1450+ English Names

Solid Philip middle name alternative.

Old-fashioned, conjuring up an ardent suitor in a bow tie and straw boater.

Plummer might be an occupational name for someone who works with pipes -- yes, like a plumber -- or with feathers, from the Olde English (from the French) plume. Or it could indicate someone who lived near a plum tree.

Strong, friendly surname choice, à la Bailey.

One way to refer to an ancestral Roy, if not the most mellifluous.

Sounds like an authentic upper-crust family name -- not necessarily a bad thing.

The great-great-aunt in the purple hat, singing jazz.

Literary, occupational, and very neglected.

Most parents attracted to this name will be devotees of the author William and would be better off using it in the middle.

Not manly enough.

Today's Veronicas would be called Veronica.

Pompous and pretentious.

Saint Swithin or Swithun is best known for his feast day, July 15, which according to legend will determine the weather for the next 40 days.

Possibility for fish enthusiasts, but works better for a boy.

Merilee and Merrilee were early respelled or word names, ahead of their time in some ways. Merrilee hit the Top 1000 for a couple of years in the 1940s, but last year no baby girls were given either version of the name in the US, which makes it more appealing.

A family name, a bit haughty.

Birch or even Burke is better.

A Robert nickname out of use for hundreds of years, but now sounds cooler than Bob or Rob for a modern boy.

We can hear the kids teasing him from here.