Names That Mean Gracious

This spelling of the traditional nickname for John is a bit more feminine than Johnny, based on the fashion at the turn of the 20th century to use boyish diminutives ending in -ie for girls.

Anže was originally a nickname for Janez, a Slovene form of Johannes, but now ranks in the Slovene Top 20 as an independent name.

A simple and appealing multi-cultural form of John.

Swahili form of John.

A romantic way to get to covetable nicknames Gia and Nina.

DeShawn or Deshawn is the more popular variation, but Dashawn charted from the late 1980s until 2010, which means it's on its way to becoming a Dad Name. Traditionally, the De or Da prefix means "son of", so this name means "son of Shawn", with Shawn a variation of John.

A Gaelic form of Jane which shares its simple, sleek look – but is much rarer. The Anglicized form Sheena peaked at #80 in the US in 1984, inspired by singer Sheena Easton.

The prefix La- was historically used by the Free Blacks of New Orleans in the nineteenth century to indicate paternity. Thus, someone named Lashawn was the son of Shawn, a phonetic spelling of Sean, the Irish variation of John.

It feels like a slenderized modern version, but Jennet actually has deep roots. Could this plucky name rescue Janet and Jenny from their datedness?

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.

A Scandinavian short form of Johanna, properly pronounced with a Y sound at the start, but would likely be read as the more prosaic "John-a" in an English-speaking context.

Sure to be mispronounced.

Finnish form of John

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.

Popular Irish name brought here by singer Sinead O'Connor, could make a striking choice for a child with deep Irish roots.

An elaboration of Jaan, not quite as widely used in Estonia as the original. Jaan is the Estonian form of John.

A joyous, celebratory-sounding name.

Irish form of Johnny