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London

LUN-don
Place-name
"Capital city of England"
Grace Royal
By Grace Royal
Updated Thu May 15 2025

London Origin and Meaning

The name London is a boy's name of English origin meaning "Capital city of England".

In the US, London is popular for both sexes, though as the name has risen for girls, it's levelled off for boys. Currently given to around 200 boys each year, it is nearly five times more popular for girls, however, it been on decline across the board since its peak in 2013. Conjuring up images of Big Ben, red phone boxes, and the London Eye for some, but perhaps the rush hour commute and grey skies for others, London is far less popular in the UK and other English-speaking countries.

the exact etymology of London is unknown, however theories suggest it was named for King Lud who once controlled the city and therefore means "Lud's Fortress", Lud possibly coming from Llud meaning "mist, haze" or "to acquire". A more recent suggestion is that it comes from a proto-Indo-European root, lendh meaning "sink", which was adapted into the Celtic noun londos meaning "subduing". Combined with a Celtic suffix to make it singular, the old name Londinjon could then mean "place that floods", reflecting the tidal element of the River Thames. Several other linguists and historians have suggested a variety of origins, all which reference the river in some way.

# 1000 in the US

London Rank in US Top 1000

# 1444 on Nameberry

London Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name London

20 Names Similar to London

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like London.

Famous People Named London

  • London Levi Fletcher
    American NFL player
  • London May
    American drummer of band Samhain
  • London Reese
    American tattoo artist
  • London Hirsch
    son of actor Judd Hirsch
  • London Emilio Hudson (b. 2002)
    son of Saul "Slash" Hudson
  • London Blue Salas (b. 2005)
    son of Stacee Brown; grandson of singer Rebbie Jackson of The Jackson Family
  • London Nash (b. 2006)
    son of rapper The Dream; twin brother of Christian
  • London Phillip Margera
    son of musician Jess Margera; nephew of Bam Margera
  • London Luca Ridge (b. 2010)
    son of singer Carly Binding of TrueBliss and rugby leaguer Matthew Ridge
  • London Phillip McGraw (b. 2011)
    son of Jay Phillip McGraw
  • Jack London
    American novelist

The name London in Pop Culture

  • London
    capital of England
  • London
    town in Texas

The name London in Nameberry Blog Posts