Names That Mean Grace

A lively, affectionate Russian pet name that is never given as a full name in its homeland, but has found some popularity in upper-crusty British society. It's also a surprising cultural crossover name due to its resemblance to the Indian name Anushka. British-Indian musician and composer Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi, is a famous bearer.

A pretty and substantial German smoosh name, a combination of Hanne and Eleonore. Most popular in Germany from the 1930s to the 1950s. Former German Chancellors Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt both had wives named Hannelore.

One of the quintessential midcentury combination names, Leanne was spelled any number of ways: Lianne, LeeAnn, Leigh-Anne, and so on. Like many similar combo names -- Joanne, Maryann -- they're all dated now.

One of the many South Asian names skyrocketing up the U.S. popularity charts. This one, with its user-friendly similarity to Ryan, was brought to the fore when Bollywood superstar Karisma Kapoor used it for her son in 2010.

These days, it's thought of less as the name of the great general and more as the first name of Lecter the fictional cannibal. Either association is too heavy for a child to bear.

Trending down, along with others of both the Car and the issa groups.

In Turkish mythology, Kayra is the deity of creation. The ancient Turks did not assign a gender to Kayra, who took the form of a goose. According to legend, Kayra planted the tree of life after creating the universe, from which emerged the nine clans.

Zaina is the simplified form of Zaynab, the name of the eldest daughter of Muhammad. Zayna is another accepted spelling; the name is also found as Zainabu, which exists in both the Arabic and Swahili languages. These are all feminizations of the male Zayn, also spelled Zain, which sounds exactly like but is a fundamentally different name from Zane, rooted in Western culture as a variation of John. Confused yet? Zaina is an unusual name that is simple to understand and pronounce, all pluses, though the many spelling variations may cause mixups.

Anneli is one of the hundreds of Anne variations with an intriguing spelling. This name has been popular throughout Scandinavia over time and would certainly translate easily to English-speaking countries.

Zayn and the more Western-friendly Zain sound exactly like the popular Zane but have a different root, in Arabic and African cultures. The name was made familiar to Europeans and Americans by British singer-songwriter Zayn, born Zain Malik. This is an easily-translated choice for a family that wants to bridge cultures, but you have to accept that people will be forever spelling the name "wrong".

There was a time when French names like Annette, Paulette – and Nanette – were chic, but now, we'd have to say "No, no, Nanette".

A streamlined version of Anneliese, or perhaps a hybrid of Ann and Elise.

Popular Dutch name derived from a combination of Maria (Ria) + Anne, or as a short form of Marianne.

One of the oldest and most widely used compound names, now a bit dated but not as much so as its opposite Mary-Ann. The hyphen is optional.

Melodious and unusual form of a name with an uncountable number of variations. Many will understand it as the more down-to-earth Annalee.

Combination of Mary and Ann which has been more popular than Marianne in recent years, although still below the Top 1000, after a peak in the 1940s.

The mononymous Colombian-born singer inspired a popularity blip in the 90s and early 00s.

Slavic diminutive of Anna

Ayn is a nonconformist name associated with controversial Russian-born writer and philosopher Ayn Rand, (born Alisa) author of The Fountainhead, who adopted it when she moved to the US in 1926.

Not quite Nanette and not quite Ninon, this is one of the more unusual 'ette' options. There was an eponymous Spanish film, starring Elsa Pataky, based on a novel.