Three Letter Names for the Gays

The sidekick in almost every movie or TV show with an Italo-American setting, this once common name has now fallen onto the endangered list, given to fewer than 50 baby boys each year.

One of the sweet simple unisex names balanced enough to stand on its own.

Friendly but substantial.

Fiery but slight middle name choice; much more apt to be a redhead's nickname.

Taj is a cool-sounding name reflecting the magnificence of the seventeenth-century Indian Taj Mahal, chosen by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler for his son.

Pronounced zheel, it's a dashing conquistador; as gill, it's the nice and slightly boring guy down the street.

One of the most familiar, and assertive, names found throughout the Middle East and India, Ram has an assertive and solid air about it. Derived from a number of different origins, in English speaking countries, it may also be considered a word name, associated with a horned male sheep — or a form of computer memory.

Tim is a boyish short form occasionally given on its own. There were 37 baby boys named Tim in the US last year, versus over 1700 named Timothy.

Though short and brisk, no nickname name could have a more creative image. Comic actor Chris O'Dowd named his son Art, as in his native Ireland it's used as a name on its own, separate from Arthur., coming from an ancient word for ""a bear,"" and used in the sense of ""outstanding warrior"" or ""champion."" A pagan High King of Ireland, Art’s rule was so honest that two angels hovered over him in battle.

Though most Mels are playing pinochle with Murray and Morris, there was a notable Saint Mel. He is one of the earliest Irish saints, a nephew of St. Patrick. He became a priest, then built a great monastery where he served as abbot.

The original Pip was the main character in Great Expectations (full name Philip Pirrip). Cute for a tike, maybe too cute for an adult.

Ron is a masculine name that functions both as a standalone name and as a shortened form of longer names like Ronald, Aaron, or Byron. Ronald, its most common source, derives from the Old Norse 'Rögnvaldr,' meaning 'ruler's advisor' or 'decision maker.'

Rey, a Ray-soundalike that has ranked on the boys' side for the past 15 years, is about to get more popular for girls too, now that it's the name of the new heroine of the latest Star Wars movie. While the sound of the name is nothing new, the royal connection is, joining names such as Reign (Kardashian) and Charlotte (the new Princess) in an expansive definition of royal baby names.

Cool short form of Alexander, fresher than Alex and less trendy than Xander... for now.

Old-time nickname that's following in the fashionable footsteps of cronies Jake and Sam. Abe feels both fresher and cuter -- which is maybe the same thing? -- than those choices right now. You can also get to Abe via Abel, which may prove a friendlier formal name than the gray-bearded Abraham.

Often stands alone in Israel, but rarely here.

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.

With the rising popularity of Kai, this more phonetic spelling has been gaining traction as well. Kye debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2015, and was one of the fastest-rising names of the year in 2016.

May be the most modern, stylish Catherine nickname: more unusual than Kate or Cate, with an animal and word name edge. Cat Power is a trendy folksinger.