Parents are more often putting nicknames — such as Charlie and Mia — directly on the birth certificate these days. Sometimes they like the nickname better than the formal name, sometimes they want more control over what their child is actually called, and sometimes they simply see the short form as cuter, more modern, and more stylish than its proper equivalent.

Along with Charlie and Mia, other nickname names in the US Top 1000 include Archie, Dash, Elsie, Gus, Hattie, Maisie, Rory, and Theo. Rare nickname names with the potential to be future hits include Alfie, Coco, Mamie, and Renzo.

While some nicknames here, such as Rory and Eli, are full names in their own right, they make the list because they can be short forms of longer names, such as Aurora and Elijah. Other names, such as Archie, Leo, and Mia, have been used as full names for so long that they're more widely used than their proper forms.

And then there are the nicknames that have more recently found their footing as proper names. We'd count Ellie, Evie, and Alfie among this group.

Some nickname names you might want to consider for your own baby include the following.

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