Names That Are Variations

Multicultural mini name with an intuitive pronunciation — it's a recipe for success, yet Lida remains under the radar.

Linked to the early days of feminism via Germaine Greer, this saint's name feels neither French nor German enough.

Less month, more trendy, more times needing to spell it to people. This spelling variation entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013—and doesn't appear to be going anywhere any time soon.

Sevyn broke into the Top 1000 for girls in 2019, the same year that Seven crossed the threshold for boys. Ys are typically employed to make names more feminine, which is why many more girls were given the Sevyn spelling than boys. However, Sevyn still made it on the birth certificates of over 100 boys last year.

This very unusual name, also related to Hannah, was chosen for his daughter by Vin Diesel.

Once a birth order name, now might work as a cool x-ending nickname. But be warned that it sounds very close to an unfortunate slang term.

The Turkish transcription of Furqan, another name for the Quran.

Goodbye Uncle Vanya and hello...It Girl baby name? It's true — style icon Chloë Sevigny chose the name Vanja for her son, born in 2020. The name honors Vanja's paternal heritage — Chloë's partner is the Croatian-born gallerist Siniša Mačkovic.

A name that is truly honored in France, as the name of several saints, artists like Daumier, and writers like Balzac.

A variant of the more popular Liliana, Lillianna is an elaboration of the name "Lily".

Madelyn is the most popular, phonetically-clear spelling of the lovely and stylish French name. Madilyn edges it toward Marilyn, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Proof that a name can be too feminine.

Romanian form of Cosmas

Jenica might work if you can't decide between Jennifer and Jessica. It's certainly a more distinctive option.

Ysabeau is a rare variation of Isabeau, itself a French variant of Isabel. Despite its relation to the uber-popular Isabella, the several degrees of removal make Ysabeau a long shot for the twenty-first century.

While many are familiar with the Hebrew name Naomi through the Biblical character, the name also has separate roots as a unisex Japanese name meaning "straight and beautiful." Variation Nahomi is rising in use for girls, potentially due to Japanese footballer Nahomi Kawasumi who plays for the American soccer team NJ/NY Gotham FC.

A little bit Aliyah and a little bit Elijah equals an invented name that moves into the girls' column with its choice by Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Bassett for their daughter. While there is good reason for this name to feel feminine, if you're not aware of the spelling variation, you're likely to just hear Elijah, both traditional and popular for boys. Then again, Noa is doing well for girls, so it wouldn't feel entirely out of place.

Oengus is the old Irish form of the name most commonly found in the modern world as Angus, typically Scottish.
In Irish mythology, Oengus is the god of youth, love, and poetry.

Kaitlin is a variation of Caitlin that's on a steep decline; it dropped out of the Top 1000 in 2013, after more than three decades on the list.

Ilyas is the more traditional Arabic spelling, but Ilyes is the common version in Northern Africa and France, which has a large Algerian population.