English Name Ideas for ESL Students

At my school, and specifically in international teacher’s classrooms, we like to use English names. That’s not to invalidate their native language or identity. In fact, our school often says things like “Chinese names vs. English names” or “Real names vs. English names.” But using English names is not only another way to promote an English atmosphere in the classroom, but it’s also easier for international teachers who don’t speak English to be able to call each student by their name.

In my experience, I’ve often found that students are excited about using English names in my classes. While I let students choose any English name they want, (which has resulted in some pretty creative names), sometimes students will ask you for suggestions. If you want to use English names in class, but find out that many students need help choosing one, here are 160 English name suggestions you could use in your ESL class!

Names for Girls:

1.    Abigail

2.    Addison

3.    Alex

4.    Alexandra

5.    Alexis

6.    Alison

7.    Alyssa

8.    Amanda

9.    Amber

10. Andrea

11. Angela

12. Angelica

13. Angelina

14. Ashley

15. Audrey

16. Bailey

17. Brianna

18. Brooke

19. Callie

20. Camilla

21. Cassandra

22. Chelsea

23. Christina

24. Clara

25. Clarissa

26. Claudia

27. Courtney

28. Dana

29. Danielle

30. Diane

31. Diana

32. Elizabeth

33. Eloise

34. Emily

35. Emma

36. Erin

37. Gina

38. Gloria

39. Grace

40. Haley

41. Hannah

42. Harper

43. Hazel

44. Heather

45. Holly

46. Hope

47. Isabella

48. Ivy

49. Jacey

50. Jennifer

51. Jessica

52. Jessie

53. Jordan

54. June

55. Julie

56. Julia

57. Katherine

58. Kayla

59. Kelsey

60. Kendall

61. Kim / Kimberly

62. Laura

63. Lauren

64. Larissa

65. Lindsey

66. Madison

67. Melissa

68. Mia

69. Morgan

70. Natalie

71. Nicole

72. Olivia

73. Quinn

74. Rachel

75. Rebecca

76. Regina

77. Samantha

78. Sarah / Sara

79. Serena

80. Shelby

81. Sidney

82. Sienna

83. Stephanie

84. Taylor

85. Tiffany

86. Vanessa

87. Veronica

88. Victoria

89. Vicky/ Vickie

90. Virginia

91. Whitney

92. Willow

Names for Boys

1.      Aaron

2.      Adam

3.      Alexander

4.      Andrew

5.      Anthony

6.      Austin

7.      Benjamin / Ben

8.      Brandon

9.      Caleb

10.   Cameron

11.   Casey

12.   Charles

13.   Christian

14.   Christopher / Chris

15.   Cody

16.   Daniel

17.   David

18.   Dylan

19.   Edward

20.   Ethan

21.   Eric

22.   Evan

23.   Gabe

24.   Gavin

25.   Hunter

26.   Isaac

27.   Jack

28.   Jackson

29.   Jacob

30.   James

31.   Jason

32.   Jeremy

33.   Jesse

34.   Jonathan

35.   Jordan

36.   Joseph / Joe

37.   Joshua

38.   Justin

39.   Kevin

40.   Kyle

41.   Logan

42.   Luke

43.   Matthew / Matt

44.   Mark

45.   Marcus

46.   Michael

47.   Nathan

48.   Nick

49.   Noah

50.   Owen

51.   Paul

52.   Phillip / Phil

53.   Ryan

54.   Samuel

55.   Sean / Shawn

56.   Stephen / Steve

57.   Ted

58.   Timothy / Tim

59.   Tyler

60.   William / Will

61.   Zachary / Zach / Zac

Names for Either:

1.    Alex

2.    Andy/Andie

3.    Bailey

4.    Jesse/Jessie

5.    Jordan

6.    Logan

7.    Taylor

If you want to make it even easier for students to choose names, you could always read out the names or send students a recording so they know how to pronounce them. In my experience, students often want to know what the names mean as well, which is pretty easy to find with a simple Google search.