the charts in Wales, carried by the recent taste for native Welsh names. Those in Wales say it's already on the way down, but for outsiders wanting to honor their Welsh heritage, it still makes an intriguing choice.

The great American novelist sets this above many other surnames (and nature names, for that matter), but it's still an imposing and adventurous choice. Do nicknames Hawk or Thorne make it more approachable? The timid should stick with Nathaniel.

Previously known only as the nickname of Waylon "Shooter" Jennings, Jr., who's married to Sopranos star Drea DeMatteo, the violent Shooter recently became a proper name when painter Julian Schnabel used it for his newborn son with gallerist May Andersen: The little boy is named Shooter Sandhed Julian Schnabel, Jr. Does this mean that Schnabel's own first name is really Shooter? We're not buying that and see Shooter as a too-cool addition to such trendy badass baby names as Breaker and Rebel.

Like Ashley before it, on-trend Everly has been followed by a range of spelling variants, and among them, Everleigh is the most popular.

Madison was at one time a strictly boys' presidential name, reaching as high as Number 311 at the end of the nineteenth century. That all changed in 1985 when it entered the girls' list, zooming up quickly until it reached the Number 2 spot, with more than 22,000 female babies given the name in 2001. As is so often the case, its use for boys has dropped precipitously.

Will has definitely replaced Bill, not only as a nickname for William but as a stand-alone name as well, partly thanks to England's Prince William, also known as Wills.

Country singer Travis Tritt is partial to the letter T for his children's names: he has a Tyler, a Tristan, and a son named Tarian. Tarian is a unisex Welsh name which, though used more for girls in Wales, would be perfectly acceptable here for a boy.

This spelling adds a little more femininity to the neutral Lee. Leigh and sister Lee were quite popular in the 1960s and 1970s among the first cool wave of unisex names for girls, but now have vanished from the Top 1000. The Biblical Leah is preferred.

Made famous by the iconic and macabre character Wednesday Addams, this name has the spooky and Halloween-inspired feel that some parents might be looking for. The character has appeared in various adaptations of The Addams Family over the years, but the 2022 television series starring Jenna Ortega has given the name an unexpected boost in popularity.

A variation on the popular Colton, Colter has been climbing up the US charts since 2010. Given to around 1000 boys each year, it is now in the Top 500, and ticks the boxes for being a cool occupational name with rugged, Wild West vibes, and for giving the familiar nickname Col, or the alternative, Colt.

Through all the years when Betty, Betsy, Beth, Liz, and Lizzie were the Elizabethan nicknames of choice, the bubblier Libby was set aside, but today it may be the most modern of all—it has already made a strong comeback in England and Wales, where it ranks Number 139.

Logan, with its appealing Scottish burr, is a very hot boys' name—it's in the national Top 10 and heading for Number 1 in some states—and can also make a rich and resonant choice for a girl. Jason and Jordan Mewes have a daughter named Logan Lee.

Though Shelby was trendier ten years ago, it's still a widely used choice.

One of the hot two-syllable T names of the nineties (along with Tyler, Trevor, and Taylor), and well represented on soap operas; Tanner is still widely used, but its popularity is declining.