Nickname Names

Could be a short form of Sylvia, Olivia, or any other similar name. Or a vivid Italian word name.

This Nova-offshoot is hot in the Netherlands, where it was recently one of the fastest-rising names of the year. It could eventually see great success in the US as well, and was given to 46 American girls at last count.

After a long time in limbo, Prudence is now so clunky it'a cool, and it's starting to make a comeback, along with other Puritan virtue names like Mercy, Patience, and Constance.

Actress Tilda Swinton injected this dated nickname name with some modern charm.

Sixties-style nickname which is also the name of a small biting insect, particularly prevalent in Scotland.

Theo has a girls' name is used for only a handful of babies today. As a short form of Theodora, Theo is used much less frequently than Thea or even Teddy. One notable appearance was as the younger daughter in Sofia Coppola's film On the Rocks in 2020.

Gabe ranked in the Top 1000 from 1880 until 1905, when it fell into obscurity. There are fewer than 100 boys named Gabe, just plain Gabe, each year in the US, compared with over 10,000 named Gabriel. Our advice: Go with the crowd and choose the angelic long form, and then call him Gabe if you want to.

The quintessential midcentury nickname, famously found in Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman."

Sander is a more conventional form of Zander or Xander, heard frequently on its own in Europe. It is now a Top 20 name in Norway, and is also popular in Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. 

Kenny might be all South Park to some, but it has been in steady use in the US since the 1930s.

Most often associated with Rolling Stone Jagger, Mick is also used as a generic, and derogatory, term for an Irishman.

Although we prefer Drew to the old Raggedy Andy, Andy has overtaken Drew as a name in its own right. About twice as many baby boys are named Andy, just Andy -- though about eight times as many parents go with the full Andrew.

The longer Isabella stays in the Top 10—and it's been there for more than a decade—the more we hear the nickname Izzy (especially if we watch Grey's Anatomy). it's just a matter of time before it stands on its own, as it has as a first name for the daughter of Eddie Murphy and Paige Butcher.

Letty is a sweet vintage gem, playful and cosy and more unexpected than Lottie, the popular pet form of popular Charlotte. Originally used as a nickname for Letitia or Lettice, it could also work for Scarlett, Juliet, Violet, Leighton, Arlette, Loretta, Colette, or Liberty.

Old-time nickname that may follow in the fashionable footsteps of cronies Jake and Sam.

Minimalist nickname via XXX star Diesel (born Mark Vincent).

Pugnacious and spunky like the young Mickey Rooney and the original Mickey Mouse, but virtually never given to babies today.

In many minds this one belongs to Barbie, but with such positive meanings and international connections, can Ken make the transition to usability again?

In the 1940s, Toni began to surpass its progenitor, Antonia, but it peaked in 1960 and has since dropped back below the US Top 1000.