Names by Nickname

In Welsh, Ceri is traditionally a male name but can also be used for girls. It's a short form of Ceridwen too, the name of the Welsh goddess of poetry.

Despite all the "hanging," "dangling," and "pregnant" chad jokes of the 2000 election, this saint's name and remnant of the Brad-Tad era didn't get a boost in popularity. But Chad still holds some surfer-boy appeal for a number of modern parents.

Though it sounds like a modern invention, Champ actually has a long history as a first name. It hit the Top 1000 several times just before and after the turn of the 20th Century.

Charlie is one of the friendly, tomboyish male nickname names--another is Sam-- now used almost as frequently for girls: in 2015, it ranked higher on the girls list than on the boys list for the first time. That makes Charlie one of the most popular unisex names around today. The name Charlie, for females, has been jumping up the charts since it reappeared, after a 50-year hibernation, in 2005.

Charlie derives, of course, from the classic name Charles which, in turn, comes from a German word meaning "free man." Charles became very popular in France during the Middle Ages due to the fame of Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne. Charley is an alternate spelling.

A nickname-name made famous by the uni-named Spanish singer Charo, whose full name was María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten.

The beautiful Consuelo, with its compassionate meaning, is deserving of being used in full.

Chet is an old-fashioned short form that, ala Ned and Joe, is starting to sound cool again.

Only if you're madly nostalgic for sixties TV.

Chris is one of the longest-running and still most appealing unisex short forms, still used nearly equally for boys and girls. Though no longer fashionable, Chris still feels crisp and appropriate for both sexes.