English Last Names

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

Pembroke's brother.

Sadler is another new entrant in the trendy occupational surname category, one particularly prime for a horse lover.

Also an English surname, Sender derives from Alexander and has an attractive modern sound. Though given to only a handful of baby boys per year, it nevertheless is in step with the brotherhood of er-ending choices fashionable today.

Classy-sounding surname name usually bypassed in favor of the simpler Landon.

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.

Updates Lindsey for the 21st century.

Surname-sounding unisex cousin of Peyton is gaining in popularity, especially for girls.

Powerful surname choice with many distinguished bearers, fresher sounding than Parker.

Falconer is one choice that has morphed rapidly from outlandish to possible, even attractive, thanks to the fashion for occupational names. And really, if Archer is getting popular and Miller seems normal, why not Falconer?

One of the most distinguished names in literature could become a hero name in a family of poetry-lovers -- or be seen as a trendy new occupational name.

Has diverse links to a Groucho Marx character, a bouncing ball, and late performance artist Spalding Gray.

Not quite as over-the-hill as Herman, but not far behind either.

A WASPy surname that fits in with names like Clayton, Layton, and Payton. Drayton peaked in 2012, when it was given to 78 baby boys in the US.

Although it's more commonly seen as a surname, Haviland is occasionally used as a first name, particularly for girls.

Somewhat dashing surname, but with serious teasing potential.

Familiar English surname now associated with the Abercrombie & Fitch offshoot.

Possible alternative to Anderson.