1450+ English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

  1. Newt
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "a small salamander"
    • Description:

      Rarely used on its own and irrevocably tied to former House Speaker Gingrich -- who was christened Newton.
  2. Mason
    • Origin:

      English occupational name
    • Meaning:

      "stoneworker"
    • Description:

      Mason is a supertrendy name for boys that's starting to cross over -- Kelsey Grammer used it for his daughter. Creative speller's delight.
  3. Winthrop
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "friend's village"
    • Description:

      Proper Bostonian.
  4. Edina
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "wealthy"
    • Description:

      Edina is an infectious-sounding Minnesota place-name, featured in the British cult hit TV show "Absolutely Fabulous." Edina is also a poetic name for Edinburgh and is a common name in contemporary Hungary. Though some sources list its origins as Hungarian, more peg it as a variation of Edwina, the feminine form of Edwin, an English name.
  5. Loren
    • Origin:

      English spelling variation of Lauren, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "from Laurentum or bay laurel"
    • Description:

      The spelling Loren turns Lauren or its male form Laurence into a gender-neutral name. Last year 75 baby girls were named Loren in the US vs. 60 baby boys, making this name a good nonbinary choice.
  6. Raelyn
    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of Raelynn
    • Description:

      After entering the Top 1000 in 2009, Raelyn has climbed the charts. It's ridden the coattails of Raelynn (which remains more popular), but also may be benefiting from the rise of Brooklyn. The use of -Lyn and -Lynn suffixes has grown in recent years, even as the name Lynn itself languishes.
  7. Eldridge
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "old, wise leader"
    • Description:

      Name long associated with eloquent Black Panther activist Eldridge Cleaver and jazz great Roy Eldridge.
  8. Raleigh
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "meadow of deer"
    • Description:

      An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.
  9. Marlee
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "pleasant seaside meadow"
    • Description:

      The combined inspiration of reggae master Bob and the dog-loving romp "Marley and Me" catapulted this name up the chart in recent years. But what goes up....
  10. Winsome
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "agreeable, lighthearted"
    • Description:

      Sweet, modern descriptive name, but perhaps a little too cute for its own good.
  11. Crane
    • Origin:

      English surname
    • Meaning:

      "crane"
    • Description:

      This elegant surname has great potential to turn into an unusual first name, especially with its literary associations to both Stephen and Hart Crane.
  12. Shadow
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "shade"
    • Description:

      Better for a dog.
  13. Del
    • Origin:

      English, diminutive
    • Meaning:

      "small valley"
    • Description:

      The kind of name last found in northern Wisconsin in the 1950s, and even then it was probably a nickname for Delbert.
  14. Lander
    • Origin:

      English from German
    • Meaning:

      "territory"
    • Description:

      Lander is a name that straddles two trends. It's an er-ending surname name, ala Cooper and Carter. And it's also, more subtly, a green name, in the manner of Fielder or Reed.
  15. Breeze
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Most will see this as a refreshing middle name possibility, but Bristol Palin baby daddy Levi Johnston used it as a first name for his new daughter, Breeze Beretta.
  16. Meg
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Margaret
    • Meaning:

      "pearl"
    • Description:

      Meg, perennially one of the Little Women, is a Margaret short form that manages to be neither quite in nor quite out of style. Meg is sleeker and more sophisticated than Maggie, more contemporary than Peg, more stylish than Megan, and still one of the best diminutives of Margaret.

      Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne.

  17. Wyclef
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "dweller at the white cliff"
    • Description:

      Haitian-born rap superstar and humanitarian Wyclef ("Fugees") Jean has lent this name a powerful musical beat.
  18. Hettie
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Henrietta, English
    • Meaning:

      "estate ruler"
    • Description:

      It may take another generation or so, but this category of Hettie-Lettie-Lottie names could make a comeback.
  19. Randolph
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "shield-wolf"
    • Description:

      Randolph is a timeworn classic that had its last hurrah in the 1940s, when Randolph (born George) Scott was starring in westerns, but then was probably done in by its tricky nickname Randy (which, strangely enough, was itself a Top 50 name in the fifties and sixties).
  20. Dale
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "valley"
    • Description:

      An early unisex nature name that has been surpassed by others, Dale is still a simple, sylvan and serene option.