UK Baby Names

Rather formal word name that has been used occasionally over the years, most notably for the autism activist and animal expert Temple Grandin.

The name of the teenaged son on the dear departed television show "Huff."

Averill is an ancient name, most properly spelled Averil, that has a Boston Brahmin air – probably due to the image of statesman Averill Harriman. It's of the rare English surname names that originally derived from a female given name: Eoforhild (Everild), meaning "boar battle".

Patterson is an upscale name worth considering if you're looking to continue a line of Peters, but soundalike Paterson is a downscale city in New Jersey.

Sounds like a displaced Dr. Seuss character.

Doctor is an honorific used as a name, somewhat like names such as Bishop, King, and Princess. Banned in New Zealand, Doctor can lead to the kind of confusion you may feel would be only positive for your child -- a bona fide Doctor before he even gets to kindergarten. At its zenith in 1884, Doctor was used for 12 boys, but last year it didn't even clear the five-baby minimum to make it onto the Social Security extended list.

If it's not too phlegmatic for you, this surname and name of a Scottish clan could honor a number of people, especially Alexander Fleming, the father of antibiotics, and Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.

Tay is occasionally used on its own, or as a nickname for the now fading Taylor.

Comes with a monocle.

This rare sixth-century saint's name has a modern, merry feel.

Wharton is a rather stiff banker name that becomes creative as a middle name choice for lovers of the novels of writer Edith.

Quirky and cute.

This could be a possible replacement for the overused Tyson, though it has something of a commercial feel related to the brand of vacuum cleaners.

Associated all through the swing years with bandleader brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

Powerful surname choice with many distinguished bearers, fresher sounding than Parker.

The Mc and Mac surnames are asserting themselves as first names and this is among the most usable. MacArthur or McArthur makes a perfect honorific for an ancestral Arthur and leads directly to the nicknames Mac or Art

Peg is a nostalgic turn-of-the-last-century nickname, sociable but slight. Like near-identical twin Peggy, Peg is in mothballs.