Names by Nickname

Khloe : Chloe :: Kleo : Cleo

Kostas makes the ancient emperor's name more approachable.

Saint Eulalia was born in Spain and is the patron saint of Barcelona, so her name and its derivatives are popular throughout the land — especially in her native Catalonia.

A likable nickname-name in the Callie, Hallie mode.

Though the fuller Lancelot has for the most part been shunned as a 'too-much-name' name, the short form Lance has been consistently in or around the Top 500 since 1938, climbing as high as Number 76 in 1970. It was used as a character name by Walter Scott as far back as 1823. Lance is also the name of a medieval weapon, making this name all boy.

This is an alternative to Laura or Lauren made romantic by Dr Zhivago, and badass by video-game heroine Lara Croft.

The additional syllable makes Lark a masculine surname name, borne by poet Philip Larkin.

Your friendly next-door neighbor...not your baby. Although Larry was once one of the most popular boys' names starting with L, that title now belongs to Liam.

While traditionally pronounced as a homonym for Lee, Glee actress Lea Michele pronounces her name like Leah, and it may also rhyme with Freya. Regardless of your preferred pronunciation, it's interesting to note that Lea has always charted in the US Top 1000, despite coming close to the bottom a few times, making it one of the girl names starting with L that both fits in and stands out.

A name that has a bit of a shouldn't-I-be-a-middle-name sound, though still in use as a first for both genders. Lee might be a good choice if you want something that sounds at once traditional yet modern, unisex but not newly-minted.

The original brief, breezy name is somewhat out of favor now even as a middle name. The Leigh spelling has more substance and is more identifiable as female.

Lem is a corn-cob pipe-smoking, back porch-rocking nickname name. But we predict as Sam and Gus become ho-hum, more parents will look to Lem.

An up-and-coming nickname-style name, hugely popular in Germany and on the rise in the UK, Leni is stylish but sweet. Chosen for her daughter by high-profile German supermodel Heidi Klum back in 2004, Leni with its concise spelling and European feel is also on the rise in the US, alongside Lennie, Lenny, Lennox, and Lennon.