English Names

Dodson

Fans of the late Princess Diana might remember an early nickname, Shy Di. Di was more commonly heard in the middle of the last century, when Diane and sisters were in top vogue.
 
Today, people may take Di as a very dark word name.

Famously borne by actress Diahann Caroll, born Carol Diann Johnson.

Diahann

Doane

Not as lively or independent as Gigi, Kiki, or Coco. 

Didi

Digby is a place-name in Lincolnshire turned surname turned quirky first name that is starting to get some attention. In fact, it ranked in the UK Top 1000 in a recent year where it fits in with the likes of Barnaby, Rupert, and Wilbur. 
 
The name has been used for characters in Joanna Quinn's novel, The Whale Bone Theatre, in the TV soap, Holby City and the game Animal Crossing.
 
A similar name is Diggory, found in both Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit, Hardy's Return of the Native, and C.S Lewis's Narnia novels (spelled Digory). They both have a clunky, old-man vibe, but also share sounds with the modern Briggs and Riggs.

Digby

Dilly

There are a lot of angry badass word names — Rebel, Rekker, Crash — but Discord is a new one, introduced by the Uma Thurman character in the film The Old Guard 2.

Discord

A lot to handle, but it does give a sense of openness, joy, and awe. 

Discovery

Diversity

A quirky and playful nickname, which could be a fun spin on Lizzy, Izzy, Mitzi, and Dottie, Dizzy was used in the 2004 book Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy, in which the main character is named Dizzy by her hippie, free-spirited mother. It has also been worn by jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie and by baseball player Dizzy Dean. 
 
While it appeared in the US charts for boys a few times back in the 1930s (likely thanks to the baseball player), it has never appeared as a stand alone name for girls. Instead, it probably works best as a nickname, whether that be for Isadora, Doris, or Daphne.

Dizzy

A quirky and unexpected nickname, used by jazz musician, Dizzy Gillespie (born John), baseball player Dizzy Dean (born Jay), and by rapper Dizzee Rascal, albeit a different spelling (born Dylan). While it has been used nearly exclusively as a nickname and stage name, 19 boys were given the name in the US between 1935 and 1937, likely following Dizzy Dean's success in 1934, when he won 30 games in one season. 



Novelist Djuna Barnes introduced this interesting and unusual name with an arty, Bohemian feel to the mix. She explained that it was invented by her father, saying it came about as a combination of her infant brother's pronunciation of the word moon as 'nuna' and a character in a book her father was reading, Prince Djalma, and so he "put the Dj onto the 'una'." Result: the silent-D pronunciation (as in Django) of JOON-a.
 Fellow writer Anais Nin adopted the name for a character in her 1950 novel The Four Chambered Heart, and Woody Allen had a young girl called Djuna in his 1996 film Everyone Says I Love You — nicknamed DJ.
 All in an, an attractive and intriguing possibility, that could be associated with the names Junia or Una, or to the word "moon".

Djuna

Ancient nickname that sounds cuter than its modern alternatives -- but be aware that in the days of the horse and buggy, it was most often used for the horse. 

Dobbin

Dodo is one of the few names of the cute repeating-sounds genre that is not alas so cute, being a slang word for someone brainless as well as the name of the infamous extinct bird. Dot, Dottie, Dory, or Thea are all preferable.

Dodo

Appearing in the US stats for the first time in 2025, Doga is an variation of the Turkish word name Doğa, which refers to "nature" in its native language. It is pronounced as do-A, the first syllable to rhyme with toe.

Doga

Frilly, feminissima, unstylish Dor name. 

Doretta

Adventurous word choice, but still quite a burden for a child to bear. 

Some parents might like this energetic diminutive for Dorothy used in the Bush family, though the traditional Dottie and Dot seem to be coming back.

Doro

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 90)

English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)