Nickname Names

A heck of a lot cooler than Larry.

Sixties-style short form that sounds cool again -- though the unscrupulous Pete on "Mad Men" is not a character to emulate.

Rising fast for boys both as a stand-alone name and as a nickname to Cassius or Cassian, Cash also has potential to cross over to the girls' side — either as an edgy word name, or as a diminutive of names such as Cassia and Cassandra.

Dougie is one of those names that spotlights the huge gulf that can exist between US and UK naming trends. In England and Wales, Dougie is a trendy nickname-name, ranking all the way up at Number 315. In the US, on the other hand, Dougie was used for a grand total of zero baby boys last year. Same thing for short form Doug. Only the father name Douglas ranks in the US Top 1000.

Gussie is fussy — try Gus.

Introduced via Sopranos star Drea (born Andrea) de Matteo, and catching on with a wider audience.

One of the most popular nicknames of the fifties and sixties -- and who could forget the romantic heroine of "Wuthering Heights"? -- now largely ignored in favor of Cate or Kate.

Short but substantial, Russ does not need the full-form Russell to go on the birth certificate. Russ strikes a nice balance between familiar, friendly, and underused.

A sweet (literally) and rare nickname for Charlotte. Lollie would also work as a short form of other names with a strong L sound, such as Elizabeth, Lauren, Lola, Lorelei, and Louisa.

A once very common Irish diminutive of Bridget that has unfortunately been associated since the 18th century with a pejorative slang term for an old or fussy woman.

Minta is an eighteenth century short form of a literary beauty still used in England today, but yet to be discovered by American baby namers. It has a fresh and dainty feel.

Short for Samantha or long for Sam, Sammy is a sweet midcentury nickname name that we can see coming back.

Poet Jorie Graham is the best-known (okay: only known) bearer of this fresh, spirited spin on the Cory-Tory-Rory group. The boys' Jory is a Cornish nickname for George.

Rob has claimed Bob's turf.

Tib and Tibb originated in the 13th century as nicknames for Theobald (for boys) and Isabel and Isabella (for girls). As Isabel grew in popularity, Tib(b) was used more often on girls. By the 16th century, Tib was a term for a young girl, much like Tom was for young boys.