The most common letter in English, in names
E is the letter you meet most often when you read English, and it has a long record as a vowel that opens names gently. It grew from the Phoenician letter he, which Greek speakers repurposed as the vowel epsilon. In names, that soft start suits both vintage and brand-new choices.
E names that feel vintage and E names that feel new
Edith, Eleanor, Edgar and Ernest carry the charm of earlier generations, and parents who like a name with history keep returning to them. Ezra, Elliot, Everly and Emery feel fresh without being invented, because they have roots in older names or surnames.
E also has an unusually flexible set of unisex names in this list: Eden, Emerson, Elliot and Emery all work for any child. Hebrew and English names are the largest groups here, with Elijah, Esther, Eve and Elisheva on the Hebrew side and Ember, Easton and Everett on the English side.
Welsh snow and Greek gifts
Smaller sources add real character. Eira is Welsh for "snow", Emrys is a Welsh name meaning "immortal", and Greek names give us Eudora ("good gift"), Eos (dawn) and Eirene (peace). From France, Eloise and Esme are soft, widely loved and easy to carry across languages.
E names worth a closer look
- Eudora
A rare Greek name with a warm meaning and an old-fashioned charm.
- Ezra
A short, steady Hebrew name that suits a boy of any era.
- Eira
A tiny, wintry Welsh name that is easy to pronounce.
- Emrys
A Welsh name tied to the legend of Merlin and a beautiful alternative to Emory.
- Everett
A surname-style boy name with a strong meaning of bravery.
Famous people whose first names start with E
- Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette who led the fight for votes for women in Britain
- Eleanor Roosevelt, the diplomat and human rights advocate
- Ella Fitzgerald, the jazz singer known as the "First Lady of Song"
- Elvis Presley, the rock and roll star
- Ernest Hemingway, the Nobel Prize winning novelist
- Emily Dickinson, the poet who left almost 1,800 poems
- Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan marathon runner who ran 26.2 miles in under two hours in a special 2019 event
Questions about E names
Which E names work for any gender?
Eden, Emerson, Elliot and Emery are all unisex in our list, so any of them suits a child of any gender.
Is Eleanor related to Helen?
Many sources link the two, and Eleanor is often glossed as "shining light". Its origins in medieval France are more complicated, so the link is a popular explanation and not a certainty.