English Names for Boys

And if it's triplets: Pembroke, Pendleton, and Penley. 

Penley

Perkin sounds a bit Hobbit-ish as a full name, but it might make a good honor name or nickname for a boy called Peter.

Perkin

Palin, as in, yes, one-time VP candidate Sarah, has emerged as a hot new first name, usually for girls.

Palin

Phelps

Possible middle name to honor an ancestral Philip. 

Phipps

One surname name unlikely to cross over to first. 

Pickford

Piper's rising popularity for girls makes it an unlikely masculine choice.

Piper

A name you would probably want to use only if it's in your family history.  The first syllable moves it miles away from the softer Whitney.


Pitney

Despite two distinguished surname-bearers -- the great British statesman William Pitt and actor Brad -- this would be a tough name to pull off in first place. William Thackeray used it for two generations of baronets in his novel Vanity Fair, the Sir Pitt Crawleys.

Pitt

Pollard

This is an English surname dating back to 1086, but we don't see it having much of a first name future in the twenty-first century.

Pomeroy

There are two lovely Portlands, in Maine and Oregon, but not many babies with their name. 

Portland

Could join such up-and-comers as Miller and Gardener, though the "potty" and Harry Potter associations are strong and potentially unappealing these days.

Potter

If this name makes you think of Victorian novels, it's because Fairfax was part of Mr Rochester's name in Jane Eyre, and the surname of a minor character in Jane Austen's Emma. It has a distinctly aristocratic feel, despite its straightforward meaning. Fairfax is also a city in Virginia.

Fairfax

Only if it's a family name, and even then, better in the middle. 

Fairchild

Alaska's second most populous city makes a baby name with a preppy, even aristocratic, flavor.

Fairbanks

Perhaps if there's a Putnam in your background. 

Putnam

One of the more imposing and intriguing of the combo names. 

Quantavius

Heard in a sixties spy movie, The Quiller Memorandum, this uncommon occupational name has an offbeat charm.

Quiller

English names for boys dominate the popularity lists of the US, the UK, and other English-speaking countries, with William and James ranking highly in the US, and Jack, Oscar, and Charlie reigning in the UK.



Many English names for boys drawn from surnames are currently trending in the United States: Jackson, Cooper, Lincoln, Hunter, and Landon, for instance. And then there are English word names from Royal to Loyal that have become fashionable for baby boys.

 include Carter, Grayson, Julian, Mason, Parker, Robert, Sawyer, and Wyatt. Trending English names for boys include surname names such as Reeve and Miller and antique names such as Auberon and Anson.

Baby boy names of English origin popular in the UK

 include Oliver — a top name throughout the United Kingdom — Harry, Leo, and Alfie. The English name Tom ranks highly in France, while James is favored in The Netherlands and Oliver is popular in Spain.



Some of the straightforward boys’ names we think of as English — like the royal Charles, William, Henry, George, and Louis — all have non-English roots but may carry nicknames like Charlie or Bill that are distinctively English.

English Names for Boys rank highly throughout the English-speaking world, including William, James, Jack, Oscar, and Charlie. (Page 57)