UK Boy Names

Webster is one of several W-starting surname names back on the drawing board, now that it has recovered from its childlike eighties sitcom identity.

Elvin had his peak in the 1920s — which was when jazz musician Elvin Jones was born — but parents are still using it for over 100 boys a year. That's less than Kelvin, but more than Delvin.

Whether you pronounce it Mac-cleen or Mac-clayn, this is one of the crispest and most appealing of the Mac names. The Scottish clan Maclean is one of the oldest of the Highland Scottish clans. Trivia tidbit: Sir Fitzroy Maclean is said to have been an inspiration for the Ian Fleming James Bond character.

One of the many El- names for boys that boomed in the 1910s and 1920s, but has long been out of fashion. This surname/place name has an aristocratic flavor, and a creative namesake in the artist Ellsworth Kelly. Polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth also gives it an adventurous connection.

This artistic and aristocratic surname is a bold and daring choice, but with nature inspired names like Wren on the rise, and surnames-as-first-names being in vogue, Wyndham was a fast riser in 2023.

Rarely used on its own and irrevocably tied to former House Speaker Gingrich -- who was christened Newton.

Name long associated with eloquent Black Panther activist Eldridge Cleaver and jazz great Roy Eldridge.

Lander is a name that straddles two trends. It's an er-ending surname name, ala Cooper and Carter. And it's also, more subtly, a green name, in the manner of Fielder or Reed.

The kind of name last found in northern Wisconsin in the 1950s, and even then it was probably a nickname for Delbert.

Haitian-born rap superstar and humanitarian Wyclef ("Fugees") Jean has lent this name a powerful musical beat.

Emyr is a name that is well-known in Wales, but little heard outside of it. There are several well-known Emyrs, from the famed Welsh novelist and poet Emyr Humphries to footballer Emyr Huws.

If you like the idea of Tadhg but don't feel like the spelling works where you are, Teague might work as an alternative. It could also fit the bill if you're seeking a unique single-syllable first or middle name for your son.

This elegant surname has great potential to turn into an unusual first name, especially with its literary associations to both Stephen and Hart Crane.

Proper Bostonian.

Yet another offshoot of the original John, also sometimes used as Jevan or Yevan.

Though Collins makes the Top 1000 for girls, it sounds strong and handsome for boys too, kind of like the newly-stylish Brooks. The final s updates it from the 80s-ish Colin or the Twilightish Cullen. Might make an innovative honorific for a grandpa Nick.

Simplicity and pleasant associations give the word Bell real possibility as a first name -- but somehow it seems better for a girl, a la Belle.

Authentic Gaelic name with pronunciation problems in the US. In Scotland Eachann has been anglicized as Hector, not because of its sound, but because the Trojan hero Hector had the reputation as a mighty horseman.

Fane, used as a nickname in the Middle Ages for someone with a cheerful disposition, is one of the more offbeat members of the Zane-Kane family.

Especially if you have Welsh roots, this prominent saint's name could be an interesting and more masculine alternative to Taylor.