Every name links to its full page: meaning, origin, and its real popularity curve since 1890.
ElizabethHebrew · "God is my oath," from the Hebrew Elisheva; the great durable classic of English girl names, worn by two reigning queens and rarely out of the US top 30 in over a century of records. Its nickname wealth is unmatched: Liz, Beth, Eliza, Betsy, Libby
JamesHebrew · traditionally "supplanter," the English form of Jacob by way of the Late Latin Iacomus; the name of kings, two apostles, and more US presidents than any other. Royal in Britain, everyman in America, durable everywhere: Jim, Jamie, and Jem included
AnnaHebrew · "grace, favor," the Greek and Latin form of Hannah that spread wherever Christianity went; empresses of Russia, a prophetess in the Gospel of Luke, and centuries of quiet European use. The plainest spelling of one of the world's most shared names
JonathanHebrew · "Yahweh has given," from the Hebrew Yehonatan; in the Bible the prince whose loyalty to David defined friendship. A steady Anglo-American classic for three centuries that folds warmly to Jon and Johnny without being John
AnnHebrew · variant of Hannah, meaning 'grace, favor' in Hebrew
ChristineFrench · French form of Christina, from Christianus, 'a Christian'
EvaHebrew · "life," the Latin form of Eve, from the Hebrew Chava; the spelling most of Europe uses, from Spain to Scandinavia to the Slavic world, and a quiet constant in America for over a century. Two syllables of pure vintage warmth
JoeHebrew · diminutive of Joseph, meaning 'God will add' in Hebrew
DanielHebrew · "God is my judge," from Daniyyel, the dream-reading prophet who walked out of the lions' den; a steady classic in English since the Middle Ages and a cornerstone name across Spanish, Hebrew, and Slavic worlds alike. Dan and Danny come standard
AnneHebrew · variant of Hannah, meaning 'grace, favor' in Hebrew
BenjaminHebrew · "son of the right hand," from the Hebrew Binyamin, Jacob's youngest and best-loved son; a name for cherished last-borns through centuries of Jewish, Puritan, and American use. Full of gravity, while Ben could not be friendlier
JessieHebrew · diminutive of Jesse/Jessica; traditionally traced to Hebrew, meaning 'gift' or 'God beholds'
PhilipGreek · means 'lover of horses', from Greek philos (love) and hippos (horse)
MariaSpanish · traditionally linked to the Virgin Mary; bitter, or of the sea; the ever-present Spanish classic, woven into countless compound names like María del Carmen
JacquelineFrench · French feminine form of Jacques/James; traditionally translated 'supplanter' or 'holder of the heel'
LydiaGreek · "woman of Lydia," the kingdom in Asia Minor famed for its gold; in the New Testament a seller of purple cloth, the first European convert. A place name that became a steady Anglo classic with a fresh modern following
JacobHebrew · traditionally "holder of the heel" or "supplanter," from the Hebrew Ya'aqov, the patriarch who wrestled the angel and fathered the twelve tribes; a Jewish and Puritan staple that ruled the US boys' charts for over a decade around the 2000s. Jake comes free
MadelineHebrew · "woman of Magdala," from Magdalene, the village on the Sea of Galilee; centuries of French use as Madeleine, plus a beloved picture-book heroine, keep it storybook-warm in English. Maddie waits inside
PhillipGreek · variant spelling of Philip, 'lover of horses'
LoisGreek · meaning uncertain, traditionally 'good, desirable'
EvanWelsh · "Yahweh is gracious," as the Welsh form of John, worn smooth through Ieuan and Ifan; centuries of use in Wales, then an easy crossover into the American mainstream. All the heritage of John with none of its ubiquity
JesusHebrew · "Yahweh is salvation," from Yeshua by way of Greek and Latin; in Spanish-speaking families, where it is pronounced heh-SOOS, giving the name is an act of devotion with centuries of tradition behind it, common from Mexico to the Philippines
JimmyHebrew · an English nickname for James, from the Hebrew Yaakov, the same root as Jacob, traditionally 'supplanter'
SadieHebrew · "princess," by way of Sarah, of which it began as a Victorian pet form; it went its own way more than a century ago and returned with the vintage revival, sweeter and spunkier than its stately mother name
SamuelHebrew · traditionally "God has heard," from Shemuel, the prophet whose mother prayed for a son and named him for the answer; a pillar of Jewish, Puritan, and Victorian naming that has never left the American top 100. Sam is the friendliest of short forms
DominicLatin · "belonging to the Lord," from Dominicus, once given to boys born on Sunday, the Lord's day; carried by the medieval saint who founded the Dominicans and long favored in Catholic families. Dom is the sturdy short form
PaulineLatin · feminine form of Paul, 'small, humble'
AbigailHebrew · "my father's joy," from the Hebrew Avigayil, the quick-witted wife of David in the Bible; a Puritan favorite that fell out of use when "abigail" became slang for a lady's maid, then returned in the 1970s to become a modern staple. Abby for short
DanaHebrew · traditionally 'God is my judge', feminine form of Daniel
IsabelHebrew · "God is my oath," Elizabeth reshaped in medieval Iberia; queens of Spain and Portugal made it their own, and it travels the Spanish-speaking world as easily as it does the English. The spare, elegant spelling of the Isabella family
SamHebrew · diminutive of Samuel, traditionally translated 'God has heard'
MattieAramaic · diminutive of Martha, 'lady/mistress' (sometimes also short for Matilda)
PriscillaLatin · from Latin 'priscus', 'ancient/old-fashioned'; a diminutive of Prisca, named in the New Testament
TommyAramaic · diminutive of Thomas, from Aramaic Ta'oma, 'twin'
ChrisGreek · diminutive of Christopher/Christian, from Greek 'Christophoros', 'bearing Christ'
JeremiahHebrew · "Yahweh will exalt," from Yirmeyahu, the prophet whose laments named a whole genre, the jeremiad; Puritans loved it, the frontier kept it, and it outlasted its 1970s revival cousin Jeremy. Weighty, warm, and fully modern in feel
JohnnieHebrew · diminutive of John, 'God is gracious'
SeanIrish · "Yahweh is gracious," John come home to Ireland through the Norman French Jehan; anglicized without its accent mark, it became a mid-century Irish-American signature and spun off the phonetic Shawn and Shaun
IanScottish · "Yahweh is gracious," as the Scottish form of John, from the Gaelic Iain; it kept John's whole inheritance in three letters and became a quiet standard from Edinburgh to America. Crisp, mild, and never trendy, which is its own kind of classic
IsabelleHebrew · "God is my oath," Elizabeth transformed on its way through medieval Spain and France; Isabelle is the French dress of the name, one letter softer than Isabel, sharing Belle where Isabella has Bella. A continental classic that never needs translating
JudyHebrew · diminutive of Judith, 'praised' / 'woman of Judea'
HannahHebrew · "grace, favor," from Channah, the mother who prayed for a child and gave the Bible one of its tenderest stories; a Puritan mainstay revived in the 1980s and 90s to the American top five. A palindrome, warm from either direction
MadelynHebrew · "woman of Magdala," from Magdalene, the fishing village on the Sea of Galilee; Madelyn is the streamlined American spelling of Madeline, part of the same vintage current that lifted Evelyn. Maddie leads its short forms
MichealHebrew · variant spelling of Michael, 'who is like God'
JonHebrew · short form of John/Jonathan, traditionally 'God is gracious' or 'gift of God'
MathewHebrew · variant of Matthew, meaning 'gift of God'
NoahHebrew · "rest," from the Hebrew Noach, the ark-builder who rode out the flood; quiet for most of the 20th century, then the defining boys' name of the 2010s in the US and much of Europe. Gentle in sound, patriarch in weight
EllisEnglish · surname form of Elias, "Yahweh is my God"
EmanuelHebrew · variant of Emmanuel, meaning 'God is with us'
GabriellaHebrew · feminine form of Gabriel, "God is my strength"
GabrielleHebrew · French feminine form of Gabriel, "God is my strength"
BennieHebrew · diminutive of Benjamin, son of the right hand
ElijahHebrew · "my God is Yahweh," the prophet swept to heaven in a whirlwind; long cherished in Black American and evangelical naming, it climbed almost without pause from the 1960s into the US top five. Eli comes built in
ElisabethHebrew · variant of Elizabeth, traditionally translated as 'God is my oath'
JeannetteFrench · diminutive of Jeanne, traditionally 'God is gracious'
DaviPortuguese · "beloved," the Brazilian Portuguese form of David, from the Hebrew Dawid; the shepherd-king's name in the spelling Brazil made its own, one of the country's most given boy names of the 2010s and 2020s
IsraelHebrew · traditionally "he who struggles with God"
JaimeHebrew · Spanish form of James (from Jacob), traditionally translated as 'supplanter'
MadeleineHebrew · woman from Magdala; famously borne by Princess Madeleine of Sweden
EmmanuelHebrew · "God is with us," the name Isaiah promised and the Gospels claimed; long favored in French, Spanish, Filipino, and African Christian families. Grand in full, easy as Manny, and never far from its meaning
GabrielHebrew · traditionally "God is my strength," from Gavriel; the archangel of the Annunciation, honored in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam alike, at home in a dozen languages from French to Portuguese. Gabe keeps it casual
JohnathanHebrew · variant spelling of Jonathan, "Yahweh has given"
MicheleItalian · feminine form of Michael, traditionally 'who is like God'
RebekahHebrew · variant of Rebecca, traditionally 'to bind' or 'captivating'
