English names: our top 20 for girls and boys

English first names for girls

English names are usually no longer tongue twisters for us today, as we know them from films, series and books. Below we show you our top 20 most beautiful girl names:

1. Emily means “the eager” or “the diligent”. The first name is derived from the Latin name “Emilie”.
2. Abigail was the name of King David’s wife in the Old Testament. Thus, the English first name originally comes from the Hebrew. Translated it means something like “joy of my father”. Popular short forms are: Abby, Abbs and Abbie.
3. Adaline means “noble” or “noble”. The girl’s name is derived from the Old High German word “adal”, which can be translated as “of noble family”.
4. Olivia is one of the most popular English first names. Literally translated from Latin, it means “the olive”. Based on the symbolic meaning of an olive branch, it also stands for “the peaceful one”.
5. Hailey was primarily known as an English surname until the 1960s. Since then, more and more girls have been using it as a first name. Literally translated, Hailey means “the hay meadow”. As a Scottish first name , the name also stands for “the heroine”.
6. Caroline originally comes from the Germanic region. Translated, the sonorous maiden name means “the strong”, “the free” or “the beloved”.
7. Victoria was the name of the goddess of victory in Roman mythology. Derived from this, it stands for “the winner”.
8. As a girl’s first name, Grace comes from the Latin word “gratia” and means “the gracious” or “the graceful”. In Christianity, “Gratia” is a name for “the grace of God”.
9. Charlotte has an Old High German name origin and is the feminine variant of “Charles”. Translated, Charlotte means “the free” or “the efficient”. Sweet nicknames are: Lotti or Charly.
10. Esme , also spelled Esmé, comes from Old French. The first name has the beautiful meaning “the respected” or “the respected”.
11. Holly literally means “the holly” in English. The English name can also be translated as “the lucky one”. Girls have only been given the first name Holly since the beginning of the 20th century.
12. Annabelle is a combination of the first names “Anna” and “Isabelle”. Like many other popular girl names, it also comes from Hebrew. Translated, Annabelle means “the gifted” or “the lovable”.
13. Violet has its name origin in the plant world. Because the Latin word “viola” means “violet”.
14. Lauren derives from the Latin name of the laurel: “laurus”. The first name therefore stands for “the laurel wreath”. The male variant of this beautiful name is “Lorenz”.
15. Catherine derives from the ancient Greek term “katharos”, which can be translated as “pure”. The first name therefore also means “the pure”. Popular short forms of the name are: Cathy, Cate and Cassy.
16. Penelope also comes from ancient Greek and means “loyal” or “pure”. The first name can be traced back to Greek mythology: Penelope was the wife of the hero Odysseus.
17. Sophie has been a popular girl’s name for a long time and occurs in slightly different variants in many language areas. Translated, Sophie means “the knowing” or “the wise”.
18. Quinn is a unisex given name of Irish Gaelic origin. There it originated from the surname “Ó Cuinn”. Quinn means “the wise” or “the strong-willed”. Another known spelling of the first name is “Quin”.
19. Lily is the English word for “lily”. In the Christian faith, the flower stands for “purity”.
20. Hazel means “hazelnut” in German. By the way: In the 19th century, many first names based on plants, including “Hazel”, emerged in the English-speaking world.

English first names for boys

There are also many beautiful first names from the English-speaking world for your boy. Some have historical or biblical backgrounds, others are more recent. Our favorites are:

1. Aidan derives from the Old Irish word “aed” which means “fire”. The name Aidan therefore means “the fiery one”. Another common spelling of the first name is “Aedan”.
2. Adam comes from the Hebrew and means “man”. In biblical history, Adam is considered the first human created by God. The boy’s name came from the Hebrew word “adamah,” which literally translates to “soil.”
3. Brendan means “the prince” or “the raven”. The English boy name was modified from the Old Irish name “Bréanainn”. Other possible spellings are: “Brenden” and “Branden”.
4. Jacob is a popular English given name with a religious meaning. It comes from the Hebrew and means “God protects”.
5. Cameron is considered a unisex first name, derived from Old Irish. The name is composed of the word “cam” which means “crooked” and “shron” which means “the nose”. Unfortunately, the beautiful name has a less flattering meaning, namely “crooked nose” or “hook nose”.
6. Ian is the Scottish version of the name “Johannes”. The boy’s name originally comes from Hebrew and means “Yahweh is gracious”.
7. Owen is a traditional Scottish and Irish given name . It has the beautiful meaning “well born”. The exact origin of the name is not known.
8. Alexander means “the protector” or “man’s defender” and is a modification of the ancient Greek name “Alexandros”. English short forms are: Alex and Alec.
9. Robert means something like “the radiant” or “the graceful”. The timeless boy’s name comes from Old High German. Popular short forms are: Rob and Robby.
10. Ethan is derived directly from the Hebrew word for “permanent”: “ethan”. Accordingly, the name means “the constant” or “the steadfast”.
11. Lewis originated from the Old High German words “hlut”, meaning “famous”, and “wig”, meaning “the fight”. The name therefore means “famous fighter”. The German name version of Lewis is “Ludwig”, the French variant “Louis”.
12. Nathan is composed of the Hebrew boy names “Nathanael” and “Jonathan”. Translated, the name means “the giver” or “the gift of God”. A common short form of the name is Nate.
13. Jackson was only an English surname at first, until it was also given as a first name for boys. Literally translated it means “son of Jack”.
14. Elijah comes from the Hebrew and is made up of the words “el” and “yahweh”. Taken together, they mean “my God is Yahweh”.
15. Dean is an English name that is not yet widespread in Germany. It is probably derived from the Latin word “decanus”, i.e. the title of a “dean”. The boy’s name has the strong meaning of “the eldest” or “the leader”.
16. Liam is a very common English boy name, originally derived from the Old High German name “Wilhelm”. It stands for “the strong-willed” or “resolute protector”.
17. Leonard means “the strong lion” and is the English version of the Old High German given name “Leonhard”. Popular nicknames or short forms are: Leo and Lenny.
18. Noah is a well-known name from biblical history and has ancient Hebrew origins. Noah can be translated as “the consoling one” or “the calming one”.
19. Alan is a common boy name in Ireland and Scotland. The exact origin is not certain, but the name may derive from the Celtic word “al” meaning “rock”. Accordingly, Alan would stand for “little rock”.
20. Rory is an old Irish given name. It derives from the Gaelic name of the last Irish king: “Ruaidhrí”. “ruadh” stands for “red” and “ri” is “the king”. So Rory means “red king”. Today the first name is used for both boys and girls.