English Names

English names are rarely English all the way down. The language absorbed Norse from settlement, French from conquest and Latin from the church, so a name that arrived as a plain English word — a trade, a place, a colour — usually rests on a root borrowed from somewhere else. What makes them English is the layer they settled in, not the layer underneath. The largest single group on this site, and the one that includes almost every surname now used as a first name.

Languages behind these names Old English Latin Germanic Greek Hebrew uncertain

Rankings for

448 names, most popular first in United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Evelyn Evelyn is a girl's name of English and French origin meaning "desired" or "wished for".
Girl English #8 in US
Jack Jack is a boy's name of English origin that began as a pet form of John, by way of the medieval nickname Jankin.
Boy English #15 in US
Harper Harper is a name of English origin meaning "harp player."
Girl English #16 in US
Hudson Hudson is a boy's name of English origin meaning "son of Hudde," a medieval pet form of Hugh.
Boy English #17 in US
Hazel Hazel is a girl's name of English origin naming the hazel tree, from the Old English hæsel.
Girl English #21 in US
Ellie Ellie is a girl's name that began as a short form of Eleanor, Ellen, and Elizabeth, and is now widely given as a name in its own right.
Girl English #24 in US
Cooper Cooper is a boy's name of English origin meaning "barrel maker."
Boy English #27 in US
Scarlett Scarlett is a girl's name of English origin, taken from an occupational surname for someone who sold or dyed scarlet cloth.
Girl English #32 in US
Jackson Jackson is a boy's name of English origin meaning "son of Jack."
Boy English #36 in US
Avery Avery is a name of English origin meaning "elf counsel," derived from the Norman French form of the Germanic name Alberich.
Unisex English #37 in US
Wyatt Wyatt is a boy's name of English origin meaning "brave in war," from the medieval given name Wyot, itself from Old English elements meaning war and hardy.
Boy English #38 in US
Mason Mason is a boy's name of English origin meaning "stone worker."
Boy English #39 in US
Ivy Ivy is a girl's name of English origin naming the climbing evergreen plant, from the Old English ifig.
Girl English #39 in US
Madison Madison is a name of English origin meaning "son of Maud," a medieval surname formed from the woman's name Maud plus -son.
Girl English #40 in US
Willow Willow is a girl's name of English origin naming the tree, from the Old English welig.
Girl English #44 in US
Carter Carter is a name of English origin meaning "one who transports goods by cart."
Boy English #45 in US
Maverick Maverick is a boy's name taken from an English surname, and it is one of the few names to become an ordinary English word within living memory of its source.
Boy English #49 in US
Grayson Grayson is a boy's name of English origin usually explained as "son of the grieve," a grieve being a steward or bailiff who managed an estate.
Boy English #51 in US
Wesley Wesley is a boy's name of English origin meaning "western meadow," from the Old English west and leah.
Boy English #52 in US
Weston Weston is a boy's name of English origin meaning "western settlement," from the Old English west and tun, meaning an enclosure, farmstead, or village.
Boy English #55 in US
Waylon Waylon is a boy's name of English origin, generally traced to Wayland, the legendary smith of Germanic myth, whose name means something close to "battle land."
Boy English #56 in US
Brooks Brooks is a boy's name of English origin meaning "of the brook" or "dweller by the stream," from the Old English broc. It began as a surname identifying a family by the water they lived beside.
Boy English #64 in US
Lincoln Lincoln is a boy's name from the English city, whose name combines the Brittonic lindo, meaning pool, with the Latin colonia, a Roman settlement for retired soldiers.
Boy English #69 in US
Millie Millie is a girl's name that began as a pet form of longer names — chiefly Millicent, Mildred, Amelia and Camilla — and is now given in its own right.
Girl English #73 in US
Daisy Daisy is a girl's name of English origin naming the flower, and its meaning is unusually literal: daisy comes from the Old English dægesege, "day's eye," because the flower opens its petals at dawn and closes them at dusk.
Girl English #75 in US
Walker Walker is a boy's name of English origin meaning "a fuller of cloth."
Boy English #78 in US
Addison Addison is a name of English origin meaning "son of Adam."
Girl English #84 in US
Audrey Audrey is a girl's name of Old English origin meaning "noble strength," from Æthelthryth.
Girl English #86 in US
Everly Everly is a girl's name of English origin, from a place name meaning "boar meadow" — the Old English eofor, a wild boar, and leah, a clearing.
Girl English #91 in US
Kinsley Kinsley is a girl's name of English origin meaning "king's meadow," from the Old English cyning, king, and leah, a clearing.
Girl English #93 in US
Archer Archer is a boy's name of English origin meaning "bowman."
Boy English #98 in US
Parker Parker is a name of English origin meaning "park keeper."
Unisex English #102 in US
Colton Colton is a boy's name of English origin meaning "coal town" or "Cola's settlement," from a place name.
Boy English #103 in US
Hailey Hailey is a girl's name of English origin meaning "hay clearing," from the Old English heg, hay, and leah, a woodland clearing.
Girl English #104 in US
Easton Easton is a boy's name of English origin meaning "east settlement," from the Old English east and tun.
Boy English #110 in US
River River is a name taken from the English word, which comes through Anglo-Norman from the Latin riparius, meaning "of the riverbank."
Unisex English #111 in US
Jaxon Jaxon is a boy's name and a modern respelling of Jackson, meaning "son of Jack."
Boy English #115 in US
Harrison Harrison is a boy's name of English origin meaning "son of Harry."
Boy English #116 in US
Graham Graham is a boy's name of English origin meaning "gravelly homestead," from Grantham in Lincolnshire.
Boy English #120 in US
Hallie Hallie is a girl's name with more than one line.
Girl English #120 in US
Emmett Emmett is a boy's name of English origin derived from Emma — it is a matronymic surname, formed from a woman's name rather than a man's, which was unusual in medieval England.
Boy English #121 in US
Hadley Hadley is a girl's name of English origin meaning "heather meadow," from the Old English hæth, heather or heathland, and leah, a clearing.
Girl English #121 in US
Sawyer Sawyer is a name of English origin meaning "one who saws wood."
Unisex English #122 in US
Emerson Emerson is a name of English origin meaning "son of Emery."
Unisex English #122 in US
Dean Dean is a boy's name with two English origins.
Boy English #125 in US
Landon Landon is a boy's name of English origin meaning "long hill," from the Old English lang, long, and dun, a hill or down.
Boy English #127 in US
Hunter Hunter is a name of English origin meaning "one who hunts."
Boy English #130 in US
Ryder Ryder is a boy's name of English origin meaning "mounted warrior" or "messenger."
Boy English #132 in US

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