# What are some common UK male first names that are nonexistent in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 28, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490 "2006-09-28T13:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/1 "2006-09-28T13:43:28Z")
So far I have come up with Liam, Nigel, Gareth, Linvoy… ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/2 "2006-09-28T13:53:10Z")
Not uncommon in the US, but definitely uncommon in the Midwest, Ian often gets mispronounced as “eye-an” or “ee-on.” Quite irritating even though I know there have been people who _want_ their name to be prounounced “eye-an.” AFAIK, that isn’t the traditional way to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/3 "2006-09-28T13:55:05Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] So far I have come up with Liam, Nigel, Gareth, Linvoy… [/QUOTE] Linvoy? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/4 "2006-09-28T13:59:31Z")
[QUOTE=Kitchen Wench] Not uncommon in the US, but definitely uncommon in the Midwest, Ian often gets mispronounced as “eye-an” or “ee-on.” Quite irritating even though I know there have been people who _want_ their name to be prounounced “eye-an.” AFAIK, that isn’t the traditional way to say it. [/QUOTE] If they wanted they could use the Welsh John-variant Ieuan - pronounced eye-an. But I can see this leading to even more confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/5 "2006-09-28T14:04:01Z")
**Struan** , thanks, a search of Linvoy shows it is not popular at all. In fact the two I know (one a footballer, the other a school friend) may be the only two out there- I assumed since there were two, there had to be a bunch more. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/6 "2006-09-28T14:12:07Z")
[QUOTE=Kitchen Wench] Not uncommon in the US, but definitely uncommon in the Midwest, Ian often gets mispronounced as “eye-an” or “ee-on.” Quite irritating even though I know there have been people who _want_ their name to be prounounced “eye-an.” [/QUOTE] Such as the man who is possibly America’s most famous Ian, [Ian Ziering](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005575/). ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/7 "2006-09-28T14:23:46Z")
Liam has become more popular in America in recent years, particularly among parents of Irish ancestry. Not to mention that I had a brother-in-law of that name. I nominate Percy and Bertram. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/8 "2006-09-28T14:25:03Z")
I knew a Gareth in Wisconsin, but then, his father was very big on the family’s Welsh roots. Gareth’s sister is named Gwendolyn. Is Nigel really a common name in the UK? It always sounds outdated and a bit silly to me. Also, I have a friend who grew up in Northern Ireland named Conal (which, he told me once, is Gaellic for “wolf”). Is Conal a common name, or is my friend the only one? ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/9 "2006-09-28T14:31:38Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] I nominate Percy and Bertram. [/QUOTE] I guarantee you these names are not common in the UK, unless perhaps you’re at an OAP convention. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/10 "2006-09-28T14:34:16Z")
Gavin, Robin, Lindsay, Burt, Mick (as a nickname). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/11 "2006-09-28T14:44:24Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] Burt [/QUOTE] Do you mean Bert? If so, it’s an old-fashioned diminutive of Robert. Not common amongst the under-70 crowd. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/12 "2006-09-28T14:45:46Z")
Rupert. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/13 "2006-09-28T14:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=romansperson] Rupert. [/QUOTE] I see you don’t watch Survivor. I nominate St. John. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/14 "2006-09-28T15:15:53Z")
[QUOTE=Ethilrist] I see you don’t watch Survivor. I nominate St. John. [/QUOTE] I don’t, so I had to look up who you were talking about. And I’ll bet you a donut that one or both of his parents is British. So my claim still stands. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/15 "2006-09-28T15:17:58Z")
Colin (though that’s becoming more popular in the US) Evelyn ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/16 "2006-09-28T15:21:02Z")
Alister ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/17 "2006-09-28T15:21:29Z")
I know 2 little ones named Liam. Celtic names are getting to be very very trendy here. I would like to nominate Basil. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/18 "2006-09-28T15:24:05Z")
[QUOTE=The Weird One] Is Nigel really a common name in the UK? [/QUOTE] Yep. Perhaps not as popular for babies as it once was, but not an old-people name in the way that some of those listed are (Basil & Rupert - and Evelyn is now mostly female and not very popular even as that) Perhaps the Americans could pick out any unfamiliar ones in the top 100 for babies: [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames\_boys.asp](http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_boys.asp) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/19 "2006-09-28T15:26:42Z")
[QUOTE=Kitchen Wench] Not uncommon in the US, but definitely uncommon in the Midwest, Ian often gets mispronounced as “eye-an” or “ee-on.” Quite irritating even though I know there have been people who _want_ their name to be prounounced “eye-an.” AFAIK, that isn’t the traditional way to say it. [/QUOTE] And how do _you_ pronounce it? 😕 I have always said “ee-an”. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490/20 "2006-09-28T15:31:21Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Yep. Perhaps not as popular for babies as it once was, but not an old-people name in the way that some of those listed are (Basil & Rupert - and Evelyn is now mostly female and not very popular even as that) Perhaps the Americans could pick out any unfamiliar ones in the top 100 for babies: [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames\_boys.asp](http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_boys.asp) [/QUOTE] Rupert Grint is only 18. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-common-uk-male-first-names-that-are-nonexistent-in-the-us/374490.md?page=2)