Name Spellings, Initials and Sounds
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 9 pages
of 9
English diminutive of Kimberly; Vietnamese; Scandinavian diminutive of Joachima; Soviet name
Kim was the coolest name... of the 1960s. Kim was popularized by actress Kim Novak, and its energy is still maintained by rapper Lil' Kim, but it holds lil' or no appeal for new babies. Parents who…
Arabic
"light"
Hebrew
"happiness"
Pronounced zheel, it's a dashing conquistador; as gill, it's the nice and slightly boring guy down the street.
Igbo, Polish, diminutive of Alicja
"nobility"
Ala is the Igbo earth goddess whose symbol is the crescent moon. In a very different vein, Ala can be a diminutive for Alicja or Alexandra or really any other name with an A at both ends and an L in…
Welsh
"fair, blessed"
Extremely popular in Wales, where it began as a nickname for someone with fair hair or a fair face, this bright and simple name is a winner by its very nature. Can also be spelled Wynn, Winn or the…
Diminutive of Jebediah, Hebrew
"beloved friend"
Both Jeb and Jed are very attractive Old Testament short forms with long and bright futures. Jeb's main current association is with the Bush brother and former governor of Florida, but the name was a…
Japanese
"meditation"
Xen and Zen, both pronounced the same way, are two hip new spiritual word names from Buddhist practice. Among the celebrity set, Corey Feldman has a Zen and Tisha Campbell Martin's son is Xen.
Nickname name
Could be a short form of Sylvia, Olivia, or any other similar name. Or a vivid Italian word name.
Al is a masculine name that primarily functions as a shortened form of names beginning with 'Al,' such as Albert (meaning 'noble and bright'), Alfred ('wise counselor'), Alexander ('defender of the…
Diminutive of Melanie
"black, dark"
Not one but two Spice Girls are named Mel, which led to it briefly being more popular for girls than boys in the 90s and early 00s, but it has now fallen out of favor for both sexes.
Norwegian and Swedish variation of Thor, Hebrew, English
"thunder; turtledove; victor; hill, rocky peak"
An interesting and attractive multicultural choice, Tor packs a lot in to three letters. It may be used as a modern form of Þórr (Thor) , the name of the Norse thunder god or as a short form of…
Diminutive of Zachary, Hebrew
"the Lord has remembered"
This zippy short form of Zachary is more and more often standing on its own -- sometimes as Zac, Zach, Zack, or even Zakk -- but this simple-yet-straightforward version may be the very best.
Diminutive of Zebediah or Zebulon, Hebrew
"gift of God, exaltation, or little dwelling"
Short and to-the-point, it turns an ancient biblical name into a friendly cowboy.
Germanic, Slavic
"yew wood, archer; God is gracious"
Succinct, stylish, and catchy, Ivo has the energetic impact of other names ending in -o . It is a multicultural choice with two distinct origins, and, as such, is familiar across a variety of…
"rain, dew"
A unisex Hebrew name often found in combination with others, as in Tal-El and Tal-Or.
Armenian
"king"
Ara is a unique boys' name that one of the most melodious in the Armenian name pool, familiarized by Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian. In Armenian mythology, Ara was a king so handsome that a…
English, diminutive of Moses
"delivered"
If Gus and Max have made it, why not Moe? Can it be the lingering Three Stooges effect? We think that Moe, like Joe, is one of the friendliest and most open of regular guy nickname names and should…
"deer"
An alternative transcription of Tzvi, the latter of which is a Top 100 pick in Israel. It's a cool, sharp-sounding micro name which would make for a great distinctive alternative to Levi.
African
"season's beginning"
Kia is a sweet, simple name that is now, unfortunately, associated with a Korean car label. Better today: Nia, Thea, or Keira.
English, diminutive of Dorothy
Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name.
