UK Baby Names

Keaton is an engaging surname name that's on the rise for both girls and boys. Some parents may use it to honor silent film star Buster Keaton or related to Diane Keaton, but others may see it as a stylish name in keeping with the Kardashian-influenced two-syllable n-ending surname names. Choices similar to Keaton include Keegan and Keenan.

Has an old-time country feeling, perhaps due to Ma Rainey, considered the "Mother of the Blues". This is the most popular spelling of the name, given to about 50 girls last year, with half as many called Rainy and a quarter named Rainie, the spelling used by Andie MacDowell for her now-grown daughter.

Cameron is still more popular as a boy's name than a girls and this simple, snappy short form works well for either sex.

An undiscovered option among occupational names, Banner has never been used for more than 100 baby boys in a single year. But Banner has undeniable charm, much due to its associations with fêtes and phrases like "a banner year".

If you want a truly unusual name with authentic roots, this one certainly fits on both counts. Pronunciation may prove a stumbling block, however.

Known as a British royal family line as well as a style of architecture, this name feels both solemn and formidable, but with an intriguing "dark-academia" feel to it too. Currently in the Top 1000 in England and Wales, it is also used in Romania and Moldova.

This name has two origins: the English word Dusk, meaning evening twilight and the Czech name for girls Duška meaning "soul or spirit". Either way, this is an interesting name with some potential.

Kenyon is a very engaging British surname name, the middle y giving it a kind of southwestern canyonesque undertone.

Farrar has two separate origins: an occupational name meaning "smith", and a Scottish river name, from a Pictish word meaning "to wind". Barely ever recorded as a first name, Farrar is a blank slate that fits with the surname style that's popular today.

Possibly started life as a short form of Rhonwen, but most likely derives from the name of the Hebridean island Rona, which means "rough island".

This sassy, spunky name was used for the mostly Irish jump-roping pigtailed girls of the thirties and forties -- and some Irish and Italian boys as well. Its most noted bearer was iconic country music singer Patsy Cline (born Virginia), and was sighted most recently in the Ab Fab movie. After reaching Number 52 in the late thirties, it dropped off the list completely in 1970--and we're not anticipating a return.

An older form of Everett that stays closer to its Germanic roots. Distinguished Everard is the name of several historical figures and literary characters, including a minor hobbit in The Lord of the Rings. Yet, even now that Ever- names are the height of style, Everard hasn't been seen on the charts for decades.

Despite its poetic associations, almost as dated as Sheldon, and more feminine.

An unusual floral -wen name which was the name of an 1878 opera by Welsh composer Joseph Parry.

Brad in a Brooks Brothers suit.

One case where a spelling variation improves the name, Britton is used about four times as often as Britain for both genders. Currently, the count of baby Brittons is running at about 4 to 3 in favor of the boys.

Best left at the Jersey Shore.

Nature surname with an aristocratic edge. Spelling it DeForest distances it from deforestation.

Blended name sometimes heard in the early decades of the twentieth century.