Names That Mean Form

Emiliya

Eugenie enjoyed a major dusting off when Fergie and Prince Andrew chose it for their daughter, restoring a patina of royal sheen it hadn't had since the time of Napoleon III's glamorous empress--who spent much of her life in England. It was also borne by Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, after whom Prince Andrew's younger daughter was named.
 Eugenie is the title character of a Balzac novel, Eugenie Grandet and also the full name of Scarlet and Rhett's daughter, nicknamed Bonnie Blue because of the color of her eyes, in Gone With the Wind.
 The elegant Eugenie is pronounced differently in different countries. The princess says YOO-zjen-ee while the French pronunciation is more like oo-ZJAY-nee and the Germans say oy-GAIN-ee-ah.

Eugenie

Commonly used in Russia, has an Old World Slavic feel.   The original Galen can be used for girls as well as boys.

Galina

This Slavic variation would make a pleasant and slightly more unusual alternative to Johanna or Giovanna.

Jovana

Sharp attractive short form which has a nautical translation in German: "keel" (although it isn't used as a name there). Fun fact: the similarly spelt Kieł is the name of Hagrid's dog Fang in the Polish translation of Harry Potter.

Kiel

A pretty and plausible Latin name that's gotten a bad rap through the years via a link to Lucrezia Borgia, who, though long considered a demon poisoner, was actually a patron of learning and the arts.
 Lucretia is a U.S. First Lady name, borne by the wife of President James A. Garfield; a worthy namesake is Lucretia Mott, a Quaker abolitionist, and peace and women's rights advocate.
 In the Harry Potter saga, Lucretia Black Prewett is a pure-blood witch.

Lucretia

More often spelled Nika, this is a well-used diminutive for the Eastern European Veronika, and there's no reason that the same principle can't apply in the West. It makes a venerated saint's name sound fresh and cute.


Nica

Saint Roderic was a priest in Spain who was persecuted by the Moors. Another form of this name is Ruderic.

Roderic

A name with a bouncy yet earthy sound, Saba is the Georgian and Italian form of Sabas, a Judeo-Spanish name from the Aramaic language. Borne by several early saints, Sabas means "grandfather" or "old man", which could make Saba a subtle way to honor your grandpa, or perfect for a baby seems to already look a bit like his grandad.
 
Appearing as Savva in Russian, Sava in Serbian, and as Savvas in Greek, it may be worth noting that Saba is also used as: a Persian girl name meaning "soft breeze", a short form of Sabrina (associated with the River Severn), and as a Sami boy name meaning "pole, stick".
 
It has also been used as a nickname for Solomon (as in the case of footballer Solomon "Saba" Kvirkvelia).

Saba

A feminine form of Thomas, popular in Spain in the first half of the 20th century, it also ranked in the US Top 1000 in the 1920s. Parents may have been inspired by the Spanish Roman Catholic Nun, Tomasa Oritz Real, who devoted her life to looking after ill and orphaned children, and who had died in 1916, shortly before the name gained traction. 



Tomasa

A stripped back form of the Biblical Theophilus, notably borne by the 18th century architect Theophil Hansen.


Theophil

A modern-meet-vintage fusion name, Wyla is a mixture of Willa, Wiley, Twyla and Lyla. Likely invented as a feminine form of Wiley, it may have its origins in the classic William ("resolute protector") or in the English place names: Willey ("clearing of willows") or Wylye (a river, whose name means "tricky"). 
 
Wyla first appeared in the US stats in 1924, then was absent until 2017. Since then, it has been given to a small handful of girls each year.

Wyla

Its jaunty o-ending makes this name more appealing than most of its Germanic brothers, and we hope we're beyond the constant response to his name being "Where's Waldo?" The weighty reputation of writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson adds a measure of backbone to the name.
 In tribute to Ralph Waldo, many babies were given those two names, including Ralph (Waldo) Ellison, author of Invisible Man.
 In popular culture, the young Robert Redford played the dashing titular character in The Great Waldo Pepper and Waldo Lydecker was a key character in the haunting classic film Laura.

Waldo

Arzu was once a popular baby name in Turkey, ranking as high as Number 14 in 1980. Now, it's more of a Turkish mom name, although it remains a common choice for babies in Azerbaijan, where Arzu has been in the Top 100 since records began in 2015.

Arzu

Modern, mini nickname for Rebecca, much fresher than Becca or Becky.

Emmelina, which can rhyme with "keener" or "liner", is a frillier and much less common version of Emmeline. While Emmeline was in the US Top 1000 girl names in 2022, Emmelina was given to fewer than 5 girls, so it didn't even make it into the extended baby name charts.

Emmelina

A short, succinct nickname in tune with Bill and Bram, Bon is notably associated with  AC/DC rock star "Bon" Scott (born Ronald and nicknamed in honor of "Bonnie Scotland"). 

Ranking in the Polish Top 200, Estera is a variation on the classic Esther. Possibly deriving from Ishtar, the Near Eastern Goddess of fertility, love, and war, or from Persian, to mean "star", Estera is also associated with the myrtle trees, via Hadassah, the Biblical Esther's original Hebrew name.
 
Notably borne by Romanian wrestler, Estera Dobre, Estera shares the flair of Estella and Estrella, and the classic feel of Esther.

Estera

A short but punchy name of Danish and Norwegian origin, Gyda could be a variation of the Old Norse name Guðríðr meaning "beautiful goddess", or it could be derived from the word yðja meaning "priestess" or "lady of status".
 
The English form of the name is Gytha or Githa, while the Icelandic variant is Gyða. Gyda also coincides with a Welsh word meaning "joint, together, with, one of".

Gyda

The handsome Italian variant of Caesar, a name synonymous with Julius, leadership, emperors, and salad, Cesare offers a form with plenty of flair. A rising choice in Italy where it recently made the Top 50, it is pronounced with three syllables: CHEH-za-reh (or CHEH-za-ray among English speakers). 
 
The exact etymology of the name is debated, but theories include that it means "hairy" (or more favorably, "long haired") or "to cut". 
 
Notable historic bearers include Cesare Lombroso (considered the founder of modern criminology, though also a eugenicist) and Cesare Borgia (a cardinal, nobleman, and illegitimate son to Pope Alexander VI, also considered the inspiration behind Machiavelli's The Prince). 
 
More recently, it has been worn by footballer Cesare Casadei.