Names That Mean Form

This variation of Amadeus may not be as familiar in the United States, but it has potential for French speaker and those with a French lineage.

A softer, less vowelly variation of Peter, that appears in the Welsh Bible but not currently in the charts there. The Welsh name for daffodils, the national flower of Wales, is cennin pedr, "Peter's leeks".

Like Edmund, but with a double-take. (W is a vowel in Welsh.)

Walter is an old school boys' name that is gently on the rise again. Short forms include Walt (as in Disney) and Wally, but Wat was once commonly used in England as a diminutive of Walter.

Penella splits the difference between Penelope and Fenella (which in Ireland were historically used as equivalents to each other).

Z names have been popular in recent years, and here's an obscure option for achieving the initial, though Zelina may be a little more successful in the US with its feminine -a ending.

Numeria was a feminine forename in ancient Rome, said to derive from Numeria, the goddess of childbirth.

There were no baby boys named Cay born in the US last year, but there's no reason why there couldn't be, especially with the rise in popularity of the similar Kai as well as the nouveau proper names Cayden, Cayson and so on. Cay Dose was an 18th century German architect and Christian Cay Lorenz Hirschfeld was a German garden historian of the same era.

Trini is a nickname-name that's gender neutral. It was made famous by singer Trini Lopez whose big hit was "If I Had A Hammer".

Sabrina is the Latin name for the Severn, Britain's longest river. Drop the final syllable and you get a streamlined, French-esque name that's just as elegant, but without the Teenage Witch association. Sabrine has been used in the USA since 1970, but never for more than 18 girls a year — that makes it a rare gem.

Dinand is popular in the Netherlands thanks to a local singing sensation. Dinand is one of many Dutch short forms that come from the middle or end of a name -- think Bas for Sebastian or Hans from Johannes -- rather than from the beginning as is more usual in the U.S. and UK, though we're catching on.

Moll is one of those names that is used all the time as a nickname for a nickname, but rarely put on the birth certificate. Moll Flanders is an eponymous 18th century novel by Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe,

Calls to mind the world Jellicle, as in CATS. But still classier than Angie.

You'd have to be bold (or Welsh) to change the spelling of Francis like this... but it certainly stands out.

Unlike Lachlan, this Scottish name for girls is likely to be mispronounced. Is that...LaChina?

A sweet variation on Agnes, that perhaps looks a little more complete than the Anest spelling. Both are used for a few girls in Wales each year.

Christia is a rare Chris name that doesn't add much to the mix. We'd prefer lengthening Christia to Christiana or shortening it to Christa.