Names That Are Variations

Ovidia is the unusual feminine form of the ancient Roman Ovidius, most famous as the name of the exiled 1st century Roman poet Ovid. Modern male form Ovidio is known in Spain and Portugal. Ovida is another variation.

Cameron is starting to fall slightly since its peak in the early 2000s, but is still comfortably in the Top 100. The Camryn spelling has historically been more popular on the girls' side, though it did rank briefly for boys in the late 2000s.

Romola is a literary name most notably used by George Eliot for her eponymous 1862 novel set in fifteenth-century Florence. It just may appeal to the parent looking for a name that embodies the ideal blend of the feminine, unusual, and strong. A current bearer is British actress Romola Garai.

More common -- when it was common -- with the Meyer spelling.

A lively take on Stephen.

An interesting single-syllable name pronounced brahsh.

Onezime is a rare name that experienced the highest usage in French-speaking locales prior to the twentieth century, including French Canada and parts of Louisiana.

This variation of the popular Arabic name has now been in the Top 500 for several years. It wasn't even in the Top 1000 before the 1980s.

Notably borne by Faustin Soulouque, a 19th-century president, and later emperor, of Haiti.

Agostino is the Italian form of this increasingly popular ancient name.

This spelling variation hasn't followed cousins Zoe and Zoey up the charts. Even though there are a number of feasible spellings, Zoie along with Zooey might cause some unwanted confusion.

One of the top Icelandic girl names. It's very pretty — if you know how to pronounce it.

A Latinate name with a lot of dash and bravado.

Hyman was commonly used by first-generation Jewish immigrants to Anglicize Chaim, but similarities to terms like heinie and hymen have taken it out of the realm of modern possibility. The original Chaim would be preferable to Hyman.

Has the fusty charm of recently excavated ancient Roman male names like Augustus and Magnus, which might just appeal to the fearless baby namer.

Nouveau spelling remained in the US Top 300 for all of the 1990s. With the traditional spelling still a highly popular choice, a child bearing the Nickolas version could be accused of misspelling his own name.

This variation adds a second n to the more popular Finley, presumably to provide a more direct link to nickname Finn. Both spellings create a distinctly unisex name. However, while Finley is slightly more popular for girls, the Finnley spelling currently only ranks for boys.

A contemporary, feminized variation of Carson.