UK Boy Names

A twist on Biblical Ezra, Ezran is a modern invention with a trendy yet established sound. Given to around 70 boys in a recent year, it appeared in the show The Dragon Prince in 2018, which coincided with its first feature in the US stats.
 
You could interpret the name as meaning "help" as Ezra does, while Ezren and Ezryn are alternative forms.

Ezran

Adair has flair, the grace of a Fred Astaire, and a daring, spirited vibe. It's usually considered a Scottish surname, derived from the name Edgar, though other possibilities are that it derives from the place name, Adare, meaning "ford of oak trees" or from the Irish Darragh meaning "oak tree". In any of these cases, it is pronounced uh-DEHR.
 
Alternatively, it may be used as a Portuguese name, likely as a twist on Ademar. Pronounced with three syllables ("a-du-EER"), it would mean "wealth and fame". 
 
A unisex choice, Adair does lean masculine, with 59 boys and 22 girls given the name in the US in a recent year.

Adair

To Americans, a quintessential British name, introduced to the U.S. public by suave journalist/PBS Masterpiece Theater host Alastair Cook. Sometimes used in the U.S. by parents with Scottish heritage.

Alastair

An undiscovered option among occupational names, as of 2023, Banner has never been used for more than 100 baby boys in a single year. It does have charm however, much due to its associations with fêtes and phrases like "a banner year". 
 
Originally given as a surname to someone who carried a flag, it might now appeal to Marvel fans, as in Bruce Banner, and as a patriotic choice, in reference to "The Star-Spangled Banner", the US national anthem. 
 
Actor Jesse Eisenberg has a son named Banner, born in 2017, and other parents are following in his footsteps. The name was chosen for 66 boys in 2023 (along with 7 girls), which is more than double the number given the name a decade earlier.

Banner

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

Fulton

Despite the success of so many O-starting <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys names</a>--Oliver, Owen, Otis, Oscar--Oswald has not yet shown any signs of resurrection, though he does have the animating nicknames Ozzie/Ozzy and Oz. The name has some literary cred--in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's King Lear and a novel by H. G.Wells--and there was early cartoon character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Oswald

Full name that sounds more like a short form; more likely to be spelled Kip. 

Kipp

A variation or short form of the popular Biblical boy name Jacob that has a totally different feel to it. Contemporary, modern, and zippy, it blends the cool air of Kade, Kai, Kace, and Karter, with cosy Toby and Alby.  Popular in the UK where it ranks in the Top 500, other forms include Coby and Kobe, which are also high ranking in England and Wales. In the US, only Kobe makes the charts. 

Koby

Buckley

Chet is an old-fashioned short form of Chester, that like Ned, Mac, Ted, and Wes, it has the potential to sound cool again. Country singer Luke Combs and his wife Nicole, certainly thought so as they chose Chet Wiley for their son in 2026, a sibling to Beau Lee and Tex Lawrence. 
 
Notable Chets include guitarist Chet Atkins, musician Chet Baker, footballer Chet Brooks, and basketball player Chet Holmgren, while fictional Chets have appeared in Fallout: New Vegas, The Fairly Oddparents and Turbo. In some cases, it has been a full name, while in others, it has been short for Chester and Chesney.
 
The name may also be considered a Thai name, meaning "mind, thought, idea"

Chet

The name of a British town on the Thames that hosts a famous regatta, so it could be an appropriate middle name for the son of boat-lovers. 

Henley

Usually adding an e to the end of a name makes it more feminine, but Locke is at most recent count used only for baby boys. Still, this stylishly strong one-syllable name is theoretically gender-neutral.

Locke

An English surname-turned-first-name whose most famous bearer is former US president Lyndon B. Johnson. His appointment in 1963 caused a huge spike in use for his unusual name the following year, pushing it to its historical peak of #347 in 1964. However, the year after his exit from the Oval Office, it dropped back below the Top 1000.

 If you like the sound, nature name Linden is a fresher and more politically neutral option to consider.

Lyndon

Attractive North Carolina place-name and surname of explorer Sir Walter Raleigh.  Distinctive, classy-but-approachable choice for either sex.

Raleigh

This name of three early popes has been associated in recent years with a cocky cartoon cat ("Thufferin' thuccatash!") and the Italian Stallion hero of the Rocky and Rambo movies (who was born Michael) — and yet we think it just might be ready to move further back into the mainstream.
 
Sylvester was at its height in the 1920s, when it was in the Top 200, and hung on in the lower rungs of the ladder until 1994. Lately the name has been most visible as a surname — that of Sue Sylvester on Glee. Model Emily Ratajkowski named her son Sylvester Apollo in 2021.
 
Trivia tidbit--in the 1935 movie Sylvia Scarlett, the young Katharine Hepburn disguises herself as a boy named Sylvester — until she meets Cary Grant!

Sylvester

Earl is a title name - brought to England by the vikings - that's out of fashion right now, unlike King and Duke. Its peak popularity was in the 1920s, which gives it a dusty great-grandpa feel, but there are also younger Earls in pop culture, like the reformed criminal in "My Name is Earl".

Earl

Floyd was a Top 100 name from the 1880s to the 1940s that somehow developed an almost comical hayseed persona along with a touch of retro jazz cool; it's beginning to appeal to parents with a strong taste for the quirky. 
 In terms of namesakes and references, there is two-time heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson, well-known attorney Floyd Abrams, Mayberry barber Floyd Lawson, Muppet Floyd Pepper, and the iconic British rock band, Pink Floyd.

Floyd

Fairly popular a hundred years ago but out of the US charts since 1978, the quirky yet edgy Roscoe feels very much in step with the trending o-ending boy names popular now, such as Milo, Hugo, and Otto. A Top 1000 choice in the UK (albeit near the latter end), it could make a cool alternative to Ross, Russell, Robert, and Ronan.
Originally a place and surname, Roscoe had its glory days in the 1880s, when it reached as high as Number 138, then gradually declined, possibly damaged by the scandals surrounding silent star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and then the image it acquired thanks to Sheriff Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard. It ultimately comes from the Old Norse elements rá and skógr meaning "deer, roebuck" and "forest, woods" respectively. 

Notable bearers of the name include US tennis player Roscoe Tanner and pickleball player Roscoe Bellamy, while in fiction, it was used in the series It's a Sin for the character Roscoe Babatunde. Another (Instagram) famous Roscoe was Roscoe Hamilton, racing driver Lewis Hamilton's dog.

Roscoe

Vinny

Despite its origin as a patronymic meaning "son of Adam", Addison really caught on for baby girls in the US around the turn of the millennium, following in Madison's footsteps to peak at #11 in 2007 and again in 2010. But there are plenty of distinguished namesakes for a boy named Addison: from the fictional theater critic Addison DeWitt (All About Eve) to the 18th-century English poet, playwright, politician and essayist Joseph Addison. It is worth noting too, that Addison remains in usage for boys in the UK and would fit right in with other unisex choices, such as Mackenzie, Hadley, and Ellis.

Addison

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 23)