English Names

Naming a child Cornelius or Nelson feels increasingly ahead of the curve in today's vintage name-loving climate. But keep Nelly for a nickname (even the rap star was christened Cornell). 

Nelly

Rarely used surname, associated with humorous poet Ogden Nash. 

Ogden

Just when we had written off Peggy as the eternal perky, pug-nosed prom-queen she projected from the 1920s into the fifties, along came Mad Men, with intriguing mid-century characters with names like Joan and Betty--and Peggy, causing a bit of a re-think. MM's proto-feminist Peggy Olson was followed by Amy Adams's strong Oscar-nominated Peggy Dodd character in The Master.
 Peggy has been used independently since the eighteenth century, later combined with other names such as Peggy Sue, made famous by the Buddy Holly song and the film Peggy Sue Got Married.
 Some notable namesakes who have gone by Peggy include jazz singer Peggy Lee (born Norma), art patron Guggenheim (born Marguerite), skater Fleming, and author/speechwriter Noonan (born Margaret).
 It's not likely that Peggy will ever regain the 31st position it held in 1937, but we can see it coming into somewhat wider use.

Peggy

The y helps a bit, but still a painful image. 

Payne

Peterson

The field of nature names is constantly expanding to include all species of flowers and trees and animals and birds and even fish. In addition to its appeal for anglers, Pike recalls Zebulon Pike, the explorer who discovered and gave his name to Pike's Peak.
 While Pike also shares the friendly feel of names like Mike and Ike, the word pike can also be a noun or verb referring to a long sharp weapon used to do not-very-friendly things to people. It is also one syllable away from a slur against Traveller people heard in the UK, so maybe this is one to avoid.

Pike

Powerful surname choice with many distinguished bearers, fresher sounding than Parker. 

Powell

The cool and edgy Rad might just work as a fresh spin on the likes of Brad, Chad, Rod, and Randy. Used as a word to describe something exciting and extremely good, it's a synonym for cool, awesome, radical, and impressive. 
 
You could also see Rad as a diminutive of the Germanic Conrad, giving it the meaning "advisor, counsel", or you could take it from Radcliffe, meaning "red cliff" in Old English. There's also the Arabic Ra'd too, (RAHD), which may well be Anglicized as Rad, lending it the meaning of "thunder", while it could easily be a short form of Persian Radwin ("generous"), or the Polish Radosław or Radek ("happy"), Arabic Murad ("wish, desire").
 
Nine boys were given the name in the US in a recent count.

A traditional nickname for Richard, popular in the 60s, Richie joins Scottie and Stevie as "boyish"-nickname-names for girls. Used occasionally in the 20th-century, it re-entered the US charts in 2022 and a recent year saw it given to 12 girls. 



Richie

Rocky meets Franklin in this contemporary name, which may be interpreted as meaning "rocky lake" or "rocky valley" from the literal English meaning of "rock" and either the Welsh llyn or glyn. Also the name of a city in California, Rocklin has been given to a small number of boys since the 1950s, it may also be spelled as Rocklyn.

Rocklin

Also an English surname, Sender derives from Alexander and has an attractive modern sound. Though given to only a handful of baby boys per year, it nevertheless is in step with the brotherhood of er-ending choices fashionable today.

Sender

A sound-alike to Scarlett, Starlette might be considered a word name, associated with actresses on the brink of stardom, or it may be an elaborate form of Star, with the diminutive -lette suffix. Instagrammer and TikTok star Teddy (Sierra) Graham used the name for her daughter in 2025, though the name has been used for a handful of girls (nearly) every year since 1949.

Starlette

Sherwin

Pre-Thomasina female form of Thomas, now seen as more literary and upscale British. In Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native, a leading character is Thomasin Yeobright.

Thomasin

Velvet is a name that couldn't possibly be softer or more luxuriant. Many people have fond memories of it via the character of Velvet Brown, played by the young Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, an intrepid young woman willing to masquerade as a boy to race her horse in a dangerous steeplechase.
 Velvet actually had a brief sojourn on the Social Security list, from 1961 to 1964. Now, double trending as both a 'V' name and a word name might give Velvet a boost.

Velvet

A sharp and distinctive surname-style name, notably associated with Trinidadian-American activist, Kwame Ture — born Stokely Carmichael — known for his role in the civil rights and pan-African movement. 
 
Meaning "place by the clearing" or "place by the woods", it has been appearing in the US charts since 2013, with 19 boys (and 6 girls) receiving the name in a recently year.

Stokely

Wilde is a bold choice that equally fits in to a number of contemporary name trends. It's a daring, outdoorsy word name; a surname-style choice; a literary honor name; and a sound-alike for more popular choices such as Wilder, Wiley, Wyatt, and Wells. Best associated with the inimitable Irish author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, known for his wit, flamboyance, and literary talent, it was given to 12 boys in a recent year. 
 
Content creators Eden Harvey and Lloyd Hulme chose Wilde as a middle name for their son in 2025 while actress Eve Cooper chose it as a first name in 2022.

Wilde

Win is an upbeat, can-do name that can be a short form of one of the buttoned-up British choices above or can stand on its own. Welsh Wyn is another possibility.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and singer Ciara named their son Win Harrison. Harrison is Wilson's father's first name.

A whimsy word name with similar sounds to Warren and Walker and a similar feel to Dream and Prosper, Wonder has been appearing occasionally in the US stats for girls since the 1950s, while for boys, it first appeared in 2019.  Australian singer, Sia, used it as a middle name for her third daughter, Somersault Wonder. 

Wonder

Time was, even C-starting Catherines who called themselves Kate spelled it with a K, but Cate Blanchett changed all.  Cate is now as acceptable as (but not as well used as) Kate. Cait might be short for Caitlin.

Cate

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 70)

English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)