English Last Names

A rising surname name for girls — it's overwhelmingly feminine, despite the association with Kenny Chesney.

Moore is recommended as a rich and satisfying middle name choice, whether it relates to your own family history or not. Of the numerous outstanding Moore-surnamed namesakes, count sculptor Henry, writers Clement, Marianne and Brian, entertainers Demi, Dudley, Garry, Roger, Julianne, Melba and Mary Tyler, and provocateur Michael.

An English surname derived from multiple place names, which ranked in the Top 500 for boys in the US until the turn of the 20th century.

Stuffy surname.

A common surname in Scotland, but a starchy first name choice.

The newest cowboy-cool kid on the block is Dutton, introduced by the hit Western drama series Yellowstone. It's seen as a surname in the series, which follows the Dutton family on their ranch. But Americans' affinity towards surname names and the similarities to Sutton have inspired fans of the show to use Dutton for their sons — so much so that Dutton took the title as the fastest-rising name in 2022, jumping a whopping 986 spots.

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

Calloway is one of those irresistibly jaunty, animated three-syllable surnames, like Sullivan and Finnegan — but this one has the added attraction of jazzy ties to the immortal "Dean of American Jive," Cab Calloway. For a girl, this could be an unconventional route to the cool nickname Callie.

Bingham is the unusual surname name chosen by Kate Hudson and Matt Bellamy for their son. It was Bellamy's mother's maiden name, and the nickname Bing, coincidentally, belongs to almost-stepfather Kurt Russell's dad. We haven't heard Bing since crooner Crosby, but it does have a lot of zing.

This surname name fits in with current favorites like Hudson, but is much less common as a given name. It's widely familiar thanks to the late Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets.

Variously spelled trendy name in the 1970s that hasn't even been in the Top 1000 in a decade.

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

A cool surname name made famous by One Direction band member Harry Styles.

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.

Another meaningful word name that actually dates back to pre-Emancipation days.

Possible middle name for devotees of detective Sherlock...or the actress Katie.

All names ending in ville are in nowheresville.

Surname name with an uplifting meaning. Just beware that this is a well-known mattress brand.

Surely one of the most pleasant and evocative of the occupational options.

Goodwin — which is mostly seen as a last name — comes from the long-forgotten given name Godwine. Godwine was a relatively common name in medieval England. It later traveled to Germanic regions in the form of Godwin.