Names That Mean Form

Sometimes, a new name is created by lopping off the first letter or letters.  Such is the case with Abrielle, which feels like Gabrielle without its shirt.

Abrielle

Alita is a girls' name threatening to break into the Top 1000. There are many possible sources of this name, but the most plausible is that it's a short form for the popular Spanish name Adelita, a relative of Adele and Adeline.

Alita

Antoni

Less used than Liv or Livvy, Ollie is a boyish nickname for girls, sometimes used for Olivia and Olive. Currently out of the US charts, you might be surprised to learn that Ollie actually ranked more highly for girls than boys in the US between the 1890s and the 1950s. Around 975 girls were given the name in 1919 when it ranked alongside Claire, Goldie, and May.

These days, Ollie is more likely to be chosen as a given name for boys: it's in the England and Wales Top 150, and in the US, Ollie was used two and a half times more often for boys than girls.
 
Usually said to derive from Olivia and Olive (meaning "olive tree"), Ollie could also work for names like Ottilie, Isolde, Ophelia, Apolline, Nicola, and so on.

Ollie

Aris is typically a masculine name in Greek, connected to the ancient Greek god of war, Ares, or to Aristoteles, meaning "the best purpose". As a feminine name, however, it could be considered a short for of girl names beginning with the "Aris-" prefix, usually interpreted as meaning "the best".
 
In a recent year, it was chosen for 82 girls in the US, compared to 117 boys, which in the UK, it is a Top 500 name for boys.

Aris

Diesel, which you can think of as a word name for the fuel or as a German surname that derives from a pet form of Matthew or Mathias, is a new entry to the American name lexicon thanks to celebrities Jennie Finch and Casey Daigle, who chose it for their son, baby brother of Ace.  Diesel might also be thought of as one of the neo-macho names, joining such bros as Harley, Ranger, and Breaker.

Diesel

There's more than one reason why parents might consider this rising name for a daughter. George Eliot was the pen name of English writer Mary Ann Evans, one of the leading authors of the Victorian era. The possibility of nickname Ellie is another factor. 

Girls have been given all possible spellings, including Eliot, Elliot, and Elliott. Lately Elliotte has emerged as a feminine form, used almost exclusively for girls in the US. The -otte ending mimics Charlotte; Eliotte is also occasionally found. 

NFL player Jason Kelce and podcaster wife Kylie named their second daughter Elliotte, helping to popularize this spelling. Eliette is sometimes seen in France.

Elliotte

Angus is a traditional yet stylish choice in the UK, especially in Scotland. And it's a cool choice for US parents too, particularly those whose roots go back to Glasgow. The ancient Celtic form Oenghus has important historical overtones in Scotland, and the Gaelic form Aonghas is associated with two distinguished modern poets. In Irish folklore, Angus Og is a chieftain-lord who used his magical powers for the pleasure and prosperity of mankind--and in Irish myth, Aonghus was the god of love and youth.
 These days, Angus is even more popular in Australia than Scotland, possibly due to the fame of Scottish-born Australian musician Angus Young, lead guitarist and co-founder of the seminal rock band AC/DC.
 Other pop culture references: Angus was the first name of TV's McGyver and the young actor who plays the half man on Two and a Half Men is Angus T. Jones. Angus Wilson was a noted British novelist and short story writer.

Angus

Though as a formal name Rusty is a little, well, rusty, it spent half a century among the Top 1000, departing only in 1995. Only 45 baby boys received the name in the US in one recent year and it's difficult to imagine it as the winning choice of many modern parents. Whether you want an informal name or a spin on a traditional name or even a word name or a name that means red, there are simply too many better options.

Rusty

Laina owes is popularity not to mother name Elaine but to the much-more-popular Lainey, a fixture in the US Top 100 and still rising. Laina was used for about 100 baby girls last year.

Laina, Lainey, and Laine might make contemporary honor names for grandma Helen or Ellen, from which they ultimately derive.

Laina

Now that Theodora (and Dorothea) are back, the adorable Teddi might work again for a baby girl. Teddi fits the rising trend of boyish nicknames for girls - alongside picks like Leni and Charlie. 
 
Former The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills castmember, and daughter of John Mellencamp, Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave is a famous bearer of this name. Around 50 baby girls receive this name each year in the US.

Teddi

Kyrie elieson is one of the oldest religious refrains, meaning Lord, have mercy. As a first name, though, Kyrie is less a name of God and more a nickname-name that might be short for Kyra or a diminutive that stands on its own, a la Kylie. The best-known Kyrie is the male basketball player Kyrie Irving, who pronounces the first syllable to rhyme with my rather than fear. He has inspired more than 1000 baby boys to be given this name one recent year in the US, while it was given to 178 baby girls. Impressive numbers.

Kyrie

Dave is the ultimate good guy name, but where father name David is still holding onto a spot in the Top 20, Dave -- widely used as an independent name in the middle of the last century -- dropped off the Top 1000 a few decades ago and shows no signs of a comeback.  

Baby Davids today, often named for dad or grandpa, are more likely to be called David than Dave.

Dave

Festive name of the wife of Salvador Dali. In Spanish, Gala comes from the Roman name Galla, a feminine form of Gallus meaning "rooster" or "a person from Gaul".

Gala

Sometimes considered a rare feminine form of Simon or Simeon, in turn giving it the meaning "to hear, to listen", Simea also appears in the 2024 Disney movie, Moana 2. In this case, the name is a twist on Samea (the director David Derrick Jr's daughter's name) which could come from the Arabic Samiya ("high") or from the Hebrew Samuel ("name of God").
 
Simea made its entrance to the US stats in 2025 when it was one of the fastest rising debuts of the year.

Simea

Russian, Belarusian, Romanian and Bulgarian form of Andrew

Andrei

Parents who love the great English novelist Jane Austen may choose this spelling of the popular name Austin to honor the author of Emma and Pride and Prejudice. 

Austen

This grandpa-esque nickname, traditionally short for masculine names like Osmond, Oscar, or Oswald, is starting to get traction on its own, thanks to its cool, zippy sound. In the Top 1000 for boys in the UK and the US, it given to almost 550 American babies in 2024, 60 of them girl. And Jack Osbourne gave it celebrity cred when he named his newborn daughter Ozzy after his late dad.
 Derived from the Old English element os meaning "God" or "divine", or from the Irish oss meaning "deer", Ozzy can also be spelled as Ozzie, or for those outside of Australia, Aussie. 
 
 If you love the idea of Ozzy but want something a bit more substantial, you could consider it as a nickname to August or Augusta, Odessa, Océane or Ocean, Ostara, Theodosia, Zosime, or Dolores.

Ozzy

Zeno, the name of two ancient philosophers, has a muscular dynamism that's lightened by its cheerful final vowel, resulting in a kind of offbeat sci-fi feel. Zeno of Citium was the founder of the Stoic school of thought, Zeno of Elea was another early, original Greek thinker, famed for his Paradoxes.
 Zeno Cosini is the protagonist of the Italo Svevo novel Confessions of Zeno.

Zeno

This Latin name, also spelled Alida, has come into focus via the interesting character of Aleida Diaz on Orange is the New Black, the mother of Dayanara. In real life, Che Gueverra named a daughter Aleida.