UK Girl Names

Famous as the name of the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This rarely heard name pares down all the ultrafeminine Dan names to one that's much more powerful, for both boys and girls.

A bit of a tongue-twister.

Might Carlyle (or Carlisle) be the next Carly, which of course was the update on Carla? In 2015, 14 girls were given the Carlisle spelling (vs. 35 boys) but the Carlyle version did not make the SSA list for girls although it was registered for ten boys. But it's a name we think we'll hear more of for both genders.

This name stems from an Irish word meaning sullen, but in the Isle of Man is used to refer to sullen weather, rather than sullen people (hence the tempest meaning). It's a cute and spunky name that could easily work outside Manx circles.

Intriguing alternative that goes beyond Louisa and May, for Little Women fans.

Emily substitute, though it sounds like a child's mispronunciation of "enemy".

Delwen appears to be a modern invented name in Welsh, deriving from two common name components: del - meaning pretty and wen - meaning fair/white. Similar names include Delyth, also Welsh, and Elowen, which is Cornish.

Sounds like an authentic upper-crust family name -- not necessarily a bad thing.

Gerry was hep along with poodle skirts and banana splits.

Superseded by Lauren.

Sisley may look like a modern coinage, building on the fashionable -ley ending, but it's actually a medieval English variant of Cicely or Cecily, which in turn is a variation of Cecilia. Also found as an English surname, from the same root.

Both Madisyn and Madison have lost ground in recent years.

Rather than going with a yooneek spelling like Macen (or Maysen or Masyn), we'd suggest sticking with the original Mason, as Kelsey Grammer did for his daughter.

Long one of the most popular girls' names starting with P, Patti replaced Patsy as the midcentury's popular, peppy babysitter but has now joined her in the retirement home.

A strong, classic, simple name that has nonetheless never been overexposed.

Among the more masculine of the short unisex B names, Brice is less popular than Bryce for both sexes. There were 240 boys named Brice in the US in one recent year, versus only five girls -- and more than ten times that many of both genders named Bryce.