Names That Mean Gracious

Although Joan was the more popular name in the 20th century, it's the nickname Joanie that is likely to be revived first. Joan ranked as a Top 100 name from the mid '20s to the mid '60s, and the US is still Joan-ed out from that era. But sweet Joanie feels fresh — a sister to names like Sadie, Elsie, and Sylvie. It could have a future on the Top 1000 but for now, scoop up Joanie while it's undiscovered.

This cross-cultural variation of Johanna is used in several areas throughout the world.

Will this old-fashioned nickname make a comeback, now that Jane has shed her "plain" image? Janie is cute and approachable, and would stand as well on the birth certificate as Josie and Jessie do now.

A Portuguese classic, typically spelled with a tilde over the A. Many members of the Portuguese royal family were named João, and today it’s associated with a number of Portuguese and Brazilian footballers.

In Roman mythology, Iana was an epithet of Diana, goddess of the moon.

A cute diminutive of Jack, already technically a nickname for John, famously borne by Hong Kong actor, director and martial artist Jackie Chan.

A cute and easily accessible Finnish nickname, although not one that is likely to become popular in America now that Hannah and co are on the decline.

Nicknames ending in o are invariably cute, though this one is a boys' name in its own right. And not just any boy name, but a saint's name no less. Saint Hanno, aka Saint Anno, was an 10th century archbishop of Cologne, He is also known as, less attractively, Hanno of Worms, which is one of the oldest cities in Germany.

This common name in Finland, which is also a diminutive for Jan in Sweden, might feel a bit feminine in the English-speaking world, too close to girls' names Jan and Jane.

Using the 'ie' ending makes Johnny slightly more feminine, which must have been what Melissa Etheridge was thinking when she named one of her twins Johnnie Rose.

In Germany, Jannis outranks its parent name, Johannes. Virtually no American babies were given the name in the last year on record.

Mary was such a common name for so long that it sprouted a whole family of chimeric name splices: Maryann, Marybeth, Mary-Lousie, ad infinitum. Spiderman's Mary Jane Watson and the common nickname for marijuana have helped keep this one especially familiar to the American ear.

Top 100 choice in Puerto Rico.

Pronounced YAH-nosh, has a serious, violin-playing air. Perhaps that's why it has so many nicknames: JANCKZI, JANCSI, JANI, JANKIA, JANKO.

High-profile First Daughter Trump bears a nickname for her mother's name, Ivana. But though quite common in Slavic countries, and despite its international appeal, Ivanka is likely to remain a Singe-Celebrity name in the US — the Oprah of the political world — for the foreseeable future. Ivanka's larger impact on names may be inspiring parents to name their daughters after their moms.

Together with the more common (in France) Jeannine spelling, this feminine form of Jean was most popular in the 1930s in its home country, and in the 1960s in the US. It's fallen off the Top 1000 list since, but perhaps cute retro nickname Jeannie could tempt some vintage-loving parents back.

More streamlined – and more authentic – than Shawna.

A simplified spelling of the French name Yannick. It's almost unknown to English speakers, but could be an interesting Euro-chic alternative to the more popular Henrik.

Lovely Irish name which has inspired many Anglicized variations, but using the original form preserves the integrity of one of the most beautiful Gaelic girls' names.

An example of the traditional French/Catholic style of double names starting with Jean: in this case, two Gospel writers. Star Trek, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is from 24th-century France, where the French language is almost extinct, but parents apparently still give their children classic French names.