Modern English names. Female English names

As you know, names in English-speaking countries are not built according to the usual formula “last name, first name, patronymic”. They can consist of two words (John Smith), three or more words (James Peter Williams), they have Junior or Senior additions (Walter White Jr., Walter White Sr) and other features. In this article, you will learn how English names are arranged, as well as which names and surnames are the most popular in the US and England, and how this popularity has changed over the course of a century.

What is the name made of?

If we talk about names around the world, then their structure is very different in different countries. The most common, inherent in many cultures, elements of the name are personal name(personal name) and surname, family name (surname, last name, family name). The personal name is given at birth, while the family name is inherited as a common name for the family.

In many cultures, there are names derived from the names of the parents, usually from the name of the father, as a patronymic (patronymic), but sometimes also from the name of the mother (matronymic). In the Scandinavian countries there were no surnames, there were only given names and patronymics. In Norway, surnames were officially introduced from 1923, and in Iceland, surnames are not used until now. In fact, in Iceland, patronymics are used as surnames - the name of the father (less often the mother) with the suffix “son” (son) or “dottir” (daughter), for example: Björk Guðmundsdóttir, literally: Björk, daughter of Guðmundur (Guðmundur).

If we talk about England and the USA, then they often use middle name(middle name) - this is the main feature of the names in these countries.

Middle name (Middle Name) in England and the USA

The middle or middle name (middle name) can be given in honor of a saint, relative, family friend, famous person, in fact - in honor of anyone, but more often in honor of a relative, ancestor or saint (in Catholic families). A person may have more than one middle name (Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton) or none at all (James Bond) is an optional name element.

In the USA, the middle name means that part of the name that is between the personal name (first name) and the surname (last name), even if it is actually not a middle name, but, for example, a patronymic (Igor Petrovich Belov).

The middle name in the United States is usually abbreviated in writing (middle initial), for example: Mary Lee Bianchi - Mary L. Bianchi. In the UK, it is customary to write either without a middle name (Mary Bianchi), or abbreviate everything except the surname (M. L. Bianchi), or write in full (Mary Lee Bianchi).

Sometimes there are cases when a person prefers to use the middle name as the main one. In the United States, in this case, the first name is abbreviated. For example, Edgar Hoover's real name was John, and Edgar is his middle name. His full name sounds like John Edgar Hoover, and abbreviated as J. Edgar Hoover. Sometimes the first name is simply omitted, not used, as in the case of the writer Harper Lee. Harper is her middle name, and her personal name is Nell: Nelle Harper Lee.

In rare cases, a person does not have a full middle name, but only an initial that cannot be deciphered in any way. An example is Harry Truman. His full name is spelled Harry S. Truman, while the "S" is not deciphered. On one occasion, Truman even told reporters that for this reason, "S" should be written without a dot, since it is essentially a full name, not an abbreviation.

There can be two middle names. Such long names are more common among the privileged strata of society, especially in England, such as John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. If the first middle name is usually someone's personal name, such as Leslie William Nielsen (William is obviously someone's first name), then the second middle name is often someone's last name. Men can lengthen their middle name with their mother's maiden name, and women with their maiden name. For example, Hillary Clinton was Hillary Diane Rodham before marriage, after marriage she left her maiden name as part of her middle name and became Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton.

What does Junior or Senior mean after the name

If the son's name is exactly the same as the father's name, the word "Junior" (younger) may be added to the son's name, and "Senior" to the father's name to make it easier to distinguish between them. "Junior \ Senior" can be used both officially, in documents, and informally. In the US, these words are abbreviated as Jr. and Sr. (Jnr., Snr. in the UK), for example: Walter White Jr., Walter White Sr.

If the White family had three full namesakes father, son and grandson, instead of Jr. and Sr. Roman numerals would be used: Walter White I (first), Walter White II (second), Walter White III (third).

English names in everyday life

In English-speaking countries, it is par for the course for the full name, including the middle name, to be used only on documents or official occasions. That is, if a person's name is Allen William Jones, then many acquaintances may not be aware of the middle name William, because he will be presented everywhere as Allen Jones.

Personal names (first name) are often used in an abbreviated form, and at the official level. For example, everyone knew the former Prime Minister of Great Britain as Tony Blair, but Tony is a shortened (in fact, even diminutive) form of the name Anthony.

Popular American Names: What have boys and girls been called in the US for a century?

The popularity of the name Nancy throughout the century in the United States. A vivid example of how the fashion for names comes and goes.

Russian names have experienced ups and downs, either rapidly becoming popular, or receding into the background. Usually, the fashion for names was associated with events in the country, the world, with the appearance of popular fictional characters, with the popularity of individuals. A vivid example is the popularity of the name Yuri after Gagarin's flight into space.

Fashion for names exists in English-speaking countries. For example, the popularity of the Harry Potter books and films influenced the popularity of the name Harry, and after the release of the TV series “Game of Thrones”, the name Arya (Arya) entered the top 100 popular names in the UK. Because of this variability in the fashion for names, it is difficult to say which English names are the most popular right now. Popular among whom? Born in the 1960s? In the 1990s? Last year?

For comparison, I will give a table of male and female names that are popular in different years in the United States.

American male names

The popularity of the name Logan in the United States is clearly associated with comics and films about Wolverine

This table shows that the idea of ​​the name John, as very popular in America, is outdated. It was No. 1 in the 1910s, dropped to No. 3 in the 1960s, No. 9 in the 1980s, and occupies a modest No. 26 in 2015, even behind Logan, which was not in the top 100 of earlier periods. . Apparently, the popularity of Logan (Wolverine) from the films based on Marvel comics influenced.

The name Daniel, which was not very popular at the beginning of the century (52nd place), fell to the 18th line of the rating in 2015, and the Roberts completely went out of fashion. This name was in the top 10 in the 1910s, 1960s and 1980s, but dropped to 63rd in 2015.

Of the “old”, popular names in the past, James, William, David are still relevant.

American female names

Emma popularity chart in the US

Fashion for women's names is even more changeable than for men's. The most popular name in 2015, Emma, ​​was completely out of demand in the 80s and 60s, and at the beginning of the century ranked 41st in the ranking. The fashion for Emma returned in the 2000s, perhaps Emma Watson helped? The name Mary was very popular at the beginning of the century, but already in the 30s a decline began, and since the 80s this name has become quite rare.

If you take the first 20 names, it turns out that only the name Elizabeth (Elizabeth) was in the top 20 in all four time periods.

Popular English names: what were the names of children in England for a century?

In England, statistics on birth names are not kept separately for England, but for England and Wales together, because these two parts of the United Kingdom belong to the same jurisdiction. England and Wales are treated as a single entity for many lawmaking and enforcement purposes. Data taken from the National Statistics archive.

There are a lot of common names in England and the USA, but the statistics on their popularity are somewhat different. It is interesting that by now there are quite a lot of names that are equally popular both in the USA and in England, especially female ones. If you take the names for 2015 in England and the US, there is a lot of overlap.

English male names

As in the US, in the UK, the hackneyed name John is completely unpopular in 2015, not even in the top 100, although just 100 years before that, it occupied the first line of the ranking.

It is curious that if you take the first 20 lines, it turns out that in 2015 in England and Wales names that were not included in the top 20 of previous periods are popular. But there are matches with the top 20 names popular in the same year in the United States. The names Oliver, Jacob, Noah, William, James, Ethan are as popular in England as they are in the United States.

English female names

As in the United States, in England the fashion for women's names was very fickle. Mary was number one in 1914, dropped to 37th in 1964, 98th in 1984, and didn't even make the top 100 in 2015. The name Isabella was in 81st place in 1914, was not in the top 100 in 1964 and 1984, and now it is already in the top ten most popular female names in 2015.

As with male names in England and Wales, there is a trend with female names: if you take the top 20 names of 2015, then among them there will be none of the top 20 last years (presented in the table), but there will be significant intersections with the top 20 names popular in the US in the same 2015. The names Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Isabella, Emily, Ella, Chloe, Grace, Amelia, Mia are equally popular both in England and in the USA.

Common English given names and surnames

Unlike names, surnames do not change so much over time, since in most cases they are not invented, but inherited. There is no big difference between British and American surnames, there are many common ones among them. The main difference is that in the USA there are many common Latin American surnames (Garcia, Martinez, etc.)

We often like to imagine how we would be called in English. For example, Elena - Helen, Eugene - Eugene, Mikhail - Michael, etc. English names are very different from ours. Sometimes, it is even difficult to understand a male or female name in front of you.

If we talk about names in the US and UK, then they consist of personal name(personal name, first name, given name) and surnames(surname, last name, family name). The personal name is given at birth, while the family name is inherited as a common name for the family. The child can also be given a middle or middle name (middle name). This is an optional name element. A middle name can be given in honor of a saint, relative, family friend, famous person, etc. In writing, the middle name is usually omitted or abbreviated to the initial.

If the son's name is exactly the same as the father's name, the word "Junior" (younger) can be added to the son's name, and "Senior" (senior) to the father's name, to make it easier to distinguish between them.

Popular English female names

Popular English male names

Popular English surnames

The bearers of the surnames Jones (Jones), Smith (Smith), Williams (Williams), Black (Black), Wilson (Wilson) according to statistics are more than a million. Below is a list of other popular surnames in the UK and US.

English female names are very popular not only in English-speaking countries, but throughout the world. Some of them are used in their original form, some are transformed and adjusted to the norms of a particular language. But the meaning and origin of the name always remain the same.

If you are interested in English culture or are looking for a beautiful and unusual name for your daughter, this article will provide you with a lot of useful information.

English female names and their meanings

The name of a person most directly affects his fate. Therefore, it will be very useful to know what a particular name means before choosing it for yourself or giving it to your beloved child. The following list of English female names and their meanings will help to understand this issue:

It is noteworthy that very little has survived to this day. The vast majority were borrowed from other cultures: Hebrew, Ancient Greek Celtic, Norman, etc. At that time, people received names that praised the forces of nature, gods, and any human qualities.

Therefore, the meanings of names can be unusual and even ridiculous for a modern person. For example, the popular name Rachel today means "lamb" or "little sheep."

After Christianity came to Europe, the list of English names included the names of biblical characters (Sarah, Agnes). Many names are associated with the occupation of a person (Bailey is a sheriff's assistant; Abella is a shepherdess). Sometimes the abbreviated version of the name becomes an independent unit, for example, Victoria - Wiki; Rebecca - Becky; Angelina - Angie.

Popular English female names

Name trends come and go. Some previously are forgotten forever, and some return from time to time - often in their original form, but sometimes in a new interpretation.

According to the UK Office for National Statistics, the most popular female names are Olivia, Emma and Sophie.

Top 30 English female names are presented below:

Very often, fashion series or films influence the degree of popularity of a particular name.. For example, the name Arya, which is in 24th place in the ranking of popular female names in the UK in 2014, was named one of the main characters of the popular TV series Game of Thrones.

Also suddenly the names of other heroines of this series - Sansa, Brienne, Kaitelyn and Daenerys - began to be used frequently.

The name Isabella (Bella) was rarely used until recently. A new life was given to him by the heroine of the Twilight saga, Bella Swan. The first part of the film was released in 2008, and since that time the name Isabella has been annually among the most popular English female names.

And how many girls today bear the name of Harry Potter's faithful friend - Hermione! Until recently, this name was considered obsolete, but the popularity of the book and its film version have given it new life.

The success rate of name bearers also greatly influences the popularity of the name itself. A survey conducted in the UK showed which owners of which names the inhabitants of Foggy Albion consider the most and least successful. The survey results are shown below.

As you can see, simple girls with short and mediocre names are less successful than their rivals, whose names are full and aristocratic. Interestingly, the name Elizabeth is the leader in the list of the most successful names, while its abbreviated form - Lisa closes the ranking of the least successful.

We all know that the name has a special influence, it even determines the character of a person. Therefore, you need to choose names for children carefully, going into the meaning of names. If you want to give your child a British name, then first clarify what it means. You can browse popular British boy names and choose the most suitable one from the list. Moreover, people have long been tired of such names as John and Mary. According to the tradition of England, a child is given two names at birth: a personal name and a middle name (first name and middle name). Important, of course, will be a personal name.

It should be noted that the British names of boys are sometimes quite long, for example, Benjamin, Daniel, and there are many such long names in the British name book. In ordinary life, people use abbreviated names, for example, from Daniel - Dan. The choice of a name for a child must be taken seriously, because the child will live with the name all his life. At the same time, the name is able to influence the child, in particular, on the traits of his character. You can give your child the name Jack - "divine", Thomas - "reliable", Joshua - "God is my salvation", William - "resolute guard", etc. Choose names that have deep meanings.

Popular British boy names:

Absalon - my father is the world

Jefferson - son of Jeffrey

Odell - Wade Hill

Arin - peace

Dakota is an ally

Ogden - oak grove

Abner - father of light

David - Beloved

Pier - rock, stone

Abraham - the father of the multitude

Jess - a gift

Gender - small

Angel - angel, messenger

Jarrett - spear of the brave

Pete - rock, stone

Allistir - protector of humanity

Joshua - God is salvation

Pepin - fruit seed

Amory - loving

Joney - Good God

Preston - priest's settlement

Akerlea - oak grove

Dvan - dark, black

Ruben - contemplative

Akey is number one

Jason - healing

Red - red-skinned, ruddy

Aryl - Lion of God

Joe - he will multiply

Robert is famous

Alford - old river ford

Zach - God Remembers

Redmand - wise defender

Addison - son of Adam

Zechariah - God Remembers

Rollie is the famous land

Abell - shepherd

Zacheri - God remembers

Raymond - wise protector

Amos - having, bearing

Indigo - blue dye from India

Ronald - wise ruler

Arron - high mountain

Isidore - a gift from Isis

Royle - hill of rye

Abnar - father of light

Indiana - the land of the Hindus

Reginald - wise ruler

Alvin - friend of the elf

Claire - illustrious

Randolph - wolf shield

Aklea - oak grove

Quinn is the fifth

Rory the red king

Adrian - from Hadria

Courtney - short nose

Stanley - a cleansing stone

Aibl - shepherd

Keeler - little warrior

Spencer - pharmacist

Bob is famous

Kiaran is a small African American

Seymour - Saint Maurus

Bertrand - bright raven

Kentigern - chief ruler

Spike - spiky hair

Beauregard - a beautiful perspective

Crispin - curly (hair)

Stevie - crown

Bentley - cleansing

Quintin - fifth

Squiler - protector, protector

Benet - blessed

Collum - dove

Theobald is brave

Burton - fortified settlement

Casey - vigilant

Tibby - gazelle and bold

Berenger - bear spear

Ka - bringing joy

Tranter - pass

Benji - son of the south

Crawford - buttercup

Tiarnak - lord

Booz - contempt

Kimball - royal brave

Ted is a gift from God

Beef - punch

Kurt - courteous

Tucker - dense fabric

Baz - basil (herb)

Kimbal - royal brave

Talbot - messenger

Barney is as brave as a bear

Quentin - fifth

Tyrone - land of Owen

Brutus is hard

Kenny - cute

Taskill - Cauldron of the Gods

Bad - friend

Kurtis - courteous

Tristram - Welsh dristan

Bertie - bright

Calder - strong water

Terrance - turning

Benton - grassy meadow

Cale - dog

Trenton - Settlement of Trent

Boris - fighter, warrior

Carlyle - Fortress Lugovalos

Uriah - God is my light

Blake - black

Cam - crooked nose

Winfred is a friend of the world

Barry is blond

Clem - gentle and merciful

Wat - the ruler of the army

Wyatt - survived the war

Carey - dark

Upton - upper settlement

Wauhan - life in the swamp

Courtney - short nose

Forrest - living in the forest

Wallis - foreign, Celtic

Kemp - athlete, wrestler

Franklin is an honorary citizen

Weston - western settlement

Christian is a follower of Christ

France - free

Vic - conqueror, victory

Collahan - slightly blonde

Flurry - Prince-King

Wistan - fighting against the stone

Koday - assistant

Franklin is an honorary citizen

Vernon - alder grove

Camp is the champion

Frazier - strawberry

Virgil - Follower

Lynn - lake

Farley - fern clearing

Winthrop - wine village

Lauryn - from Lorentum

Harland is a troublemaker

Wogan - a little

Lark - songbird

Humphrey is a peaceful giant

Viley - helmet

Luther is a warrior

Hammond - home

Wilf - world of desires

Lorrin - from Lorentum

Heathcliff - heath near a cliff

Verne - alder grove

Len is a strong lion

Hamlet - a small village

Whitacre - white island

Leland - fallow land

Harcourt - falconer's hut

wilburn - spring

Louis - famous warrior

Harlin - noble warrior

Geig - usurer, pledge

Lychnis - champion

Hale - living in a secluded corner

Gaylon - calm

Maverick - independent

Hank - home ruler

Gabe is a strong man of God

Mortimer - dead sea

Hall - living in the hall

Greg - careful, vigilant

Freemason - stone worker

Henrai - home ruler

Glenn - valley

Marius - male, mature

Huet - small heart

Gabriel is a strong man of God

Millard - guarding the mill

Havelock - naval warfare

Guadeloupe - wolf river

Marion - as Marius

Chad - fighting

Harry - home ruler

Major - council

Charlie is a man

Greer - watchful, vigilant

Miki - like God

Shane - God is good

Gideon the lumberjack

Merdi - sea warrior

Sherlock - blonde

Greer - cautious, vigilant

Malcolm - worshiper of St. Columbus

Shay - like a hawk

Jacob the invader

Malone - regular

Shannon - old river

Jonty - given by God

Matthew is a gift from God

Edison - son of Eid

Jasper the treasure keeper

Mason - stone worker

Edwin is a rich friend

Davey - Beloved

Marvin is an outstanding entity

Ethan - strong

Dicky - powerful and brave

Mordecai - follower of Marduk

Evelyn is a small bird

Jim the invader

Monty - high hill

Ashley - Ash Grove

Jeremy - appointed by God

Melville - bad location

Emmanuelle - God is with us

Dob - famous

Matt is a gift from God

Ainsley - hermit's forest hut

Geordie the peasant

Nevil - new city

Eyuzbi - devout

Jer - appointed by God

Nigel the Champion

Elbert - bright nobility

Dindr - man, warrior

Neill is a champion

Emmett - whole

Jarred - descent

Nathan - a gift

Ern is a death fighter

Deven - deer

Nick - owned by the lord

Emil - competitor

George the peasant

Nandi - ready to ride

Edun the rich bear cub

Jib is pure pledge

Neville - new city

Ezelstan - noble stone

James the invader

Orian - privileged birth

Ebenezer - stone of help

Johnny - Good God

Aubrey - power of the elf

Aimeray - home ruler

Dylan - big sea

Omega is the last child

Eilbert - bright nobility

There has always been a fashion for foreign names, the list of women's ones is especially rich. In modern society, there is a popularization of English names.

Scientists conducted research to find out the origin of the name and its meaning. Initially, in English, the main role was played by the nickname of a person, reflecting character traits or abilities. Education in this case came from nouns or adjectives.

The conquest of Britain by the Vikings led to a change in the situation: there was a sharp change from the original English variants to the Norman ones. In modern society, old English names are borne by a small part of the inhabitants of Foggy Albion.

During the 16th century, in the wake of the spread of the religious movement, names taken from the Bible began to be popular.

Among them:

• Mary, which is derived from Mary;
• Anna, translated as "grace", which belonged to the wife of the prophet Samuel;
• Maryann, formed from the merger of Anna and Mary;
• Sarah or mistress. That was the name of Abraham's wife.

The next round, which led to the emergence of innovations in the naming of children in English society, was the appearance of printed materials. Some mothers began to choose idols for girls among the heroines of the works of literary masters.

Thus, Jessica, Sylvia, Ophelia, Stella, Julia, Juliet, Jessica, Viola came into use.

Also, the spread of literary masterpieces revived ancient beautiful names: Anita, Jacqueline, Amber, Angelina, Daisy, Michelle and Ruby.

Top Modern English Names

In modern society, it is customary that a child is allowed to be named in such a way that it sounds harmonious. It is not at all necessary that a character or a historical person become a prototype.

Some are formed in such a way that the girl could acquire individual traits or the name would determine her future fate.

The most popular English variants with meaning are shown in the table:

Origins in modern times

Fashion for unusual and interesting names is akin to fashion for clothes. She is changeable. During different periods, there is a change of popular female or male names.

Both the original form and the modernized interpretation are used. Today, according to statistics provided by the UK Office for National Statistics, the top three are occupied by Olivia, Emma and Sophie.

It's not just literature that influences popularity. Modern society tends to create idols, which are the heroes of popular films or TV shows.

Among the names that were popular for 2014, Arya, the title character of the cult TV series Game of Thrones, was in 24th place in the ranking. Gradually, other modern versions appeared that came from this series - Sansa, Brienne, Catelyn, Daenerys.

Another literary work that has turned into a cult serial film is Twilight. Since 2008, Bella or Isabella have been on the list of the most popular on the shores of Foggy Albion.

You can't ignore Potter. The old English names included Hermione in their list, who gained popularity again after the release of not a book, but a series of films about a young wizard.

But not only works can influence popularity. Also, the number of uses of a particular variant can be influenced by the success of the living host. In England at one time it was very popular to call girls Margaret as Prime Minister.

Cute and unusual, short and lengthy - history knows many different names. Some show business stars prefer to stand out from the crowd and call their children very unusual.

Bruce Willis named the children after his favorite horses, Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple, which means "apple". No one can deny the fact that a name can influence character. Not for nothing that Captain Vrungel said, “Whatever you call a yacht, that’s how it will float.”

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