UK Boy Names

Boys' names beginning with "El" were all the rage in the 1910s, but today Elmore - along with Elwin, Ellsworth and others - has barely been used for decades. It has literary connections through writer Elmore "Dutch" Leonard. More recently, several children's book characters have given the name a cuddly feel: Holly Hobbie's Elmore the Porcupine, and Elmore Green in Lauren Child's "The New Small Person".

A bit too cunning.

When Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves chose the old English surname and place name Livingston for their third child, they elevated it from half of a Stanley & Livingston joke to a modern possibility. Kind of. The only other well-known bearer of the name in the contemporary world is singer Livingston Taylor, brother of James, who is called Liv. Given that little Livingston McConaughey's older brother is named Levi, that uplifting nickname may be too close, though his parents apparently like its sound. An original choice.

Besides having an unappealing sound, has long been identified with a much-mocked Ford car model; use of this name is now restricted to the Ford family.

Ancient martyr name that sounds totally modern, but perhaps too close to rumor.

This name of a legendary Welsh prince could serve as a more original alternative to Adam or Aidan, though it does sound a tad chemical.

A relatively common surname, Dixon would be an inventive way to honor an ancestral Richard or Dick, the X form a lot livelier than the Dickson spelling, just as Dix is a more modern short form than Dick; it would be right at home alongside Dax and Jax.

Known as a British royal family line as well as a style of architecture, this name has a forbidding solemnity; schoolmates might also confuse it with tutor.

Unusual and simple nature name worthy of further consideration.

If Dayton, like Trenton and Camden, is finding favor with parents, it's more because of its popular two-syllable surname feel and -on ending than the industrial city in Ohio.

Fielding isn't an occupational name, exactly, though it does relate to someone who works in or lives in a Field. Although there have been a handful of people, real and fictional, with the first name Fielding, the most famous Fielding is eighteenth century writer Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones.

He can get it for you wholesale.

Some surnames should stay surnames.

Seems to stand at attention and salute.

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.

A friendly sounding surname name reminiscent of the increasingly popular Marlow and Harlow. British musician Gary Barlow is a notable namesake.

The most outlandish Beatles-inspired name, if Lennon or McCartney are too tame for you. Ringo Starr is the stage name of drummer Richard Starkey, taken from his nickname Ringo (because he wore lots of rings) and the first part of his surname. A bold rock-n-roll inspired choice!

A two-syllable surname feel puts this name of an important English saint in the running -- though it could sound like a confused cross between Duncan and Dustin.

Not quite as over-the-hill as Herman, but not far behind either.

Despite Thornton Wilder, playwright of the perennial Our Town, only a handful of baby boys receive this name each year..