UK Baby Names

British place-name unlikely to evoke much passion in any baby namer.

Bates is a fresh version of Bartholomew, and feels more wearable than Bart. Bates could be considered a patriotic choice for American parents - Katharine Lee Bates was an author and professor best known for penning the words to "America the Beautiful".

An appellation that couldn't be more Ivy League or sound less Welsh. The name of the University is taken from the surname of college benefactor Elihu Yale. In the movie Manhattan, Yale Pollack is the name of Woody Allen's best friend. The Hebrew Yael is not related.

One of the rare cases where spelling a name with a y makes it less rather than more feminine. Birdie might be the freshest choice in this aviary.

Rider is a rock-and-roll baby name, in every sense of the term, though usually spelled Ryder, as in the sons of Kate Hudson and John Leguizamo.

Memorable as the Waspy Robert Redford character who captivated the young Barbra Streisand in the film classic "The Way We Were": Hubbell Gardiner.

Compact and creative, it has been associated with one-time Cagney & Lacey star Tyne Daly.

Windsor may have male references, such as Britain's royal House of Windsor and a tie's windsor knot, but this name also has a definite feminine feel, as in Windsor Rose. That seems appropriate, as Windsor is used equally these days for boys and girls.

Sometimes heard as a first name in Scotland, particularly among the Campbell clan.

Efficient feel.

This is a Scottish pet form of John, the equivalent of Jack in England. Has long been used as a generic name for a Scotsman, here it's a generic name for a--well--jock.

Fluttery and flighty. But there are a couple of names that mean butterfly you might consider, such as Yara and Farasha.

Many virtue names have long been in style or have seen a resurgence in recent years. Happy, however joyous, seems unlikely to join this trend. This could be because it doesn't have a solid history of being popularly used (in comparison to Joy or Hope) and because it's such a familiarly used word in day to day life (unlike Verity or Felicity).

One of the surname names used more in the last century, à la Milton and Morton.

Common in Wales, but would really stand out here. One of the middle names of Stella McCartney's daughter Reiley; Dilys Powell was a well-known British film critic, Professor Dilys Derwent a Harry Potter character., a witch who worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital, and was a celebrated Headmistress of Hogwarts School..

Parry is quite common in Wales, often as a surname, but would inevitably be misunderstood as Perry or even Harry.

"Saturday Night Live" cast member Finesse Mitchell often mocks his own and similar names when portraying the character Starkeisha on the show.

Nice Scottish sound, but too tied to sweaters and socks.

Chaplin carries two very distinctive images: the beloved Little Tramp and a minister, often to the military. It was the baby-name choice of Ever Carridine in 2010.

Lleucu is often considered the Welsh equivalent of Lucy, as it shares the same meaning of "light", and a similar sound. (Lwsi and Liwsi are the phonetic Welsh spellings of Lucy.) It's a statement choice even within Wales, and the spelling/pronunciation would make it extremely bold in other countries.