UK Baby Names

Smart and preppy, but with plenty of heart, Hartley is a surname style name that could work as an alternative to the popular Harley, Harlowe, Harper, and Hadley. Quietly used for boys throughout the 20th century, Hartley took off for girls in 2010 after both Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath and baseball player Matt Cain used the name for their daughters.

Dimpled Our Gang comedy name.

There's only one Trenton, New Jersey, but it's a widely used name, more for its fashionable -on ending than the reference to the city. Since 2007, however, Trenton has been on a steady decline. Trenten is another popular spelling.

Rhodri, the name of an important ninth century Welsh king known as Rhodri the Great, a renowned warrior who was the ancestor of many of the later dynasties of Wales, was revived in modern Wales. Has a nice Rory-like feel.

The name of a character in Dawson's Creek, from a surname derived from the Gallo-Roman personal name Paccius, of unknown meaning.

A name with some sterling qualities, most associated with the British currency and silver markets. Sterling is more commonly a male name or surname, but is occasionally used for girls as well.

The second most popular spelling of this name is also the most straightforward.

Carver is an occupational name with an artistic bent, as is the newly arrived Painter, which has a fresher feel than the 1990's Carter. It also has eminent last-name links to botanist and educator George Washington Carver and short story master Raymond Carver.

Lindsay is one of the few truly unisex names (rather than being a name that has changed genders). Over time the ey ending was usually reserved for women and the ay ending reserved for men, although both spellings are overwhelmingly female these days.

Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.

The Christian name of the dashing Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice— it was his mother's maiden name— is just one of several Fitz names, including Fitzroy, Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick, that could be used to honor a dad named William, Roy, Gerald or Patrick.

Once too tightly tied to the aging musical clan featuring Donny and Marie, Osmond may now be able to escape that association and join the cooler group of Os and Oz names, which include Osgood, Ozias, and even Oswald.

The name of three hundred saints, a mustard, and your own baby boy. Coleman was off the US Top 1000 list for much of the 1960s and 1970s, but it was a mainstay before and has been for most years since. It could be an interesting way to honor a Colin or Cole.

The great African-American Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes put this one on the map; actor Laurence Fishburne adopted it for his now grown son, born in 1987. Despite these popular associations, the name didn't make it into the US Top 1000 until 2013. This name is even less used in England or Wales, where as recently as 2014 no births were registered using this name.

A recently entered name on the roster, Poet was used for her daughter by Soleil Moon (Punky Brewster) Frye, who obviously appreciates the advantages of an unusual name. This is a possible middle name choice for verse-loving parents who want to skip specifics like Auden or Poe or Keats or Tennyson and go with the generic.

Brinley was a surprise entrant to the US Top 1000 in 2009, however, in 2023, it doesn't feel surprising at all. In fact, alternative spellings Brynleigh and Brynlee also rank in the Top 1000, with Brynley not too far behind.

If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.

Rhythmic Welsh nickname name, derived from the Welsh royal name Iorwerth, which has sometimes been anglicized as Edward.

Lettice is still occasionally heard in upper-class British families, but we fear it would cause too much salad-green teasing to be considered in the U.S. Calling your little Lettice Lettie could help make the name more user-friendly, or go all the way to the original Letitia.

An established male name that might cross over to the girls' side -- though if it's a water name you're after, there are so many prettier choices.