Names That Are Variations

Eiro is to Eirik as Eero is to Eric.

This popular boy name is occasionally used for girls, too. (Seven of them in 2022.)

A fresh, Italianized take on the Hebrew classic Emmanuel. But beware of the similarities to the feminine name Emmanuelle.

Oh, the many spellings of Rafaella. Those with Fs and double-Ls denote Italian origins, while an F and a single L is Spanish and Portuguese. The original Hebrew form is Raphaela.

This Bailey variation is the second most popular spelling for girls, and while the -ee ending does make it more feminine, it feels more substantial in the original form. Bailee and Bayley are two other, less common alternatives.

Rylie is a spelling variation of the more-popular traditional Riley. We recommend the "y" at the end rather than in the middle.

Known as a British royal family line as well as a style of architecture, this name feels both solemn and formidable, but with an intriguing "dark-academia" feel to it too. Currently in the Top 1000 in England and Wales, it is also used in Romania and Moldova.

The -ee suffix is decisively feminine, so it's no surprise that male usage of this name lags behind female usage.

Simple but sultry.

Pavel may be widespread in the former Soviet Union, but it has a somewhat impoverished image here.

Popularized in Scotland by Tam O'Shanter, the hero of one of Robert Burns' most famous poems, it's associated in the U.S. with the plaid cap he gave his name to.

Usually spelled XANTHOS, this alternate name for APOLLO has a noble sound (pronounced ZHAN-thos) and can always be shortened to Xan.

Better to stick with the Neil spelling in the US, where the word "nil" also means "zero." But this is a Top Ten name in Catalonia.

As commonly heard in Rome, Italy, as Steve is in Rome, New York. With the accent on the first syllable, Stefano has a lot of charm.

In Roman mythology, Iana was an epithet of Diana, goddess of the moon.

Attractive, underused name made famous by the heroine of The Color Purple. Still, if you're going to go to Celie, why not go all the way to Celia or Cecelia? You can always use Celie for short.

Even though the pronunciation of Ceara and the more usual Ciara is KEER-a, most Americans would tend to mispronounce this spelling variation as Sierra.

The name of one of the Three Wise Men from the East is heard in several European countries, but rarely here.

Last popular in this country from the 1920s to the 1950s, it now seems more modern than the English Theresa.

Russian form of Eli mainly used today by families with Russian Jewish heritage.