By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 143 pages
of 143
Diminutive of Samuel, and Arabic
"exalted"
Soundalike cousin of Sammy, cute but slight on its own.
Variation of Giovanni, Spanish, Hebrew
"God is gracious"
A spelling variation of the Hispanic Jovanni, itself a variation of the Giovanni, the Italian form of traditional John. This form may also be used by English speaking parents, hoping to make the…
Diminutive of Santiago, Santino, or Santana, Spanish or Portuguese, Thai
"saint; peace"
Santi is a cute short form of these names popular in Central and South America, but it can also be considered a Thai name, meaning "peace".
Diminutive of Isaiah and Isaias, spelling variation of Esai
This form, coming from various elements, has started to take off on its own.
Derivation and meaning unknown
Fans of versatile, rising African- American actor Mekhi Phifer have begun to adopt his unusual first name for their sons.
Arabic or Hawaiian
"benevolence; sea"
Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik notably chose this name for their daughter in 2020, as a variation of Gigi's grandmother's name, Khairiah. In 2021, the name caught on for boys — Khai was a new debut on the…
Sekani, Tumbuka
"people on the rocks; laugh"
Sekani was the fastest-rising boy name of 2019, inspired by the character Sekani Carter in the 2018 movie The Hate U Give . The Sekani, also spelled Tse’khene, are a First Nations culture in Canada.…
Swahili
"comforter, bringer of consolation"
Coolly attractive African name, with distinguished representatives in sports and literature. Jabari has been on the rise recently, returning to the US Top 1000 in 2023.
English, Latin American
"god is gracious"
A respelling of Giovanni which makes the Italian pronunciation – three syllables, rather than four – more clear. Jovani and its variant Jovanni were both Top 1000 picks for the first decade and a…
Jahkai appears to be a modern masculine name that combines several phonetic elements found in contemporary naming practices. The 'Jah-' prefix may draw from several possible influences, including…
Igbo, Persian, "sir; mister; protected by the moon.
In Igbo, Mazi is a term of respect used to greet elders (and others), likely originated among the Aro people. Some Igbo cultures use Mazi to refer to men once their fathers have passed away. There…
Hindi
"sun; conferring"
A title of the Hindu sun god, made cross-culturally famous by sitar player Ravi Shankar.
Variation of Malachi, Hebrew
"my messenger"
Malachi is one of the surprise Biblical hits of recent years, in the US Top 200, and now spelling variation Malaki is in the Top 1000 too. Both names are pronounced with a long final i , as in "eye,"…
Spelling variation of Giovanni
Giovanni is Italian for John, and Giovani is a not-really-correct spelling variation. Regardless, it has charted in the US for 16 of the past 17 years, peaking at Number 500 in 2011.
Diminutive of Benjamin
Benji is undeniably cute, much in the way of a — yes, an adorable movie mutt. Ben is the handsome traditional short form of Benjamin, but Benji makes a more unexpected nickname
Arabic
"leader, guide"
Short and friendly in sound but with a strong meaning, Hadi is a name of Arabic origin, that appears in one of the names of Allah, al-Hadi.
Bohdi is a masculine name that represents a variation of the more traditional spelling 'Bodhi.' The name comes from Sanskrit origins meaning 'awakening' or 'enlightenment' and is significant in…
Sakai is a distinctive Japanese surname that has emerged as a rare given name internationally. In Japanese, it can mean 'boundary' or 'border,' derived from geographical locations where different…
Hebrew, spelling variation of Malachi
In the Bible, Malachi, was the last of the twelve Hebrew prophets, who foretold the coming of Christ. This alternate spelling, which promotes the popular nickname Kai, is given to over 100 boys each…
Hungarian, Slavic diminutive; variant of Bodhi "God protect the king; divine gift; enlightenment"
"God protect the king; divine gift; enlightenment"
Bodi is a succinct and friendly looking name, with a number of possible origins. One one hand, it could be a diminutive of the Hungarian Boldizsár, which ultimately derives from the Babylonian…
