Crazy Nicknames for Girls

You can call your baby "babe," but don't name her that.

This Dutch version of Jules is used for both girls and boys. The association with the vaping product of the same name (but different pronunciation) makes this one a no-go in the US.

A diminutive of the (male) name Dafydd, the Welsh form of David. In the US, it's strongly associated with the candy.

Gertie has a certain homespun charm, summoning to mind butter-yellow braids and denim overalls, summoning mind the adorable character played by little Drew Barrymore in E.T. Is the world ready for the return of Gertie and Gertrude? Maybe?

A short form of the modern coinage Icelyn that feels cool as a short form, but too frosty for a full name.

The nickname of Mrs. Al Gore (born Mary Elizabeth), bestowed because her favorite childhood lullaby was "Tippy Tippy Tin," should remain her exclusive property.

Up-and-coming actress Beanie Feldstein is attracting attention toward her unusual — but rather cute — nickname. She was born Elizabeth Greer Feldstein but nicknamed "Elizabeanie" by her childhood nanny. It was later simplified to Beanie by her older brothers.

Yes, it's a word name, but Busy is also a rare pet form of Elizabeth. And yes, actress Busy Philipps was christened Elizabeth--she was given the nickname because she was such an active child. She must have been happy with the name, because she also gave her daughters adorable unique baby names, Birdie and Cricket.

This cutesy nickname is best known as that of Imogene Threadgoode in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes.

A Colonial-era nickname for Joan.

Dovie was a fairly popular nickname name a century or more ago, dropping off the Top 1000 in the 1940s only to be heading straight back uphill now.

Personification of pep.

You may be tempted to scoff at Mint as another wacky celebrity baby name — it was used by Dutch model Romee Strijd for her daughter in 2020 — but it's a far more legitimate choice than many would guess. Minty baby names for girls are having a style moment in Nordic countries — Mynte is a Top 50 name in Denmark, and Minttu ranks in Finland's Top 50. It's ultimately not so surprising that a well-traveled international star would choose to use the English variation of these names for her daughter.

Despite the voluptuous doll's various career choices, from astronaut to doctor, her name still remains a euphemism for "bimbo".

Many virtue names have long been in style or have seen a resurgence in recent years. Happy, however joyous, seems unlikely to join this trend. This could be because it doesn't have a solid history of being popularly used (in comparison to Joy or Hope) and because it's such a familiarly used word in day to day life (unlike Verity or Felicity).

Cookie is most often used as a dog name, and it should stay that way.

One Fergie was an aberration. But two women with that nickname -- the duchess and the Black Eyed Pea -- might make a trend.

A once very common Irish diminutive of Bridget that has unfortunately been associated since the 18th century with a pejorative slang term for an old or fussy woman.

Diminutive of Maxine, Maxima or Maximiliane

Sister is an old-timey nickname-name for girls, ranking in the Top 1000 as a proper name for girls until the beginning of the 20th century. But more often, Sister was used as a nickname in the truest sense of the word, not a short form ala Kathy but a nickname in the way that Chip and Bud are. Or maybe Junior is a more appropriate name analogy: Sister was sometimes the nickname given to the only girl in a family of boys, so literally a descriptive word name like Junior.