Names That Mean Form
Across 34 pages
of 34
Aurélien
French form of Aurelius, Latin
"golden"
A glowing and sophisticated choice, Aurélien is the French form of the Roman Aurelius, ultimately from aureus meaning "gold, gilded". This form ranked in the French Top 30 back in the 80s and…
Emilien
French form of Emil
"friendly"
Might make a worthy masculine spin on either of the uber popular Emma or Emily.
Gabin
French form of the Latin Gabinus
"of Gabium"
Fans of the classic French film actor Jean Gabin might want to consider this one. Gabin is also a harmonica-playing character in the manga and anime series "Mirmo!"
Mathis
French and German form of Matthias or Matthew
"gift of God"
Very popular in France and Belgium, this name -- pronounced mat-tees, like the surname of the painter Matisse -- might make an appealing new way to say Matthew here.
Maxence
French form of Latin Maximus
"greatest"
A cute and fresh way to get to Max, this was the name of a sixth century saint. Maxence is a Top 100 boys' name in France, but largely unknown in the US where it is given to only a handful of baby…
Fabrizio
Italian form of the Latin family name Fabricius
"craftsman"
Romantic Italian choice.
Zacharias
Greek form of Hebrew Zachariah
"the Lord has remembered"
One of several more venerable names that get to the nickname Zack if you're tired of Zachary. In the New Testament, Zacharias was the husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptist.
Xen
Japanese
"meditation"
Xen and Zen, both pronounced the same way, are two hip new spiritual word names from Buddhist practice. Among the celebrity set, Corey Feldman has a Zen and Tisha Campbell Martin's son is Xen.
Zen
Japanese, form of Buddhism
Parents searching for a simple, peaceful name may be attracted to this one.
Kenzie
Short form of Mackenzie, Scottish
"son of Kenneth"
Overwhelmingly feminine in the US, where parent name Mackenzie is wildly popular, but masculine in the UK, where Kenzie ranks among the Top 1000 names for baby boys.
Nicolo
Italian form of Nicholas
"people of victory"
Nicolo is a more lively variation of Nicholas and one of the most attractive Italian names for boys . A name with a long, distinguished Italian history of its own, it also boasts the charming…
Nicolai
Scandinavian and Slavic form of Nicholas
"people of victory"
Related to the Russian name Nikolai, this is a fresh and worldly form of a popular favorite.
Frederique
French feminine form of Frederic
"peace ruler"
Frederique, the soigne name of Dutch-born model Frederique Van der Wal, is a lot more sophisticated than the dated MONIQUE. Still, as feminine forms of the Fred names go, we prefer the Italian…
Christia
Short form of Christiana
"Christ's follower"
Christia is a rare Chris name that doesn't add much to the mix. We'd prefer lengthening Christia to Christiana or shortening it to Christa.
Zakk
Hebrew, Short form of Zachary
"the Lord has remembered"
Zakk is an ekstra-kinetic spelling of a short form that's more and more often standing on its own, also as Zac, Zak, Zach, and Zack. This version is largely associated with musician Zakk Wylde.
Bohan
Irish, anglicized form of Old Gaelic Buadhachain
"victorious"
The surname of influential French fashion designer Marc Bohan could make a modern-sounding two-syllable boy's name, though it might be confused with Bowen.
Malina
Feminine form of Malcolm or spelling variation of Melina or Polish, Bulgarian, Serbian
"raspberry"
Malina is a synthetic-feeling name that may be a feminization of the Scottish Malcolm or a spelling twist on the Greek Melina and that also has a fruit meaning in several Eastern European languages.…
Claes
Swedish and Dutch variation of Klaes, form of Nicholas
"victory of the people"
Pronounced klaus, this spelling of the name is associated in this country with the major Pop Art sculptor Swedish-born Claes Oldenburg, known for his colossal public sculptures of everyday objects…
Sem
Dutch form of Shem, Russian short form of Semyon, Hebrew
"name; he has heard"
A popular name in the Netherlands that's arguably more attractive than the original, Sem is a Dutch variant of the Biblical Shem who was one of the sons of Noah. Only ever given to a handful of boys…
Zack
Short form of Zachary or Zachariah
As the common short form of Zachary or, more unusually, Zachariah, Zack is less intuitive than Zach or Zac in terms of spelling but clearer in terms of pronunciations. Maybe because it rhymes with…