UK Baby Names

Hayden – a formerly obscure name that's risen to huge popularity – is holding tight to its popularity for boys though it's now slipping for girls, and we expect will fall further following actress Hayden Panettiere's tragic death. Though Hayden is among the most distinctive of the bunch, it gets lost in the crowd of Jaidens, Bradens, Aidans, and endless variations. 

Hayden's strength is its steadiness. It took a big leap up in the standings for boys in the early 1990s and has held onto that popularity for 35 years now, without ever getting too popular. It's off its 2005 peak now, but not too far off, which parents considering Hayden for their sons should consider a very good thing.

Hayden is heading toward becoming a modern classic for boys. New star boy name Hayes may be considered an update.

Hayden

One of those simple, straightforward English surnames -- and with a presidential pedigree -- that's easy to translate into a first. Chosen by both Kevin Costner and Jessica Alba for their sons, it has been climbing the US charts since 2009.
 
A stylish choice, Hayes is both a surname style name and a nature name, referring to a hedged area of land. It could work as an alternative to Harry or Harrison, or perhaps as an honor to a family Hayley. 
 
2024 saw it enter the US Top 200 when it was given to around 2250 boys.

Hayes

Ashley was a sensation in the 1980s and 1990s; it hit Number 1 in 1991. Ashley is still pretty but more and more parents are turning to newer names like Ashlyn and Aubrey, and spellings such as Ashleigh and Ashlea.  If you hear the name Ashley in a playground today, it's more likely to be the mom than the little girl.

Ashley

Who knew there were so many soccer fans in the U.S.? Beckham -- as in British sensation David -- has exploded onto the baby name scene in the past decade.

Beckham

In the USA, Blair is gaining momentum, rising quickly for the last 10 years and likely to continue to climb. In England and Wales, where Blair has political connotations – calling to mind former prime minister Tony Blair – it is much less common, although it is in use for boys in its native Scotland.

 Blair has a chic and tailored feel in line with other trending gender-neutral one-syllable girl names like Sloane, Quinn, Sage, and Reese. A notable pop culture namesake in recent years is Leighton Meester's upper-crusty character in Gossip Girls.

 Blair was first popularized as a girl's name in the 80s, cracking the Top 500 for a few years before falling off again. Blair re-entered the charts in 2011 and has been rising since. Blair has a longer history as a boy's name, with consistent use as early as the 1800s, and the name stayed on the charts until the mid 90s.

Blair

Braxton entered the popularity ranks in 1985 and has been climbing steadily ever since. It has gained from the all-powerful X-factor, and perhaps also from the reality TV show, Braxton Family Values, featuring singer Toni and her sisters Traci, Towanda, Trina and Tamar. Though it might sound new, there was a prominent Confederate Civil War general named Braxton Bragg.

Braxton

This variation of Ariel, with the extra-feminine suffix, has been on the rise in recent years and has now surpassed the original. The similarity to the name of the Little Mermaid gives Ariella a princessy flair. 

Ariella entered the charts in 2008, and has now risen into the Top 200. The cute nickname Ari is on trend as seen with the popularity of Ariana and Arianna, as are any girl names ending in "-ella", making Ariella a natural hit. Arabella is another name with the best of both of these trends. 

Ariella

Sweet and sunny but substantial too, Callie is a nickname-style choice that has long been used as a stand-alone option . Traditionally a diminutive of classic Caroline, it may also be used for Calliope, Camila, Callista, Calanthe, and beyond.
 
Callie was a Top 200 choice in the late 19th century and remained in the US Top 1000 right up until the 50s. After a brief hiatus, it returned in the 70s, and has risen slowly but steadily back to the Top 200 in recent years. Also popular in England and Wales, Australia, and Scotland, a recent year saw it given to 1700 babies in the US.
 
As a short form of Caroline, Callie would mean "free man"; from Calliope, it would mean "beautiful voice". The Greek element kallos means "beauty", which could provide a simple meaning. 
 
Other spellings include Kali, Cali, and Kallie, which all rank in the US charts, while spin-offs include Caliana and Kaliyah.

Callie

Max was derived from Maximilian, a Latin name that originated from the Roman family name Maximus. The character name Max in the children's classic Where the Wild Things Are had an impact on baby namers. Max is a widely used name internationally.
 
Max was transformed from cigar-chomping grandpa to rosy-cheeked baby in the 1980s, along with card-playing partners Sam and Jake. Never quite as popular as it seemed, Max is now close to the the highest it's been on the Social Security list since 1917, after which German-sounding names went out of favor. 
 
Max has been a popular starbaby name for decades, most recently for the sons of Christina Aguilera, Cynthia Nixon and Charlie Sheen, while other celebs, such as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, have used more formal appellations--Maximilian, Maxwell, Maxfield--on the birth certificate to get to the nickname Max. Skater Scott Hamilton put his own spin on it by maximizing the spelling of his son's name to Maxx.
 
Warning: Max has long been among the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names/dogs">most popular dog names</a>.

Sutton is a habitational surname propelled to popularity by Tony-winning Broadway actress Sutton Foster, who's also the star of Hulu's Younger -- based on a novel written by Nameberry co-creator Pamela Redmond.

Rare as a first name before Foster rose to stardom, Sutton has been rising for the past decade through the Top 1000 for both girls and boys. It's given about twice as often to baby girls as to boys, but it's become popular for both.

Sutton

Tucker has more spunk than most last-name-first-names, and also a positive, comforting ("Tuck me in, Mommy") feel. 
 Tucker got something of a preppy image via bow-tied conservative TV commentator Tucker Carlson, and quite the opposite from writer/blogger Tucker Max, author of the #1 best-seller I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. Tucker Crowe is a character in the Nick Hornby novel Juliet, Naked.

Tucker

Cole -- a short name that embodies a lot of richness and depth -- has long been associated with the great songwriter Cole Porter. It's quite popular in Scotland.
 Old King Cole -- which refers to a real British king -- is familiar to all kids. Cole was the name of the child in The Sixth Sense and was also the name of -- sorry -- the notorious outlaw Cole Younger, who was born Thomas Coleman.

Cole

Annie is one of the most open and optimistic, the-sun'll-come-out-tomorrow type of name, having been celebrated over the years in song (Annie Laurie), comic strip (Little Orphan Annie), folklore (Annie Oakley, born Phoebe), and film (Annie Hall). It strikes a nice old-fashioned-but-jaunty chord that still has appeal, especially in an age of vintage nicknames like Lottie, Maisy, Millie, Pippa, and Margot.
 
Between 1880 and 1938, Annie was a Top 50 name in the US, but fell down the charts in the 60s, reaching it low point of #441 in 1970. More recent years have seen it re-enter the Top 200, given to 1690 babies in the latest count. 
 
Elsewhere, it ranks in the Top 150 in England, Wales, and Scotland, in the Top 50 in Ireland, and the Top 10 in Northern Ireland.
 
Love Annie but want a "full name" that isn't Anne or Anna? Try Anneliese, Anastasia, Annabel, Annika, Annabeth, and Annora.

Annie

Rhett has been more tied to Gone with the Wind than even Scarlett, but now we're hearing rumblings of its finding new and independent favor among parents, perhaps emboldened by the growing popularity of Scarlett. 
 In addition to being a powerful storyteller, author Margaret Mitchell was a great character namer as well—think Scarlett, Melanie, Ashley, and even the mansion Tara. Rhett emerged from the story as one of the ultimate dashing, romantic names—so much so that parents of the past didn't fully embrace it.
 Rhett is a South Carolina surname, brought to North America in 1694, and borne by a noted politician during the Civil War period, which may have inspired the author.

Rhett

A happy medium between the weighty Maximilian and the laid-back Max, Maxwell is one of the most classic and attractive <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/428/scottish-baby-names">Scottish names</a>. Early influences on the name's revival include Maxwell Smart of the television show, and then movie, Get Smart, and the Beatles song about Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
 Lance Armstrong chose it for his son, but there was a sharp and unexpected gender switch when both Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Sloane both chose it for their daughters. Still, in the US baby boy Maxwells outnumber baby girls 50 to 1.

Maxwell

Tatum is strong, distinctive, energetic, and recommended, especially if your last name is as congenial as O'Neal. The name is now used for both genders, with the balance running about two to one in favor of the girls.
 Though this surname became a first in the nineteenth century, it didn't become a ranked American girls' name until 1994, two decades after Tatum O'Neal won her Best Supporting Oscar at the age of ten. It seems to be on a slight downward trend, having fallen out of the Top 400 in 2015 for the first time since 2002.
 Rose McGowan played a Tatum in the movie Scream. As a surname, Tatum is now strongly associated with popular actor Channing; in the past it was jazz pianist Art.

Tatum

Haven is a recently invented safe-harbor name that appeals to an increasing number of parents who don't want to voyage quite as far as Heaven. 
 Haven Kimmel is the author of the bestselling memoir A Girl Named Zippy, and Haven Denney is a medal-winning skater. There was also a supernatural TV series called Haven.
 
Jessica Alba's younger daughter and middle child is named Haven, sister of Honor and Hayes. Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson named their daughter Haven, twin of Hudson.

There are currently more than ten baby girls named Haven for every boy, though the name is equally appropriate for any gender.

Haven

Blakely, along with Blakeley, Blakelee and Blakeleigh, is one of the post-Ashley surname names that end with the lee sound so stylish today. Reality stars Trista and Ryan Sutter named their daughter Blakesley. These surname-names are among the most stylish <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/501/english-names-for-girls">English names for girls</a>.

Blakely

The sassy, steel magnolia appeal of Oscar-winning Reese (born Laura Jeanne—Reese is her mother's maiden name) Witherspoon has single-handedly propelled this formerly <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a> into girls' popularity.
 Reese was recently in the Top 10 Unisex names looked at on Nameberry.

Reese

Legend joins cousins Story, Saga and Fable in the baby name pantheon of narrative words. Unlike Story and Fable, however, Legend comes with additional weight, being used for fame ("living legend") and to denote a person who is fantastic "what a legend"). Who can live up to that?
 Legend entered the US Top 1000 in 2010 for the first time, perhaps in connection popular singer John Legend, and is now on the brink of breaking into the Top 100.

Legend

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 6)