Name Spellings, Initials and Sounds
Streamlined Baby Names
Across 5 pages
of 5
Tricia
Diminutive of Patricia
"noble, patrician"
Back in Patricia's midcentury heyday, Patty/Patti was the plebeian nickname while Tricia/Trisha and Tish/Trish carried a snobby-yet-insubstantial image associated with then First Daughter Tricia…
Vanna
Italian
"god is gracious"
Diminutive of the Italian Giovanna, or sometimes Vanessa or Ivanna. Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White — who pronounces her name like the end of Savannah — got her name from her grandmother's next-door…
Vanni
Vanni is a masculine name with Italian origins, functioning as both a standalone name and a diminutive of Giovanni (the Italian form of John). Its root meaning comes from the Hebrew 'Yochanan,'…
Via
Nickname name
Could be a short form of Sylvia, Olivia, or any other similar name. Or a vivid Italian word name.
Ving
Diminutive of Irving
Actor Rhames's imaginative shortening of the prosaic Irving, giving it new life and energy.
Ward
English occupational name
"guard, watchman"
Until recently Ward was, like Wally, a Cleaver name, but today's parents are seeing it as a cooler nickname for Edward than Eddie, and are also beginning to use it on its own.
Win
Diminutive of Winslow, Winthrop, or Winston, English
"friend's hill or friend's village or wine town"
Win is an upbeat, can-do name that can be a short form of one of the buttoned-up British choices above or can stand on its own. Welsh Wyn is another possibility. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell…
Xandra
Spanish, diminutive of Alexandra
"man's defender"
The initial X is pronounced like a Z. Confusing? Potentially. But there are enough Alexandras and Xanders through the Western World these days that this spelling wouldn't seem outlandish.
Zanna
Diminutive of Susanna; Polish variation of Jane, Hebrew
"lily or pledged to God"
A feminine multicultural nickname name perfectly able to stand on its own, Zanna might technically relate to either Susanna or Jane, making it a flexible honor name for an ancestral Susan or Jane or…
Ziza
Hebrew
"splendor, abundance"
A lively, zippy name that is surprisingly rare in the US. It was the name of two men mentioned in the Bible, but is feminine in modern times.
Arley
English
"from the rabbit meadow; eagle's woodland; noble"
Similar in sound to Harley, Marley, and Arlo, this surname-style name is familiar in Brazil and a Top 1000 choice in England and Wales. Pronounced as AHR-lee in English and ahr-LAY in Latin America,…
Athalie
Hebrew and French
"God is praised"
An interesting cousin of Natalie (the 'h' is silent) found in the Louisiana Cajun community, Athalie is the name of a tragedy by classic French playwright Racine.
Bastian
Diminutive or variant of Sebastian, Latin, Greek
"man of Sebastia"
A name that sounds both arty and rough-and-tumble, Bastian can be used as either a short form or a stand-alone variant of elegant Sebastian. Also spelled as Bastien, Bastiaan, and Bastían, it notably…
Becca
English diminutive of Rebecca
"servant of God"
The currently preferred replacement for Becky, sometimes used on its own.
Belle
Short form of Isabelle or French
"beautiful"
Belle has nothing but positive associations, from "belle of the ball" to "Southern belle" to the heroine of Disney's Beauty and the Beast . As if this weren't enough good things, Belle is also one of…
Bert
English, diminutive of Albert and Bertram
A once-popular nickname for Albert and Bertram now being polished up by hip Brits, but still hibernating in the Land of Nerd over here.
Berta
Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Slovene, Scandinavian variation of Bertha
"bright"
A pan-European variant of Bertha and nickname for -berta ending names, such as Alberta and Roberta. It's certainly much more appealing than its predecessor, but unlikely to become a hit in the US…
Berto
Berto is a masculine name primarily used as a diminutive of names like Alberto, Roberto, Humberto, or Norberto. It has Latin origins, derived from Germanic elements like 'beraht' meaning 'bright' or…
Beth
English diminutive of Elizabeth, Hebrew
"pledged to God"
The sweetest and most sensitive of the pet names for Elizabeth, now also one of the most dated.
Cilla
Diminutive of Priscilla
"ancient"
Takes the priss out of Priscilla.