A classic Italian name still heard in the Italian-American community. Once tainted by the association with the Spanish dictator, it's now more likely to call up actor James Franco.

Spirited and bubbly, but handsome and preppy too, Darby is a surname style choice that fits in well with the likes of Alby and Lennox.

Upper-crusty nickname occasionally used in Britain, particularly in 1930s novels featuring significant garden party scenes, but eclipsed here by Carrie et al.

Francie is one of the most neglected nicknames for Frances, despite having more style value than Franny and Fanny and being more unique than Frankie. We'd love to see it get more use, whether as a Frances short form or as an independent name.

Carlotta has a large measure of finger-snapping charm and substance — despite being a not too pleasant character in The Little Mermaid. Carlotta is also the diva/prima donna in The Phantom of the Opera, and there was an Empress Carlotta of Mexico.

Lotte is a short form of Charlotte and a name used in its own right in Scandinavia as well as Dutch- and German-speaking countries. It’s unlikely to catch on in the US, where even Lottie hasn’t reached its full potential. Unisex Charlie will remain Charlotte’s nickname of choice for the foreseeable future.

Romantic, and classy, this variation heats up Caroline and modernizes Carol, adding a southern accent. A popular choice in Portugal, Spain, Mexico, and Italy, it recently entered the US Top 500.

Carrie lives on mainly on the screen, as the new/old antiheroine of Stephen King's classic Carrie, as turn-of-the-21st-century diva Carrie Bradshaw of Sex & The City, and as Claire Danes' Emmy-winning character Carrie Mathison of Homeland.

The phonetic Carolyn spelling, which was very popular from the 1920s to the '60s, has been steadily on the wane while Caroline herself has stayed strong.

Charlene is a Charlotte variation that, along with similar names like Arlene and Marlene, spiked in popularity in the 1940s and fifties, reaching a high of Number 100 in 1949. Most parents today would prefer one of the note classic versions -- or even nickname Charlie.

Dermot is an appealing, relatively undiscovered Irish mythological hero's name long popular in the Old Country, and imported into the American consciousness by actor Dermot Mulroney. We see it in the next Celtic wave following Connor and Liam.

Charlize is a name that owes its very life to a star: elegant blond South African actress Charlize Theron. She was named after her father, whose name was Charles. Charlize jumped onto the popularity lists in 2004, the year the actress won the Oscar for lead actress in Monster.

Franz is the German equivalent to Francis, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a Franz outside of countries with Germanic origins. In America the name is often associated with celebrated author Franz Kafka, who was born in Prague.

As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now.

Saoirse meets Orla (or Orlaith), Saorla blends with elements soer and flaith giving it the meaning "free ruler, free princess". It ranked in the Irish Top 100 back in the early 2020s, but is rare elsewhere.

Shortening Francisco somehow makes it sound even cooler. Cisco is also the name of a digital security company.

One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom.

Carlota is the preferred version of Charlotte in Spain and Portugal, each where it ranks among the Top 50 most popular girl names. Carlotta, with two Ts, is the Italian spelling.

Less known internationally than Saoirse and Orla, but equally appealing, Saorla is also spelled Saorlaith or Saorfhlaith. It combines the elements soer and flaith giving it the meaning "free ruler, free princess".

Charlie in all its forms has been a popular gender neutral name since the early 2000s and is now given almost equally to girls and boys. While it did once lean more (statistically) masculine, it has been used on girls too since the before the 20th century.