English Names

Carrie lives on mainly on the screen, as the new/old antiheroine of Stephen King's classic Carrie, as turn-of-the-21st-century diva Carrie Bradshaw of Sex & The City, and as Claire Danes' Emmy-winning character Carrie Mathison of Homeland. 
 In real life, however, Carrie dropped off the Top 1000 a handful of years ago and, while the name retains some charm, shows no signs of making an imminent comeback. Try Cara instead.

Carrie

Although Joan was the more popular name in the 20th century, it's the nickname Joanie that is coming back in style, in tune with the likes of Bonnie, Margot, and Billie, or Sadie, Elsie, and Libby. A Top 1000 name back in the 1950s and 60s in the US, in England and Wales,, it re-entered the the charts in 2025.
 
Alternative spelling Joni (made popular by the singer) was always more popular, and remains so in England and Wales where its ranked since the 2010s.

Joanie

Glamorous and bright and a little trendy, Kaliana blends Kallie and Ana, which could give you the pretty meaning "beauty and grace" (from the Greek kallos and the Hebrew hanan, respectively). Alternatively, it could combine Sanskrit Kali ("the black one") with international Ana or it could be twist on Kalyani ("beautiful, lovely").
 Some sources suggest it is a variation on the Hawaiian names Kailani ("ocean + sky, heavens") or Kalia ("flower wreath, beloved"), but it may also be read as a blend of Karoline and Ana or Kalliope and Ana. 
This particular spelling of the name was given to 51 girls in a recent year, but other versions of the name in the US charts include: Caliana (94), Calianna (35), Kalianna (17), Kalianne (6), and Kaliann (5).

Kaliana

A musical name with a cool and slightly edgy sound, Rhythm would fit in with Anthem, Lyric, Riff, and Drummer. First appearing in the US stats in the early 2000s, recent years have seen it given to around 90 babies, split 40:60 between boys and girls. 

Rhythm

Unfortunate identification with an army of rats in the movie of the same name. 

Willard

A musical name that is undeniably cool, Rhythm may appeal to fans of Anthem, Lyric, Cadence, and Poem. First appearing in the US stats for girls in 2003 (having debuted for boys three years prior), Rhythm has been steadily and quietly gaining in popularity with around 90 babies given the name in a recent count. It has been leaning more feminine (60:40), but has leaned masculine in the past.  

One case where a spelling variation improves the name, Britton is used about four times as often as Britain for both genders. Currently, the count of baby Brittons is running at about 4 to 3 in favor of the boys.

Britton

Arlie or Arley might be diminutives of Arlo, which means 'hill' or 'fortified hill'. The Arley spelling is used twice as often for boys in the US -- about 70 baby boys got the name last year, versus 35 girls -- while Arlie is the more popular spelling for baby girls, used for about 60 girls last year versus 15 boys.

Arlie

A rising surname name for girls — it's overwhelmingly feminine, despite the association with Kenny Chesney.

Chesney

Like Marvin and Melvin, Sheldon has been perceived as about as far out as you can get, though there are very pretty towns in Devon and Derbyshire that inspired it. Sheldon Lee Cooper is the lead nerd character on the TV hit The Big Bang Theory, giving the name a brainy image. Nickname Shel (as in Shel Silverstein, author of Where the Sidewalk Ends) could, in the modern world of nature name love, be seen as beach evoking.

Sheldon

Janet started as a pet form of Jane but has long been used independently. Jane is a feminine form of John, which derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan. Janet can also be considered a variation of Jeannette, a derivative of Joan and another feminization of the name John.
 
Five hundred years ago Janet was a royal favorite in Scotland, where it remains a common name. Here in the US, however, Janet has been on a downhill slide since the 1960s, with Grandma Janet now knitting booties for baby Janae. Or even, increasingly, Jane.
 There have been several Janets recently involved in US government, Janet is a leading member of the Jackson family, and Janet Evanovich is a bestselling author; and in the past there have been first Best Actress Oscar winner Gaynor, Psycho actor Janet Leigh, and the mother of Jackie Kennedy.
 There are several attractive foreign versions that might prove appealing alternate namesakes for Gran Jan—Gianetta, Zaneta, Janneth, Sinead or Janica.

Janet

Roberta has been one of the most successful feminization names, up at #64 in 1936. It's a name that's found all over children's lit, often nicknamed Bobbie or Robbie, though Bertie is another possibility. Notable bearers have included singers Roberta Flack and Roberta Peters--plus it's the birth name of Joni Mitchell. 


Roberta

Tina, despite its petite and tinkly image, is apt these days to be replaced by the more elegant originals, Christina and Martina.It does have some strong namesakes, though, in Tina Turner (born Anna Mae), Tina Brown (born Christina), Tina Fey (born Elizabeth), and photographer Tina Barney (born Tina). 
 Tina was a Top 100 name from 1956 to 1982, peaking at Number 18 in 1968.

Tina

An alternative to Winnie, Winifred, Kinsley, and Winry, Winslie is an Old English surname, literally meaning "Wine's clearing" and more figuratively "friend's clearing" or "friend's field". Also spelled as Winslee and Winsley, this form was given to 61 girls in a recent year. 




Winslie

A fresh and fragrant nature name, Cedar is one of the new tree/wood names that parents are starting to consider. While it is currently more popular for boys, it sounds similar enough to Selah, Celia, Freda, Sailor, and Ida, it doesn't feel out of place for any gender.
 In the Bible the cedar is mentioned in Psalm 92:12: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon." The Lebanon Cedar was used to build King Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, and there are now several hospitals called Cedars of Lebanon, plus a U2 song by that name. 
 
The name was chosen by 76 girls along with 170 boys in a recent year.

Cedar

One of the first reality show-inspired names (he was a Texas hunk on an early season of "Survivor"); hugely trendy for boys but just starting for girls. 

Colby

Laurie morphed into the more streamlined Lori in the sixties but now feels dated for a girl in either spelling. Update Lauren has been renovated as Laurel or Laura itself.

If you're looking to name a baby girl after a grandma Laurie, one popular option today is Daphne, which also means laurel. The mythical Daphne was transformed into a laurel tree to escape Apollo's overly ardent attentions.

Laurie

Queen Elizabeth's childhood nickname was Lilibet, the name of Prince Harry and Meghan's newborn daughter, and Lilibeth has the same kind of lilting charm. While many combo names are less attractive than either of their original parts, Lilibeth can make a nice compromise if you're stuck between Lily and Elizabeth or if you want a fresh variation of either.
 
The birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter Lilibet in 2021 gave Lilibeth a boost as well in the following years: it rose from 13 baby girls in 2020, to 69 in 2022. Parents probably found it a good compromise between using this appealing name, but not looking like they were copying Meghan and Harry.

Lilibeth

Distinctive though somewhat abrupt, most prominently borne by country singer Hoyt Axton.

Hoyt

Similar in style and appearance to Aaliyah, Azariah, and Anayah, Azaliah may be interpreted as a variation of Azelia (from French Azelie, meaning "noble"); a form of Azalea (an English flower name), and a form of the (masculine) Biblical name Atsalyahu (Latinized as Aslia, meaning "God has set aside"). Nearly 60 girls were given the name in a recent year. 

Azaliah

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 45)

English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)