Names That Are Variations

Traian derives from Traianus, a Roman emperor and military genius who conquered ancient Dacia, which corresponds to modern-day Romania and Moldova. Popular a generation ago, Traian is best known throughout the wider world via the presidency of Traian Basescu.

Adds some thorns to the smooth texture of Lily.

If Dayton, like Trenton and Camden, is finding favor with parents, it's more because of its popular two-syllable surname feel and -on ending than the industrial city in Ohio.

Once you get past the pronunciation hurdle, a smooth and elegant choice. In French, it's spelt with a circumflex: Benoît.

Fine in France, but here it means vegetables sliced into thin strips.

Fatou and its long form Fatoumata are variations of the popular Muslim name Fatima, who was one of four perfect women cited by the Quran.

A feminine multicultural nickname name perfectly able to stand on its own.

The soignée French member of this family of names.

Coby enjoyed a spike of popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s, along with similar names like Cody and Corey. The unrelated name Kobe, however, enjoyed a spike of its own in 2020, the year the basketball legend Kobe Bryant passed away. Kobi also rose that year for both boys and girls, and today is given to both in equal numbers.

Madalyn is a variant of the French name Madeleine — one of several which have graced the US top 1000 in recent years.

A variation made famous by Australian Aboriginal tennis champ Evonne Goolagong.

In the currently popular solid, serious, two-syllable mold.

Herby and aristocratic Basil remains a tough sell, but we’d like to introduce you to Basile, the delightful French version. It retains all of Basil’s charm, but sheds some of the pesto linkage.

The Italian form of Hilda is rarer but sweeter than its mother name, which still isn't ready for revival in the US.

What life Hadrien and Hadrian enjoy today, they owe to Adrian along with the revival of ancient Roman names in general. Hadrian was a 2nd century Roman emperor famous for his wall.

Nicknames ending in o are invariably cute, though this one is a boys' name in its own right. And not just any boy name, but a saint's name no less. Saint Hanno, aka Saint Anno, was an 10th century archbishop of Cologne, He is also known as, less attractively, Hanno of Worms, which is one of the oldest cities in Germany.

Dianne, one of the many offshoots and variations of the classic Diana, had its moment in the sun in the 1940s--it was a Top 100 name from 1943 to 1952. It now would make a very unlikely choice.

Widely used in the Latino community, the name gained renown in the nineties for its association with rapper Gerardo Mejía of 'Rico Suave' fame.

Foreign variations of Mary are definitely the way to go; this one has a nice Dutch-girl feel. It also works as a cultural crossover name, e.g. between European languages and Japanese.

Sanni derives from Sanna, a variation of Susanna used in Scandinavia.