1450+ English Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

This name has a nicely fragrant woodsy feel, bringing it into the nature-tree name category. Its only well-known bearer, folk singer and Oscar-winning actor Burl Ives, had the full birth certificate name of Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives — nothing compared to his two siblings named Argola and Lillburn.

Faine is a very unusual one-syllable option.

Better for an Air Force base than a baby.

A cross-cultural possibility, but a bit heavy and somber.

Years ago we might have said that this name was unthinkable, but with old-fashioned names being so popular right now (consider Atticus, Leonidas, Arthur, Jasper, Augustus etc) what's to stop Cuthbert from becoming more wearable? Bertie is a cute (and very fashionable) nickname option for this grand old name.

A rising surname name for girls — it's overwhelmingly feminine, despite the association with Kenny Chesney.

Though we usually think a name's image in contemporary culture supersedes its ancient meaning, this is a case where the definition could undermine a child's self-esteem.

You can call your baby "babe," but don't name her that.

Destry rides again, this time as a Western flavored baby name. Derived from the French surname Destrier, from an Anglo-Norman word meaning "warhorse", this rugged name was popularized by the 1930 novel Destry Rides Again by Max Brand, subsequently adapted for the big screen.

Could join such up-and-comers as Miller and Gardener.

While not generally thought of as unisex, this is a male name that, like Perry and Barry, has occasionally been used for girls over the years.

Lathan is a surname recorded as relating to the towns of Layton or Latham and meaning, depending on its derivation, barn or leek farm or farm by the water. As a first name, it's reminiscent of the popular Nathan.

Seldom heard as a first name.

A two-syllable surname feel puts this name of an important English saint in the running -- though it could sound like a confused cross between Duncan and Dustin.

Long before the current place-name craze, a pair of the more daring pop singers of the Age of Aquarius picked this name for their daughters. Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick used the conventional spelling, the Mamas and the Papas's Michelle Phillips went further afield with Chynna (of the group Wilson Phillips).

Peace may be an admirable sentiment to convey in a child's name, but the translated and thus more subtle versions, like Pax or Placido, might work better as first names.

Acker is a surname name that has not seen much use to date, but given it's lush nature meaning (and the fact that it also means "friend" in Somerset slang) this could be a cute choice for parents looking for something fresh. An added bonus its link to English "Master of the Clarinet" Acker Bilk. The Dutch version, Akker, is also an option.

Longfellow is the first name of the eponymous hero of the classic 1936 film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, later remade with Adam Sandler. But it's hard to imagine a modern parent using it except as a middle name to honor the poet.

Divine seems more proper a name with the rise of Heaven and its turned-around twin Nevaeh. Though superlative names like Divine -- Unique, say, or Precious -- sometimes seems as if they're trying to hard and protesting too much.

This is a name you get stuck with, not (we hope) one your parents choose for you.