Names That Mean Little
Across 13 pages
of 13
Anthoula
Greek
"little flower"
A lovely Greek floral name which is a diminutive of names containing the element anthos "flower, blossom", such as Anthea or Chrysanthe.
Xanthoula
Greek
"little yellow one"
Lively Greek diminutive of Xanthippi or Xanthi.
Osian
Welsh variation of Oisin, Irish
"little deer"
Actress Milla Jovovich chose this uncommon but usable Welsh boy name for her daughter in 2020. Oisin is very popular in its native Ireland.
Fio
Italian diminutive of names that start with Fio-
"flowering; little flower"
Traditionally a short form for Italian names such as Fiorella and Fiorenza, Fio could easily be put directly on the birth certificate today. The 1992 Hayao Miyazaki film Porco Rosso features a…
Corcan
Manx
"little heart"
A lovely Manx name with an even lovelier meaning.
Sarella
Judeo-Italian
"little princess"
A virtually unheard of girl name with a lot of potential — giving classic Sara an elegant and extra-princessy spin.
Cosetta
Italian, French
"little thing"
Italianate variation of Cosette, from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables .
Usti
Cherokee
"little"
A Cherokee word name. Usti's feminine counterpart, Usdi, means "baby."
Asterion
Greek
"little star, of the stars"
A starry Greek name which may appeal to those who like Aster and Orion, Asterion is borne by a number of figures in Greek mythology, including a king of Crete, one of Jason's Argonauts, and a river…
Aodhán
Irish
"little fire"
Authentic Irish Gaelic spelling of Aidan, sometimes pronounced with a very soft d/th sound in the middle.
Lytle
English surname
"little"
Lytle is a common English surname meaning, naturally, "little." Original bearers of the surname were small in stature or the younger of two connected people with the same given name.
Babe
English
"little one, infant"
Born George Herman Ruth Jr, baseball legend Babe Ruth was so nicknamed because of his youthful looks and because he was a raw talent and favorite of his first club owner Jack Dunn of the Baltimore…
Rowyn
Variation of Rowan
"rowan tree; little redhead"
While Rowan is more popular for boys, Rowyn currently only ranks for girls. Either spelling of this name is a lovely gender-neutral choice with a sweet nature connection.
Corran
Scottish Gaelic
"little spear"
Corran is an anglicization of Corraidhín, meaning "little spear", or its patronymic Ó Corraidhín. It feels familiar, thanks to the popularity of similar names like Callum, Callan and Corey, but is…
Arizona
Place-name from Papago Indian
"little springs"
This US state name has been rising slowly but steadily for girls over the last 30 years, but à la Dakota, it could easily be a male name too.
Drumlin
Irish
"little ridge"
Colman
Irish
"little dove"
Colman is best known as the name of the mustard, but is also the name of several Irish saints. The Colman spelling is less widely used than Coleman, which is just outside the Top 1000.
Piran
Cornish
"little dark one"
It may be a longshot – especially since it was given to less than 5 boys in the US in 2021 – but Piran could conceivably be a future Kieran, which is shaping up to being the next Kevin. Piran is the…
Atli
Old Norse variation of Attila
"little father"
One of the most usable names for an American child from the Icelandic Top 50.
Fishel
Yiddish
"little fish"
Animal names are very hot right now, but we don't think Fishel is likely to make a comeback.