UK Boy Names

As Harrison is to Harry, Garrison is to Gary: both of the longer versions sound more modern and appealing. NPR's Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor was born Gary.

Audie as a boys' name was made famous by Audie Murphy, the most decorated hero of World War II. Murphy was born one of ten children of a poor Texas sharecropper's family and the origins of his unusual first name are unknown. But there were 29 boys named Audie in 2013, more than twice the number of girls given the name, which can be a diminutive of Audrey.

Judson remained in the US Top 1000 every year until it dropped off in 1987. In 2014, the named rejoined the list. With Hudson gaining in popularity, Judson—a possible alternative to Justin—could follow its path.

Alas, poor Yorick, your name is fated to remain locked forever as a skull in Hamlet.

Kelsey (ex-Frasier) Grammer is a famous male bearer, although most modern Kelseys are female. It derives from several English place names, possibly meaning "Cenel's island", from the Old English name Cenel "fierce".

Highly unusual as a baby name for either gender, Yarrow is an herb that grows wild and has long been used for its medicinal property. It's named for the mythical Achilles, who was said to carry yarrow into battle.

Medieval name without much of a future.

Updates Ellis -- but also has a lot of feminine potential thanks to Allison/Ellie similarity.

Dagger is one of the new badass baby names, a sharp and scary choice that some parents may feel arm their child for battle in a cruel modern world.

Loch is a watery word that sounds more like a name because it's one step removed from its English form. Pronounced as "lock," it's also a short form of the variously-spelled Lachlan.

Actor Coby Bell gives this short but sweet name a hefty amount of street cred. Can also be spelled Koby or Kobe, as in Kobe Bryant.

One part nature name, one part surname name. Oakes gives you the best of both worlds.

Penrose – an ancient locational surname derived from several villages in Cornwall, Wales, and the Welsh border country of England – might work as a first name, although the "Rose" syllable might lead the uninitiated to assume it's a female name. As a middle name, however, it would make for a surprising and distinguished choice. A male Penrose could be called Pen/Penn, Ross or Roe for short.

Rough and sporty, but too specific.

Has that blunt masculine feel -- à la Cole and Kyle -- that many modern parents are drawn to.

One of the trendiest of the new two-syllable boys’ names that have swept the country in the past few years, including the rhyming Aidan, Caden, Kaden, and Jaden. It's been falling on the US Top 1000 lately but it is still among the most popular contemporary English names for boys..

Rigby is a rather stiff British surname, which might call to mind the Beatles "Eleanor Rigby" or, from the recent past, Cathy Rigby, the first American woman to win a medal in World Gymnastics competition. The problem with Rigby may be its similarity to the word "rigid."

Often thought of as a one-peson name because of Jungle Book writer Kipling, this was actually his middle name. He was middle-named for Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire, the beauty of which inspired his parents to reference it in their first child's name. Trivia tidbit: Actress Kim Raver gave her son Leo the middle name of Kipling.

If Gus and Max have made it, why not Moe? Can it be the lingering Three Stooges effect? We think that Moe, like Joe, is one of the friendliest and most open of regular guy nickname names and should get a little more attention.

Long-time connection to the movie biz doesn't lend it any pizzazz.