Nickname Names

A perennial classic in the Netherlands, short-and-sweet Dirk is starting to feel like a fresher alternative to cousin Derek.

Diminutive of the Italian Giovanna, or sometimes Vanessa or Ivanna.

May be the most modern, stylish Catherine nickname: more unusual than Kate or Cate, with an animal and word name edge. Cat Power is a trendy folksinger.

A relic of the midcentury Mandi-Sandi-Andi era.

Frisco is a frisky, roguish semi-place-name (San Francisco natives never call it that) that could make a lively, unusual o-ending choice.

See TERRY.

The Spanish and Portuguese word for "sea" is a Top 100 name in Spain. In America, it's sometimes used as a nickname for names like Martina and Marina, but it could also plausibly stand on its own.

This spelling seems to be taking off as a result of media appearances as characters in first "Gilmore Girls" and then as Sookie Stackhouse, the Anna Paquin character in "True Blood," based on "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" series of books by Charlaine Harris.

As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now.

Marty is one of those Old Man nicknames that's just starting to sound cute again.

Mauve-tinted nickname with vintage charm that could just follow in the footsteps of ABBIE. More prominent now as the nickname for the Texas A&M sports teams.

An Anglicized form of Medb borrowed by both Shakespeare and Percy Bysshe Shelley for the of queen of the fairies. Perfect if you want something both adventurous and simple - though you could use it as a nickname for Mabel, Mirabel, Mabli, or Amabel too.

Cameron is still more popular as a boy's name than a girls and this simple, snappy short form works well for either sex.

This sassy, spunky name was used for the mostly Irish jump-roping pigtailed girls of the thirties and forties -- and some Irish and Italian boys as well. Its most noted bearer was iconic country music singer Patsy Cline (born Virginia), and was sighted most recently in the Ab Fab movie. After reaching Number 52 in the late thirties, it dropped off the list completely in 1970--and we're not anticipating a return.

Androgynous nickname for Veronica, Rhonda or Rona. Traditionally a male nickname for Ronald, Ronnie s finding new life as a girl's name amid the rising trend of boyish nicknames for girls. With its short, spunky style, Ronnie fits right in alongside other revived vintage picks like Frankie and Scottie.

A sweet Bobbsey-twin era nickname, fluffy and floral.

In the Divergent series, Tris was used as a short form of Beatrice, but it could also be given as a nickname for names like Tristan, Patricia, or Demetris.

An energetic, charmingly retro nickname, Suzy and all her sisters are off their fashion peak but will rise again around the middle of this century.