UK Baby Names

Do you really want to name your baby after a hotel? Or a famous-for-being-famous starlet?

A rare surname name that could follow in the footsteps of Harlow, Marlow, Winslow et al.

An occupation name that sounds odd to the modern ear but enjoyed some use a century ago. May make a comeback as a more genteel brother to the new union of boys (and girls) with worker names such as Mason, Carter, and Bailey.

Uppity name associated with muckraking novelist Upton Sinclair.

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.

Associated with archetypal folksinger Pete Seeger.

Thompson is not as popular as Jackson or Harrison, but a novel way to circumvent Junior for the son of a Thomas.

A Middle English form of Adalbert (and therefore of Albert), which was the name of several Saxon kings. Nowadays, Ethel plus Bert is not a fashionable sound, but Albert is feeling fresh again.

Noted bearers of this surname include a metaphysical poet, a Nobel Prize winner, and a baseball Hall of Famer, so there's plenty of hero-name inspiration.

A fresher alternative to Dalton.

Possibility for fans of science fiction writer Ray.

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.

You won't win with Sherwin.

Unusual and unappealing.

This dignified Old English surname was brought into the modern consciousness by author Armistead Maupin, who wrote the San Francisco stories Tales of the City. There was also a Civil War general named Lewis Armistead.

Streamline it to Marsh, Mason, or Carson.

A rare place name and surname, with possible potential as an alternative to Jaxon. Famous wearers of the surname include biologist brothers Charles Edward and Walter Faxon, and composer Nancy Plummer Faxon.

Gently pleasant English family name long associated with 60-Minuteman Morley Safer.

For towheads with ties to Scotland -- in theory, anyway.