English Names that Start With L
Across 4 pages
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The names
Lily
English flower name
"lily"
Lily is the most popular of the popular delicate century-old flower names now making a return, thanks to its many irresistible attributes: a cool elegance and a lovely sound, a symbol of purity and…
Lucy
English variation of Lucia, Latin
"light"
A versatile classic, Lucy is both sweet and solid, a saint's name, and the heroine of several great novels. First fashionable in England and Wales, Lucy is now a popular choice in the US, The…
Lillian
English from Latin
"lily; pledged to God"
Lillian has ranked among the US Top 100 for the past 20 years, making it Lily's less popular but more grown-up cousin. A Top 10 name at the turn of the last century, the heyday of Lillian Gish and…
Lincoln
English
"town by the pool"
Lincoln cracked the Top 50 for boys' names for the first time in 2016, more than 150 years after the death of its most famous bearer. This is especially remarkable because, as crazy as it seems now,…
Landon
English
"long hill"
Landon is a popular surname name; it's been dropping slightly in recent years but has surpassed its once more popular rhyming cousin Brandon. For some it may bring back nostalgic memories of Little…
Legend
English
"hero or fable"
Legend joins cousins Story, Saga and Fable in the baby name pantheon of narrative words. Unlike Story and Fable, however, Legend comes with additional weight, being used for fame ("living legend")…
Lennon
Irish
"lover"
A growing number of high-profile (and other) parents are choosing to honor their musical idols, such as Hendrix, Presley, Jagger, and now Lennon, an Irish name for girls as well as boys with a…
Lane
English
"a small roadway or path"
Lane is a recent hit name, that could be used for either gender, but is much more popular for boys. It's a surname that projects the pleasant picture of narrow, tree-lined country roads. Holding…
Lilly
English flower name
"lily"
Lilly may contain one L too many for some people, though this secondary spelling of a name that's become wildly popular is still a popular choice. And the Lilly spelling does feel a bit less wispy, a…
Lena
English, Scottish, Dutch, German, and Scandinavian, diminutive of various names ending in -lena
This pet form of Helena and other ena-ending names, long used as an independent name, is attracting notice again as an option both multicultural and simple. Lena was a Top 100 name from 1880 to 1920.…
Leighton
English
"meadow town"
One of those names that's suddenly on the map because of a celebrity's influence, Leighton Meester of the TV show Gossip Girl . She pronounces it LAY-ton but some will intuitively say LEE-ton.
Lawson
English
"son of Lawrence"
Appealing way, à la Dawson, to honor an ancestral Lawrence. Lawson is also an English pop rock band. Lawson has history or use that dates far back, but it fell off of the charts in 1950. The name…
Lauren
English from Latin
"from Laurentum or bay laurel"
Lauren was derived from Laurence, an English name from the Roman family name Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum." Laurentum, an ancient Italian city, got its name from the Latin word laurus ,…
London
English place-name
"Capital city of England"
The capital of England makes a solid and attractive twenty-first-century choice in the US where it is currently in the Top 1000. Given to nearly 1000 girls and 200 boys each year, it is a unisex…
Lewis
English variation of Louis
"renowned warrior"
Lewis is the best spelling to choose if you want this pronounced with the S. It was a Top 100 name in the US from 1880 to 1930, reaching Number 30 in 1880 and while it has declined in use, it has…
Leland
English
"meadow land"
Popular in the first half of the 20th century, Leland briefly fell out of favor in the late 90s. After a short break from the US charts, it returned in the mid-2000s, with actor Brendan Fraser…
Lottie
Diminutive of Charlotte, English
"free man"
Sweet Charlotte nickname Lottie might be considered a nostalgic great-grandma name that conjures up lockets and lace, and — like Nellie, Josie, Hattie, Tillie, and Milly — has considerable vintage…
Lenora
English, contracted form of Leonora
"light"
A lovely (and uncommon) longer form for Nora, one of the most fashionable international nickname names around. Lenora fell off the US charts in the 70s, but just re-entered in 2022 as parents' love…
Ledger
English surname
"people's spear; book of recordings"
Ledger, another surname-turned-first name, carries associations of the great and late Australian actor Heath Ledger. It appeared on the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2017, perhaps bolstered by…
Lilian
Alternate spelling of Lillian, English
"lily; pledged to God"
Lilian is the far less popular than the 'Lillian' spelling. To avoid a lifetime of mistakes and misspellings, we suggest you go with the Lillian spelling, which also looks more polished on paper.…