UK Boy Names

If you feel a burning need to gussy up Ray -- think again.

A Robert nickname out of use for hundreds of years, but now sounds cooler than Bob or Rob for a modern boy.

An old French surname derived from baille, meaning "fortification" – the same root as the English word bailey. The surname was borne by an aristocratic English family descended from French nobility.

A nice enough last name that turns supercilious as a first.

Two-syllable place-names are stylish, and this one is attached to a British city noted for its white chalk cliffs, but there are a couple of minuses: associated with the fish, Dover sole, and also rhymes with the doggy Rover.

Forever the hapless cartoon husband of Blondie.

Unique name for the son of a woodworker.

Birch or even Burke is better.

Distinguished actor Hume Cronyn (who shared his father's name) put this unusual choice in the lexicon.

Wrecker is a new entry to the newly trendy group of badass baby names -- names mostly for boys that sound wild (or Wilder) and summon the kind of kid that races around (Racer), breaking things (Breaker), and yeah, why not, being a Wrecker while he's at it. Actor Cam Gigandet introduced this one, with a more phonetic spelling, when he named his son Rekker.

An obscure possibility...for a girl.

In British slang, a "prat" is an idiot -- enough said.

Sounds like a Hobbit.

One occupational name unlikely to find a single taker.

Another stiff northerly choice.

Cooper would be a more engaging C-starting occupational choice.

With Devon so overused, consider a move to the undiscovered neighboring county -- though it's nowhere near as euphonious, rhyming with corset.

Charming Dickensian route to Nick.