English Last Names

Britton, technically a spelling variation of Britain, is much more popular that the original place name for both boys and girls. There are about three baby girls named Britton for every four boys, making it a truly nonbinary choice.

Hunter is gaining favor among girls—for those in search of something less common, we recommend Hutton.

An English surname derived from the Old French taillis, this nature inspired choice could be an alternative to Wallis, Alice, Tallie, or Ellis. Other sources suggest it could derive from the Greek name Thales (TA-LEHS) meaning "to blossom".

A last name as a first name, Redell began to appear in England after the Norman invasion. Likely connected to the names Raymond and Radulf, it could mean "counsel, advice, decision". Another possible interpretation is that it merges the word red with the word dell to form the meaning "red valley". This could also mean it borrows from land feature in the Lake District of England, known as Red Dell.

A pretty alternative to Hadley, but perhaps a little too close to sound distinctive. Hedy would be a cool nickname, after legendary actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr.

A new crop of gender-neutral English place names have suddenly become trendy — those ending in -ton. Multi-syllabic but not dramatic, these names are rising quickly for girls and boys. Think Charleston, Lexington, and Kensington. Livingston isn't as hot as some of the others, but its time will soon come. For a girl, Livingston boasts the nickname Liv.

This somewhat snobby-sounding surname popped onto the name map when Mariel Hemingway used it for one of her daughters.

Familiar English surname now associated with the Abercrombie & Fitch offshoot.

Medieval nickname for Mary that became a surname, and could now be a rare but in-trend first name for both sexes.

Updates Lindsey for the 21st century.

Skeat is a rare surname name that, like virtually every surname these days, is ripe for importation as a first.

Chosen by Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher as the middle name of their son Dimitri.

Dropping the H off hot surnames gets you a whole new name. The trend is multiplying: Hadley becomes Adley, Harley become Arley, Harlow becomes Arlowe, and now Halston becomes Alston.