UK Baby Names

Superseded by Lauren.

Part Cameron, part Amber, Camber may be a new name but it feels right for our times. As a word, camber means a slightly arched surface.

A presidential and place-name that's not a stand-out in either category.

The Anglophile Howard.

Musical choice that might work great in the middle. Alternative in all its forms, Fife and sister name Fifer are Scottish names for girls that can make a new twist on Piper.

Fortitude is the kind of virtue name the Puritans favored, but would not be easy for a modern boy to carry. Stick with something a little simpler than Fortitude, like Justice or True.

Better suited to a stuffy school than a little boy.

Butler name, and also that of the rat in Charlotte's Web.

Surname name with feminine final ley. The Welsh name Bryn, though also unisex and veering toward the girl world, is far more attractive.

Brusque and charmless, two things you don't want your son to be.

Stylish surname way to go if you want to name a girl after a James, and is more substantial than the passé Jamie; it was chosen for their daughter by Chynna Phillips and Billy Baldwin.

St. Keverne is a town on Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula and also the name of an ancient saint. While the name is virtually unused for children in the modern world, it could be a Kevin update and has contemporary possibilities.

A busby is the English name for the fur military headdress originally worn by the Hungarian hussars. As a first name, Busby is also the unique name of iconic movie choreographer Busby Berkeley.

Brooke variation – or is the other way around? – that makes it more a nature name, less an eighties-style androgynous name.

Underused literary name (as in the poet John) with a -den ending that's very much in style.

A more authentic -- and difficult -- version of Sean.

Barker may be appealing to parents looking for a name with many layers - not only does it share a meaning with the more common Shepherd and Tanner, it also brings to mind the bark of a tree, making this a surreptitious choice for nature enthusiasts.

If you're looking for a Nicholas substitute or namesake, Nicholson would make a more distinctive path to the likable nickname Nick, fitting in with other newer patronymics like Anderson and Harrison. Unusual but not outlandish, it is associated with writer Nicholson Baker, library advocate and author of Vox. And as a surname, of course, with Jack.

Upstanding New England patrician name.

Best known to most as a brand of Whisky, Ballantine is a Scottish surname relating to the Celtic god Bal. It has potential as a off-the-beaten-track boys name that is still familiar. Ballantine is the brand name of a whiskey, a beer, and a publishing imprint.