Names That Are Variations

Parents of female Emersyns will say this Emerson variation's Y makes it more feminine -- and to some extent, it does. This, combined with the trendy Y, have flagged this name as on-the-rise. "Em" names have been hot for girls in recent years, from the classic Emma, Emily, and Emilia to the modern Emery and Ember — and both Emerson and Emersyn are no exception. Emersyn entered the charts in 2019 and has been rising since, all the way up to the Top 200.

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

Anneli is one of the hundreds of Anne variations with an intriguing spelling. This name has been popular throughout Scandinavia over time and would certainly translate easily to English-speaking countries.

You may never have known a Nettie personally, but there well might be one hidden in your family history, considering that she was a Top 100 name until 1901 and stayed on the Social Security list until 1962.

Less electric and melodramatic, more serene, than Electra. Isabella Rossellini's daughter (and Ingrid Bernman's granddaughter) is named Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann.

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.

The popularity of Maya clarifies the pronunciation of Raya, which makes that the better spelling of this name.

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.

The phonetic spelling of Eyþór, without the thorn that would trip up many English-speakers.

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

Matthias is the ancient Biblical form of Matthew, widely used along with brother Mathias in the US for the past 20 years.

The longer form of Xia is more rhythmic but also more problematic.

Works better as a full name than Arnie does as a nickname.

This frilly Victorian name is a variant of Cecilia and Cecily, with which it might well be confused. Cicely was a surprise choice for comedienne Sandra Bernhard.

This spelling is now more popular than the original, though it's not quite as popular as Jayden or Jaden.

Ukrainian Artem (ar-TEM) and Russian Artyom/Artiom (which can also be transcribed as Artem, though still pronounced ar-TYOM in Russian) are ultimately derived from the name of the Greek goddess Artemis: goddess of the moon and hunting. The meaning of her name is unknown, though it may be related to the Greek for "safe" or for "butcher".

Lovers of the name Carter and the Kardashians method of baby naming have popularized this choice, one of many boys' names starting with K that began life as boys' names starting with C. Karter has been in the charts since 2005, riding on the success of the original Carter. Since 2014, Karter has been just inside the Top 200.

Cute and quirky Lily alternative.

The sort of oh-so-French name that's falling out of favor now.

Many baby boys have been named after LA Clippers' basketball player Kawhi Leonard since his 2013 debut. Leonard says his father invented the name because he wanted something that sounded Hawaiian. Kawhi sounds like Kauai, the name of one of the Hawaiian islands.