Names That Mean Short

The name recently given to their daughter by Susan and Robert Downey, Jr. is pronounced like Avery and may be seen as a kree8tiv spelling variation of that popular unisex name or a girlish short form of Avraham, the Biblical Hebrew form of Abraham.

Many C forms of this name are becoming more popular, from Cassia for girls to Cassian, Cassius, and Caspian for boys, so Kass feels more possible today too. And Kassia and Kassiani are both intriguing longer forms.

Finja Is a Josephine nickname that ranks among the Top 100 girl names in Germany.

This is a rarely heard multi-cultural name, related to a 14th century Jewish scholar named Kalonymous ben Kalonymous, who translated important texts from Arabic to Hebrew. It is also a Hungarian derivative of Colman, via the Latin Columba, meaning dove, and was the name of a 12th century king of Hungary. Its modern sound make it an interesting option.

Meeri is kind of like Siri with an M. This unusual name is certainly cute and intriguing but would forever be mistaken for Mary.

Gerard, Gerry, and Jerry may be so far out they may never come back in the U.S., but Jerry-equivalent Jurre is a Top 100 name in The Netherlands.

Pleun is a unisex Dutch name deriving from Apollonius or Apollonia, although now it ranks far higher for girls in its native land than the original form.

Cute tomboyish diminutive that's popular in Germany but has not spread far. An interesting choice for the parent who wants an elaborate feminine proper name with a modern short form.

This Corey variation is getting a fresh shot of style juice thanks to young It Girl Cory Kennedy (not to be confused with RFK daughter, filmmaker Rory Kennedy).

It feels like a slenderized modern version, but Jennet actually has deep roots. Could this plucky name rescue Janet and Jenny from their datedness?

Once you get past thinking of it as a red-painted building where they keep cows and hay, has a nice plainspoken country-like feel and may make a cooler diminutive than the still-purple Barney.

The Dutch love using short forms as full names, and so the popular name here is Faas -- who knows or cares what it was originally short for. In the US, this would be a very original name indeed -- it doesn't show up at all on the Social Security records. Pronunciation is like fast with the t at the end.

Oline is an old school feminization of the classic Scandinavian Ole or Olaf that is still popular enough to rank among the Top 100 girl names in Norway.

Fiete is an extremely popular German name for boys that has not migrated to the English-speaking world. But it ranks among Germany's Top 100 boy names.

If you're looking for an honor name for grandpa Tom, this could be a good choice. It's also used as a male short form of the name in Eastern Europe.

This is most familiar here as a musical name, via Indian Parsi conductor Zubin Mehta, but it certainly could be used by others.

Courtlandt, with its added U, is an English form of the Dutch habitational surname Cortlandt. Cortlandt was a village near modern-day Wijk bij Duurstede, Netherlands. Its name was derived from the Dutch elements cort, meaning "short" or "narrow," and landt, "land."

Cay is a rare respelling of the retro nickname Kay but one that may gain ground as a name that's both simple and unique. Like Kay, it can be a diminutive for any of the hundreds of Catherine variations that start with a C or of more modern names such as Caylee or Cadence. Or it can stand on its own as a sleek contemporary nickname-name.