English Names

This old English surname is gaining popularity, especially for girls.  Though the Marlowe spelling is both the most popular and most feminine form of the name, second-place Marlow is 75 percent female. Marlo is 50-50.

Marlow

Cool and contemporary, yet gentle and easy-going, Winslow blends the elements of other stylish choices, including Willow, Marlow, Winnie, Winter, Sloane, and Elowyn. Its most famous namesake is landscape painter Winslow Homer, which lends it a touch of creativity and fair.
 
Used as a masculine name since at least the 19th century, Winslow derives from Old English and means "friend's hill", or, more literally, "hill belonging to Wine", Wine being a given name meaning "friend". Until 2009, it had never been used for girls, but with the appeal of gender neutral names and nickname Winnie, it is no wonder it has since been on the rise.
 
A recent year saw nearly 200 girls given the name, making it around four times more popular for American girls.

Winslow

Hadley, an old surname-name best known as the name of author Ernest Hemingway's "Paris Wife," only recently broke onto the scene in a big way. While Hadley has considerable appeal, spelling variations such as Hadleigh—and onward to Hadleah, Hadleah, Hadli and so on—only emphasize its trendiness. Hadleigh made its first appearance on the US Top 1000 in 2014.

Hadleigh

A multicultural choice, Aleyna is a familiar name in Turkey, the UK, the Netherlands, and in France, where it has been on the rise in recent years. In the US, it has been given to a growing number of girls since the 90s, helped along in recent years perhaps by singer Aleyna Tillki, model Aleyna FitzGerald, and actress, influencer, and singer, Aleyna Dalveren. 
 
As a variation of Elena, Alaina, and Elaina, it is connected to the classic Helen, giving it a bright and shining meaning. As a Turkish and Arabic name, it can mean "soft, tender, delicate" or "to us" depending on which root you follow.

Aleyna

Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or any other "Ash" name.

Maxton is a new member of the ever-expanding Max clan of baby names, hitting the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2011. It joined newfangled Maxon and stylish cousin Paxton, though it did drop out of the charts in 2023. 150 boys did still recieve the name in the most recent year.
 While the classic Maxwell, Maximus, Maxim, Maximillian, or just plain Max have shown more staying power than Maxton, it does tick the box as a surname-inspired invention that sounds new but not too obviously so.

Maxton

Wylie is a friendly rodeo name with the unisex vibe of Riley and the cowboy air of Wesley and Wyatt. Also spelled as Wiley, two forms have been out of the US charts since the 1940s and 1970s respectively.
 
One of those names with multiple origins, Wylie can be viewed as an English surname, denoting someone from the town of Willey (meaning "from the willow clearing" or "idol's meadow") or someone from the River Wylye (meaning "tricky river"). Alternatively, its a Scots form of the classic William, making this an unexpected way to either honor the traditional name, or to consider as an alternative.
 Contemporary foodies know Wylie Dufresne as a renowned chef and a leading proponent of the molecular gastronomy movement, while others may think of Wile. E Coyote or Wylie Bay in Australia.
 
A recent year saw Wylie chosen for 175 boys (and 65 girls) in the US, revealing it is making subtle shifts up the stats. Wiley was also chosen for 165 boys, and viewed collectively, they would feel as popular as names round the #750 mark, such as Chandler, Murphy, and Salvador.

Wylie

Well-used spelling of Amara, particularly among those using the Arabic variation of the name.

Amarah

Occupation names and spiritual names are in style, so it's hardly surprising that Bishop has been making appearances in the Top 1000. Popular back in the late 19th and early 20th century, it reappeared in the charts in 2015. Given to 170 boys in a recent year, it tends to drop in and out of the Top 1000.
 
Derived from Greek, from which it means "overseer", a bishop is a senior member of the church. It is also associated with the game of chess and a species of weaver bird.

Bishop

Will has definitely replaced Bill, not only as a nickname for William but as a stand-alone name as well, partly thanks to England's Prince William, also known as Wills. Currently outside the Top 1000 in the US and the UK, it wouldn't feel totally out of style. 
 Will maintains a nice old-fashioned, down-home charm, and with recent references such as Will Smith, Good Will Hunting, and Will and Grace, it has taken on an air of understated cool.
 Most celebrities known as Will were christened William—Shakespeare, legendary humorist Rogers, cartoonist Eisner, and actor Arnett—but others were not. Will Smith was born Willard and Will Ferrell was originally John William.
 A key character on Glee was Will Schuester.

Will

Similar in sound to Evan and Everett, Ever is an evocative word name that's currently on the rise. Used by Alanis Morissette and Souleye back in 2010, Ever was given to more than 200 boys in 2024, compared to 115 girls. 
 
As an English word name, it feels fresh and on trend, but Ever also have its roots in the Hebrew name Eber, meaning "the region beyond" and to the Germanic Eberhard, the source of Everett, meaning "wild as a boar".

Ever

Norman, perhaps because it sounds so much like the word 'normal', conjures up the image of a normal-looking guy with a normal kind of job-- not necessarily an image many modern parents seek for their sons. But though it's been off the national popularity list for several years, Norman is Number 694 on Nameberry. It was a Top 100 name for more than half a century, hitting a high in 1931 at Number 36, but today it's nowhere near one of the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/n">boy names starting with N</a>.
 Norman has had a variety of notable namesakes over the years, from Americana artist Norman Rockwell to feisty novelist Norman Mailer to creepy mama's boy Norman Bates in Psycho.

Norman

A compound name with an old-fashioned ring. It only first appeared on the US Top 1000 in 2012. Annalie is a somewhat different name that is nevertheless pronounced the same.

Annalee

Both a saint's name and a presidential one via Gerald Ford—who was born Leslie—Gerald is a quintessential 1930s-40s name, when it ranked as high as Number 19. Hence all those nice middle-aged and senior Jerrys we've known and loved. Gerald has always been popular in Ireland, accounting for the prevalence of Fitzgeralds there. Though not considered stylish, Gerald remains on the popularity charts. Cousin Gerard has a similar profile, Geraldo is the well-used Spanish version, and Geraldine is the most promising of the family, in line to follow the path of Josephine to imminent revival.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Gerald

In the past few years Ellery has gone from middle-aged male detective -- from old school fictional hero Ellery Queen -- to a plausible girls' name, a la Hillary.

Ellery is one of the golden names that ranks in Nameberry's Top 1000 but not in the US Top 1000, making it a choice both cool and stylish.

Ellery

2012's Hurricane Sandy blew away whatever style currency Sandra retained from its 1960s Sandra Dee heyday. While in recent years it's been associated with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as a baby name Sandra is sinking beneath the waves.
 Actress Sandra Dee added to the popularity of this name during the mid-twentieth century.

Sandra

Place names like Memphis, Harlem, Cairo, Vienna, Milan, and Astoria are right on trend at the moment, and Egypt could fit in, thanks to its similarity in sound to the likes of Edith and Eden. Alicia Keys used the name for her son back in 2010, but before that, it was used as a stage name for three famous belly dancers.
 
 The name itself derives from Greek, via ancient Egyptian, and means "the house of the soul of Ptah", Ptah being the Egyptian God of creation and creativity. It entered the US Top 1000 in 2017 where it remained until 2022. It was given to around 230 girls in a recent year, while 60 boys also received the name.

Egypt

The phonetic Carolyn spelling, which was very popular from the 1920s to the '60s, has been steadily on the wane while Caroline herself has stayed strong. 
 Carolyn Keene was the pseudonymous author of the Nancy Drew Books; Carolyn Jones played Morticia Addams on TV's The Addams Family.

Carolyn

Branson is a fairly recent addition to the Top 1000, first breaking in at Number 988 in 1995. While it may not be a common sighting yet, it fits the trend of more popular cousins Mason, Grayson, Hudson, and Carson.
 Virgin Airlines entrepreneur Richard Branson spotlights this surname name. It also fits the category of place name, thanks to rising tourist destination Branson, Missouri.

Branson

Thanks to Elmer Fudd, Elmer the Cow, Elmer the elephant, Elmer's glue and the similar Elmo, this name might, to some feel like a jokey choice: the quintessential so-far-out-it-will-always-be-out name. And yet, the US statistics don't quite support that perception. 
 
Derived from the Old English Æðelmær meaning "noble and famous", Elmer was in the US Top 100 from the late 19th century up until the late 1930s, before it began to decline. It didn't drop out of the Top 1000 until 2009 however and has been received by at least 135 babies every year since.
 
And, with its trendy El-beginning, popular er-ending, and potential nature-nickname, Elm, there might be potential for Elmer to rise again. A recent year saw it given to nearly 180 babies, meaning it ranked alongside Pslam, Haziel, Kasey, Torin, and Wiley. 
 
 One literary reference is the title character in Sinclair Lewis's novel Elmer Gantry; real life namesakes include playwright Elmer Rice, composer Elmer Bernstein and early American politicians Jonathan and Ebenezer Elmer. "Elmer's Tune" is a jazz classic.

Elmer

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 

English names including girl names and boy names of English origin from the English language and culture (Page 26)

English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)