When British Names Stand Out

I always thought England sounded like a good idea. I knew I wanted to travel there for the history, the accents and — no secret here — the names! I even imagined meeting a future spouse across the pond just so I could get away with fanciful firsts and multiple middles. I wanted a Jemima, or an Andromeda, or an Ophelia! I wanted to use Catesby without an eye batted and to say that I love the name Eugenie without people thinking I meant it ironically.

When I first visited the UK in 2018 to visit my partner (yes, I nabbed a Brit; Emma Woodhouse would be so pleased!) I knew it would be impossible for every new person I met to be named Oberon or Fuchsia, but still…one hopes.

While I looked for Lavenders, Rufuses, and Sophronias around every corner, I found familiar classics Jessica and Matthew and a seemingly never-ending field of Daisys in their stead! When my partner tells me stories of their youth, I always need to clarify which Jess, Matt, or Daisy we’re talking about. As far as staples go, they are timeless; I have noticed a natural tendency to eschew trendiness when naming British babies.

Though I’ve yet to meet an Ivo or Willoughby, I haven’t been beset by an endless cycle of -aiden babies, nor a parade of -leighs. From my experience, British naming habits tend towards Anglo-Saxon staples. There’s little interest in unseating favorites in pursuit of setting a new curve. That said, when British names stand out, they really stand out.

I know a Saffron. It gives me an immeasurable amount of glee to know that I, an American name nerd, know a girl named Saffron. She goes by Saf. She’s a fairly typical Essex teenager and people take her name in stride. Saf works alongside the likes of a Daniel, several Amys, and a Lois. It’s shocked me that Lois is a fairly common moniker for a young woman — I have met several! But Saffron is the lone wolf amongst a herd that doesn’t seem to notice she doesn’t baa like the rest of them.

Though I haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing more than my immediate family respond to the sister-brother names Phaedra and Caspian, my youngest sister-in-law is friends with them both! To those who know them well they are simply Phae and Cas. The casual reduction of their names is done with the same ease in which Jessica becomes Jess and Matthew becomes Matt. Though the names stand out, they do not alienate them or place them on a pedestal of superiority, except by me. I would craft their mother a naming pedestal if I could.

The latest addition to our own extended family is Emerys Theodore who has just joined big brother Arlo Ralph. While nearly every member of my British family needed help pronouncing Emerys, I — a name nerd and BBC Merlin fangirl — got it right away, no one has feared for the uniqueness of this name. Emerys would have been as welcome as Charles or perhaps Boniface, who knows?!

There is a casual ease to naming British children that American Berries crave — I know I am not the only one who feels a pang of sadness when an excellent naming opportunity is unrealized or feels incredibly insecure when our tastes are seen as bizarre by another outside the sanctity of Nameberry spaces.

I do not have the same anxiety or concerns for my eldest sister-in-law who is expecting her first child in May! Raised alongside sibsets such as Alexandra, Victoria, Louise, and Matthew; Molly, Jack, Daisy, and Finn; Hattie, Esme, Mia, and Orla, and with friends eager to use names such as Aurora, Harvey, Edith, Lettie, and Pearl for their future British babies, I know our May-baby will be impeccably well-named — whether the name blends seamlessly into the effortlessly stylish, highly-covetable group of popular British names, or manages to stand out amongst the British Telegraph crowd.