Names That Mean Small
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- Logan
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"small hollow"Description:
According to exclusive Nameberry data, Logan is officially the Number 1 gender-neutral name in the US, but that statistic is somewhat misleading given that nearly 90 percent of the baby Logans born in 2024 were boys.
- Wren
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"small bird"Description:
Wren, a lilting songbird name, could be the next Robin. Wren entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2012 and is among the new wave of popular English names for girls.
- Lane
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"a small roadway or path"Description:
Lane is a recent hit name, that could be used for either gender, but is much more popular for boys. It's a surname that projects the pleasant picture of narrow, tree-lined country roads.
- Paul
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"small"Description:
Paul is an ancient name for boys -- popular in Roman and medieval times -- that's not very fashionable now, which can work in its favor, scarcity balancing simplicity.
- Brooke
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"small stream"Description:
Brooke has long projected an aura of sleek sophistication, and can also be seen as a stylish water name.
- Pablo
Origin:
Spanish variation of PaulMeaning:
"small"Description:
Pablo, the commonly used Spanish version of Paul, has the added bonus of some fantastic artistic bearers: painter Picasso, cellist Casals, and poet Neruda. Pablo has been consistently in the US charts since records began, and has been within the Top 500 since the mid 60s. However, Pablo has never cracked the Top 200, making it familiar but not overused or tired.
- Yara
Origin:
Arabic, Persian, Brazilian, HebrewMeaning:
"friend, helper; strength; water nymph; honeycomb"Description:
The multicultural Yara is a sweet but substantial choice that could make a more unusual take on Sara and also work in multiple languages. Popular in Portugal, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, familiar in the UK and France, it entered the US Top 1000 in 2017 and has been climbing the charts ever since.
- Rilla
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"small brook"Description:
Rilla dropped out of the US Top 1000 in 1915, but it's starting to feel like an intriguing possibility again in this age of short, sweet, a-ending names for girls. It is traditionally a short form for names ending in -rilla, like Marilla from the Anne of Green Gables books (Anne's youngest daughter is Bertha Marilla, called Rilla for short). Rilla may also derive from the German word Rille, meaning "brook; stream".
- Paulina
Origin:
Spanish, feminine variation of PaulMeaning:
"small"Description:
More stylish than either Paula or Pauline, it was given a glamour gloss by model Paulina Porizkova in the nineties.
- Yareli
Origin:
Native American, Spanish variation of Yara, ArabicMeaning:
"water lady; small butterfly"Description:
Possibly a derivative variation of Yara, a popular name in Spanish-speaking countries meaning butterfly, Yareli was given to more than 400 baby girls in the US last year.
- Glynis
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"small glen, valley"Description:
The feminine version of the common Welsh name Glyn became somewhat known in this country via the charming Welsh actress Glynis Johns. Variations include Glenys and Glynys. With other Welsh names--Gwyneth, Bronwyn, Bryn, Griffith--now on the American table, Glynis could make a distinctive tribute to an Uncle Glenn.
- Lennon
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"lover"Description:
A growing number of high-profile (and other) parents are choosing to honor their musical idols, such as Hendrix, Presley, Jagger, and now Lennon.
- Paula
Origin:
Feminine variation of Paul, LatinMeaning:
"small"Description:
Paula still seems somewhat stuck in the era of duo Paul and Paula bopping out the song "Hey, Paula." Two pronunciations are possible—the English "PAW-la" and the Portuguese "POW-la."
- Del
Origin:
English, diminutiveMeaning:
"small valley"Description:
The kind of name last found in northern Wisconsin in the 1950s, and even then it was probably a nickname for Delbert.
- Beck
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"small stream"Description:
The popular single-named alternative singer (born Bek) has given this cool nature-meets-surname name a new lease of life. Another notable bearer is Beck Weathers, a Texan pathologist who survived the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which was covered in the book and film Into Thin Air.
- Brogan
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"small shoe"Description:
Brogan is a cheerful Irish surname that would fit right in with the Logans and Br-starting names now trendy for boys. It's been on the pop list for the past three years, though it's sliding again. Its history includes Saint Brogan (Broccan in Gaelic), who was Saint Patrick's nephew and scribe.
- Brook
Origin:
English nature nameMeaning:
"small stream"Description:
Now that the popularity of Brooke is waning, and surname style variant Brooks is on the rise, Brook seems live a newly fresh nature-inspired option.
- Paulette
Origin:
French, feminine diminutive of PaulMeaning:
"small"Description:
It's interesting how names imported to the US from other countries and cultures have fashion cycles based on their culture of origin. Paulette along with cousins Annette and Claudette were the most fashionable French imports in the middle of the last century, only to sink from sight and be replaced by such current French favorites as Charlotte, Sophie, and Eloise. In general, feminizations of male names have faded in favor of gender-neutral choices, and Paul itself is off its own fashion peak.
- Vaughn
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"small"Description:
Vaughn, also commonly spelled Vaughan, has been used quietly over the years, reaching a peak of Number 349 in 1949. It is now in the process of rediscovery, being seen as a good Sean alternative or an updated way to honor an ancestral Paul (which also means small).
- Brook
Origin:
English nature nameMeaning:
"small stream"Description:
Brooke variation – or is the other way around? – that makes it more a nature name, less an eighties-style androgynous name.
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