Names by Nickname

See the popularity graph below for the name Theo? It's been heading straight uphill since 2010, when it hopped back onto the Top 1000 after a 60+ year absence.

A short, bright name which originates as a short form of names including Tiana, and Tatiana. Not as popular as Mia – a plus if you're seeking a short and pretty but less common name. In Spanish and Portuguese tía/tia is a word meaning "aunt". In Haida culture in indigenous Canada, Tia is a goddess of peaceful death.

Cute and unusual as a nickname, but lacking the legs to stand on its own.

Actress Tilda Swinton injected this dated nickname name with some modern charm.

A favorite in England and Wales where nicknames as given names are very much the norm, Tilly has the potential to catch on in the US, given its similarity to the popular Lily and Ellie and the rising stars Millie, Billie, Kallie, and Nellie.

Tim is a boyish short form very rarely given on its own.

Popular in its own right in Germany and definitely makes a more intriguing and grownup short form of the classic Timothy than Timmy or even Tim.

Though distinguished former Speaker of the House Thomas P. O'Neill was known as Tip, it's usually best to leave names like Skip, Flip, Kip, Pip, Rip, and Tip to the pets of the household.

This jaunty unisex nickname name has recently been given a shot of testosterone via actor Tobey Maguire and the gruff, erudite character on West Wing.

Toby is an early unisex name with a Shakespearean pedigree; when used for a girl it retains its tomboyish quality. Fits well with the growing trend of boyish nicknames for girls -- alongside rising choices like Frankie and Stevie. Toby peaked as a girl's name in 1936 and was last on the charts in 1975. Though, it's been slowly rising in recent years with nearly 100 baby girls named Toby in 2023.

A 1970s beach boy surfing buddy of Scott, Brad, and Chad, Todd is given to relatively few babies these days.

Tolly is an antique short form that is not only jolly but makes Bartholomew usable in the modern world, when Bart is too Simpsonesque. For the adventurous nicknamer, Tolly might even be a novel short form of Oliver.

In the 1940s, Toni began to surpass its progenitor, Antonia, but it peaked in 1960 and has since dropped back below the US Top 1000.

Tony, as in classy. Or To-nyyy, as yelled out a tenement window.

More modern nickname for Victoria than Vicky. Better known as Tori spelling.