Names That Mean English

Your friendly next-door neighbor...not your baby. Although Larry was once one of the most popular boys' names starting with L, that title now belongs to Liam.

Can Ernie shed the rubber ducky association and make its way onto the vintage revivals list? Years ago we may have said no, but celebrity chef Stephanie Izard made a strong case for Ernie when she gave the name to her son in 2016.

Crew x True = Crue. This on-trend name — short and punchy with popular sounds —is rising for a reason. Crue entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022, following in the footsteps of trendy Crew and Cruz. It continued to be a fast rising choice in 2023,when it was given to around 360 babies, making it roughly three times less popular than Crew, but also three times more popular than it was a decade ago.

Though it's used far more often for boys, Lyle has a lot in common with today's trending girl names that share the double L sound: Lila, Layla, and Lola.

Families with a J-initial sibset may opt to spell Dream this way. While Dream has been climbing up the charts since its' entry in 2017 — attributed to the birth of a Kardashian baby by that name — alternative spelling Jream only just entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.

We can't get past the odd part of this name.

Hyde, of course, is most familiar as a surname -- as in Mr. Hyde, evil alter ego of Dr. Jeckyll. Unless Hyde is a family name or you have some other excellent reason for using it, we think you could do better.

This particular spelling of Talmadge is strongly linked to James E. Talmage, an English chemist and early leader of the LDS Church. The majority of babies named Talmage are born in Utah.

The final -e takes this from a daring word name to a literary honor name, for the inimitable Irish author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, infamous for his wit and flamboyance.

A Julian translation that would be easy to wear — Yulian strikes the proper balance between unusual and familiar. Yuli is a common nickname in Russia.

More uncommon and powerful than garden varieties like Rose and Lily. Named for Scottish botanist Dr Alexander Garden.

Frederica is an interesting possibility for the parent unintimidated by its old-fashioned formality, and who can appreciate the vintage charm and verve lurking inside its stuffiness.

It's difficult to imagine anyone using the first name Jonesy -- and in fact, in the most recent US tally, there were nearly 100 babies named Jones but none named Jonesy. Still, this is a name that many people with Jones for a name, last or first, end up being known by, and as a nickname, it's sorta cute in a Skip, Chip, Bitsy kind of way.

Though it looks, to the untrained American eye, like a yoonek spelling of Jordy, Geordie actually refers to people from Tyneside in Northeast England and the local dialect there. To give you a sense of what it implies to Brits, Geordie Shore is British MTV's long-running answer to Jersey Shore.

With Journey becoming increasingly popular, it's no surprise that this alternative spelling is not far behind. However, you may be surprised to learn that in recent years, the Journee spelling has actually passed the original spelling in popularity — Journee is currently in the Top 200. This word name may be appealing to parents attracted to the idea of a spiritual -- or even an actual -- voyage.

Semaj is part of a special club of names created by spelling other names backward (meet the president, Nevaeh). Semaj is a reversal of James and is used primarily for boys. But ever since James became fair game for girls, so did Semaj — it's now unisex in usage.

Spiritual word names are a hot trend and ever-expanding category of baby names. Chapel was notably used in 2020 by Josh Brolin for his daughter. He said of her name, "Chapel Grace is, to us, a manifestation of that celestial feeling that was always felt as we meandered and knelt."

Nine is not a numerical name, but rather a Dutch nickname for Katherine. It's identical in sound to Nina, although the two are etymologically unrelated.

Waverly, with its literary resonance and lilting three-syllable sound, could well become the next generation's successor to Kimberly. Although, like Kimberly, it's overwhelmingly catching on for girls. Its cool, bohemian surname feel places it among the new stylish English names for girls, successors to Ashley and Whitney.

Khaos debuted in 2008, two years after Chaos appeared on the charts. These days, it tends to be more popular than the original.