Names That Are Variations

Casey-with-a-K never quite reached the heights of the original, but it broke the Top 500 for boys in the late '80s and early '90s.

This spelling just barely made it into the Top 1000 for 2013, but nonetheless was an on-the-rise name for the year.

Plausible name for parents with Slavic roots, known as the wife of Alexander the Great.

Gives a good boy name a bad boy feel.

Alison by any spelling is now considered more of a mom name than a baby name. It's been trending downward for more than a decade, though it still makes the Top 1000.

This variation of Biblical Benjamin is used in Ethiopia. The name is also spelled Benyam or Biniyam.

A super quirky and upbeat choice, if it can ever shake off its ubiquitous-guy Woody Allen identity.

Kardashian style transforms many traditional C names to Ks, and this is a kase in point.

A spelling variation of Michael—or sometimes simply a mistake. Whatever the case, this version has always ranked in the US Top 1000, though always much lower than the traditional spelling.

This Anglicized spelling adds a bit of a, well, sheen to the very popular Irish name Oisín.

Variation of Gorou.

A very Christmas-y Christmas baby name, that may avoid the Santa image by instead adopting the alternative spelling Klaus.

This Ukrainian variation of classic Nicholas is pronounced like the more familiar Nikola, but with an M of course. Myko would be a cool and edgy nickname option.

Gorgeous name in any form, though the c may muddy the pronunciation.

Female form of Neal, now more popular in Ireland than its male counterpart.

Bence has been the most popular boy name in Hungary for over a decade — it’s held the top spot since 2003, the year Hungary began releasing its baby name data. Bence is the Hungarian translation of Vincent and is also occasionally used as a nickname for Benedek.

Timon has strong associations with The Lion King, making it a tough sell for American parents. Attractive Polish variation Tymon, with the emphasis on the first syllable, preserves the strength of the original while eliminating the meerkat connection.

Alianna barely wedged its way into US Top 1000 in 2015, and almost fell off with a Number 998 finish in 2016. The second n doesn't add much, so Aliana or even Eliana might be better options.

The first name of famed designer Balenciaga, was also the birth name of Christopher Columbus--aka Cristobal Colon. A name still well used in the Hispanic community.

The strong and unusual name of a medieval (male) saint and a contemporary (female) novelist, Benilde Little.