English names are names used in, or originating in,
England.
In England as elsewhere in the
English-speaking world, a complete name usually consists of a
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
, commonly referred to as a first name, and a (most commonly
patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
)
family name
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...
or
surname, also referred to as a last name. There can be several given names, some of these being often referred to as a second name, or middle name(s).
Given names
Most given names used in England do not have English derivation. Most traditional names are
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
(
Daniel
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
,
David,
Elizabeth,
Susan
Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...
),
Greek (
Nicholas,
Dorothy,
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
,
Helen),
Germanic names
Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel".
However, there are also ...
adopted via the transmission of
Old French/
Norman (
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
,
Richard,
Gertrude,
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
), or
Latin (
Adrian
Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water".
The Adria was until the 8th century BC the mai ...
,
Amelia,
Patrick).
There remains a limited set of given names which have an actual English derivation (see
Anglo-Saxon names
Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel".
However, there are also ...
); examples include
Alfred
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interl ...
,
Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...
,
Edgar,
Edmund
Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings an ...
,
Edward,
Edwin
The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures.
People
* Edwin of Northumbria (die ...
,
Harold
Harold may refer to:
People
* Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Harold (surname), surname in the English language
* András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold"
Arts ...
and
Oswald Oswald may refer to:
People
*Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name
Fictional characters
*Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbu ...
. A distinctive feature of Anglophone names is the surnames of important families used as given names, originally to indicate political support or patronage. Many examples have now become normal names chosen because parents like them, and any political sense lost. Most are male names like Cecil, Gerald, Howard, Percy, Montague, Stanley or Gordon, though some have female versions like Cecilia or Geraldine. Other languages have few equivalents, although the saint's surname Xavier is often used by Roman Catholics.
During most of the 19th century, the most popular given names were
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...
and either
John or
William
William is a male
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization.
A male organism cannot reproduce sex ...
for girls and boys, respectively. Throughout the Early Modern period, the variation of given names was comparatively small; the three most frequent male given names accounted for close to 50% of male population throughout this period. For example, of the boys born in London in the year 1510, 24.4% were named
John, 13.3% were named
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
and 11.7% were named William. A trend towards more diversity in given names began in the mid-19th century, and by 1900, 22.9% of the newborn boys, and 16.2% of the newborn girls in the UK shared the top three given names. The trend continued during the 20th century, and by 1994, these figures had fallen to 11% and 8.6%, respectively. This trend is a result of a combination of greater
individualism in the choice of names, and the increasing
ethnic heterogeneity of UK population, which led to a wider range of frequent given names from non-European traditions. Oliver and Olivia were the most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2018.
Translations
Surnames
According to Christopher Daniell, in ''From Norman Conquest to Magna Carta'', 1140 marked what might be the first recorded use of a modern surname, inherited by multiple generations. The sons of a Norman named Robert used a modern inheritable surname, ''
FitzGerald
The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...
'', in honour of an earlier relative, named ''Gerald''.
[
The introduction of parish registers in 1538 contributed significantly to the stabilization of the surname system, but it was not until the late 17th century that fixed surnames were introduced throughout England.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the top ten most frequent surnames in England during the 1990s were:
#]Smith
Smith may refer to:
People
* Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals
* Smith (given name)
* Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland
** List of people wit ...
#Jones
Jones may refer to:
People
* Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname
* List of people with surname Jones
* Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter
Arts and entertainment
* Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwe ...
# Williams
# Taylor
#Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
#Davies
Davies is a patronymic surname of English or Welsh origin. There are two main theories concerning its beginnings, neither of which has been definitively proven. The first theory contends that it may be a corruption of "Dyfed", the name of a medi ...
# Evans
#Wilson
Wilson may refer to:
People
*Wilson (name)
** List of people with given name Wilson
** List of people with surname Wilson
* Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender
* Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...
#Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
#Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
While it is normal for a child to be given one of their parents' surnames, traditionally the father's (or increasingly some combination of the two), there is nothing in UK law that explicitly requires this. Under English common law, a person may use any name as a legal name, though most people use their birth name (as registered on the Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, regulated by th
Registration of Births and Deaths Regulations 1987
which allows only characters that are used in English or Welsh), often using a spouse's surname (proved with a marriage certificate), or (if an adult) a name formally declared by deed poll. No regulations include any specific provisions regarding what names are acceptable. Nonetheless, the General Register Office and various organizations that help with creating and enrolling deed polls will reject anything that is unreasonable (racist, offensive, fraudulent, implying a title of nobility not held, unpronounceable, not in the Latin script, etc.).
Compound surnames
Double-barrelled names may be formed for a variety of reasons, including combining of spouses' surnames upon marriage or, more commonly in the past, adding another family's surname as a condition of inheritance.
Compound surnames in English feature two words, often joined by a hyphen or hyphens, For example Henry Hepburne-Scott, with some families having as many as four words making up their surname, such as Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton
Charles John Robert Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton (18 January 1863 – 5 July 1957) was a British peer.
Trefusis was the eldest son of the 20th Baron Clinton and his wife, Harriet. Educated at Oxford he played polo with ...
and . However, it is not unusual for compound surnames to be composed of separate words not linked by a hyphen, for example Iain Duncan Smith
Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born George Ian Duncan Smith; 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was S ...
, a former leader of the Conservative Party, whose surname is "Duncan Smith".
See also
* List of the most common surnames in Europe
References
External links
English Surnames
(about.com)
Seven Types of English Surnames
Baby names in England and Wales: 2018 Most popular first names for baby boys and girls in 2018 using birth registration data
(Office of National Statistics)
{{Names in world cultures
Names by culture