1450+ English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

  1. Sawyer
    • Origin:

      English occupational name
    • Meaning:

      "woodcutter"
    • Description:

      Sawyer is one of the top unisex names, used for their daughters by such parents as Sara Gilbert, co-host of The Talk and former actress on Roseanne, currently on The Conners.
  2. Rain
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Among a small shower of rain-related names, this pure version can have a cool, refreshing image.
  3. Whitney
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "white island"
    • Description:

      Deriving from an English locational surname meaning "white island", Whitney was in rare but regular use for boys in the US until the early 1960s, when actress Whitney Blake popularized it for girls. It received a further big boost on the girls' side in the 1980s, thanks to singer Whitney Houston. Now falling rapidly down the rankings, it could be time to reclaim this one for the boys, if only as a neat way to cool-guy nickname Whit.
  4. Tenley
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "burnt clearing"
    • Description:

      This name is currently best known on The Bachelorette's Tenley Molzahn. In the 1950s, it was attached to the Olympic figure skating champion Tenley Albright, and Jessica Biel played a Tenley in the movie Summer Catch.
  5. Lea
    • Origin:

      Variation of Lee or Leah
    • Meaning:

      "meadow; weary"
    • Description:

      While traditionally pronounced as a homonym for Lee, Glee actress Lea Michele pronounces her name like Leah, and it may also rhyme with Freya. Regardless of your preferred pronunciation, it's interesting to note that Lea has always charted in the US Top 1000, despite coming close to the bottom a few times, making it one of the girl names starting with L that both fits in and stands out.
  6. Oakley
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "oak wood or clearing"
    • Description:

      Oakley, with its nature name roots and its Annie Oakley charm, is a hot name for both genders but more than twice as popular for girls. This name made it into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013, one of only four girl names starting with O to rank that high. A decade letter, it's aiming for the Top 100.
  7. Todd
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "fox"
    • Description:

      A 1970s beach boy surfing buddy of Scott, Brad, and Chad, Todd is given to relatively few babies these days.
  8. Eyre
    • Origin:

      Literary name and Old Norse
    • Meaning:

      "gravel bank river"
    • Description:

      This lovely name is best-known as the surname of eponymous Bronte heroine, Jane Eyre, and would make an appealing and distinctive middle name for the child of fans of that book. While the surname Eyre is found mainly in England, its origins are Norse and it's thought to derive from Norse settlers. Still, the status of the classic books means Eyre deserves to stand proudly among English baby names.
  9. Charley
    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of Charlie, French
    • Meaning:

      "free man"
    • Description:

      Charlie and its many forms are on the rise -- including Charley, which relates more directly to the male formal name Charles. Surprisingly, though, while the number of girls and boys named Charlie are nearly even, there are six times as many girls named Charley than boys.
  10. Malin
    • Origin:

      Bulgarian, English
    • Meaning:

      "raspberry; little warrior"
    • Description:

      An international and unisex choice, Malin is a rare northern English name associated with the city of Sheffield. In this case, it would mean "little warrior". As a Bulgarian choice, it is a masculine form of Malina, a Slavic name meaning "raspberry". It is more common as a feminine name, however, as a contracted form of Magdalene and Madeleine.
  11. Lester
    • Origin:

      Variation of Lester, English
    • Meaning:

      "military camp by the river Ligore"
    • Description:

      A popular choice in the US in the early 20th-century, Lester made the Top 100 consistently for 46 years between 1886 and 1931. It then remained in the Top 500 until the mid-80s before dropping out of the charts in the late 90s. Since then, it's been given to around 100 babies each year, making it an out-of-style but not forgotten name.
  12. Hunter
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "one who hunts"
    • Description:

      This surname gained momentum in the 1990s, when it was particularly in vogue for males. However, it seems to be experiencing a surge for females—it was one of the fastest-rising names of 2013, jumping 266 spots back into the Top 1000.
  13. Gray
    • Origin:

      Color name, also diminutive of Grayson
    • Description:

      The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Gray (or Grey), is one exception, which could make for a soft and evocative--if slightly somber-- choice, especially in the middle. Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney recently named their son Leo Grey.
  14. Wilson
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "son of Will"
    • Description:

      Wilson is a substantive presidential choice far less prevalent than Taylor or Tyler, and with the advantage of being a new route to friendly nickname Will. We see Wilson growing in popularity as an alternative to William; and as a patronymic, it would make a conceivable (if possibly confusing) choice for a son of William.
  15. Axton
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "sword stone"
    • Description:

      Macho to the max. But with the rise of x as a fashionable letter anywhere it appears in a name, ala Jaxson or Maxon, we may be hearing more of Axton.
  16. Posey
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "a bunch of flowers"
    • Description:

      Posey is fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is only starting to be heard here.
  17. Landry
    • Origin:

      French and English
    • Meaning:

      "ruler"
    • Description:

      Landry is one rising surname name, often after legendary Dallas Cowboys football coach Tom Landry, that is given to boys and girls. But the y ending does give it a feminine sound (as opposed to the more boyish and more popular Landon). Land is a Landry nickname that might work for boys or girls.
  18. Devon
    • Origin:

      English place-name
    • Description:

      This spelling of Devon, as opposed to Devin or Devan, makes it a pretty and popular British place-name, evoking the beautiful county of farmlands and dramatic seascapes and moors in southwest England. A stylish ambi-gender name particularly well used in the early nineties, Devon remains an attractive option--though be aware that at this point in time, it is used more frequently for boys.
  19. Hudson
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "Hugh's son"
    • Description:

      Climbing the charts for boys, and has just begun to cross over for girls, despite the macho "hud" sound followed by the "son" syllable.
  20. Ransom
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "shield's son"
    • Description:

      Ransom may be rakish and handsome, but it carries an unavoidable association with holding someone for ransom. But that kind of bad boy image might be exactly what attracts you to Ransom in the first place.

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