Names That Are Variations

Both Caitriona and Catriona are commonly heard in Scotland and Ireland. The name was brought to Ireland by the Anglo-Normans, and is the source of nicknames Cait, Caitin, Caitlin and Triona. Actress Caitrona Balfe has gained recognition for her role on Outlander. Pronunciation is like Katrina.

Widely used in the Hispanic community, as is the shorter Isai. While the original Isaiah and cousin Isaac are much more popular, Isaias commanded attention as the name of a storm in the summer of 2020.

This name, like Omar and Amari, has been in the US Top 1000 for many years. After taking a downturn in 2008, it's now again on the upswing. Actor Omari Hardwick keeps it in the public eye.

Iliana is one of the vaguely but usually undefinably international names that have a wide range of spellings and pronunciations. Ilium was the poetic name of the city of Troy, and variations of this name — especially Ileana and Ileanna — have been widely used, projecting a rather bohemian image. The traditional Greek pronunciation would be ee-lee-AH-nah while in English speaking countries, it might be ill-ee-AH-nah.

Margarita is an international form of Margaret that shares its meaning of "pearl", but also directly translates to "daisy" in Spanish and Greek. Despite being widely associated with the alcoholic beverage in English, it has a long history of use in Spanish, Greek and several Slavic languages — most notably being the name of the heroine of Mikhail Bulgakov's 1966 novel Master and Margarita. It currently ranks in the Top 30 girl names in Russia.

Spelling variations abound when a name is trendy, which Rosalind is not these days. We say leave Roslyn back in the middle of the 20th century and reclaim the original Rosalind.

Kaleb is one of several boys' names starting with k that started life as a classic C name, Caleb. Kevin Federline named his boy Kaleb Michael Jackson.

Abra is soft, sensitive feminine form of Abraham that was the name of a soft, sensitive character in the John Steinbeck book and movie, "East of Eden." In the bible, Abra was a favorite of King Solomon and it was a popular name in seventeenth century England. Abra is also a West African name used for girls born on Tuesday. The magical 'abracadabra' is thought to have originated in the Aramaic language.

Particularly pretty French version of the biblical standard.

Teodora is an extremely attractive and international choice, with several equally attractive, user-friendly nicknames. Appealing short forms might include Tea, Dora, or Dory for English speakers, however, classic diminutives include the Spanish, Italian, Serbian and Portuguese Dora, the Bulgarian Todorka, and the Swedish Thea.

Pronounced just like Jean in the English-speaking world, but as the more unusual zhahn in France, this has sailed away with the first wave of French favorites: Denise, Michelle, et soeurs.

French Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne has put the spotlight on her name.

Both Karissa and Carissa are trending downward, along with the other issa names that first rose to popularity in the 1970s. Karissa fell out of the Top 1000 in 2014, two years after Carissa.

A Slavic classic, as common as Jane or Joan here.

With the ubiquitous Max heard at every playground across the country, international versions have been gaining traction in an attempt to provide a fresh avenue to the highly sought nickname. This Spanish iteration has been in the US Top 1000 since the early 2000s and is currently trending upwards.

Vivia, the fresh Italian version of newly popular name, streamlines and even vivifies the original.

More often spelled Romolo,a name sometimes heard in the Hispanic and Italian communities; this version was used by singer Monica.

This is the most popular Welsh form of Agnes. Variants include Annest and Nest. There was an eleventh century Nest who was known as 'Helen of Wales' for her beauty and the problems it caused.

This Olde World name with a large measure of European style makes an offbeat possibility for the bold baby namer in search of interesting Italian names for girls. Currently very popular in its native Italy, Ludovica is an unusual path to all the great Lu nicknames, like Lulu and Lula.