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Boyish Nicknames for Girls

Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Mon Feb 03 2025
Boyish Nicknames for Girls

Boyish nicknames for baby girls are having another moment in the sun, with names like Stevie, Scottie, Frankie, and Billie among the trendiest around for baby girls.

These nicknames might be short for something -- we know a young Leonora called Leo, for instance, and a Francesca called Frankie -- but most stylishly they go straight on the birth certificate.

Boyish nicknames were popular for girls at the end of the 19th century. Mattie, Jessie, Willie, and Ollie were all among the Top 100 girl names of 1890.

The 1960s and 70s saw another wave of baby girls with boyish nicknames like Jamie, Teri, Geri, Casey, and Chris.

The boyish nicknames most stylish today include Billie as in Eilish, Stevie as in Nicks, Scout and Scottie, Charlie and Charlee, Leni and Lou. Teddie, Tommie, and Georgie are coming up on their heels.

Spelling might end with ie or i, or can revert to the y ending usually used for boys.

The boyish nicknames on this list are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

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  1. Kit

    • Origin:

      English diminutive of Katherine, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "pure"

    • Description:

      Kit is a crisp, old-time nickname with plenty of spirit and style. In the UK it's a rising star for boys, while in the US, it is trending upwards for girls too.
  2. Remi

    • Origin:

      Variation of Remy, French

    • Meaning:

      "oarsman"

    • Description:

      Remi is an adorable name that's fashionable and keeps gaining momentum. Remi entered the US Top 1000 in 2013 and is now approaching the Top 100.
  3. Scottie

    • Origin:

      English nickname

    • Meaning:

      "Scot"

    • Description:

      With its sassy, old school vibes, its cheerful, snappy sounds, and its fresh, unisex image, Scottie was one of the fastest rising names for girls in the US in 2023, and then again in 2024.
  4. Leni

    • Origin:

      German or Spanish diminutive of Lena, Elena, or Helen, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "shining torch"

    • Description:

      An up-and-coming nickname-style name, hugely popular in Germany and on the rise in the UK, Leni is stylish but sweet. Chosen for her daughter by high-profile German supermodel Heidi Klum back in 2004, Leni with its concise spelling and European feel is also on the rise in the US, alongside Lennie, Lenny, Lennox, and Lennon.
  5. Charlie

    • Origin:

      English diminutive of Charles or Charlotte, French from German

    • Meaning:

      "free man"

    • Description:

      Charlie is a friendly, boyish nickname name now used slightly more frequently for girls than boys, with over 2200 baby girls named Charlie last year versus about 2100 boys. That makes Charlie one of the most evenly-balanced and most popular unisex names around today.
  6. Rory

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "red king"

    • Description:

      Rory is a buoyant, spirited name for a redhead with Celtic roots. The name Rory is getting more popular overall, but for the past few years has been trending decidedly toward the boys' side -- however, it's been rising to new heights for girls in recent years.
  7. Ozzy

    • Origin:

      Short form of Oscar or Osborn, English or Irish

    • Meaning:

      "deer; divine"

    • Description:

      This grandpa-esque nickname, traditionally short for masculine names like Osmond, Oscar, or Oswald, is starting to get traction on its own, thanks to its cool, zippy sound. In the Top 1000 for boys in the UK and the US, it given to almost 550 American babies in 2024, 60 of them girl. And Jack Osbourne gave it celebrity cred when he named his newborn daughter Ozzy after his late dad.
  8. Billie

    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Wilhelmina, Wilma

    • Meaning:

      "resolute protection"

    • Description:

      Billie is a tomboy nickname name, part of the growing trend for using boyish nicknames for girls and now destined for stardom along with its most famous contemporary bearer, music sensation Billie Eilish.
  9. Jamie

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of James

    • Meaning:

      "supplanter"

    • Description:

      Jamie is typical of the relaxed unisex names starting with J that seemed so cool in the sixties after decades of Jeans and Joans, though now pretty tepid. Jaime and even Jamey and Jayme are alternate spellings.
  10. Stevie

    • Origin:

      Short form of Stephanie, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "garland, crown"

    • Description:

      Stevie survives as a short form of Stephanie thanks to the immortal Ms. Nicks. After a little more than a decade out of the limelight, she rejoined the US Top 1000 in 2014. It is now leading the trend of boyish nicknames for girls - standing alongside picks like Charlie and Scottie.
  11. Sunny

    • Origin:

      English nickname

    • Description:

      Upbeat nickname-name that can't help but make you smile. You might want to use it as a short form for a more "serious" name such as Sunniva, but Sunny is undeniably, well, sunny.
  12. Scout

    • Origin:

      Word name

    • Meaning:

      "one who gathers information covertly"

    • Description:

      Scout, a character nickname from To Kill a Mockingbird (her real name was Jean Louise), became a real-life possibility when Bruce Willis and Demi Moore used it for their now-grown middle daughter, followed by Tom Berenger a few years later.
  13. Teddy

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Theodora, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "gift of God"

    • Description:

      Cute boyish short forms like Teddy and Frankie and Billie are in some ways a relic of the past, of the days before unisex names, when girls were given feminized versions of their father's names, but they are starting to come into their own again.
  14. Remy

    • Origin:

      French from Latin

    • Meaning:

      "oarsman"

    • Description:

      Remy is one of those rare names that combines ancient roots with modern sleekness. Boys outnumber girls with the classic Remy spelling, girls named Remi outnumber those named Remy. With either spelling and for either gender, it's a winning choice.
  15. Jessie

    • Origin:

      Anglicized form of Teasagh or diminutive of Jessica, Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "behold or wealthy"

    • Description:

      Jessie has never been used as much as Jennie/Jenny, partly because it's a boys’ name as well (spelled Jesse), but it does have a friendly and unpretentious pioneer feel. In Scotland, it's found as an Anglicized form of Teasagh, itself a form of Jean, and is used as a full name. And in the rest of the world, Jessie may be short for Jessica or used on its own.
  16. Jude

    • Origin:

      Latin diminutive of Judith or variation of Judah, Hebrew, Arabic

    • Meaning:

      "praised; to be generous and good to others"

    • Description:

      Jude may be a popular boys' name, thanks to Jude Law, but boyish nicknames for girls - like Frankie and Teddy - are on trend and Jude is also a new way to spin Judy or Judith. It's long been used quietly for girls as well as boys, and may start to pick up steam, though as of 2024, it was given to just shy of 90 girls in the US compared to over 2000 boys.
  17. Frankie

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Frances, Latin

    • Meaning:

      "from France; free man"

    • Description:

      Frankie is a vintage nickname name for girls, with a down-to-earth country feel. It's one of the hottest boyish nicknames for girls, in the forefront of that trend.
  18. Ziggy

    • Origin:

      German, diminutive of names beginning Sig/Zig

    • Meaning:

      "victory"

    • Description:

      Fitting in with Scottie, Stevie, Frankie, and Birdie, Ziggy is a nickname-y choice that feels energetic, cutesy, and cool. Borrowing star quality from Ziggy Stardust and Ziggy Marley, Ziggy is predominantly used on boys, however, since the death of David Bowie in 2016, it has been quietly gathering attention as a girls name, with 43 babies given the name in a recent year.
  19. Rae

    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Rachel, Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "ewe"

    • Description:

      All the old ae/ay middle names for girls are back--Kay, Fay, Mae/May, --and Rae is one of the coolest, used as such by celebrities as Mark Wahlberg and Daniel Baldwin.
  20. Casey

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "brave in battle"

    • Description:

      One of the original unisex Irish surname names, energetic Casey bounced onto the scene in the 1960s, then peaked in the 1980s for both boys and girls. Today Casey is having a resurgence for both girls and boys and re-entered the charts on the girls' side, likely due to the character Kayce Dutton (pronounced like Casey) on the hit show Yellowstone.

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