English

Where English comes from

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
— Wiktionary's entry for English
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1961
    First appearance
    #6,567 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1961
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  3. 1983
    Peak, #3,555
    22 babies named English — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1990
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #7,880.
  5. 1992
    English Gardner born
    American sprinter
In the dictionary
  • A male or female given name.
Namesakes
  • English Gardner · American sprinter, born 1992

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.