UK Boy Names

Lathan is a surname recorded as relating to the towns of Layton or Latham and meaning, depending on its derivation, barn or leek farm or farm by the water. As a first name, it's reminiscent of the popular Nathan.

Seldom heard as a first name.

Kitto updates Dad Name Christopher with a trendy o-ending short form. Use it as an honor name or an original nickname.

This uppity name has been a fast climber in recent years, but we still think it's a bit much. Even abroad, where the connection to the prestigious university will be weaker, any name beginning with "Prince" will sound pretentious.

Peace may be an admirable sentiment to convey in a child's name, but the translated and thus more subtle versions, like Pax or Placido, might work better as first names.

Though it has some distinguished political and tennis world associations, most modern parents would go for the more contemporary sounding Holden. Tilden Park is a beautiful hillside wilderness in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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.

Has some creative credibility via abstract painter Barnett Newman, but we'd prefer his nickname, Barney.

Sudsy name that could be a new character on "Days of Our Lives."

Surname name with feminine final ley. The Welsh name Bryn, though also unisex and veering toward the girl world, is far more attractive.

Lincoln, Tyler, Taylor, Jackson, Jefferson, Harrison, McKinley, Grant, Kennedy, Carter -- yes. Washington -- probably not.

The name Parson might have seemed ridiculous even a few years ago, but when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe named their son Deacon, they opened up a whole new field of ecclesiastical cool. Bishop, Priest, and Pastor are other possibilities.

Flash Gordon makes this a superhero name, but Flash might just appeal to modern parents looking for one of the new active boys' names, ala Ace and Breaker and Ranger. We'd recommend something more pulled-together as a proper name with Flash as a nickname or middle name.

In Wuthering Heights, Cathy's milquetoast husband; Heath is so much more appealing.

Place names for boys are few and far between; this one would make a singular choice. Prince William of Wales uses this as a surname when required, as in his military life; Jimmy Wales is the entrepreneur behind Wikipedia, Clint Eastwood played the eponymous character Josey (!) Wales in the 1976 The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Stark is an ancient surname derived from the Old English word stearc, meaning firm and unyielding. In modern parlance, stark means severe or plain. But Stark's use as a first name -- 15 boys were named Stark in the US in 2017 -- stems from its prominence in Game of Thrones, which has inspired so many new baby names. House Stark is a ruling family on GoT; its motto is fittingly "Winter is coming," so Stark and other names from the show might make creative names for winter babies.

Too close to the name of a bodily fluid.

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.

All varieties of Hob are antiquated nicknames for Robert, though this one is saddled with the "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon association.