Names That Are Variations

Katharina is an attractive form of Katherine and a great way to update a classic. But English speakers may want to choose the Katerina or Katarina spelling to avoid pronunciation confusion.

The Finnish translation of Daria. In Finland, Taru is commonly used as a nickname for Tarja.

This extra-N variation matches up with the current preferred spellings of Oaklynn, Raelynn, and Adalynn, however it has always been outranked by popular Brooklyn. Though both spellings have trended downwards since their peak in 2011, Brooklyn maintains its place in the US Top 100, while Brooklynn lags behind in the #300s.

Romanian form of Cosmas

The final -e takes this from a daring word name to a literary honor name, for the inimitable Irish author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, infamous for his wit and flamboyance.

What a difference one letter makes - the somewhat tired, though still heavenly Angela, gets a makeover as sweet and subtle Aniela. Definitely worth considering.

The Isidora spelling, though equally legitimate, is about 90 percent less common than Isadora.

The rarely heard feminine version of the saint's name Cassian, this name is elegant and somewhat frilly, but holds the possibility of more straightforward nicknames like Cass, Cassie or Ana. With the rise of the whole group of names for both genders starting with the Cass sound, Cassiana has the potential to become one of the more visible girl names starting with C.

Y is often used to feminize a variant spelling of a name, though of course there's nothing intrinsically gendered about it. The Karsyn spelling is slightly off its peak for girls, but rising for boys.

Variation of Kylie with the popular suffix -ee. Kylie was popular in Australia in the 1970s and 80s, said to come from a Noongar word for "boomerang". In the US, it has also been used as a feminization of the Scottish male name Kyle.

A Top 10 name in Turkey, seen again in the Top 100 in the double-barreled combination Kerem Ali.

A rarely used play on Amber, making it more feminine and both more modern and old-fashioned at the same time.

The advantage of Orsa over the arguably-more-attractive Ursula is that it breaks the tie to the hideous she-witch of The Little Mermaid. Orsa definitely feels more ready for modern life now that brother name Orson is on the rise.

Classically, the De- prefix indicates "son of," so any variation of this name could work for the child of a dad named Shawn or Sean.

The late actress Sada Thompson introduced this obscure but usable form.

A name that sounded unthinkably priggish until it became attached to Domestic Goddess British TV chef Nigella Lawson (named for her father), who gave it a big dollop of glamour.

A Top 50 choice in the Netherlands.

It's hard to believe, via a 21st-century sensibility, that Fannie was ever a Top 50 name. But Fannie was even more popular than Fanny in its late 19th-century heyday, and stuck around much longer, staying on the Top 1000 until the 1960s while Fanny fell off in 1940. Today, however, Fannie sounds antiquated at best, and rude at worst.

Attractive attenuated form of the popular Christopher, well used throughout Europe, appearing as Christophe in France and Christoph in Germany.

Attractive international Stephanie alternative. Estefania ranks in the Top 100 in Puerto Rico.