UK Boy Names

Mitchell has had something of a roller coaster ride, showing some panache in the forties and fifties, when it was seen as a sharper alternative to Michael with its cool Mitch nickname, slipping a bit, then resurfacing in the 90s when it reached as high as Number 71. Mitchell Pritchett is one of the leading characters on the TV sitcom Modern Family.
 Mitchell is an English/Scottish surname name, derived from a medieval nickname of Michael.

Mitchell

This once perfectly respectable surname has suffered decades of abuse, not least by Jerry Lewis's character in the fifties. NFL running back Melvin Gordon stars for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Melvin

Enough parents have found naturalist Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, a worthy hero to keep Darwin relatively consistently in the Top 1000. It has a lovely meaning too—"dear friend."
 
A notable first name bearer is footballer Darwin Núñez.

Darwin

Wallace is so square could almost be ripe for a turnaround, especially with the hipness imparted by the British Claymation series Wallace & Gromit. And Wally makes an adorable Leave it to Beaver retro-style nickname. 
 A Top 100 name in the 1920s, as reflected in early film stars Wallace Beery and Wallace Reid, Wallace hung on in the Top 1000 until the early 1990s. A notable modern namesake is poet Wallace Stevens.
 Wallace stems from the names first given to the native British people as distinct from the Anglo-Saxons, later applied to the people living in Wales. Wallace is classically a <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/428/scottish-baby-names">Scottish name</a>, popularized in the last century in honor of the medieval hero of the Scottish War of Independence. William Wallace--leading character in the film Braveheart.

Wallace

One of many spelling variations of Cason, Caysen, Kasen, and so on, Kaycen made its debut in the US charts in 2025 when it was one of the fastest rising choices for boys. Climbing 241 places, it may have been propelled up the charts by the rise of Kayce, which appeared in the hit TV show Yellowstone. Chosen for 235 boys in the latest count, compared to 167 the year prior, it ranks significantly below Kasen, Kayson, Kason, and Kaysen, but not too far below Cayson, Casen, and Cason.
 
Likely created as mix of popular sounds, it may additionally have its roots in the surnames Cawston ("calf town") or Casey ("brave in battle").

Kaycen

Quinton is among several attractive Q-beginning, n-ending two-syllable <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">names for boys</a>, that also includes Quentin (the most popular iteration) and Quenton. They only suffer from their similarity and possible spelling confusion, ala girls' names Kristin, Kirsten and sisters.
 
Quinton has slipped a bit in the standings over the past few years but remains an appealing choice. Quinton may be a descendant of the Roman family name Quintus, which means fifth, or may also be an English place-name meaning queen's manor or town.

Quinton

Alec, a clipped British short form of Alexander, is less fresh than Alex, but leans more off-beat classic than Xander. Used since at least the 19th-century, Alec became particularly popular in the English-speaking world during the 1990s, possibly following actor Alec Baldwin's appearance in the movies Beetlejuice (1988) and The Hunt for Red October (1990). 
 
Used as both a full name and as a nickname, it has also been notably borne by actor Alec Guinness, writer Alec Waugh, and cricketer Alec Stewart. It's got literary credentials too, appearing in Maurice by E.M Forster, while in fiction more generally it has been used in Twilight, The Shadowhunters, GoldenEye, and Broarchurch.
 
Sharing the same strong meaning as long-form Alexander ("defending men"), Alec has been declining in recent years, possibly because it could easily get misheard as Alex, or because the aforementioned Alec Baldwin was accused (and later cleared) of involuntary manslaughter after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed during filming in 2021. 
 
Ranking at #977 in the US in a recent year, it was chosen by Vice President J.D Vance and his wife Usha for their son, born in 2026. For some, this may spark renewed interest in the name, though others may be further put off.

Alec

Sweet and spirited, kindly and handsome, posh and approachable, Toby is a versatile nickname, popular in the UK as a stand-alone choice, but familiar in the Netherlands and New Zealand too. In the US, it had its heyday in the 70s but has since been outranked by long form Tobias.
 
Derived from the Hebrew Tobiah, meaning "God is good" (or more specifically, "Yahwah is good"), it has appeared in everything from Shakespeare and Dickens to The Office and Gravity Falls.

Toby

For centuries, this name had a romantic, windswept image due to its strong connection to the poet Lord Byron, who inspired its use as a first name. It is one of those surprise names that's appeared on the Top 1000 every year since 1880. 
 William Faulkner used Byron for characters in two of his novels--Light in August and The Town' It was seen as a character on Arrested Development (the real name of Buster), is the appellation of several high-scoring athletes, was given to his son by Lost 's Matthew Fox in 2001 and--trivia tidbit bonus--was James Dean's middle name.

Byron

Loyal is one of the few <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/373/virtue-names">virtue names</a> suitable for boys, an honorable and principled Boy Scout-esque appellation with a surprisingly long and distinguished history.
 Loyal was a mid-list name at the end of the nineteenth century, reaching Number 555 in 1890. It has been on hiatus since 1948--and this might be the moment to bring it back as an unusual but usable choice with real meaning. Loyal probably originally signified devotion to country rather than person, but in either case, fidelity is a great attribute to impart to a child. And who knows?--maybe Loy could be the new Roy.

Loyal

Joe is still the ultimate good-guy name, not at all diminished by its longevity or popularity or its everyman rep as Regular Joe, Cowboy Joe, G.I. Joe, Joe Exotic, Joe Blow, Joe Millionaire, Average Joe — and now President Joe (Biden). 
 There are millions of Josephs who have gone primarily by the nickname Joe; just a few of the more prominent Joes are Biden, Namath, Torre, Di Maggio, Lieberman, Montana, and Jonas.
 Several celebrities have chosen Joe as a full name for their sons, including Kate Winslet, Kevin Costner, Sting, and Stephen King.
 While Joe and long-form Joseph have always been among the most common male names in the US, there was never a President Joe until Biden.

Palmer is a name that derives from the fact that pilgrims often carried palms, thus the double meaning. It's a fresher sounding twist other surname style names, such as Spencer, Carter, Porter and Parker. Despite its long history as a boy's name, Palmer has recently been more successful on the US girls' charts, where it is solidly within the Top 300. Nevertheless, Palmer did make an appearance on the US Top 1000 names for boys in 2023, solidifying it as a potential choice for any gender.

Palmer

St. Landry was a seventh century bishop of Paris, founder of the city's first hospital, though in the US, it may be better connected with legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry, an association that makes this a sports hero name with a hint of ruggedness. Familiar in France between the 1970s and 2000s, it also featured at the latter end of the US Top 1000 during the 20210s.
 
Derived from the Germanic Landric, it has the bold meaning of "ruler of the land". Used as a masculine choice in France, in the US, 2025 saw it re-enter the Top 1000 as a gender neutral choice, given to 229 boys and 279 girls. It was a fast rising in general, meaning is has possibly been able to escape the concerns that it will be confused with laundry.

Landry

The great African-American Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes put this one on the map, while actor Laurence Fishburne adopted it for his now grown son, born in 1987. Despite these popular associations, the name didn't make it into the US Top 1000 until 2013, and while it has remained in the charts, it has stayed towards the latter end.
 Hughes was born James Mercer Langston Hughes, Langston being his mother's maiden name. The name itself derived from an Old English place name, that could be interpreted to mean "tall man's town", though "long stone" is an equally likely meaning.
 Some similar choices are Lanford, Landon, Langford and Langley, while Kingston and Landon are more familiar options.

Langston

Arden is a gender-neutral name that's sleek and stylish but always seems to bob just below the surface of popularity, despite ticking all the boxes with its fashionable two-syllable, N-ending shape and its awesome nature-inspired meanings. In recent US statistics, 51 percent of the babies named Arden were boys to 59 percent girls.

 A locational surname name deriving from several places in England, there are multiple legitimate derivations for this name. One is from Old English earn "eagle" + denu "valley", while another is from the Celtic ard meaning "high".

 For literature lovers: Arden is the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It (Shakespeare's mother's name was Mary Arden), and it also appears in the name and titular character of a poem by Tennyson, Enoch Arden. 

 
In the UK, this name leans far more masculine; it ranked in the Top 800 in a recent year and of all the babies called Arden, it was chosen for boys 85% of the time.

Arden

What with the resurgence of W names like Weston and Walter, the prominence of high profile actress Emma and golfer Bubba, and even the attention paid to Watson, the IBM computer on "Jeopardy" (named for IBM's founder, Thomas Watson) this name could be in line for a revival of its own.
 Watson is the 20th most common surname in Scotland, meaning the son of Wat, an early nickname for Walter. Among the earliest emigrants to the Virginia Colony from England was John Watson in 1635. Later noted bearers of the surname include Alexander Graham Bell's telephone experiment partner Thomas A. Watson ("Mr. Watson--come here!"), James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, and actress Emily.
Two well known Watsons in fiction are Sherlock Holmes's accomplice, Dr (John) Watson, and Spider-Man's love interest, Mary Jane.
All in all: a name with a varied and fascinating heritage.

Watson

Devon, spelled like the lovely seaside county in Britain that inspired the name, has crashed since its heyday around the Top 100 in the 1990s. Despite its use as a female name, for example for Devon on the TV show The 4400, Devon continues to be far more popular for boys than for girls.

Devon

A tributary of the River Clyde in Scotland, called in Scottish Gaelic Abhainn Cheilbhinn: caol ("narrow") or coille ("wooded") + abhainn ("river"). As a surname, it derives from the name of the river.

 As a given name, it first entered usage in the 1920s in the UK, inspired by renowned British physicist, mathematician and engineer William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who worked at the University of Glasgow for over fifty years. When he was ennobled by Queen Victoria in 1892, he chose the honorary title Kelvin, after the river which flows past his laboratory. The unit of absolute temperature kelvin (K) is also named in his honor.

 In the US, Kelvin caught on as a first name in the 1950s – no doubt influenced by Kevin, which was really taking off in popularity around the same time, as well as Calvin and Melvin, which were falling out of use. It peaked in the early 1960s and has been dropping steadily since, but remains in the Top 1000 today.

Kelvin

Ernest is one of those sober, so-far-out-they're-beginning-to-be-reconsidered Great Uncle names. Ernest recently received a big style boost when Britain's Princess Eugenie chose it for her second son.
 
Ernest was a Top 40 name from 1880 to 1926, and despite trending downward from there, hung onto the Top 1000 until 2019. But we may see the rise of Ernest again before long.
 Ernest is probably the only name a whole play was based on—Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest—in which one character says, "There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. I pity any poor woman whose husband is not called Ernest."
 The most famous bearer of the name is novelist Ernest Hemingway—unless you want to count Bert's friend Ernie.
 Changing the spelling to Earnest makes it a male virtue name.

Ernest

There's only one Trenton, New Jersey, but it's a widely used name, more for its fashionable -on ending than the reference to the city. Since 2007, however, Trenton has been on a steady decline. Trenten is another popular spelling. Two NFL players, Trent Richardson and the late TJ Jackson, have Trenton as first name.

Trenton

UK names for baby boys originate from all the languages and cultures of the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, along with Cornwall and the Isle of Man. UK boy names range from the top names for boys throughout the English-speaking world, such as Edward, Jack, and James, to thousands of unique boy names like Kelso, Mungo, and Rowley.

Browse this list of UK boy names that originate in the Nameberry database that originate in the English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Cornish and Manx languages and cultures. 

UK names for baby boys originate from all the languages and cultures of the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, along with Cornwall and the Isle of Man. UK boy names range from the top names for boys throughout the English-speaking world, such as Edward, Jack, and James, to thousands of unique boy names like Kelso, Mungo, and Rowley.  (Page 13)