Names That Are Variations

Alfredo, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variation of Alfred, is most familiar as the romantic lead in Verdi's evergreen opera La Traviata. On a less romantic note, Alfredo is also the name of a pasta sauce.

Audie as a boys' name was made famous by Audie Murphy, the most decorated hero of World War II. Murphy was born one of ten children of a poor Texas sharecropper's family and the origins of his unusual first name are unknown. But there were 29 boys named Audie in 2013, more than twice the number of girls given the name, which can be a diminutive of Audrey.

Aiyana is a name that could easily cross cultures. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 1999 and hovers near the bottom of the Top 1000.

Isola (named for the Celtic heroine Iseult) was the unusual name of Irish author Oscar Wilde’s younger sister, who died of meningitis at the age of nine. Wilde later dedicated his poem Requiescat to her memory.

Thierry, which is very popular in France, would make an interesting import; it's somewhat familiar through designer Thierry Mugler and international soccer star Thierry Henry. It almost sounds like Terry, but not quite.

One of several Latino favorites on U. S. popularity list, Esteban sounds solid and strong. Esteban has ranked among the US Top 500 names for boys for half a century now, making it a familiar name that successfully crosses cultures.

Singer Alanis Morissette made this twist famous. She was named for her father Alan, who is said to have spotted this version in a Greek newspaper. So far it has been pretty much a one-person name, but could make a distinctive update of Alana — especially with s-ending names making a comeback. Alanis is a Top 100 choice in Puerto Rico.

Rarely, if ever, heard outside the Jewish community.

An interesting vowel combination lightens up Graham.

Alejandra, the Spanish form of this popular and multivaried name, has fans both in and outside the Latino community. Still, it has lost ground since its peak in the 1990s.

The increasing popularity of Camila may have pushed this underrated Spanish name into the Top 1000 — though it remains far less popular than its feminine counterpart. A perfect familiar-but-rare choice.

This iteration of the name makes the link to the ultra-popular Emma even more obvious. It lags behind alternate spelling Emmeline on the US Top 1000 list.

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.

More stylish than either Paula or Pauline, it was given a glamour gloss by model Paulina Porizkova in the nineties.

An Ethiopian girls' name with a bright and cheerful sound — rhyming with Haven. Feven is the Ge'ez variant of Biblical Phoebe, also the goddess of the moon and hunting in Greek mythology. In 2022, there were 5 baby girls given the name Feven.

The Jodie spelling might be even more obscure, at this point, than the fading original, except actresses Jodie Foster and Jodie Sweetin have kept it in the public eye.

Part Jason, part Jayce, this name has been among the Top 500 names for boys near-consistently since the late 1960s. While it's a reasonable spelling especially if you're naming your son after someone named Jay or another name that starts with the letter J, it's one of those names that will eternally need to be spelled out for people. But then again, so are classics like Elisabeth and Sara and Jon.

Used much more often for girls -- about 1000 girls were named Saylor or Sailor last year, versus about 100 boys -- Saylor is a medieval German surname that means ropemaker, which is also related to the occupational name Sailor.

See PHILOMENA.

This phonetic version is occasionally used and removes any confusion about whether the X is fully pronounced or not.