Names That Are Variations

Senja is the Finnish form of Xenia as well as the Indonesian word for "dusk."

This is the spelling that old-time film star Katharine Hepburn used, and it's still favored by fans wanting to reference her classic strength and beauty. But in general, it's losing ground to Katherine and even Ms. Hepburn's own favorite short form, Kate.

Biblical names including the letter Z and those ending in -el are a big 2020s trend in the US, and Azael is one such name. It entered the Top 1000 in 2021 and in a recent count, was given to 380 boys in a single year.

Francois is the ultimate sophisticated French name.

This poor lad will spend his life saying, "No, it's Aric, not Eric. Aaric, Arick, Arik Arric, Arrick.

Now that Lily has become hugely popular, parents in love with this flower name are looking further afield for substitutes such as Liliane and Liliana.

More modern options: Shaw, Shay, or even Sean.

Evanna is the name of a Harry Potter actress who pronounces it ee-vah-na. This might be considered another international feminine form of the many variations of John; Ivana, Giovanna, and even Joan are cousins of Evanna. It could also be a compound name, combining Eva and Anna.

What works for Paige just doesn’t work for Sage. The added i will likely create a lifetime of spelling mistakes.

Piero is elegant, melodic, appealing. Just picture the muted frescoes of Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca.

This is the Armenian version of the familia Julia, which has a rich and evocative sound. Other variations are Iuliya, and the diminitive Yulya.

The Yiddish form of Rivka hums along at the bottom of the baby name charts. It's been given to anywhere between 5 and 20 baby girls since the late '60s. Rivka is currently more than 30 times as popular, but for Jewish families, the softer (but still saucy) Rifka may be due for a comeback.

Ylva may look like it belongs with the Eva family of names, but it actually derives from Ulf, a name meaning "wolf." It's not a very intuitive name to English-speakers, and likely won't get picked up in the US anytime soon. At last count, it was only given to five American baby girls.

This variation of Aryan has a slightly less racist connotation, making it a bit more acceptable. Arian debuted on the Top 1000 in 2011, but didn't have a sustained rise on the charts. This is likely due to the Aryan connection and the popularity of all things Aria among girls.

An old royal name in England and Scotland that's also spelled Marjorie. Popular in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, it was revived at the end of the 19th century, peaked in 1921 and dropped off the list in 1958, enough time to be reconsidered as a Margaret alternative. The name Margery Daw is familiar via the seesaw nursery rhyme and Margery Williams wrote the children's classic The Velveteen Rabbit..

Somewhat flat-footed form; go for the original.

Ilsa is remembered as the radiant but tragic heroine of "Casablanca," and it's having something of a European resurgence.

Tavo is a stylish-sounding short form of an antique name.

Shawn is one name that's become less unisex and more distinctly male over time in all its spellings, given to only 14 baby girls and over 500 boys in the US in the most recent year counted. But at its peak in the early 1970s, it was a Top 200 baby name for girls in the US, given to nearly 2000 baby girls... and 12,000 boys in this spelling alone.

Lazer has some biblical cred as a form of Eliezer, Eleazar, or Lazarus, all relatives, and it's also a modern bad boy name a la Ranger and Breaker. Our recommendation would be to use one of the biblical forms as the proper name and Lazer as a nickname.