UK Baby Names

Unusual and simple nature name worthy of further consideration.

Tegwen is nowhere near as pretty as its meaning. Other -wen names -- Anwen, Bronwen, Rhonwen -- have more appeal.

Years ago we might have said that this name was unthinkable, but with old-fashioned names being so popular right now (consider Atticus, Leonidas, Arthur, Jasper, Augustus etc) what's to stop Cuthbert from becoming more wearable? Bertie is a cute (and very fashionable) nickname option for this grand old name.

Sprightly and engaging nickname for human, full name for pet. Author Jojo Moyes and dancer/singer Jojo Sliwa have propelled the name into the public eye.

Cady is one of those names that sounds popular but is actually rare in this form, given to only a few dozen baby girls in the US last year.

More unusual than Tessa, this would make an interesting, meaningful and attractive choice for a third child.

Common in Wales, but would really stand out here. One of the middle names of Stella McCartney's daughter Reiley; Dilys Powell was a well-known British film critic, Professor Dilys Derwent a Harry Potter character., a witch who worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital, and was a celebrated Headmistress of Hogwarts School..

Better for a dog.

Overwhelmingly feminine in the US, where parent name Mackenzie is wildly popular, but masculine in the UK, where Kenzie ranks among the Top 1000 names for baby boys.

This British last-name-first-name could make a more masculine alternative to Shelby.

One of the surname names used more in the last century, à la Milton and Morton.

New Presidential name, if you're ready to move beyond Lincoln and Jefferson. At the turn of the last century, during the original McKinley's heyday, as a first name it almost reached the Top 100.

One case where a spelling variation improves the name, Britton is used about four times as often as Britain for both genders. Currently, the count of baby Brittons is running at about 4 to 3 in favor of the boys.

This phonetic version of the Welsh Cerys might be easier for Americans, certainly, to understand, but it does lose some poetry in translation.

Why bother to invent a new name or spelling when there are intriguing oddities like this in existence. Also in the Welsh encyclopedia of names: Ffion, Ffiona, and Ffraid, the Welsh form of Brigid.

A variation of Jameson. Both names have climbed in popularity in recent years, though Jameson remains the preferred spelling.

Divine seems more proper a name with the rise of Heaven and its turned-around twin Nevaeh. Though superlative names like Divine -- Unique, say, or Precious -- sometimes seems as if they're trying to hard and protesting too much.

Flash Gordon makes this a superhero name, but Flash might just appeal to modern parents looking for one of the new active boys' names, ala Ace and Breaker and Ranger. We'd recommend something more pulled-together as a proper name with Flash as a nickname or middle name.

One of the aggressive new boys' names, ala Tracker and Heller, that have become fashionable among parents who are courting trouble.

Destry rides again, this time as a Western flavored baby name. Derived from the French surname Destrier, from an Anglo-Norman word meaning "warhorse", this rugged name was popularized by the 1930 novel Destry Rides Again by Max Brand, subsequently adapted for the big screen.