English Names

Better suited to a stuffy school than a little boy, but it nevertheless has a preppy air that may appeal to some. 

Pembroke

Pell makes an unusual middle name choice.  And if grandpa Seymour was a fur trader, you might do better to honor him by naming the baby Pell.

Pell

Pelham, a place-name surname, could work well as a first, despite its slightly arrogant air. It's what the P in P.G. Wodehouse stands for. 

Pelham

Peel may seem at first like a cool name, until you consider the inevitable teasing.  A peel was a tower that sheltered humans and animals against attack, though these days it's better known as the skin of a banana. 

Peel

A child named Peale may have to endure more than a few banana jokes, but the Peales were a distinguished family of artists. 

Peale

An ambitious geographical name, associated with mountains and success. In the UK, however, this is a slang term, meaning "bad, disappointing".

Peak

The surname of enterprising journalist Nellie Bly and poet Robert Bly makes a simple, modern, and upbeat sounding choice for either a boy or a girl.

Forster, a variation of Foster or potentially even Forester, is associated with British novelist E.M. Forster, author of A Passage to India, Howard's End, and A Room with a View. But if you choose Forster, you'd always have to force that 'r'.

Forster

Peabody is a quintessentially Waspy surname that your child won't thank you for -- either the pea part or the body part, or the meaning part. 

Peabody

You might want to honor premier U.S. architect Frank Gehry--even though he was born Ephraim Goldberg. Gehry, pronounced like the more common surname Geary, may be a spin on the name Gary, which means spear, or derive from the Middle English word geary</a>, which means fickle.

Gehry

Fresh choice in the vein of Carly and Harley.

Morley

Paterson is a surname-name to continue a line of Peters and also the name of a city in New Jersey, hometown of poets William Carlos Williams and Allen Ginsberg.

Paterson

Perfect example of how your perception of a name can change when you apply it to the opposite gender: when used for a girl, Stanley suddenly becomes an attractive, upper-crusty name ala Ansley or Finley.

Stanley

Patsy has been rarely heard for half a century, for either gender, and we're not expecting that to change in the near future.. 

Patsy

Doctor is an honorific used as a name, somewhat like names such as Bishop, King, and Princess.  Banned in New Zealand, Doctor can lead to the kind of confusion you may feel would be only positive for your child -- a bona fide Doctor before he even gets to kindergarten.

At its zenith in 1884, Doctor was used for 12 boys, but last year it didn't even clear the five-baby minimum to make it onto the Social Security extended list.

Doctor

An occupation name with a preppy, scholarly air, Author could fit in alongside Arthur and August or Chosen and Booker, in terms of sound and style. Author saw more usage that you might think in the first half of the 20th century, peaking in 1933 when it was given to nearly 60 boys. While some may have used it as an occupational and word name, others may have chosen owing to misspelling or misinterpreting the classic Arthur. 

Author

Plummer might be an occupational name for someone who works with pipes -- yes, like a plumber -- or with feathers, from the Olde English (from the French) plume. Or it could indicate someone who lived near a plum tree. The plum association is delicious; the plumber association, not so much. If you like occupational names, better go with Gardener or Sawyer.

Plummer

As seen on SNL, Pat is the ultimate <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names"> androgynous name</a>. Stick with long form Patrick, and make sure everyone calls him Patrick.

Simpson

Fleet is one of the uncountable number of new word name possibilities, and a particularly cool choice at that.  Connoting speed, Fleet beats Rush any day.  Might be short for Fleetwood, but we prefer it on its own.

Fleet

English names -- names originating in the English language -- rank among the top names in the US, the UK, and other English-speaking countries, along with such European countries as Sweden, Germany, and France.

 in the US Top 300 include Georgia, Juliet, Lily and Olive for girls, and Emmett, Miles, Oscar, and William for boy.

 include Alfie, Lily, Edward, and Ella. In Sweden, the English girls' name Alice ranks near the top of the list, while the English boys' nickname Tom is fashionable in France.



Less conventional English names that rank highly in the US include, for girls, Kendall, Kinsley, Madison, Marley, Peyton, Presley, Sutton, Willow, Winter and Wren, For boys, this group includes Archer, Brooks, Carter, Fletcher, Graham, Huxley, Mason, Reed, Sawyer, and Wilder.

 that carry a lot of style value include, for girls, Araminta, Arden, Azalea, Birdie, Blythe, Clover, Lilac, Lavender, Posey, and Waverly. For boys, unique English names to consider include Birch, Booker, Dane, Garrison, Hale, Kit, Oberon, Shaw, Tobin, and Winston.



Our collection of English baby names also includes surname names such as Lancaster and Huffington, nature names such as River and Marigold, English word names such as Love and Journey, along with place names like Devon and occupational names such as Driver.



Browse Nameberry's complete range of English names for girls and boys, continued, below, or consult our individual lists of 

. The English origin names below are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

English names including girl names and boy names of English origin from the English language and culture (Page 123)

1450+ English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)