UK Baby Names

While the most famous Channing is the very male Channing Tatum, the name is now given about a third of the time for girls. It makes an attractive surname-name for either gender.

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.

Kim is forever feminized, despite memories of the Rudyard Kipling character.

The spelling Loren turns Lauren or its male form Laurence into a gender-neutral name. Last year 75 baby girls were named Loren in the US vs. 60 baby boys, making this name a good nonbinary choice.

British last name that, though rather gentle, feels like a sharper, sleeker Shelby. Todd Selby, known primarily by his last name, is a hip photographer of interiors.

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines by having a baby out of wedlock and then appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, inspired by a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts. Bristol's ascent ended a few years back.

Proper Bostonian.

The name of the third U.S. President sounds, like Harrison and Jackson, more modern and stylish now than its root name. Used as a first name long before our surname-crazed era, Jefferson was most famously used as a first name by the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, which may justifiably make you not want to use it. Jefferson is the middle name of another Prez, William Clinton.

No, not Ben (you'll say a million times), not Van -- Venn. John Venn was a British logician and philosopher famous for introducing the Venn diagram, which is used in several fields, including logic, statistics, and computer science.

Torquil, is a quirky but intriguing option that evolved from an ancient Scandinavian nameand was imported into Scotland by the Vikings. The Gaelic form of the name is Torcaill.

Regal Kingsley seems like an all-boy name, but a growing number of parents have bestowed this name on a girl. Credit the ever-trendier -ley suffix.

This elegant surname has great potential to turn into an unusual first name, especially with its literary associations to both Stephen and Hart Crane.

A compound name with an old-fashioned ring. It only first appeared on the US Top 1000 in 2012. Annalie is a somewhat different name that is nevertheless pronounced the same.

A Leave It to Beaver/old comic-strip name, vacationing for years with the Griswolds in WallyWorld, but now back as WALL-E?

Kipling calls to mind writer Rudyard (b. Joseph) Kipling, author of the stories familiar to schoolchildren Gunga Din and The Jungle Story. Certainly, Kipling is a friendlier name than Rudyard these days, complete with cute short form Kip.

Heard in the Scottish highlands, and much more in tune with the present times than the dated Douglas — for which it could make a perfect tribute name.
Dougal was the Scottish nickname for invading dark-haired Danish Vikings, just as Fingal was given to the blonder Norwegians.

This British last-name-first-name could make a more masculine alternative to Shelby.

Bland compared to the Irish-sounding O-starting names, but fans of football star Odell Beckham Jr. may like the name for other reasons.

Poetic and easier to pronounce (it's keets) than Yeats (which is yates). This one of many poets' names to consider, such as Auden, Eliot, Frost, Byron, Lorca, Marlowe, Blake, Emerson and Tennyson, which was used by Russell Crowe.

Laid-back and humble, with a distinctive down-home charm.