Browse Names

This is a list of names in which the usage is English; and the name appears on the United States popularity list ranked < 150 for years > 2000; and the name does not appear on the United States popularity list for years < 1970.
gender
usage
Aaliyah f Arabic, English (Modern), African American (Modern)
Feminine form of Aali. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by the singer Aaliyah Haughton (1979-2001), who was known simply as Aaliyah. This name received a boost in popularity after she released her debut album in 1994, and also in 2001 after her untimely death in an airplane crash.
Adalyn f English (Modern)
Variant of Adeline using the popular name suffix lyn.
Adalynn f English (Modern)
Variant of Adeline using the popular name suffix lynn.
Aidan m Irish, English (Modern)
Anglicized form of Aodhán. In the latter part of the 20th century it became popular in America due to its sound, since it shares a sound with such names as Braden and Hayden. It peaked ranked 39th for boys in 2003.
Alaia 2 f English (Modern)
Probably a variant of Alayah. It is likely also influenced by the fashion brand Alaïa, named for the Tunisian-French designer Azzedine Alaïa (1935-2017). His surname in Arabic is عليّة ('Alayyah), meaning "lofty".
Ariana f Portuguese, English (Modern)
Portuguese form of Ariadne. This name steadily grew in popularity in America in the last few decades of the 20th century. A famous bearer is the American pop singer Ariana Grande (1993-).
Ashlyn f English (Modern)
Combination of Ashley and the popular name suffix lyn.
Aubree f English (Modern)
Feminine variant of Aubrey.
Ayla 3 f Literature, English (Modern)
Created for the novel Clan of the Cave Bear (1980) by author Jean M. Auel. In the novel Ayla is an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl adopted by Neanderthals. Ayla is the Neanderthal pronunciation of her real name, which is not given.... [more]
Braden m English
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Bradáin, which was in turn derived from the byname Bradán. Like other similar-sounding names such as Hayden and Aidan, it and its variant Brayden became popular in America at the end of the 20th century.
Brantley m English (Modern)
From a surname, an Americanized form of the German surname Brändle, ultimately from Old High German brant "fire".
Brayden m English (Modern)
Variant of Braden. This is currently the more popular spelling of the name.
Breanna f English
Variant of Briana.
Briana f English
Feminine form of Brian. It appears in Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590). The name was not commonly used until the 1970s, when it rapidly became popular in the United States.
Brianna f English
Variant of Briana. This is currently the more popular spelling of the name.
Brielle f English (Modern)
Short form of Gabrielle. This is also the name of towns in the Netherlands and New Jersey, though their names derive from a different source.
Brittany f English
From the name of the region of Brittany in the northwest of France, called in French Bretagne. It was named for the Britons who settled there after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the invasions of the Anglo-Saxons.... [more]
Brody m English
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Moray, Scotland. It probably means "ditch, mire" in Gaelic.
Brooklyn f & m English (Modern)
From the name of a borough of New York City, originally named after the Dutch town of Breukelen, itself meaning either "broken land" (from Dutch breuk) or "marsh land" (from Dutch broek). It can also be viewed as a combination of Brook and the popular name suffix lyn. It is considered a feminine name in the United States, but is more common as a masculine name in the United Kingdom.
Bryson m English
From an English surname meaning "son of Brice". Starting in the 1970s this name began steadily growing in popularity, likely because it features the same popular sounds found in other names such as Brice and Tyson.
Caden m English (Modern)
Sometimes explained as deriving from the Irish surname Caden, which is an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mac Cadáin, itself from the given name Cadán (of unknown meaning). In actuality, the popularity of this name in America beginning in the 1990s is due to its sound — it shares its fashionable den suffix sound with other trendy names like Hayden, Aidan and Braden.
Caitlin f Irish, English
Anglicized form of Caitlín.
Camden m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, perhaps meaning "enclosed valley" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English historian William Camden (1551-1623).
Cassidy f & m English (Modern)
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Caiside), which is derived from the byname Caiside. Very rare as a given name before the 1970s, it established itself in the 80s and then surged in popularity during the 90s.
Ciara 2 f English (Modern)
Variant of Sierra. Use of the name has perhaps been influenced by the brand of perfume called Ciara, which was introduced by Revlon in 1973.
Colton m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Cola's town". It started being used as a given name in the 1980s. Likely in some cases it was viewed as an elaborated or full form of Cole or Colt.
Connor m Irish, English (Modern)
Variant of Conor, based on the usual spelling of the surname that is derived from the name. This is currently the most common way of spelling it in the English-speaking world, apart from Ireland.
Dakota m & f English (Modern)
From the name of the Native American people of the northern Mississippi Valley, or from the two American states that were named for them: North and South Dakota (until 1889 unified as the Dakota Territory). The tribal name means "allies, friends" in the Dakota language.... [more]
Declan m Irish, English
Anglicized form of Irish Deaglán, Old Irish Declán, which is of unknown meaning. Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.... [more]
Destiny f English
Means simply "destiny, fate" from the English word, ultimately from Latin destinare "to determine", a derivative of stare "to stand". It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world only since the last half of the 20th century.
Easton m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning "east town" in Old English.
Eden f & m Hebrew, English (Modern)
Possibly from Hebrew עֵדֶן ('eden) meaning "pleasure, delight", or perhaps derived from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Eliana 1 f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English (Modern)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Éliane.
Emersyn f English
Feminine variant of Emerson.
Everly f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English eofor "boar" and leah "woodland, clearing". Notable bearers of the surname were the musical duo the Everly Brothers, Don (1937-2021) and Phil (1939-2014).... [more]
Freya f Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
From Old Norse Freyja meaning "lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother Freyr and father Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess Frigg.... [more]
Gael m Breton, English (Modern), Spanish (Modern)
Probably from the ethno-linguistic term Gael, which refers to speakers of Gaelic languages.
Gage m English (Modern)
From an English surname of Old French origin meaning either "measure", originally denoting one who was an assayer, or "pledge", referring to a moneylender. It was popularized as a given name by a character from the book Pet Sematary (1983) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1989).
Genesis f English (Modern)
Means "birth, origin" in Greek. This is the name of the first book of the Old Testament in the Bible. It tells of the creation of the world, the expulsion of Adam and Eve, Noah and the great flood, and the three patriarchs.
Gianna f Italian, Greek, English (Modern)
Italian short form of Giovanna and a Modern Greek variant of Ioanna.
Giselle f French, English (Modern)
Derived from the Old German element gisal meaning "hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.... [more]
Grayson m English (Modern)
From an English surname meaning "son of the steward", derived from Middle English greyve "steward". It became common towards the end of the 20th century because of its similarity to popular names like Jason, Mason and Graham.
Hailey f English (Modern)
Variant of Hayley. This is currently the most common spelling in the United States, surpassing Haley in 2001 and attaining a high rank of 19th in 2010.
Haley f English (Modern)
Variant of Hayley. This spelling gained some popularity in the United States in 1977, possibly due to the author Alex Haley, whose book Roots was adapted into a popular miniseries that year. This was the most common American spelling from then to 2001, when it was eclipsed by Hailey.
Jaden m & f English (Modern)
An invented name, using the popular den suffix sound found in such names as Braden, Hayden and Aidan. This name first became common in America in the 1990s when similar-sounding names were increasing in popularity. The spelling Jayden has been more popular since 2003. It is sometimes considered a variant of the biblical name Jadon.
Jase m English (Modern)
Variant of Jace and a short form of Jason.
Jasmine f English, French
From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers that is used for making perfumes. It is derived via Arabic from Persian یاسمین (yasamin), which is also a Persian name. In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity from the 1970s, especially among African Americans. It reached a peak in the early 1990s shortly after the release of the animated Disney movie Aladdin (1992), which featured a princess by this name.
Jayce m English
Variant of Jace.
Jayden m & f English (Modern)
Variant of Jaden. This spelling continued to rapidly rise in popularity in the United States past 2003, unlike Jaden, which stalled. It peaked at the fourth rank for boys in 2010, showing tremendous growth over only two decades. It has since declined.
Jayla f English (Modern)
An invented name, using the phonetic elements jay and la, and sharing a sound with other popular names such as Kayla.
Jenna f English, Finnish
Variant of Jenny. Use of the name was popularized in the 1980s by the character Jenna Wade on the television series Dallas.
Jillian f English
Variant of Gillian.
Jordyn f English (Modern)
Feminine variant of Jordan.
Juniper f English (Modern)
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Kai 1 m Frisian, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Meaning uncertain, possibly a Frisian diminutive of Gerhard, Nicolaas, Cornelis or Gaius. It is borne by a boy captured by the Snow Queen in an 1844 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Spreading from Germany and Scandinavia, this name became popular in the English-speaking world and other places in Western Europe around the end of the 20th century.
Kaleb m English (Modern)
English variant of Caleb.
Kayden m & f English (Modern)
Variant of Caden.
Kaylee f English (Modern)
Combination of the popular phonetic elements kay and lee. This name, in various spellings, steadily rose in popularity starting in the 1980s. This particular spelling peaked in America in 2009, ranked 26th, and has since declined.
Keira f English (Modern)
Variant of Ciara 1. This spelling was popularized by British actress Keira Knightley (1985-).
Kelsey f & m English
From an English surname that is derived from town names in Lincolnshire. It may mean "Cenel's island", from the Old English name Cenel "fierce" in combination with eg "island".
Khloe f English (Modern)
Variant of Chloe. This particular variant was popularized by the television personality Khloé Kardashian (1984-) after she began appearing with her family on the reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2007.
Kiara f English (Modern)
Variant of Ciara 1 or Chiara. This name was brought to public attention in 1988 after the singing duo Kiara released their song This Time. It was further popularized by a character in the animated movie The Lion King II (1998).
Kingston m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's town" in Old English. This name rose significantly on the popularity charts after musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale used it for their son born 2006.
Kinsley f English (Modern)
From a surname that was derived from an English place name, itself meaning "clearing belonging to Cyne". The Old English given name Cyne is a short form of longer names beginning with cyne meaning "royal".... [more]
Kylee f English
Variant of Kylie.
Kylie f English
This name arose in Australia, where it is said to mean "boomerang" in the Australian Aboriginal language Nyungar. An early bearer was the author Kylie Tennant (1912-1988). It was among the most popular names in Australia in the 1970s and early 80s. It can also be considered a feminine form of Kyle, or a combination of the popular sounds ky and lee, and it is likely in those capacities that it began to be used in America in the late 1970s. A famous bearer is the Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue (1968-).
Layla f Arabic, English
Means "night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Legend m English (Modern)
From the English word, referring to a story about the past (or by extension, a heroic character in such a story), ultimately from Latin legere "to read".
Lizbeth f English
Short form of Elizabeth.
London f & m English (Modern)
From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain. As a surname it was borne by the American author Jack London (1876-1916).
Mackenzie f & m English
From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Coinnich, itself derived from the given name Coinneach. As a feminine given name it was popularized by the American actress Mackenzie Phillips (1959-), especially after she began appearing on the television comedy One Day at a Time in 1975. In the United Kingdom it is more common as a masculine name.
Maddox m English (Modern)
From a Welsh surname meaning "son of Madoc". It was brought to public attention when the actress Angelina Jolie gave this name to her adopted son in 2002.
Marley f & m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was taken from a place name meaning either "pleasant wood", "boundary wood" or "marten wood" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the Jamaican musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).
Maya 2 f English
Variant of Maia 1. This name can also be given in reference to the Maya, an indigenous people of southern Mexico and parts of Central America whose civilization flourished between the 3rd and 8th centuries. A famous bearer was the American poet and author Maya Angelou (1928-2014).
Miley f English (Modern)
In the case of actress and singer Miley Cyrus (1992-), it is a shortened form of the nickname Smiley, given to her by her father because she often smiled. Although it was not at all common before she brought it to public attention, there are some examples of its use before her time, most likely as a diminutive of Miles.
Nevaeh f English (Modern)
The word heaven spelled backwards. It became popular after the musician Sonny Sandoval from the rock group P.O.D. gave it to his daughter in 2000. Over the next few years it rapidly climbed the rankings in America, peaking at the 25th rank for girls in 2010.
Paisley f English (Modern)
From a Scots surname, originally from the name of a town near Glasgow, maybe ultimately derived from Latin basilica "church". This is also a word (derived from the name of that same town) for a type of pattern commonly found on fabrics.
Payton f & m English (Modern)
Variant of Peyton.
Piper f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was originally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute). It was popularized as a given name by a character from the television series Charmed, which debuted in 1998.
Raelynn f English (Modern)
Combination of Rae and the popular name suffix lyn.
Reagan f & m English (Modern)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Riagáin, derived from the given name Riagán. This surname was borne by American actor and president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).... [more]
River m & f English (Modern)
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Rowan m & f Irish, English (Modern)
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Ryder m English (Modern)
From an English occupational surname derived from Old English ridere meaning "mounted warrior" or "messenger". It has grown in popularity in the 2000s because it starts with the same sound found in other popular names like Ryan and Riley.
Ryker m English (Modern)
Possibly a variant of the German surname Riker, a derivative of Low German rike "rich". As a modern English name, it has become popular because it shares the same trendy sounds found in other names such as Ryan and Ryder.
Rylan m English (Modern)
Possibly a variant of Ryland, though it could also be an invented name inspired by other names like Ryan and Riley.
Rylee f & m English (Modern)
Variant of Riley.
Ryleigh f English (Modern)
Feminine variant of Riley.
Sage f & m English (Modern)
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Sawyer m & f English (Modern)
From an English surname meaning "sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).... [more]
Serenity f English (Modern)
From the English word meaning "serenity, tranquility", ultimately from Latin serenus meaning "clear, calm".
Sienna f English (Modern)
From the English word meaning "orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.
Sierra f English (Modern)
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
Skylar f & m English (Modern)
Variant of Skyler. Originally more common for boys during the 1980s, it was popularized as a name for girls after it was used on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless in 1989 and the movie Good Will Hunting in 1997. Its sharp rise in the United States in 2011 might be attributed to the character Skyler White from the television series Breaking Bad (2008-2013) or the singer Skylar Grey (1986-), who adopted this name in 2010 after previously going by Holly Brook.
Sloane f English (Modern)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Sluaghadháin, itself derived from the given name Sluaghadhán.
Summer f English
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Tanner m English
From an English surname meaning "one who tans hides".
Trinity f English
From the English word Trinity, given in honour of the Christian belief that God has one essence, but three distinct expressions of being: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It has only been in use as a given name since the 20th century.
Tristan m English, French, Arthurian Romance
Probably from the Celtic name Drustan, a diminutive of Drust, which occurs as Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Willow f English (Modern)
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.