English (British) Names

Barnaby m English (British)
English form of Barnabas, originally a medieval vernacular form.

Baz m English (British)
Chiefly British diminutive of Barry or Basil 1.

Bazza m English (British)
Chiefly British diminutive of Barry or Basil 1.

Demelza f English (British, Rare)
From a Cornish place name meaning "fort of Maeldaf". It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. It was popularized in the 1970s by a character from the British television series Poldark, which was set in Cornwall.

Esme f & m English (British)
Variant of Esmé.

Esmé m & f English (British)
Means "esteemed" or "loved" in Old French. It was first recorded in Scotland, being borne by the first Duke of Lennox in the 16th century. It is now more common as a feminine name.

Esmée f English (British), Dutch
Feminine form of Esmé.

Esmee f English (British), Dutch
Feminine form of Esmé.

Fleur f French, Dutch, English (British)
Means "flower" in French. Saint Fleur of Issendolus (Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels The Forsyte Saga (1922).

Gareth m Welsh, English (British), Arthurian Romance
Meaning uncertain. It appears in this form in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends Le Morte d'Arthur, in which the knight Gareth (also named Beaumains) is a brother of Gawain. He goes with Lynet to rescue her sister Lyonesse from the Red Knight. Malory based the name on Gaheriet or Guerrehet, which was the name of a similar character in French sources. It may ultimately have a Welsh origin, possibly from the name Gwrhyd meaning "valour" (found in the tale Culhwch and Olwen) or Gwairydd meaning "hay lord" (found in the chronicle Brut y Brenhinedd).

Gaynor f English (British), Welsh
Medieval form of Guinevere.

Gaz m English (British)
Diminutive of Gary or Gareth.

Gemma f Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

Gwendoline f Welsh, English (British), French
Variant of Gwendolen.

Haydn m English (British)
From a German surname meaning "heathen". It is used in honour of the Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809).

Imogen f English (British)
The name of the daughter of King Cymbeline in the play Cymbeline (1609) by William Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named Innogen, but it was printed incorrectly and never emended. Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic inghean meaning "maiden". As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.

Ivor m Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English (British)
From the Old Norse name Ívarr, which was probably derived from the elements ýr "yew tree, bow" and herr "army, warrior". During the Middle Ages it was brought to Britain by Scandinavian settlers and invaders, and it was adopted in Ireland (Irish Íomhar), Scotland (Scottish Gaelic Iomhar) and Wales (Welsh Ifor).

Jacquetta f English (British)
Feminine diminutive of Jacques.

Jacqui f English (British)
Short form of Jacqueline.

Jemma f English (British)
Variant of Gemma.

Jez m English (British)
Diminutive of Jeremy.

Jezza m English (British)
Chiefly British diminutive of Jeremy.

Jonty m English (British)
Diminutive of Jonathan.

Lawrie m English (British)
Diminutive of Lawrence.

Macaulay m English (British)
From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh, itself derived from Amhalghadh, a given name of unknown meaning. A famous bearer of the surname was Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1861), a British Whig politician and noted historian. The given name is borne by the American former child actor Macaulay Culkin (1980-), who was named after the British politician.

Macauley m English (British)
Variant of Macaulay.

Maisy f English (British)
Variant of Maisie.

Marmaduke m English (British, Rare)
Possibly derived from the Old Irish name Máel Máedóc. This name has been traditionally used in the Yorkshire area of Britain.

Neville m English (British)
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "new town" in Norman French. As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.

Nichola f English (British)
Chiefly British feminine form of Nicholas.

Philippa f English (British), German
Latinate feminine form of Philip. As an English name, it is chiefly British.

Piers m English (British), Medieval French
Medieval form of Peter. This is the name of the main character in the 14th-century poem Piers Plowman by William Langland.

Romilly m & f English (British, Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from the name of various Norman towns, themselves from the given name Romilius.

Royston m English (British)
From a surname that was originally taken from an Old English place name meaning "town of Royse". The given name Royse was a medieval variant of Rose.

Sinjin m English (British, Rare)
Phonetic variant of St John.

St John m English (British, Rare)
From the title and name of Saint John the Baptist or Saint John the Evangelist (see John).

Tamsin f English (British)
Contracted form of Thomasina. It was traditionally used in Cornwall.

Tamsyn f English (British)
Variant of Tamsin.

Tel m English (British)
Short form of Terence or Terry 1.

Tristram m English (British)
Medieval English form of Tristan.

Vyvyan m English (British)
Variant of Vivian. This was the name of one of Oscar Wilde's sons.