English Last Names

Spirited and sassy, Lively could be a feminine leaning counterpart to the trending boy name Wilder. A modern virtue of sorts, it has more energy that Patience, Prudence, and Temperance, and is far less popular than Hope or Grace.

Forever the upstairs neighbor on The Honeymooners.

A surname not often heard as a first, except in the case of English Gardner, the American track and field Olympian.

This lively, springy, rarely used surname name has an interesting history. For the English, German, Dutch and Ashkenazic Jews it was a nickname for a lively person or traveling entertainer, deriving from the words springen/springhen/shpringen, and in English it's also a topographical name for someone living near the source of a stream. An unusual option if you're seeking an out-of-the-ordinary 'er'-ending name. Though for some it might bring to mind Jerry Springer, or a Spaniel.

Reality TV star Raven Gates gave her on-trend s-ending surname to her son, named Gates Zev. Gates joins an impressive lineup of celebrity babies with similar names, including Hillary Duff's Banks and Emma Roberts' Rhodes. Gates is also famously the surname of Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.

Stevens edges out Stephens for the more popular form of this surname in the US and the UK.

A jaunty English surname which may derive from "betony", the name of a pretty purple-flowering shrub. A famous bearer is British historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes.

Palin has suddenly become a hot new surname-name given usually to girls. The inspiration can only be former Alaska governor Sarah, though the name Palin is her husband's -- her original surname is Heath. Palin herself is no stranger to the adventurous baby name, as the mother of daughters Bristol, Piper, and Willow, and sons Track and Trig.

Surname choice that could be used to honor the playwright Lanford Wilson.

An English surname derived from the French place name Beauvais, which in turn comes from the name of an ancient Gaulish tribe, the Bellovaci.

Two completely different images come from its national pronunciations -- BOY-err or boy-AY -- the latter giving it an effete French accent.

A fresh take on Jessica, Jessel is currently borne in the public eye by Jessel Taank, a Real Housewife of New York City.

Buckingham is an English surname, denoting one's ancestors lived in Buckinghamshire county. The place name was firstly Buccingaham, composed of the components inga, meaning "people of," and hamm, the Old English word for "water meadow." Bucc refers to an Anglo-Saxon chieftain named Bucca, who, in theory, settled the land.

fuhgeddaboutit.

Quincy may be unisex, but Quimby is decidedly feminine — at least according to the stats, it's never been used for boys. Perhaps it's because of Beverly Cleary's children's book heroine Ramona Quimby, or the queen-related meaning. In either case, Quimby is a quirky, unexpected choice for a daughter.

An English place name and surname derived from the name of the River Exe, which runs mainly in Devon and Somerset in the southwest of England. The river's name simply means "water" from Brythonic uisk.

Other occupational names would be more commonly accepted, though the Mad Men character has certainly brought it to the fore.

Unusual, serious, no-nonsense occupational surname that could be borrowed from the boys.

Sweet and southern-feeling, maybe thanks to Horton Foote, author of Tender Mercies and The Trip to Bountiful, not to mention the Dr. Seuss connection.