UK Boy Names

Taken from a Scottish town, a Scots surname, and the name of an intricately patterned fabric, Paisley means "church" or "cemetery." It ranks highly for girls and is in US Top 100. It may feel a little swirly to ever catch on for boys, but with gentle names like Rowan, Teddy, Casey, Emery, and Trace rising in the US, and Hadley, Oakley, McKenzie, and Presley ranking in the UK, Paisley might one day be considered for any gender. Paisley Currah, a political scientist, professor, author and advocate for transgender rights, is a notable bearer of the name.

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.

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.

Forbes is a business magazine in the U.S., long led by Malcolm Forbes, with a buttoned-down Brooks Brothers image. If you name your son Forbes, you're definitely implying a connection to the prominent and wealthy family -- which may be exactly what you're intending. But if you have a more down-to-earth image in mind, try Field.

Bland compared to the Irish-sounding O-starting names, but fans of football star Odell Beckham Jr. may like the name for other reasons.

Randolph is a timeworn classic that had its last hurrah in the 1940s, when Randolph (born George) Scott was starring in westerns, but then was probably done in by its tricky nickname Randy (which, strangely enough, was itself a Top 50 name in the fifties and sixties).

Naming a child Cornelius or Nelson feels increasingly ahead of the curve in today's vintage name-loving climate. But keep Nelly for a nickname (even the rap star was christened Cornell).

No, not Ben (you'll say a million times), not Van -- Venn. John Venn was a British logician and philosopher famous for introducing the Venn diagram, which is used in several fields, including logic, statistics, and computer science.

Unless it runs in your family, or Alexander Hamilton is your particular hero, you might consider something less imposing -- and without the teasable nickname Ham.

Ceri is traditionally a Welsh masculine name which historically has been Anglicised to "Kerry", but we love the Welsh original. Famous Ceris include British painter Ceri Richards and New Zealand soccer player Ceri Evans. Be aware that Ceri is sometimes used as a female name, both as a standalone name and as a shortening of the Welsh female name Ceridwen.

Laid-back and humble, with a distinctive down-home charm.

This unusual two-syllable K name relates to shipbuilding.

Gibson is an undiscovered patronymic surname, with some appealing nicknames. It also brings to mind the popular brand of guitars.

Tanwyn is a modern Welsh name that can work for either sex depending on the spelling -- wyn is the traditional boys' spelling, while wen as in Tanwen is the girls' version.

Famous bearers include surfer Tanwyn Travers and the hero of a Victorian Welsh legend titled Envy Burns Itself.

Unfortunate identification with an army of rats in the movie of the same name.

This surname borne by several early Welsh leaders has a lot of energy.

Edin is a variant on the name Edwin from the Isle of Man. It may get confused as a misspelling of Eden in the US, but the pronunciation is different..

One of the aggressive new boys' names, ala Tracker and Heller, that have become fashionable among parents who are courting trouble.

Might suggest speed, excitement, even danger, were it not for its best-known bearer, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.