Names That Are Variations

Muslim name very popular in North Africa.

This form of Charlotte, long obscure, is sure to grow in popularity along with the explosion of Charlotte. It's pretty and feminine and a nice spin on the more familiar version. In Germany, short form Lotta is popular.

A strong choice for a Muslim child with Russian ancestry. The name is primarily heard in the Caucasus.

Tristine is an uncommon girls' name that feminizes the mythological Tristan, yet is used for girls much more rarely than the original.

Shaquille O'Neal came almost as close as he could to a Junior when he selected this name for his son.

The attractive Portuguese form of Gaëtan/Gaetano, meaning "from Gaeta" (a town in ancient Italy).

All names connected with royalty have become increasingly popular in recent years, and King variation Kyng is no exception. Some parents may feel that the Kyng spelling makes it more of a name and less of a royal title, but both names sound the same and have identical meanings, so why endlessly complicate spelling and pronunciation?

This is an unusual name that fits well with other Russian names beginning to make it over to English-speaking countries.

A precursor to the more familiar Gregory, and a Latinization of Greek Gregorios.

One of the coolest undiscovered international names, we love Roko for its simplicity, modern style, and freshness. It ranks among the top boy names in its native Croatia.

The ie ending injects this late 20th century favorite with a bit of late 19th century charm. But not quite enough to make it a good 21st century choice.

With more parents turning to biblical names like Ezekiel and Isaiah, this could prove a quasi-unique alternative in a similar -- if more Orthodox -- vein.

Anno is an extreme rarity: a simple, familiar-sounding name with deep history that is completely unknown in the US and rare in its native Germany. Anno is the name of a saint also known as Hanno, a 10th century archbishop of Cologne also known as Hanno of Worms.

As the ancient saint's name Cassian becomes more widely known and more popular, variations will proliferate. Kasian is one but creates pronunciation questions.

Some creative spellings work, and then some just don't. We think this one falls into the latter category.

Phar-phetched.

Although it's a variation of the masculine name Jubal, modern Israelis have taken to using Yuval for girls as well.

One fewer L makes this name much less popular than the more traditional spelling.

See RILEY.