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English

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Of the Angles; English

English has been given to 451 babies in the U.S. since 1961. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1983, with 22 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 59% girls, 41% boys all-time.

Babies named English, 2014

1 in 741,000

English over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
010203018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — English over time

In 2014, English went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

18892014

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

English: meaning, origin, and history

Of the Angles; English

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What English means

English means “of the Angles; English”, associated with Englisċ.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisċ (“of the Angles; English”), from Engle (“the Angles”), a Germanic tribe + -isċ; equivalent to Engle + -ish. Doublet of Anglish.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: English (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

English is used in English.

English comes through Middle English Englisch, Old English Englisċ and Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ-.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include englisch.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, English is pronounced /ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 265 girls were recorded with the name English between 1961 and 2014. Its highest annual count was 22 in 1983; its best national rank was #3,595 in 1983.

In the United States, 186 boys were recorded with the name English between 1889 and 1992. Its highest annual count was 9 in 1917; its best national rank was #1,016 in 1889.

How common is English?

English had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2014, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2014
1 in 741,000
5 of 3,706,812 births
Among girls only
1 in 357,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2014
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
513,874 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where English sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2014 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 513,874 children born in 2014 and it's an even bet that one of them is another English. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Englishs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as English was born before 1987 — so the typical English is around 38 today.

Median birth year
1987
About 38 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
43.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
37.4%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
265
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 43.8% of all recorded uses (116).

Is English rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 1983 (22)
Years since peak
42
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
24.0% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,595
1983

Where English is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, English was most concentrated in Louisiana — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 483,972 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Louisiana1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. English has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where English is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, English was most concentrated in South Carolina — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 250,148 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1South Carolina1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. English has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

English by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#3,595
1983
Peak year
1983
22 that year
First recorded
1961
Last recorded
2014
All-time count
265
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#1,016
1889
Peak year
1917
9 that year
First recorded
1889
Last recorded
1992
All-time count
186
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to English

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

EnglandBritishCharishSehrishParrishEilishMehwishAbrishAilishMehrishKashishParishEngraciaLatrishZarnishLatishCherrishZarishLakeishIrishEngridBrittishTanishAnzish

Sibling names for English

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around English

Top names of 1983, English's peak yearThe 1980s in fullOther names that peaked in 1983Girls' names starting with E