Names That Are Variations

All names connected with royalty have become increasingly popular in recent years, and King variation Kyng is no exception. Some parents may feel that the Kyng spelling makes it more of a name and less of a royal title, but both names sound the same and have identical meanings, so why endlessly complicate spelling and pronunciation?

Julisa is an unusual variation of the Latin American Julissa or the international ancient Julia, taken from Julius.

This is an unusual name that fits well with other Russian names beginning to make it over to English-speaking countries.

The attractive Portuguese form of Gaëtan/Gaetano, meaning "from Gaeta" (a town in ancient Italy).

The name of the patron saint of Wales is virtually unknown in the US under this spelling. There were no baby boys named Dewi or Dewie in the US in 2021, though there were 35 named Dewey. Incredibly enough, Dewey ranked among the US Top 1000 for an entire century, from 1887 to 1986, reaching as high as Number 19 in 1898.

Odesza is a variation of Odessza, the Hungarian form of Odessa. It joined the charts in 2021 thanks to the electronic music band ODESZA, who took their name from one of the band member's uncle's sunken ship. The ship was named Odessa, but there was already a band with that name so they altered the spelling to differentiate themselves.

Slavic twist on a classic.

Shmuel is a Modern Hebrew variation of Samuel used almost exclusively by Orthodox Jewish families. Very popular in Israel, Shmuel also appeared on the US Top 1000 list in 2017, 2022, and 2023 and is given to around 240 boys each year.

The Icelandic form of Oliver, currently ranking in their Top 10.

Writer Jerzy Kosinski put this foreign variation on the U. S. name map.

This form of Charlotte, long obscure, is sure to grow in popularity along with the explosion of Charlotte. It's pretty and feminine and a nice spin on the more familiar version. In Germany, short form Lotta is popular.

This spelling variation of the name only recently entered the Top 1000 in 2008. The popular Layla is currently very popular in the United States, while the more traditional Leila is also widely used. The added h at the end of this version could be considered superfluous, possibly leading to confusion down the road.

Commonly found in France — you're more likely to meet a Matthias in the US.

A variation on Anne-Marie, this sweet name deserves the attention of some Anglophone parents. Note that "Mieke" rhymes with "Peak-a" not "Pike-a".

Tamar is a feminine Hebrew name, but this variation is used on girls and boys in the US. Tamari is also the name of a Japanese condiment similar to soy sauce.

Typically spelled with an accent over the I, as Martí, this name is a popular choice in the Catalan region of Spain. The I-ending spelling reads as feminine in many Anglophone countries — indeed, Marti was only used for baby girls in US in the last year on record.

Phar-phetched.

Vies with Maximiliana for the title of most obscure Maximilian variant. You could argue that both were made obsolete by Jessica Simpson's use of Maxwell for her daughter.

Kaeli, a form of the trendy Kaylee, was the fastest-rising girls' name of 2023, inspired by social media influencer Kaeli Mae.