UK Boy Names

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.

A word name with an appealing and illuminating meaning.

The Brits say BARK-lee, but we pronounce it the same as the name of the California college: either way it's quite pretentious and of another era.

Great middle name choice for music lovers or those with Scottish roots, also spelled Fyfe.

A fresh Dale relative that finds place amongst similar names like Cullin and Hamelin as well as the more common Allen and Dylan.

Seems like a redundant name for a lad.

In the currently popular solid, serious, two-syllable mold.

Rugged and straightforward brand-new name, though you might not like the idea of branding your son.

Name hovering near the bottom of the Top 1000 that may move higher with the fashion for two-syllable surnames. You could do worse...but you probably could also do better.

Yardley is an English surname with a distinguished vibe, a la Chauncey and Clancy. Extremely rare for either sex, it would make a stand-out choice that still fits in with current trends.

Upscale and upstanding.

An upper-crusty-sounding name with humble origins.

Perfect choice if your baby has grandpas named Barry and Eric, but also a bit military.

The new Randy -- though a bit commercial, as in Rand Corporation, Rand McNally, et al.

An old-school great-grandpa name, like Irving and Ernest, that may just be ready for revival. It's also a well-known name in Hungary and elsewhere in central and eastern Europe. As a surname, it's associated with jazz sax player Booker Ervin.

Seems to stand at attention and salute.

This scary word name was given to five baby boys in the US in 2013, entering the lexicon for the first time. Are the boys named Vice destined for a life of crime, or the creation of a media empire?

With the current taste for last names first, this sounds a lot cooler than Shawn; it also has creative connections to the great Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, novelist Irwin Shaw, and Big Band Era clarinetist/bandleader and one-time Ava Gardner husband Artie Shaw.

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

On the staff of a manor house.