The first name English
A unisex name meaning “of the angles”, “english”, “the angles”.
Pronounced /ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/ 2 syllables Unisex Also a surname
Meaning and origin
English means “of the angles”, “english”, “the angles”.
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. Compare West Frisian Ingelsk, Scots Inglis (older ynglis), Dutch Engels, Danish engelsk, Old French Englesche (whence French anglais), German englisch, Spanish inglés, all ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- (“narrow”) (compare Sanskrit अंहु (áṃhu, “narrow”), अंहस् (áṃhas, “anxiety, sin”), Latin angustus (“narrow”), Old Church Slavonic ѫзъкъ (ǫzŭkŭ, “narrow”)). More at Angles (tribe) § Etymology on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in the United States
Babies named English at birth, 1880–2025
In 2014, 5 girls born in the United States were named English, the 17,355th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1983, when 22 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
English in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Nicknames and spellings
Other spellings and forms
- Inglish
- Englishe
Famous people named English
1 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- English GardnerAmerican sprinter, born 1992
Questions
- What does the name English mean?
- English means “of the angles”, “english”, “the angles”.
- Is English a boy's or a girl's name?
- Both. Of the 451 US babies named English since 1880, 59% were girls and 41% boys.
- When was English most popular?
- 1983 in the United States, when 22 babies were named English, its highest rank at 3,596th.
- How do you pronounce English?
- English is /ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/, 2 syllables.
- What are other spellings of English?
- Inglish and Englishe.
- Is English also a surname?
- Yes. English is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.