Nickname Names

  1. Dougie
    • Origin:

      Short form of Douglas, Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "black water"
    • Description:

      Dougie is one of those names that spotlights the huge gulf that can exist between US and UK naming trends. In England and Wales, Dougie is a trendy nickname-name, ranking all the way up at Number 315. In the US, on the other hand, Dougie was used for a grand total of zero baby boys last year. Same thing for short form Doug. Only the father name Douglas ranks in the US Top 1000.
  2. Fancy
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Frances
    • Meaning:

      "free man"
    • Description:

      Old fashioned nickname that some girls just might be able to pull off. You'd just have to be sure your little Fancy was one of them.
  3. Fliss
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Felicity
    • Meaning:

      "good fortune, happy"
    • Description:

      Gentle yet sassy, Fliss is a short form of Felicity that has the spark of Flick, the softness of Lissy, and the cutesiness of Fifi.
  4. Jorie
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Marjorie or Jordan
    • Description:

      Poet Jorie Graham is the best-known (okay: only known) bearer of this fresh, spirited spin on the Cory-Tory-Rory group. The boys' Jory is a Cornish nickname for George.
  5. Baby
    • Origin:

      English word name, diminutive of Barbara, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "foreign woman"
    • Description:

      Baby is rarely seen as a given name — or even nickname — these days, although it did rank in the Top 1000 from 1989 to 2003. These instances can be accounted for in two ways. Firstly, infants whose birth certificates are not filled out on time are given generic placeholders for registration, such as Infant, Unknown, or Baby. But more influential during this decade was the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, starring Jennifer Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman. It's the origin of the famed line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."
  6. Mitch
    • Roo
      • Origin:

        Diminutive
      • Description:

        A cutesy nickname — identical sounding to the more substantial Rue and Roux.
    • Hitch
      • Origin:

        Diminutive of Hitchcock
      • Description:

        The charming Hitch played by Will Smith in the eponymous movie put this into the lexicon. Also known as the nickname of director Alfred Hitchcock and writer Christopher Hitchens, who titled his autobiography "Hitch."
    • Mame
      • Origin:

        Diminutive of Mary or Margaret
      • Description:

        Has a dotty, antic feel via dotty, antic Auntie Mame.
    • Gugu
      • Origin:

        Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele
      • Meaning:

        "treasure"
      • Description:

        Gugu is derived from the word igugu, meaning "treasure." It's commonly used as a nickname for Gugulethu.
    • Shiv
      • Origin:

        Nickname name
      • Description:

        Simple short form Shiv can be used as a nickname for names from a variety of cultures, from the Irish Siobhan to the Hindi Shivani.
    • Al
      • Jan
        • Origin:

          Feminine variation of John
        • Description:

          Very Brady Bunch.
      • Randi
        • Origin:

          Feminine diminutive of Randolph
        • Meaning:

          "shield-wolf"
        • Description:

          A relic of the midcentury Mandi-Sandi-Andi era.
      • Elzie
        • Origin:

          Spelling variation of Elsie or diminutive of Eliezer, Hebrew
        • Meaning:

          "God helps"
        • Description:

          Elzie was given to 16 baby girls in the US last year, almost certainly as a spelling variation of the increasingly popular sweet nickname Elsie, a diminutive of Elizabeth.
      • Cosy
        • Origin:

          Short form of Cosette or Cosima; Variation of Cozy; English word name
        • Description:

          Cosy is a, well, cozy name, whose only downside is people forever making that dumb joke. Cosy can be short for Cosima or Cosette but can certainly stand on its own as a word name. Another plus: Sounds like Posy, Josie, and Rosie.
      • Idgie
        • Origin:

          Diminutive of Imogen or Imogene, Celtic
        • Meaning:

          "maiden"
        • Description:

          This cutesy nickname is best known as that of Imogene Threadgoode in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes.
      • Gabby
        • Spence
          • Origin:

            Short form of Spencer
          • Description:

            Spence is occasionally used as a name all on its own and it has more of a sense of completeness than many nickname-names.
        • Vicki