Alternatives to Abigail

For those who are trying to nudge Abeleen, the Texas place-name, toward Adeline, the stylish girls' name. Unfortunately, you arrive somewhere short of a happy medium.

Abbie is a gently old-fashioned nickname name that owes its rising popularity to Top 10 Abigail. Abby may be the more usual spelling today.

Gently old-fashioned stand-alone nickname that owes its popularity to mega popular Abigail.

A pretty name heard in the Louisiana Cajun community, Abella would fit right in with all the other, more familiar, bella names.

More than the sum of Abby and Ella.

Old-fashioned nickname with sweet turn-of-the-last-century charm that's become a favorite among the popular girl names starting with A of today. In fact, with all spellings of Adeline/Adalynn taken together firmly in the Top 10, and Adelaide and Addison also high in the charts, Addie is one of the most frequently-heard short forms around. But no matter how popular (or pandemic) it gets, Addie is undeniably one of the cutest names for baby girls. Little girls might like the fact that it's the name, though spelled Addy, of an American Girl series doll.

This name has become increasingly popular, though usually with the Addie spelling. In fact, Addy/Addie has taken over for Maddie and Allie as one of the most frequently-heard short forms for a range of also-popular formal names, including Adeline, Adalynn, Adeliaide, and Addison. As Addy, it's the name of an American Girls doll.

Adelaide is now heading straight uphill on the coattails of such newly popular sisters as Ava, Ada, and Audrey, and in the company of Adeline and Amelia. It was chosen by actress Katherine Heigl for the name of her second daughter.

Agatha until recently summoned up visions of martyred saints, mauve silk dresses, and high lace collars, but now that some dauntless excavators have begun to resurrect it, we're sure more will follow their lead. Actor Thomas Gibson used it for his daughter in 2004.

Mauve-tinted nickname with vintage charm that could just follow in the footsteps of ABBIE. More prominent now as the nickname for the Texas A&M sports teams.

Agnes is the Latin variation of the name Hagne, which itself derived from the Greek word hagnos, meaning "chaste." In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as a girl's name. Agnes Grey is the title of one of the two novels written by Anne Brontë.

Amabel is an older name than Annabel and a lot more distinctive. Amabel was a very common name in the twelfth and thirteen centuries, then was revived during the nineteenth century British fad for medieval names.

Amy is the English variation of the Old French name Amée—Aimée in modern French. Amée was a translation of the Latin name Amata, which derived from amatus, meaning "beloved." Other spelling variations include Amie and Ami.

Anna has become the dominant form of the Ann family, offering a touch of the international to English speakers and a bit more style than the oversimplified Ann or Anne.

This is a charming name that rose steeply along with other-belle names, such as Isabelle, until the horror film Annabelle and its sequels knocked it out of favor. Made famous by the Edgar Allen Poe poem Annabel Lee. Annabelle is saucy and stylish, a tad upscale, has a sense of humor, is melodious and lively, but is unfortunately off its peak.