UK Baby Names

This spelling of Brice relates the name to Utah's spectacular Bryce Canyon -- and is much more popular for both genders than the original Brice. Basketball's LeBron James named his son Bryce Maximus James, and in one of his early movies, John Cusack played a Bryce in Sixteen Candles.

Bryce

A doubly Presidential name, via Pierce and Roosevelt, Franklin was given an initial boost via the fame of Benjamin Franklin. It also has a literary tie to the main character of the Wilkie Collins classic The Moonstone.
 Franklin was a Top 100 name at the peak of the FDR period. But will Franklin get a boost from the pro-Fran-name feeling evidenced since the ascension of Pope Francis? Time will tell.

Franklin

Spencer is a name that has everything: it's both distinguished sounding and accessible, dignified but Spencer Tracy-like friendly. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice.
 As a family surname, Spencer became the middle name of Winston Churchill, and was the maiden name of Princess Diana. The surname version was often spelled Spenser in the past, as in Edmund Spenser, the poet known for The Faerie Queene.
 The protagonist of Henry James's short story The Jolly Corner" is Spencer Brydon.

Spencer

One spelling variation that's more popular than the original, this somewhat old-fashioned name might be in honor of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win a Pulitzer prize for poetry, or may be a way to get to the modern short form Gwen.
 In the Oscar Wilde play, the character's name is spelled the traditional Welsh way, Gwendolen, as it was for one of the principal characters in George Eliot's Daniel Deronda, and Gwendolen was also Merlin's wife in Arthurian legend.

Gwendolyn

Miller is an up-and-coming choice in the stylish occupational genre, among the fastest-rising names for both boys and girls in the US in 2023.
 
Miller is also among the <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/top-last-names-in-the-us">most common last names in the US</a>.
 Miller was chosen as a baby name by Stella McCartney, Melissa Etheridge, and by Tea Leoni and David Duchovny. There are innumerable Miller namesakes, including writers Arthur and Henry, and entertainers Dennis, Glenn, Jonny Lee, Larry, Mitch, Roger, Steve, and Sienna. And in fiction, there's Henry James's heroine, Daisy Miller.

Miller

Forrest is one of the earliest appealingly sylvan, outdoorsy choices, borne by newsman Sawyer, actor Whitaker, and football Hall of Famer Gregg. Forrest Gates was a character on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
 Forrest was steadily on the US popularity list until 2003, reaching a high of Number 175 in 1913, and then received a somewhat surprising blip after the release of "Forrest Gump." It started rebounding again in 2013, when it reentered the Top 1000 as one of the fastest-rising names on the list.
 Early Forrests were named in honor of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, head of a famous cavalry force, who advised 'Git there fuster with the mostest men.'

Forrest

A unisex name that can be pronounced with one or two syllables (KAYS or KAY-see), Kayce was among the fastest-rising names of 2022 in the US, jumping 490 spots, thanks to the cool-cowboy association from character Kayce Dutton on the hit TV Western Yellowstone. This Kayce's name is pronounced like "Casey", leading to renewed interest in this spelling too.
 
A recent year saw it rank in the Top 400 in the US, given to around 850 boys, while in England and Wales, it was the second fastest rising name, climbing 374 places into the Top 500.
 
The name ultimately comes from the Irish surname Ó Cathasaigh, itself from the Old Irish Cathassach (KAH-huh-suhkh) meaning "vigilant, brave in battle".

Kayce

Clark seemed to have been Gone with the Wind, but parents looking for a short, strong boy's name are now beginning to appreciate its cool combination of Gable charm with Superman power. 
 Clark has been steadily on the popularity list—it was Number 176 in 1881 and well used in the 1940s and 50s, and is now on another upswing.
 Long-term Hollywood heartthrob Clark Gable was born William Clark—his middle name was the maiden name of his maternal grandmother.

Clark

Vanessa was invented by writer Jonathan Swift for a lover named Esther Vanhomrigh—he combined the first syllable of her last name with the initial syllable of her first. Swift used it in the poem Cadenus and Vanessa in 1713. A century later, Johan Christian Fabricius used Vanessa as the name of a genus of butterfly.
 
Vanessa was one of the ultra-feminine three-syllable hits of the eighties, but has proved to have had more staying power than others like Tiffany, Kimberly, and Melissa, due to its classic beauty.
 Vanessa Redgrave is the doyenne of the renowned Redgrave family; Vanessa Hudgens, the young actor and singer from High School Musical is a more youthful bearer. On TV there have been Vanessas on The Cosby Show, Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries.

Vanessa

Ivory was last popular a hundred years ago. In 2013, it finally began to regain some momentum in the female rankings, reentering the Top 1000, while 2024 saw it jump up the charts again by over 100 places, making it a To 500 name. 
 A word of caution, however—people may associate this name with illegal poaching of elephants and the ivory trade. Or, more prosaically, the popular brand of soap.

Ivory

Appealing way, à la Dawson, to honor an ancestral Lawrence. Lawson is also an English pop rock band.

Lawson has history or use that dates far back, but it fell off of the charts in 1950. The name resurfaced in 2001 and has been climbing since. Lawson has that surname feel and -son suffix that parents are loving in recent years.

Lawson

Long associated with the Churchill family and common in the West Indies, the distinguished Winston is back in style having been slightly neglected in the US after its brief flash of popularity during World War II. Familiar in England and Wales, recent years have seen in re-enter the Top 500 in the States. 
 
An English place and surname, Winston derives from the Anglo-Saxon Wynnstan, meaning "joy stone", though "friend's town" is another interpretation. It features in George Orwell's famous novel 1984, borne by the protagonist, Winston Smith, whose name serves to make him both an "everyman" character and an individual.
 
It also has a presence in Pulp Fiction, is the name of a character in the best-selling book and film How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and was the middle name of both John Lennon and John Howard, long-serving Australian Prime Minister. More recently, it appeared the TV show, 13 Reasons Why while actress Billie Piper and actor Laurence Fox named their son Winston in 2008.
 
The name peaked in the US back in 1941 when it reached #234 on the charts. Parents then were seeking to honor the British Wartime Prime Minister, however, today, this association may be the reason why some wouldn't use the name. On one hand, some parents may feel it's too attached to one figure, making it hard to wear or live up to; for others, the link to the politician is a negative or at least controversial one.
 
Nevertheless, Winston was chosen for nearly 800 American boys in a recent year, while in the UK, it was chosen for around 50, and it does fit in with recent trends towards strong vintage names, like Edward, Edmund, and Alfred. Nicknames Winnie and Win might soften it slightly.

Winston

Blair with a little something extra, which some parents may feel feminizes the name. The Blaire spelling was given to a surprising number of baby girls, with about a third of baby girls with the name given this spelling. The final e also is reminiscent of Claire.

Blaire

Upbeat nickname-name that can't help but make you smile. You might want to use it as a short form for a more "serious" name such as Sunniva, but Sunny is undeniably, well, sunny.

Sunny

This Dana-Donna variation has started to carve out its own place on popularity lists; an interesting alternative to Daniella as a namesake for a relative named Daniel. 

Danna

Bonnie is an adorable nickname name, heading back up the popularity list after a 50-year nap. A Top 100 girls' name throughout the rest of the English-speaking world, Americans are later to jump on the Bonnie bandwagon but now it's trending here too.
 
Bonnie is a word the Scots really do use for pretty, thus the root of this name, from the French bonne. Along with Betty and Bea, Bonnie, is one of the vintage <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/b">girls' names starting with B</a>that are back in.
 Gone With the Wind gave Bonnie a big push when Scarlett and Rhett used it for their daughter. Her full name was Eugenie Victoria, but the pet name came from the fact that she had "eyes as blue as the bonnie blue flag." 
 Bonnie's last moment in the limelight came in the late sixties with the film Bonnie and Clyde, about outlaw Bonnie Parker. Now after a long decline, it's finally showing new signs of life, perhaps thanks to the Bonnies in The Vampire Diaries and The Hunger Games, as well as a new miniseries about the 1930s-era bandits.

Bonnie

Some might be surprised to learn that Edwin has been a consistent presence on the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular names</a> list since statistics have become available.
 The most famous Edwin in history was a seventh century martyr called Edwin of Northumbria, and in literature is familiar from the protagonist of Charles Dickens' final (and unfinished) novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin's was born Edwin, and fellow astronaut Frank Borman honored him by using Edwin for his son.

Edwin

Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even better. It's one of the newly popular nature-word names, charting in the US for the first time in 2015 for both genders.
 While there are about four girls named Briar to every three boys, the name is on the rise for both genders. It could make for an interesting choice to honor a Brian.

Briar

Lauren was derived from Laurence, an English name from the Roman family name Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum." Laurentum, an ancient Italian city, got its name from the Latin word laurus, meaning "bay laurel." 

Lauren was originally a masculine name but was embraced as a feminine name after Betty Joan Perske chose it for her stage name, Lauren Bacall, in 1944. Today, Lauren is almost 100% female, while Loren is gender-neutral.
 
Lauren was in and around the Top 25 from the early eighties until 2006, when the classic Laura began to be seen as a more stylish option. While it's still and forever a lovely name, Lauren is becoming one more identified with contemporary moms than babies.

Lauren

Logan, with its appealing Scottish burr, is a very hot boys' name—it's in the national Top 10 and heading for Number 1 in some states—and can also make a rich and resonant choice for a girl. Jason and Jordan Mewes have a daughter named Logan Lee.

Logan

Baby names from the UK include names with origins from through the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, along with Manx and Cornish names from those corners of the kingdom. UK baby names encompass a wide range of styles, from some of the most popular names throughout the English-speaking world, such as Jennifer and Mason, to such unique baby names as Nolwenn, Pembroke, and Sholto. There are hundreds more UK names that are just as unusual.

They along with all the names in the Nameberry database that originate in the English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Cornish and Manx languages and cultures appear on this master list of UK baby names. 

Baby names from the UK include names with origins from through the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, along with Manx and Cornish names from those corners of the kingdom. UK baby names encompass a wide range of styles, from some of the most popular names throughout the English-speaking world, such as Jennifer and Mason, to such unique baby names as Nolwenn, Pembroke, and Sholto.  (Page 12)