Names That Mean Form

A saint's name that was bestowed on a gorgeous island in the Caribbean.

Natalino is the jaunty Italian male nickname for the gender-neutral Natale. And it has that fashionable o ending. Natalino might work as a nickname for Nathaniel too.

Berangere has never seen much usage in the US, but it has an interesting meaning of "bear spear." The name it stems from—Berengaria—was used as a common royal name during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

A classic from the Welsh Bible, but parents outside Wales would probably need a good reason to use the extra E.

This Dutch nickname has been in use for hundreds of years in the Netherlands, and is as energetic as they come. Of course, the jokes practically write themselves.

A Top 20 name in Iceland with a lupine meaning.

A Welsh biblical name that currently doesn't chart in its homeland. If you like the sound, you might also consider spelling it (the unrelated name) Powell.

Closely associated in the States with handsome young actor Michiel Huisman, who's best known for playing Daario Naharis in HBO's "Game of Thrones."

This is a Spanish pet form of the name Aban, which in Persian mythology was the name of the muse of liberal arts and mechanics.

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".

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.

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

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.

With a sound that brings to mind at once "whim," "vim," and "win," this is one Dutch boys' name with serious potential for use in the English-speaking world.

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

Gill and Jill are both medieval short forms of Gillian or Jillian, a feminine form of Julian. The problem with the G spelling is that some people will pronounce it with a hard G, like Gil, the short form of Gilbert. It's easy to see why the J spelling is more popular.

Currently considered a grandma name in Catalonia, but fresh and unusual (though easily confused with Karma) elsewhere.