English Last Names

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.

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 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"

Cute and eminently wearable surname name for girls.

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."

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.

A novel way to get to the nicknames Ash or Ford

Atkinson has never made it onto the American charts, although historical records provide evidence that it has been used as a given name before. Atkin is a Medieval nickname for Adam, making Atkinson a sneaky and unique way to honor an important Adam in your life.

The surname Hatton has three primary origins — English, French, and Irish/Scottish Gaelic. The English variation is a combination of compounds meaning "heather" and "settlement," while the French is derived from Germanic given names beginning with Hadu-, meaning "battle."

Salt was a coveted asset in Medieval times, which gave this surname prestige.

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.

Stuffy presidential choice: consider Hayes instead.

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."

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

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

Wharton is a rather stiff banker name that becomes creative as a middle name choice for lovers of the novels of writer Edith.

Rarely heard surname name that lacks the lightness of other o-ending names.

A small number of girls are given this Irish surname as a first name each year.

We once dismissed Bird as "too flighty", but with the rise of avian names from Lark to Robin to, well, Birdie, we don't see why Bird can't be a fine choice, especially as a middle name.