1450+ English Names

While Ivy Blue has made the color a more popular choice for girls, Blues — as in the musical style — could feel more masculine. While some may find it a sad and gloomy choice, thanks to the phrase "having the blues", the musical connection gives it greater potential. It could make for a laid-back name that oozes cool and works as an alternative for those wanting to avoid more obvious choices like Indigo or Hendrix.

Landry is one rising surname name, often after legendary Dallas Cowboys football coach Tom Landry, that is given to boys and girls. But the y ending does give it a feminine sound (as opposed to the more boyish and more popular Landon). Land is a Landry nickname that might work for boys or girls.

This name is a combination of the traditional Grace and the popular suffix -lyn. Gracelyn could work as an alternative to the popular Brooklyn while also sharing the modern feel of Emberlynn and Oaklyn.

Few people would have considered the surname of this famous Victorian poet as a first name until Russell Crowe chose it for his son in 2006. But, as a rhythmic three-syllable patronymic, Tennyson has a lot going for it, not least of all the appealing nickname Tenny; it would make a novel choice for the son of a Dennis.

Though Genesis is a Top 100 girls' name in the US, it's by all rights a unisex choice.

If you're going to choose a noble word name, why not aim higher and pick Duke, Prince...or King. The Donald Trumps picked the Barron spelling for their little princeling.

Dina is a 20th century version of either Dinah or Adinah, two Old Testament names not related to each other. Dinah was the beautiful daughter of Jacob and Leah, while Adinah or Adina was a male soldier, though the name is also used for girls in modern Israel.

The name of a British town on the Thames that hosts a famous regatta, so it could be an appropriate middle name for the son of boat-lovers.

An update of Tyson for parents who prefer the Ky nickname to Ty. It was the middle name of a character on Heroes.

Poetic and easier to pronounce (it's keets) than Yeats (which is yates). This one of many poets' names to consider, such as Auden, Eliot, Frost, Byron, Lorca, Marlowe, Blake, Emerson and Tennyson, which was used by Russell Crowe.

A bit formal for our time, Alcott would be a bit less forbidding.

A less-used cross between Clifford and Clinton.

As flinty and steely as Mr. Eastwood.

A name with plenty of celebrity glamor and contemporary flair, Anniston has a variety of origins. On one hand, it's a place name, deriving from a city in Alabama of the same name. Founded in the late 19th century by Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler, it was named in honor of the latter's daughter-in-law, Annie Tyler.

Eighties spin on megapopular Whitney that currently ranks higher than the original. Whitley fell out of the Top 1000 for several decades but resurfaced in 2018.

Relaxed male name occasionally used for girls; sounds novel compared to such former favorites as Kerry and Sherry.

There is a whole new species of bird names open to the baby namer, from the light and feminine Lark to the sleek and powerful Falcon.

Charlie and its many forms are on the rise -- including Charley, which relates more directly to the male formal name Charles. Surprisingly, though, while the number of girls and boys named Charlie are nearly even, there are six times as many girls named Charley than boys.

This punchy surname has some favor in the last couple of decades—potentially due to rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was one of the quickest rising boy names in 2013 when it reached its high point at #318. It has since declined in popularity, but as of 2023, it remains in the US Top 500 and in the UK Top 1000.

Laurie morphed into the more streamlined Lori in the sixties but now feels dated for a girl in either spelling. Update Lauren has been renovated as Laurel or Laura itself.