UK Baby Names

Legitimizes the newly coined Denim, as does the Scottish place-name Denholm (both pronounced DEN-um).

Pleasant surname connected to humorist James Thurber, with a sound as happy as a baby's gurgle.

A surname associated these days with Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston.

Literary, occupational, and very neglected.

The Dutch meaning (Buell is the Dutch occupational name for a hangman) is enough to keep most people away.

Ivy League choice many will mistake for the Israeli favorite Yael, which has a different root and meaning.

Keats is both poetic and easier to pronounce (it's keets) than Yeats (which is yates).

Blakeley is one of the many -ley ending surnames that is being adopted as a first name, taking the 80s unisex darling Blake into the new millennium.

The name of the king of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; could work just as well for your little sprite.

Stick with North.

Named for Millard. Or the late great rock palace.

Surname choice that's neither new nor bold. Newbold was the middle name of Edith Wharton.

Big Band-ish name could easily be confused with Darcy.

Family name best used in the middle, especially since it was seen as the portly postman in Seinfeld.

Ilisa is a spelling variant that's less appealing than the original.

Most parents attracted to this name will be devotees of the author William and would be better off using it in the middle.

Palin, as in, yes, one-time VP candidate Sarah, has emerged as a hot new first name, usually for girls.