Names That Mean Small, Little, or Tiny

A spelling variant of presidential surname Regan that briefly entered the Top 1000 for boys in the 1960s, but hasn't rejoined the list since. Shakespeare also used the name for a daughter of King Lear, inspired by an ancient king of the Britons in accounts of the medieval scribe Geoffrey of Monmouth.

Although this variation is less popular than ultra-trendy Aiden, this simplified spelling doesn't do anything for the name.

Stronger and more contemporary twist on Carla or Carly, Carlin was used just about equally for girls and boys in the US last year.

This Irish saint's name sounds like a lopped-off Lorna.

Spelled with one 'n', this was the name of the wife of Alexander the Great, and is more attractive than the better-known Roxanne.

Although the single-named singer is male, this might be a girl's nickname name or a sleek nature name that's perfect in the middle.

A jovial and jaunty Irish name, the title of a long-gone TV crime drama, this would make an appealing choice. Slight downside: Maddy is already a mega-popular nickname for Madeline/Madelyn and Madison, so this Mad- name might not feel as distinctive as the stats would suggest.

A very common name in Catalonia, in the northeast of Spain, in no small part because it translates as "peace" in the Catalan tongue. Alec and HIlaria Baldwin used it as one of the middle names for their son Eduardo.

Rilla dropped out of the US Top 1000 in 1915, but it's starting to feel like an intriguing possibility again in this age of short, sweet, a-ending names for girls. It is traditionally a short form for names ending in -rilla, like Marilla from the Anne of Green Gables books (Anne's youngest daughter is Bertha Marilla, called Rilla for short). Rilla may also derive from the German word Rille, meaning "brook; stream".

Branigan, also spelled Branagan or Brannigan, is an Irish name full of energy and cheer. It was the title of a 1975 John Wayne movie, and Zapp Brannigan is the antihero of the animated sitcom "Futurama." Branigan fans might also want to consider such related Irish names as Brennan and Breccan, Rafferty and Finnegan.

Used primarily for girls in Ireland, but sounds unisex to us.

Reinette was the childhood nickname of Madame La Pompadour, perhaps a cute short form for Regina or Reina but hardly worthy of the full name on the birth certificate today.

Fiorello is one of the few floral names that works well for a boy. The colorful three-term World War II New York Mayor La Guardia made this one famous -- in fact he was nicknamed "the Little Flower". His life was the basis for the 1959 musical called, appropriately, "Fiorello!"

This familiar but never popular Welsh surname name might be a good Sean alternative-- and we're starting to hear some berrybuzz about it. Vaughn is an alternate spelling.

An X-ending surname less common than the Jolie-Pitt-inspired Maddox. Grandparents might still associate it with the old TV crime show. 

Amarissa is kind of cobbled together from two traditional elements: Ama, which means "love" or "lover" and is found in such more established names as Amabel and Amariah, and -issa, which is a common feminine suffix that functions as a diminutive. While Amarissa is pretty and frilly, it may frequently be misunderstood as Marissa, Melissa, and may ultimately be more trouble than it's worth.

Once-popular boys' name works better now for girls, as a kind of Dara/Karen blend.

The double 'e' gives this Celtic surname a genial sound. It derives from an old Irish name — Suibhne (SHEEV-ne) that was borne by several early saints and kings, including, unfortunately, one known as Mad Sweeney who spent his life living in trees and composing nature poetry. Another possible drawback is the association with Sweeney Todd, the bloodthirsty butcher of Sondheim stage-musical fame.

An Irish surname name with a combination of boldness and élan. Some might connect it to the founder of the group T. Rex -- Marc Bolan.

Long popular in Ireland and England, Ciarán is the name of Ireland's first-born saint and twenty-five other saints. While this is the authentic Irish spelling, it is more familiar in the US in the Anglicized Kieran spelling.