Names That Are Variations

Volodymyr, once a name unknown to most Americans, is now on everyone's lips due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy bears a common Ukrainian name for his generation. Currently in Ukraine, the most popular baby names for boys are Maksym (Максим), Ivan (Іван), and Matviy (Матвій). The more fashionable Vlad- name for babies is Vladyslav, although President Zelenskyy may soon be a namesake for an influx of infants named in honor of his heroism.

Giovanni is Italian for John, and Giovani is a not-really-correct spelling variation. Regardless, it has charted in the US for 16 of the past 17 years, peaking at Number 500 in 2011.

A water nymph in Greek mythology, for which the Greek village of Lilaia is named.

With the still popular Allison ranking at Number 60 in the United States, and variant Alison sitting at Number 343—not to mention Allyson (Number 490 and Alyson (Number 835)—it makes sense that Alisson is still getting some attention from parents today, although it may unfortunately seem more like a spelling error than a legitimate name to some.

Kesey is a possible literary hero name honoring Merry Prankster Ken Kesey, whose characters flew over the cuckoo's nest. Kesey rhymes with easy.

A common form of Muhammad in Turkey, where the spelling Muhammed is also used. In the US, Mehmet is commonly known as the first name of Dr. Oz.

The attractive actress Vivica A. Fox has done a lot to add this version of the name into the mix.

On the Latino Hit Parade, heard much more often than the English version.

There will probably be lots of little namesakes after the fastest man in the world, Jamaican Olympic runner Usain Bolt--middle name St. Leo.

Trevor with a New York accent.

Trendy Cason is becoming popular enough to have a variety of offshoot spellings in the Top 1000.

Sounding both tomboyish and feminine at the same time, this name is mostly associated with actresses Joely Richardson and Joely Fisher.

Braeden was one of the many -aiden names that we heard everywhere just a few years ago. Now it's fading, along with Aiden, Jayden, and company.

One of many variants of the classic Alexander — this particular one is used in South Slavic countries.

This distinctive variation was chosen for their third daughter by the Eddie Murphys.

Galene is a minor goddess of Greek mythology, representing the calm seas. She is also sometimes referred to as Galatea.

Lyrica has a nice, melodious sound — which is exactly what Pfizer thought when coming up with their trade name for the drug Pregabalin.

Surprising relative of the French saints' name Blaise, which is definitely easier on the English ear than vowelsome Italian version. Also spelled BIAGIO.

Heard in Scotland, not in Schenectady.

With the current craze for ancient Roman names, variations of the Latin Augustus with its majestic meaning are becoming more popular in many cultures. Month name August, also drawn from the original Augustus, is the most popular form in the US, but Augusto may start showing up on international popularity lists.