UK Baby Names

This is a solid surname choice for people looking for a change from Cooper, Parker and Carson. Australian parents will probably instantly associate this name with famous rock legend Jimmy Barnes, but this has an even older pedigree as a namesake - Barnes Wallis was a UK aviator and inventor, most remembered for designing the Dambuster bomb (a bomb that bounces across water to reach its target) and working on supersonic flight in the 1940s and 50s.

Uppity name associated with muckraking novelist Upton Sinclair.

Ambitious geographical name.

Try Simon. Or Homer.

Easy (Ezekiel) Rawlins is the hard-boiled detective created by Walter Mosley.

A masculine way to honor a feminine Page -- although that ett ending is typically found in girls' names.

A bit of a tongue-twister.

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.

Possibility for fans of science fiction writer Ray.

A better modern solution than Robert Jr. ; known to fiction readers via Canadian novelist Robertson Davies.

An old name still occasionally heard in the U.K., but still and perhaps forever a foreigner in the U.S. Can be spelled Ranulf.

Mailer is one of the more unusual of the on-trend occupational surnames. Recommended for fans of the macho writer Norman Mailer.

Almost exclusively associated with opera diva Leontyne Price. If you want to use the suddenly-stylish Leontyne, we'd recommend the French Leontine spelling.

All the Fitz names are hard to carry, but this one has a wonderful meaning and might be a good middle name choice to honor a brilliant lineage.

Upper-crusty hotelish surname.

Cowboyish occupational name that's one of the hottest choices below the Top 1000, increasing in rank more than 5000 places since the year 2000. Roper may not be a unique choice much longer.

There's a Perth in Scotland and a bigger one in Australia; this name could make a statement similar to Heath.

A solid, brief but not brusque single-syllable surname with a presidential pedigree.

Delwen appears to be a modern invented name in Welsh, deriving from two common name components: del - meaning pretty and wen - meaning fair/white. Similar names include Delyth, also Welsh, and Elowen, which is Cornish.