Names That Are Variations

One of many now-downscale names that begin with Da- or De-, a prefix that originally indicated patrimony.

Richeza was a name that had its heyday in the Middle Ages but has since fallen into disuse. Richeza, and its variation Richenza, were used by the Swedish and Polish royal families. In a modern context, Richeza could be used to honor an important Richard in the family.

Adinah or Adina was a male figure in the Old Testament, though it's also used as agirls' name in modern Israel. It can be considered the grandmother of Dina or Dena.

You mean like Timothee Chalomet? Yes, like Timothee Chalomet.

This Scandinavian spin on Christopher gives that enduring classic a lighter, more individual twist, though many may see it as simply a kree8iv spelling.

Quame is an Anglicization of the Ghanaian Akan name Kwame. In West Africa, it is traditional to name your child after the day of the week on which they were born. The feminine equivalent is Mimba, a variation of Ama.

Cleophas is a variant of Cleopas, who was one of the men in the Bible who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus following his resurrection. As a name, it appeared on a handful of birth certificates each year during the mid-twentieth century, but it hasn't seen much use recently.

Since girls have already coopted Tyson (singer Nenah Cherry's daughter, for one), no need to go to these lengths to feminize it.

So identified with the hero of the Sir Walter Scott novel, it would be almost impossible for any boy to carry.

Natz recommended.

An Italian feminization of Samuel that comes off as dated, we can't imagine many parents choosing Samuela over Samantha.

So many names sound better with a French accent, and Petronille is one of them -- it feels unusual in an elegant way. But in the US, you'd have to be adventurous to choose it.

A pretty and unusual spin on Maria.

Borne by many Ottoman sultans.

With roots in both Polish and Low German, Gerik is a blank slate of a name that has never made the charts. It's a possibility as a fresh twist on Eric or Derek.

Borne by early enslaved people in America and the Caribbean who were born on Thursday. This follows the traditional West African day naming tradition.

The Y ending gives Carson a feminine spin. Carsyn is used for girls more than 70% of the time.

With the increasing popularity of Cameron, we've seen more and more creative spellings—including this one, which may be influenced by rapper Cam'ron. It rose up the US charts during the 90s, however it fell out of favor in 2017. Given to around 80 boys in a recent year, it is far less popular than the classic Cameron — in fact, for every one boy named Camron, there are 66 called Cameron.