English Last Names

Surname known as the last name of the other side of the Kardashian clan.

A surname very rarely heard as a first, associated with Hall of Fame basketball star Patrick Ewing and, in the 1980s, the oil-rich Ewing family on the nighttime soap, "Dallas"

Pell makes an unusual middle name choice. And if grandpa Seymour was a fur trader, you might do better to honor him by naming the baby Pell.

A softer take on Hunter. Huntley is evenly distributed between girls and boys, coming in at 47% female and 53% male at last count.

This habitational surname works as a modern way to honor a Carrie, Carolyn, or Caroline.

A novel way to get to the nicknames Ash or Ford

We don't see that bright a future for this one either.

For fans of Warren G. All two of them.

Bulky surname honoring Grandpa Henry or Saul Bellow's Rain King.

A distinctive English surname name that also carries the slightly ominous sense of the verb batten, as in "batten down the hatches." Batten was also a medieval first name related to Bartholomew.

Carleton has a great meaning behind it, and should really have more popularity than it has found to date. You can shorten it to Carl or keep it upscale and formal in the longer form. Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk lends the name some sporty credentials, while American artist Carleton Wiggins confirms this name's Victorian earnestness.

Pembroke's brother.

If it's not too phlegmatic for you, this surname and name of a Scottish clan could honor a number of people, especially Alexander Fleming, the father of antibiotics, and Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.

The spelling Woolf inevitably conjures writer Virginia. If you're a fan of Mrs. Dalloway and the Bloomsbury group, Woolf might be a creative way to combine a trendy animal name with an original honor name. Woolf was the surname of Virginia's husband, Leonard.

Stokes is ultimately an English surname, although it's been used in Ireland and Scotland for generations as well. It's a variation of Stoke, a habitational surname, as there were many towns named Stoke in England. The origin of the word stoke, however, is contested. Some say it simply means "place," while others contest it designated a small hamlet. There's also evidence that connects it to the Old English word stocc, meaning "tree trunk."

With an easy-going and interesting sound, the surname-inspired Keyes might fit in with the likes of Hayes, Reese, Kai and Keegan. While Keyes has never appeared in the US stats, Key (perhaps as a variation of Kay or Kai) is given to a handful of boys each year.

Stuffy presidential choice: consider Hayes instead.

As an English surname, Shields comes from the Middle English word scheld, meaning "hut" or "shelter." (This is also how the word "shell" was derived). The Irish Shields is an Anglicized form of Ó Siadhail — Siadhal may mean "slow-moving slothful."

Updates Lindsey for the 21st century.