User-created list
By Kate_Elaine
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Diminutive of Catherine, Greek
"pure"
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.
Japanese or Chinese
"tenderness, gentleness; gold"
Similarity to the English name Jean could be a plus in a Japanese-American or Chinese-American family.
Diminutive of Alexis and Alexandra
"man's defender"
Lex is still used mostly for boys, but like Alex, may cross over with the rising popularity of all long forms of the name. Lexi is another, more feminine option.
Irish, English
"intoxicating"
An Anglicized form of Medb borrowed by both Shakespeare and Percy Bysshe Shelley for the of queen of the fairies. Perfect if you want something both adventurous and simple - though you could use it…
Diminutive of Margaret, Greek
"pearl"
Meg, perennially one of the Little Women, is a Margaret short form that manages to be neither quite in nor quite out of style. Meg is sleeker and more sophisticated than Maggie, more contemporary…
Japanese
"fact, reality, understand; distant; defy"
A simple, importable Japanese name, that carries a multitude of meanings depending on which character is used to denote it. While most westerners pronounced it RY-o or REE-o, its real pronunciation…
Diminutive of Valentina, Valerie, etc, Latin
"strength, health"
Occasionally used as an independent name, but why.
Diminutive of Alexander
"defending men"
With the plethora of Alexes around, Xan (and Xander) have emerged as hot new nicknames for Alexander. Xan also stands well on its own. It can be found--not surprisingly--in several computer games.