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Nicknames: The Ultimate Guide

Nicknames: The Ultimate Guide

Nicknames and diminutives are among the most fun aspects of naming. They can be playful and cute, cool and clever, and they often take on a life of their own that’s impossible to predict. This guide will help you find nicknames for boys and nicknames for girls that you love.

Maybe you want to give your child a nickname-rich name, so they can choose whether to be Penny, Nell, or the full Penelope. Or maybe you know the nickname you want, and are weighing up which long form (if any) to put on the birth certificate: should he be Maxwell, Maximus, or simply Max?

Let us take you through all the possibilities with our ultimate guide, whether you’re looking for girl nicknames, or nicknames for boys.

Note: here we use “nickname” to mean short forms, like Ben and Benny, as well as alternative names that are sometimes used instead of a person’s real name, like Sonny.

Names with Lots of Nicknames

If you like to keep the options open, some names have rich nickname potential, both well-known and with scope for more creativity. For example, Elizabeth can be shortened to familiar Liz and Beth, vintage Betty and Bess, fresh Ellie and Libby, and even more unusual nicknames like Zibby.

Multi-nicknamed names are usually long and often classics, with centuries of wearers coming up with fresh short forms — which was especially important back when the pool of given names was much smaller.

How many nicknames can you think of for these names?

Secret Nicknames

These names are so well-used in their own right that you may not even know they started out as nicknames. (I had to double-check a few myself!) They're cool in their own right, and they can also work as alternative honor names, such as Molly in honor of Grandma Mary.

Standalone Nicknames

There’s an argument for skipping the formalities and putting the nickname straight on the birth certificate — for example, if you know you’re only ever going to call your child Archie, and you have no interest in Archer, Archibald or any other long form.

Nicknames as first names are especially common in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, where as well as Archie, Charlie, Evie and Millie are all in the Top 100 baby names. But North American parents are also coming to embrace this style. Here are some nicknames that are popular in their own right.

Vintage Nicknames

Old-fashioned nicknames are part of the wider trend for vintage names. They were popular about a hundred years ago, and sound charming again today.

One trend in vintage nicknames that's coming back is girl names ending in ie. So you can add a charming old-fashioned note to your daughter's name by using the ie spelling rather than y or i: Lillie, Lottie, Mollie.

Unisex Nicknames

Each generation of parents has its own favorite androgynous nicknames. A century ago, Tommie and Willie were popular for both girls and boys. Midcentury tastes leaned towards Bobby and Bobbie, Terry and Teri, and Chris.

Today’s top unisex nicknames are spunky and fresh on both sexes. They take the focus away from gender, and can be a convenient solution to an honor name. Baby Frankie could be a nod to a Frances; or baby Persephone, known as Pip, to a Philip.

One of the hot trends at the moment is grandpa nicknames on girls. Vintage male nicknames like Stevie and Freddie become 100% sweeter when used as female names.

Cool Nicknames

These nicknames follow some of the hottest name trends, like names ending in O for both genders, and dynamic words like Dash. Most of the following have grown in popularity in recent years.

Old-School Nicknames

These retro nicknames aren’t short for anything. They can be tough, grandiose, fun, and affectionate, and they can also be used as names in their own right. Celebrity adopters of this style include Tom (of McFly fame) and Giovanna Fletcher, whose first two sons are Buzz and Buddy.

Popular Nicknames for Unusual Names

A rare full name with a familiar nickname lets your child stand out or blend in, as it suits them. Some examples:

Ace for Horatio

Addie for Ariadne

Annie for Anemone

Ben for Bernard

Callie for Callahan

Cory for Corrigan

Edie for Benedicta

Ellie for Ellington

Freddie for Wilfred

Joe for Joachim

Mack for Malachi

Nate for Ignatius

Nell for Fenella

Romy for Andromeda

Tim for Septimus

Ty for Tiberius

Rare Nicknames for Popular Names

The flipside to this is a well-known, maybe classic, name with a playful nickname that’s not what people will expect. The advantage of this is that your kid can always use their full name or a different nickname if they want to.

Bix for Beatrix

Coby for Jacob

Cole for Nicholas

Kitto for Christopher

Mac for Malcolm

Nora for Eleanor

Posy for Josephine

Reese for Theresa

Thor for Theodore

Tizzy for Elizabeth

Wilkie for William

Via for Olivia

International Nicknames

Different languages and cultures can be a great place to find nicknames that break from the norm, especially if you have heritage there. For example, Alexander may be Alex to most people, but Sandro to his Italian grandparents.

It’s impossible to do justice to the full range, but here are a few international short forms of names you may recognize.

Reduplicating Nicknames

Nicknames with repeating sounds are fun and playful, but with a dash of glamor: think Zsa Zsa Gabór or Gigi Hadid. They are more common for girls, although there are options for boys too. Here are some that are great short forms, and occasionally make it onto birth certificates too.

Wild and Wonderful Nicknames

These are the most fun nicknames of them all: they’re hard to say without smiling, or at least wondering how cool a child has to be to pull these off. There are even more daring options in our lists of crazy nicknames for girls and for boys.

Extinct Nicknames

Is anyone using these? Some were in vogue decades ago, others were common centuries ago and survive in surnames, but they’ve pretty much slipped out of use. Any takers to revive them?

Good luck with your nickname journey, whether you’re planning them carefully or leaving them to chance!

About the Author

Clare Green

Clare Green

Clare Green has been writing for Nameberry since 2015, covering everything from names peaking right now to feminist baby names, and keeping up-to-date with international baby name rankings. Her work has featured in publications such as The Independent and HuffPost. Clare has a background in linguistics and librarianship, and recently completed an MA dissertation researching names in multilingual families. She lives in England with her husband and son. You can reach her at clare@nameberry.com