English
From Old English, meaning "of or pertaining to the Angles".
Name Census estimates that about 300 living Americans carry the first name English. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.8% of registrations being female. The average person named English today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of English births was 1983 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for English. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • English started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
300
~ 1 in 1,142,514 Americans
Peak year
1983
22 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1992 SSA rank
#8,839
Tracked since 1889
Census
English in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 504 people with the first name English, which placed it at #20,488 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,488
National first-name rank
People counted
504
504 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for English
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named English is White at 54.0%. The next largest groups are Black (36.1%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name English described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name English at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.0% · 272
- Black or African American36.1% · 182
- Two or more races5.0% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for English
English is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 451 total registrations, 186 (41.2%) were male and 265 (58.8%) were female.
English as a male name
- Ranked #8,839 in 1992
- 5 male births in 1992
- Peak: 1917 (9 births)
English as a female name
- Ranked #17,354 in 2014
- 5 female births in 2014
- Peak: 1983 (22 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows English on both sides of the split. Of the 495 people counted with this name, 172 were male (34.7%) and 323 were female (65.3%).
Popularity
English: popularity over time
The SSA tracks English from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 116 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
English by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name English during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Englishs live
Origin
Meaning and history of English
The given name English is a relatively modern name that originated in the late 19th or early 20th century. Its origins can be traced back to the English language itself, as it is derived from the word "English" which refers to the language spoken in England and by English people.
The name English was likely first used as a way to celebrate or commemorate one's heritage or connection to English culture and history. It may have been given to children of English immigrants or those with strong ties to England, serving as a way to honor their roots and identity.
While the name itself does not have a long historical lineage, it reflects the growing prominence and influence of the English language and culture during the colonial era and the subsequent spread of the British Empire. As English became a global language, it is possible that some families adopted the name as a way to embrace their mastery of the language or their affiliation with English-speaking communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name English being used as a first name dates back to the late 19th century. For example, English Buchanan (1865-1926) was an American politician who served as a Representative from Illinois.
Another notable figure with the first name English is English Woodworth (1897-1962), an American artist and illustrator known for his work in the Golden Age of American illustration.
English Wendell (1925-2008) was a British architect and academic who made significant contributions to the field of sustainable architecture and urban design.
English Maguire (1904-1985) was an Irish-American mobster and racketeer who was active in the New York City organized crime scene during the mid-20th century.
English Pearcy (1942-2021) was a British singer-songwriter and musician best known as the founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Greta Van Fleet.
While the name English may not have a long historical tradition, its emergence reflects the cultural exchange and influence of the English language and English-speaking societies throughout the modern era. It serves as a unique and distinctive name that celebrates one's connection to English heritage and the global reach of the English language.
People
English + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with English as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
English: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named English?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 300 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for English going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,142,514 US residents.
Is English a common name?
We classify English as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 451 babies have been registered with this name.
When was English most popular?
The single biggest year for English was 1983, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living English is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was English in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 504 people with the name English, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,488 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name English in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for English?
The 2020 Census sex table shows English on both sides of the split. Of the 495 people counted with this name, 172 were male (34.7%) and 323 were female (65.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named English?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named English is White at 54.0%. The next largest groups are Black (36.1%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name English most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named English in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.0% (272 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name English in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is English a female name?
Yes, 58.8% of people registered as English in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is English still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded English in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like English can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name English?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.