1450+ English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

Macen

English, feminine variation of Mason

"worker in stone"

Rather than going with a yooneek spelling like Macen (or Maysen or Masyn), we'd suggest sticking with the original Mason, as Kelsey Grammer did for his daughter.

Tillie

English, diminutive of Matilda

"battle mighty"

A surprise recent hit revival with cutting-edge British, Tribeca and Malibu parents; Tillie, also spelled Tilly, is cute, frilly, and sassy all at once. Tilly features in the England and Wales Top…

Mead

English

"from the meadow"

Sounds like an authentic upper-crust family name -- not necessarily a bad thing.

Melinda

English combination name

"beautiful honey"

In the eighteenth century there was a poetic fad for names with the 'inda' sound, and, along with Belinda, Clarinda, Dorinda and Florinda, Melinda was one of those created at that time. It came into…

Missy

English, diminutive of Melissa

A name that works until your daughter is, say, six.

Merry

English

"lighthearted, happy"

She'd better be. Merry is one of the classic names for Christmas babies .

Merilee

English, word name or combination of Mary and Lee, or Scottish place-name

Merilee and Merrilee were early respelled or word names, ahead of their time in some ways. Merrilee hit the Top 1000 for a couple of years in the 1940s, but last year no baby girls were given either…

Merilyn

English, combination of Merry and Lynn

All the names ending in-lyn seem sadly dated.

Mildred

English

"gentle strength"

Is it clunky cute, strong and vintage, or dreadful and mildewy? Like Gertrude and Bertha, Mildred is one that divides the crowds, but with popular nickname Mildred and renewed interest in Winifred,…

Millay

English literary name

Pretty and distinctive choice for poetry lovers.

Randa

English, feminine variation of Randall; also Arabic

"delicate desert tree"

Sounds incomplete, like a pet form of Miranda.

Misty

English

"mist"

The Play Misty for Me jokes will get old really fast.

Morven

Scottish, poetic place-name

"the big gap"

In the Ossianic poems written by James Macpherson in the 1760s, Morven is the name of the Fingal's kingdom, Fingal being the hero, likely inspired by Fionn mac Cumhaill of early Gaelic legend. It…

Moxie

English slang

"aggressive energy, know-how"

Like Penn Jillette, you can have your own little brash babe.

Norabel

Combination of Nora and Belle

"beautiful light"

Blended name sometimes heard in the early decades of the twentieth century.

Norma

English or Latin

"from the north; or, the pattern"

Invented for Bellini's opera, Norma had some star quality in the silent-screen and Marilyn Monroe days, but at this point it's a graying grandma in baby name limbo.

Oberon

English spelling variation of Auberon

"noble, bearlike"

The name of the king of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream ; could work just as well for your little sprite.

Odele

English from Greek

"song"

Sounds a lot like the recently revived Adele.

Ouida

English diminutive

This Victorian pen name is the childish version of the novelist's real name, Louisa, but it has managed to gain a sophisticated image. Ouisa is a similar childhood nickname name.