The community had been called the "English Neighborhood", as the first primarily English-speaking settlement on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River after New Netherland was annexed by England in 1664, though other sources mention the Engle family and the heavily forested areas of the community as the derivation of the name.

J. Wyman Jones is credited with convincing residents to choose Englewood for the city's name when it was incorporated over such alternatives as "Brayton" and "Paliscena".

[25][28][29] Englewood, like the rest of New Jersey, was populated by Lenape Native Americans prior to European colonization.

Street names in Englewood still recall the relative diversity of its earliest settlers; Brinckerhoff, Van Brunt, Lydecker, Van Nostrand and Durie (Duryea), all Dutch; Demarest (de Marais), DeMott and Lozier (Le Sueur), French Huguenot; and Moore, Lawrence, Cole and Day, English.

From 1906 until March 16, 1907, when it burned down, Englewood was the site of Upton Sinclair's socialist-inflected intentional community, the Helicon Home Colony.

[30] Direct distance dialing, which allowed callers to reach other users outside their local calling area without operator assistance, was introduced to the public in Englewood.

[31][32] Two years after his graduation from Fordham University, Vince Lombardi began his football coaching career at Englewood's St. Cecilia High School, which closed in 1986.

[33] The Sugarhill Gang recorded "Rapper's Delight" in 1979, the first hip hop single to become a Top 40 hit.

[1][2] Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Highwood.

[40] The city borders the Bergen County municipalities of Bergenfield, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Leonia, Teaneck and Tenafly.

[49][50] About 7.17% of Englewood residents identified themselves as being of Colombian American ancestry in the 2000 Census, the ninth-highest percentage of the population of any municipality in the United States.

[56] MacKay Park, located on North Van Brunt Street, includes an ice hockey rink, a pool, a walking path, and athletic fields.

[57] Flat Rock Brook Nature Center, located at 433 Van Nostrand Avenue, is made up of the remnants of the Palisades Forest.

Flat Rock allows visitors to learn about the natural ecosystem preserved in the park through exhibits and tours available year-round.

The mayor attends and may speak at council meetings, but only votes to break a tie for passage of an ordinance or resolution.

As of 2024[update], the Mayor of Englewood is Democrat Michael Wildes, whose term of office ends December 31, 2024.

[62][63][64][65][66][67] The Englewood Fire Association, a volunteer company established in 1887 as the city's first organized fire protection service, built a firehouse on North Van Brunt Street, near the site of Englewood's current city hall.

[72][73][74] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff).

As of 2025[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[79] Bergen County's Commissioners are: Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),[80] Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),[81] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),[82] Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),[83] Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),[84] Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2027)[85] and Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2027).

[86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93] Bergen County's constitutional officials are: Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),[94][95] Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2027)[96][97] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).

[101] Among the city's 2010 Census population, 55.4% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 71.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).

[133] Shalom Academy, a charter school with a focus on Hebrew language immersion, had planned to open for grades K–5 in September 2011, serving students from both Englewood and Teaneck, but failed to receive final approval from the New Jersey Department of Education.

Dwight-Englewood School serves 900 students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, housed in three separate divisions.

[147][148] Rockland Coaches provides scheduled service to / from the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Routes 11, 20, and 20T.

[149] Erie Railroad's suburban Northern Branch (NRRNJ) started passenger service in Englewood in 1859, at various stations including the still extant building at Depot Square.

[152] Englewood Mayor Frank Huttle III worked with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop to advocate on behalf of the project and obtain the needed state and federal funding needed to proceed with the plan, with Huttle emphasizing the economic benefits from the project and that the city wanted to host the terminus, which would include a parking garage near Englewood Hospital and additional parking near Palisade Avenue in the commercial center of the city.

[153] Congregation Ahavath Torah is a Modern Orthodox synagogue in the city that was founded in 1895 and acquired its current site in 1958.