English Names for Boys

Clint with a glint; used for flinty characters in old TV westerns and soap operas. 

Quint

Evokes 1960s brotherly close harmony. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis named his son Everly Bear, and it is also an explosively popular choice for girls. We predict that all the "Ever" names will be one of the defining trends of the 2010s-20s.

Everly

Only if you don't mind hearing yourself saying, "Come quickly, Quixley." 

Quixley

Radburn

Radcliff

A Middle English form of Adalbert (and therefore of Albert), which was the name of several Saxon kings. Nowadays, Ethel plus Bert is not a fashionable sound, but Albert is feeling fresh again.

Ethelbert

The final s turns a nature name into a Waspy surname. 

Raines

If you feel a burning need to gussy up Ray -- think again. 

Rayburn

Inventive way to honor a redheaded ancestor, though most people would mispronounce it reeding, making it sound to some kids like a school assignment: Redding is a preferable spelling. 

Reading

Endicott

Boys' names beginning with "El" were all the rage in the 1910s, but today Elmore - along with Elwin, Ellsworth and others - has barely been used for decades. It has literary connections through writer Elmore "Dutch" Leonard. More recently, several children's book characters have given the name a cuddly feel: Holly Hobbie's Elmore the Porcupine, and Elmore Green in Lauren Child's "The New Small Person".

Elmore

One of the many El- names for boys that boomed in the 1910s and 1920s, but has long been out of fashion. This surname/place name has an aristocratic flavor, and a creative namesake in the artist Ellsworth Kelly. Polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth also gives it an adventurous connection.

Ellsworth

This marvelously medieval name had a moment in the 1910s and 1920s but has dropped completely off the radar now.

Eldred

A better modern solution than Robert Jr. ; known to fiction readers via Canadian novelist Robertson Davies. 

Robertson

Rochester was Jack Benny's famous valet and sidekick, played by early African-American comic Eddie Anderson. 

Rochester

An older form of Everett that stays closer to its Germanic roots. Distinguished Everard is the name of several historical figures and literary characters, including a minor hobbit in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>. Yet, even now that Ever- names are the height of style, Everard hasn't been seen on the charts for decades.

Everard

Romany is a melodious name referring to the Roma or Romani community and their culture, which makes it a potentially controversial choice for a baby not of that heritage. Romany Malco is an actor who appeared on the television show "Weeds." Other similar ideas: Roman, Romano, or Romeo.

Romany

The -el ending feels inevitably feminine; also a form of French poetry. 

Rondel

A rough-and-tumble surname that has seen a small increase in use in recent years. Ten boys received the name in 2024 in the US. 

Rowley

The x gives it some modern cool, but the bury part buries it. 

Roxbury

English names for boys dominate the popularity lists of the US, the UK, and other English-speaking countries, with William and James ranking highly in the US, and Jack, Oscar, and Charlie reigning in the UK.



Many English names for boys drawn from surnames are currently trending in the United States: Jackson, Cooper, Lincoln, Hunter, and Landon, for instance. And then there are English word names from Royal to Loyal that have become fashionable for baby boys.

 include Carter, Grayson, Julian, Mason, Parker, Robert, Sawyer, and Wyatt. Trending English names for boys include surname names such as Reeve and Miller and antique names such as Auberon and Anson.

Baby boy names of English origin popular in the UK

 include Oliver — a top name throughout the United Kingdom — Harry, Leo, and Alfie. The English name Tom ranks highly in France, while James is favored in The Netherlands and Oliver is popular in Spain.



Some of the straightforward boys’ names we think of as English — like the royal Charles, William, Henry, George, and Louis — all have non-English roots but may carry nicknames like Charlie or Bill that are distinctively English.

English Names for Boys rank highly throughout the English-speaking world, including William, James, Jack, Oscar, and Charlie. (Page 58)