# English (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/english/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname originally denoting a non-Celtic or non-Danish person in Britain.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 46,393 |
| US rank (2010) | 748 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 6,655 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.0% (45,032 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Inglish, Englishe |

## Etymology

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

## Who carries it

Share of people named English in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 71% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 22% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named English in the United States and Australia.

## People named English

- Alex English, American basketball player/coach
- Bill English, American actor
- Amber English, American sport shooter
- CariDee English, American model
- Aiden English, American professional wrestler
- Corri English, American actress
- William English, American computer engineer (1929–2020)
- William Hayden English, American politician (1822–1896)
- Marla English, American film actress (1935-2012)
- Diane English, American film director, screenwriter and producer
- Joe English, American musician
- Thomas Dunn English, American state and federal politician (1819-1902)

and 9 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

England, Engel, Engle, Engler, Englert, Engels, Englund, Englehart, Engles, Engelhart, Engelking, Engelhardt.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.