User-created list
Spiky Names
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Kiki
French nickname and Japanese
"double happiness"
Kiki is one of the Coco-Gigi-Fifi-Lulu bohemian-type French nickname names from the turn of the last century, which have endless energy and sparkle. Artist Kiki Smith is its most well-known…
Kirk
Norse
"church"
Far more friendly and open than similar one-syllable names like Kent, Kurt, and Karl, it's been associated for more than half a century with actor Kirk Douglas, whose birth name was Issur…
Mickey
Diminutive of Michael, Hebrew
"who is like God?"
Pugnacious and spunky like the young Mickey Rooney and the original Mickey Mouse, but virtually never given to babies today.
Pete
Diminutive of Peter
"rock"
Sixties-style short form that sounds cool again -- though the unscrupulous Pete on "Mad Men" is not a character to emulate.
Kitt
Variation of Kit, diminutive of Christopher and Katherine
The extra 'T' makes this nickname name a little more substantial.
Tina
Diminutive of Christina et al
Tina, despite its petite and tinkly image, is apt these days to be replaced by the more elegant originals, Christina and Martina.It does have some strong namesakes, though, in Tina Turner (born Anna…
Bridgit
Bridgit is a feminine variant of Bridget, which ultimately derives from the Irish name Brighid, meaning 'exalted one' or 'strength.' Brighid was the name of an ancient Celtic goddess associated with…
Bronte
Greek
"thunder"
This lovely surname of the three novel-writing sisters, now used as a baby name, makes a fitting tribute for lovers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights . While the original name took an umlaut over…
Wolf
Animal name or diminutive of Wolfgang, German
" traveling wolf"
Wolf is a name with a split personality. It can be seen as one of the fierce animal names, like Fox and Bear and Puma, with a touch of the werewolf, or it can be viewed as a quieter, Wolf Blitzer…
Link
Word name or diminutive of Lincoln
"ring, loop, connection; town by the pool"
Perhaps best associated today with the character from The Legend of Zelda game franchise, Link also has ties to the retro crime drama, The Mod Squad , to the presidential surname Lincoln, and of…
Kenny
Diminutive of Kenneth
Kenny might be all South Park to some, but it has been in steady use in the US since the 1930s. Singer-songwriters Kenny Chesney and Kenny Loggins were both born Kenneth.
Storm
Word name
Windswept and dramatic, but perhaps asking for trouble. Quite popular in Denmark and Sweden, where it derives from Stromr, which is a fairly common surname. Storm Thorgerson is a famous bearer of the…
Izzy
Diminutive of Isabel and Isabella
The longer Isabella stays in the Top 10—and it's been there for more than a decade—the more we hear the nickname Izzy (especially if we watch Grey's Anatomy ). it's just a matter of time before it…
Luca
Italian variation of Luke and Lucas, Hungarian variation of Lucia
"light; man from Lucania"
Very much a boy's name in Italy, it's beginning to be seen as a unisex possibility here: actress Jennie Garth used it for her daughter, as did influencers Alyssa and Dallin Johnson, When spelled…
Grey
Color name
The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Grey/Gray is one exception, which could make for a soft and evocative—if…
Zach
See Zac.
Electra
Greek
"amber, shining, bright"
Though the plays by Sophocles and Eugene O'Neill and via the "Electra Complex" proposed by psychoanalyst Carl Jung, this name has, unfortunately, become associated with incest and murder.…