Baby Boy Names: The long and short of it

Baby Boy Names: The long and short of it

A friend is searching for baby boy names that start out long – three or more syllables long – and can be reduced to one-syllable nicknames.

If you’ve got a two-syllable last name, this is a good strategy. You end up with not one but two euphonic pairings. And your child has the benefit of a proper, even imposing formal name as well as a short, friendly, accessible nickname.

Some stylish options for long baby names with short nicknames for boys:

Abraham – Abe or Bram

Alexander – Lex or Xan

Augustine or Augustus — Gus

Balthazar or Lazarus – Zar

Casimir — Cas

Edison – Ed or Ned

Ezekiel — Zeke

Finnian or Finnegan or Phineas — Finn

Frederick — Fred

Gabriel — Gabe

Isaiah – I or Zay

Jebediah — Jeb

Jedediah — Jed

Josiah – Joe

Jupiter — Jupe

Leopold – Lee

Ludovic or Ludovico — Lu

Macarthur, Macgregor – Mack

Matthias – Matt

Maximilian — Max

Nathaniel – Nat or Nate

Octavio or Octavius — Tav

Ozias – Oz

Rafael or Rafferty – Rafe

Sebastian – Bas or Seb

Solomon – Sol

Sullivan – Van

Thaddeus – Thad

Valentine — Val

Whitaker – Whit

Zebulon or Zebediah — Zeb

RELATED:

One-syllable boy names

Two-syllable boy names

About the Author

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond is the cocreator and CEO of Nameberry and Baby Name DNA. The coauthor of ten groundbreaking books on names, Redmond is an internationally-recognized baby name expert, quoted and published widely in such media outlets as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. She has written about baby names for The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, and People.

Redmond is also a New York Times bestselling novelist whose books include Younger, the basis for the hit television show, and its sequel, Older. She has three new books in the works.