1450+ English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

Actor Farley Granger set it in motion, now could be a gentler alternative to Harley.

The tree, not the charred bit of soot in the fireplace, usually used for boys, but, as a short form of Ashley, works for girls too.

Adley made the Top 1000 at Number 735 in 2012 on the heels of sister name Hadley, only to vanish again in 2013. But now, with the popularity of Adelaide and Adeline, it has leaped upward and entered the Top 1000 once again. Adley feels in step with name trends of the moment, but will it survive the ages? Other such mashups have not.

Demi and Bruce made waves when they named their now-grown firstborn after novelist Rumer Godden; a possible downside is its connection with the word rumor. English author Godden was actually born Margaret, with Rumer (a family surname) as her middle name

Sunshine was seen as a quintessential hippie name of the 70s, reaching as high as Number 536 in 1975. Now such names are making a bit of a retro comeback, seen, for example, as a character on Glee.

Vintage nickname for Roberta or Barbara, most famously borne by Roberta "Bobbie" in Edith Nesbit's classic The Railway Children.

Morrison is one of the more uncommon patronymics; it could be used to honor an ancestral Morris, or one of the well-known surnamed Morrisons: Toni, Jim or Van.

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.

Yet another noble name to join King, Prince, Princess, et al. The name Empress was given to over 100 baby girls in the US last year.

Fane, used as a nickname in the Middle Ages for someone with a cheerful disposition, is one of the more offbeat members of the Zane-Kane family.

Used by the Puritans but off the US charts completely since the mid-1990s, Eartha is best known today as the name of American singer Eartha Kitt, as well as of the philanthropist and humanitarian Eartha M. M. White.

Bland compared to the Irish-sounding O-starting names, but fans of football star Odell Beckham Jr. may like the name for other reasons.

Though rarely used now that many parents would rather appropriate men's names than sweeten them with feminine endings, Thomasina does have some vintage appeal.

So sweet it makes our teeth hurt. It has appeared in the US Top 1000 every year since 2006, though it dropped a significant 136 places from 2014 to 2015, and kept dropping to Number 974 in 2016.

Revel is a joyous word name that may appeal to parents wanting a non-traditional Biblical choice or simply a name that expresses how they feel.

Simplicity and pleasant associations give the word Bell real possibility as a first name -- but somehow it seems better for a girl, a la Belle.

Naming a child Cornelius or Nelson feels increasingly ahead of the curve in today's vintage name-loving climate. But keep Nelly for a nickname (even the rap star was christened Cornell).

No, not Ben (you'll say a million times), not Van -- Venn. John Venn was a British logician and philosopher famous for introducing the Venn diagram, which is used in several fields, including logic, statistics, and computer science.

Hot star Ashton Kutcher is pushing this unisex choice toward the boys' camp, but its variation Ashtyn is on the rise.

Might suggest speed, excitement, even danger, were it not for its best-known bearer, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.