Given name & surname
English
“of the Angles; English”
English is a masculine given name from Proto-West Germanic, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European.
Meaning & origin
What it means
English goes back to a word meaning “of the Angles; English.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
English comes from Proto-West Germanic, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Proto-West Germanic *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1889. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
English through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 451
- 186 boys · 265 girls
- Most popular year
- 1983
- 22 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2014. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 22 in 1983. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 495 as a first name in 2020; 44,777 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
English’s family of names
In English usage, English shares a linguistic root with the Dutch form ENGELS. In English usage, English as a surname has a related form in Windell. In English usage, English as a surname has a related form in Noy.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
English has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
18 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named English
- English GardnerAmerican sprinterborn 1992
- Campbell-Kirk Kawana-WaughNew Zealand association football refereeborn 1979
- Praise-God BareboneEnglish radical puritan preacher (c. 1598–1679)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love English, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kersey
“cress” · “island”
27% boys · 73% girls
Kirby
“from the church town” · “from the village with the church”
48% boys · 52% girls
Frenchie
“woman from France; one who is free”
20% boys · 80% girls
Escarís
“ash tree; spear”
—
Esmorís
“whole” · “king”
—
England
“land of the Angles”
27% boys · 73% girls
Egloff
“edge of a sword” · “wolf”
—
Escariz
“ash tree; spear”
—