English names
Whether you are trying to choose an English name for yourself to use in English class or you're deciding what to name your characters in a story set in England, picking a good English name is important. For non-native English speakers, it's best to stick with the classic names. More unusual names are trickier to choose, and may end up attracting unwanted attention. The lists below give you the most popular English first names for boys and girls in different countries, both for babies born today and for the entire last century. The last table gives you the most common English family names in different countries based on recent census data from those countries. Using one of these English names, you can't go wrong, because they are all very common.
The most common boys' first names in English
| rank | England 2015 | England past 100 years | USA 2014 | USA past 100 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oliver | Jake | Noah | James |
| 2 | Jack | Connor | Liam | John |
| 3 | Harry | Callum | Mason | Robert |
| 4 | Jacob | Jacob | Jacob | Michael |
| 5 | Charlie | Kyle | William | William |
| 6 | Thomas | Joe | Ethan | David |
| 7 | George | Reece | Michael | Richard |
| 8 | Oscar | Rhys | Alexander | Joseph |
| 9 | James | Charlie | James | Charles |
| 10 | William | Damian | Daniel | Thomas |
The most common girls' first names in English
| Rank | England 2015 | England past 100 years | USA 2014 | USA past 100 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amelia | Margaret | Emma | Mary |
| 2 | Olivia | Samantha | Olivia | Patricia |
| 3 | Isla | Bethany | Sophia | Jennifer |
| 4 | Emily | Elizabeth | Isabella | Elizabeth |
| 5 | Poppy | Joanne | Ava | Linda |
| 6 | Ava | Megan | Mia | Barbara |
| 7 | Isabella | Victoria | Emily | Susan |
| 8 | Jessica | Lauren | Abigail | Margaret |
| 9 | Lily | Michelle | Madison | Jessica |
| 10 | Sophie | Tracy | Charlotte | Sarah |
The most common family names in English
| rank | England | Ireland | USA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smith | Murphy | Smith |
| 2 | Jones | O'Kelly | Johnson |
| 3 | Williams | O'Sullivan | Williams |
| 4 | Brown | Walsh | Brown |
| 5 | Taylor | Smith | Jones |
| 6 | Davies | O'Brien | Miller |
| 7 | Wilson | Byrne | Davis |
| 8 | Evans | O'Ryan | Garcia |
| 9 | Thomas | O'Connor | Rodriguez |
| 10 | Roberts | O'Neill | Wilson |
| rank | Canada | Australia | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Li | Smith | Smith |
| 2 | Smith | Jones | Wilson |
| 3 | Lam | Williams | Williams |
| 4 | Martin | Brown | Brown |
| 5 | Gelbero | Wilson | Taylor |
| 6 | Roy | Taylor | Jones |
| 7 | Tremblay | Morton | Singh |
| 8 | Lee | White | Wang |
| 9 | Gagnon | Martin | Anderson |
| 10 | Wilson | Anderson | Li |