Names That Are Variations

Rosaline, which can be pronounced to rhyme with mine or mean in its final syllable, has a deeper, richer pedigree than it might seem. Rosaline was used twice by Shakespeare and was also used in the poetry of Edmund Spenser. While we prefer the stronger-sounding Rosalind or Rosamund, Rosaline deserves another contemporary look.

Old saints' and popes' name that went to France in the 1920s with the Russian Ballets Russes; in its Russian form, Sergei, it retains an artistic, almost effete air.

Like Lars, Sven, Niels, and Nels, an unjustly neglected straightforward Scandinavian name. Surname Nilsson or the anglicized Nelson derives from Nils.

Fernanda is very popular in the Latino community, with a lot more charm than its male counterpart. The standard nickname is Nanda, and variations include Ferdinanda and Fernandina.

Jasper and its many international variations, from Kasper to Casper to Gaspard, is finding new popularity.

Pre-Thomasina female form of Thomas, now seen as more literary and upscale British. In Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native, a leading character is Thomasin Yeobright.

Dramatic and worldly, Cosimo was chosen by singer Beck and his wife, Marissa Ribisi, for their son. Now that Cosima has emerged as a starbaby favorite, twin brother Cosimo could join her.

This semi-obscure historic name was recently chosen for their son by Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez.

Since the first production of Camille this has been considered one of the world's most romantic names, though it's one of those French names for boys rarely heard in this country.

The beguiling Darya is the name of a character in Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. As a Russian name, it's a spelling variation of Daria, while in Iran, it's a girl's name that means "the sea".

Like the masculine form Galileo, Galilea is a variant of Galilee, a region in Northern Israel of great Biblical significance. Given the current popularity of soft Italian girls’ names, this name’s long historical roots, its beautiful sound and the potential for cute nicknames (Leia, Lil, Ally, etc) it’s no surprise that this name has been on the rise in recent years.

Anglicized form of Seònaid, the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of Janet. It has historically been quite popular in Scotland, although it hasn't ranked in the Top 100 there since 1995.

Less popular than Reagan, but more popular than Regan, Raegan is a spelling option for the popular Irish surname. It followed Reagan up the charts in the 90s, perhaps due to its similarity to Morgan, but in recent years, use of Raegan has declined

A Dutch version of Marie - this is a cute name that has potential.

Thanks to the inspiration of Pope Francis, Francesco has galloped to the front of the line to become the Number One boys' name in Italy. As Francesca has become a familiar and popular form of the name for girls in the wider world, so does the handsome Francesco have that potential for boys.

Ismael is Spanish and Portuguese rendition of the Biblical name Ishmael and the form used in the Greek New Testament. Currently, it is the variant that ranks most highly on the US charts and it is popular among the Hispanic community, both in the US, and globally.

Levon, an unusual alternative to Levi. has two musical associations: it's the title of an Elton John song, inspired by late, great drummer for The Band, Levon Helm--whose birth name was Mark. Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke chose Levon for their son.

This Anglicized spelling makes the pronunciation of Ailís or Aileas – the Irish and Scottish forms of Alice, respectively – slightly more obvious to English-speakers. Ailis or Aileas are more authentic spellings, but may be fighting a losing battle against the influence of Billie Eilish.

In the Anglophone world, Love is more likely to be perceived as an English word name than the Swedish form of Louis.

Sean may be off its peak for boys, but there were still 1300 baby boys named Sean in the US in the most recent year counted, versus only five baby girls. In fact, there were fewer than 30 baby girls given the spellings Sean, Shaun, and Shawn combined. So while this name has been long used for girls, it remains in only occasional use as a feminine name and is not truly unisex in the way that names such as Rory and River are.