Friday, August 23, 2013

Ias, Inas, & Itas

As much as I love the elaborate, austere appellations, I have a thing for the short & catchy--names that are compact and to the point.
I was browsing the other day, and started to think about -ina names--Nina, of course, Tina, Rina..which leads to Rita, oh, and Riya and Priya and Pia....I wonder just how many there are?
(and unless stated, these are all feminine)

  • Bia (Portuguese)
  • Diya (Arabic) [masculine]
  • Fia (Scandinavian)
  • Fria (Scandinavian)
  • Gia (English)
  • Kia (Scandinavian)
  • Lia (Italian, Portuguese)
  • Mia (English, German, Scandinavian)
  • Nia (Welsh)
  • Pia (German, Latin, Polish, Scandinavian, Spanish....)
  • Priya (Hindi)
  • Rhea (English)
  • Ria (German, Scandinavian)
  • Riya (Hindi)
  • Sia (Scandinavian)
  • Thea (English)
  • Tia (English)
  • Ziya (Arabic) [masculine]

  • Bina (German, Scandinavian)
  • Crina (Romanian)
  • Dina (Italian, Scandinavian)
  • Fina (Italian, Scandinavian)
  • Gina (English, Italian, Scandinavian)
  • Hina (Japanese)
  • Ina (everywhere with Latinate/Latinized names)
  • Kina (Swedish)
  • Lina (everywhere!) [multiple derivations]
  • Mina Dutch, English, French, German)
  • Nina (almost everywhere) [multiple derivations]
  • Rina (Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese) [multiple derivations]
  • Sina (Scandinavian)
  • Stina (Scandinavian)
  • Tina (Dutch, English, Italian)
  • Trina (English, Scandinavian)
  • Vina (Hindi)
  • Zina (Russian)

  • Brita (Scandinavian)
  • Chita (Spanish)
  • Dita (Albanian, Czech, Dutch, English, German, Scandinavian) [multiple derivations]
  • Gita (Croatian, Hindi, Scandinavian) [multiple derivations]
  • Lita (English)
  • Nita (English, Scandinavian)
  • Rita (everywhere with Latinate/Latinized names)
  • Sita (Hindi, Scandinavian) [multple derivations]
  • Vita (Croatian, Italian, Dutch, Scandinavian)
  • Zita (Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese)

Saturday, August 10, 2013

No Alternates Allowed!--Boys (2012)


Oh, my goodness! So many more boys' names from the Top 1000 than girls'! A lot of the boys' names past about 750 or so seem rather "out there" since historically, parents are more conservative with boys' names, thus girls have much wider 'naming pool'. 
I was considering cutting this list short and only using names with only one spelling from about the Top 500 - 750, but I decided "screw it". Good for the goose, good for the gander; and all that.
Plus, along with the more odd names near the bottom of this list, there are still some really nice ones. ;)

  • Robert
  • Charles
  • Thomas
  • Jose
  • Parker
  • Juan
  • Jesus
  • Diego
  • Richard
  • Sawyer
  • Alejandro
  • Jude
  • Grant
  • Harrison
  • Tucker
  • Jorge
  • Paul
  • Abraham
  • Omar
  • Peter
  • Seth
  • Travis
  • Fernando
  • Manuel
  • Mario
  • Edgar
  • Roberto 
  • Pedro
  • Frank
  • Joaquin
  • Grady
  • August
  • Keith
  • Dexter
  • Pablo
  • Ronald
  • Trent
  • Julio
  • Gideon
  • Donald
  • Raul
  • Archer
  • Walker
  • Randy
  • Saul
  • Davis
  • Bruce
  • Larry
  • Porter
  • Rodrigo
  • Hugo
  • Alberto
  • Moises
  • Arturo
  • Orlando
  • Mauricio
  • Warren
  • Jonas
  • Arjun
  • Sullivan
  • Alfredo
  • Royce
  • Ahmed
  • Maurice
  • Channing
  • Yahir
  • Sam
  • Nash
  • Aldo
  • Ernesto
  • Moshe
  • Terry
  • Salvador
  • Nelson
  • Chad
  • Rodney
  • Harper
  • Joey
  • Santino
  • Ellis
  • Guillermo
  • Rex
  • Reginald
  • Tomas
  • Zechariah
  • Urijah
  • Felipe
  • Hank
  • Flynn
  • Jerome
  • Vicente
  • Harry
  • Brent
  • Eugene
  • Rene
  • Ben
  • Vincenzo
  • Steve
  • Wayne
  • Otto
  • Bruno
  • Fletcher
  • Theo
  • Tyrone
  • Harvey
  • Rudy
  • Amos
  • Valentino
  • Arlo
  • Ramiro
  • Legend
  • Duncan
  • Harold
  • Vance
  • Abdiel
  • Gibson
  • Heath
  • Kingsley
  • Yael
  • Rolando
  • Anders
  • Alvaro
  • Gilberto
  • Salvatore
  • Maximo
  • Dario
  • Rodolfo
  • Truman
  • Hugh
  • Bridger
  • Alfred
  • Ignacio
  • Santos
  • Ross
  • Briggs
  • Turner
  • Howard
  • Foster
  • Gilbert
  • Gordon
  • Clarence
  • Jean
  • Pierre
  • Rocky
  • Elvis
  • Bishop
  • Mariano
  • Thatcher
  • Jeremias
  • Leif
  • Ralph
  • Judson
  • Avi
  • Humberto
  • Ford
  • Keller
  • Milton
  • Josh
  • Alton
  • Stetson

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

No Alternates Allowed!--Girls (2012)

It seemz lyke everywhere u turn--kreatyv spellings! Obviously, they're not for everyone, but those who prefer the usual spellings have definitely felt their impact. Even parents using the most traditional or common names/spellings find themselves spelling their child's name out constantly.
But, for some reason, a few names from the Top 1000 (NameNerds' variant-adjusted Top 1000, that is) have defied the trend, and remain variant-free.
Here they are, in order of popularity.
(and stylistically, one of the most random lists ever)


  • Harper
  • Valentina
  • Rose
  • Amanda
  • Parker
  • Ruth
  • Olive
  • Fernanda
  • Elle
  • Guadalupe
  • Alejandra
  • June
  • Gloria
  • Brenda
  • Sawyer
  • Eve
  • Dulce
  • Paola
  • Marie
  • Virginia
  • Irene
  • Beatrice
  • Willa
  • Paula
  • Martha
  • Abril
  • Salma
  • Paloma
  • Nola
  • Heather
  • Giada
  • Sharon
  • Paolina
  • Alma
  • Luz
  • Juniper
  • Judith
  • Barbara
  • Ingrid
  • Charity
  • Belen
  • Monroe
  • Estelle
  • Meadow
  • Tess
  • Astrid
  • Princess
  • Liv
  • Belinda
  • Azul
  • Bonnie
  • Louisa
  • Magnolia
  • Vienna
  • Magdalena
  • Hunter
  • Clementine
  • Milagros
  • Gretchen

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Single Syllable Roundup--Girls

  • Ann (AN, English)--form of Hannah. Also spelled Anne.
  • Ash (ASH, English)
  • Aude (OHD, French)
  • Bast (BAHST [reconstructed] Egyptian)
  • Belle (BEL, English)
  • Berthe (BEHRT, French)
  • Bình (BEENG, Vietnamese)
  • Bjørg (BYOHRK, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "salvation, help". Also spelled Björg.
  • Blair (BLAYR, English)
  • Blake (BLAYK, English)
  • Blanche (BLANCH, English; BLAWNSH, French)
  • Blythe (BLITHE, English)--"cheery"
  • Brígh (BREE, Irish)--Anglicized as Bree.
  • Brighid (BREED, Irish)--form of Bridget
  • Brooke (BROOK, English)--also spelled Brook.
  • Brynn (BRIN, English)
  • Chen (CHEN, Chinese)--"orange" or "morning, dawn"
  • Claire (KLEHR, English, French)--also spelled Clare.
  • Claude (KLOHD, French)
  • Cruz (KROOS, Portuguese, Spanish)
  • Dale (DAYL, English)
  • Dar (DAHR, Hebrew)--"mother of pearl"
  • Dawn (DAWN, English)
  • Dell (DEL, English)
  • Eir (EHR, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "mercy, help"
  • Eun (OON, Korean)
  • Eve (EEV, English; EV, French)
  • Faith (FAYTH, English)
  • Fawn (FAWN, English)
  • Faye (FAY, English)--from Old English, "fairy"
  • Fen (FEN, Chinese)--"fragrance"
  • Fern (FURN, English)
  • Fflur (FLEER, Welsh)--"flower"
  • Fleur (FLEUR, French; FLUR, English)--from French, "flower"
  • Gal (GAHL, Hebrew)--"wave"
  • Gale (GAYL, English)
  • Gerd (YEHRD, Scandinavian)
  • Grace (GRAYS, English)
  • Greer (GREER, English)--form of Gregory
  • Gry (GREE, Scandinavian)--from Norse, "dawn"
  • Gwen (GWEN, English, Welsh)--from Welsh, "blessed"
  • Haf (HAHV, Welsh)--"summer"
  • Hope (HOHP, English)
  • Hye (HYAY, Korean)--"wisdom"
  • Jade (JAYD, English; ZHAHD, French)
  • Jane (JAYN, English)--feminine of John. Other forms include Jan (English), Jean (English), Jeanne (ZHAHN, French), Joan (English), and Siân (SHAHN, Welsh).
  • Jewel (JOOL, English)
  • Jin (JIN, Korean)--"precious"
  • Joy (JOY, English)
  • Joyce (JOYS, English)
  • June (JOON, English)
  • Kai (KYE, Hawaiian, Scandinavian)
  • Lan (LAHN, Chinese, Vietnamese)--"orchid"
  • Lark (LAHRK, English)
  • Laure (LOHR, French)--form of Laura
  • Leigh (LEE, English)--also spelled Lee.
  • Lin (LEEN, Chinese)--"forest" or "jade"
  • Linh (LEENG, Vietnamese)--"spirit"
  • Liv (LEEV, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "protection" or "life"
  • Love (LUV, English)
  • Luce (LOOS, French)--form of Lucy/Lucia. Another form is Luus (LOOS, Dutch)
  • Lux (LUKS, English; LEWKS, Latin)--from Latin, "light". Spanish is Luz (LOOZ)
  • Lynn (LIN, English)--from Welsh, "lake"
  • Maeve (MAYV, Irish)
  • Mair (MIRE, Welsh)--form of Mary
  • Marthe (MAHRT, French)--form of Martha
  • Maude (MAWD, English)--form of Matilda. Also spelled Maud.
  • May (MAY, English)
  • Merle (MURL, English)--from French, "blackbird"
  • Min (MEEN, Chinese)--"clever"
  • Mór (MOHR, Irish)--"great"
  • Mor (MOHR, Hebrew)--"myrrh"
  • Naomh (NAYV, Irish)--"holy, saint"
  • Niamh (NEEV, Irish)--"bright"
  • Noor (NOOR, Arabic, Persian, Turkish)--from Arabic, "light". Also spelled Nur.
  • Noy (NOY, Hebrew)--"beauty"
  • Paige (PAYJ, English)
  • Paz (PAHS, Spanish)--from Latin Pax, "peace"
  • Pearl (PURL, English)
  • Quinn (KWIN, English)
  • Rain (RAYN, English)--also spelled Raine.
  • Reese (REES, English)
  • Ren (REN, Japanese)--"love" or "lotus"
  • Ron (ROHN, Hebrew)
  • Rose (ROHZ, English)--other form include Roís (ROHSH, Irish) & Roos (ROHS, Dutch)
  • Rue (ROO, English)
  • Ruth (ROOTH, English; ROOT, German, Scandinavian)--from Hebrew, "friend"
  • Sadhbh (SIVE, Irish)--"sweet". Also spelled Sadb.
  • Sage (SAYJ, English)
  • Scout (SKOUT, English)
  • Shea (SHAY, English)--also spelled Shae or Shay.
  • Shir (SHEER, Hebrew)--"song"
  • Shun (SHOON)--Chinese, "agreeable"; Japanese, "talented" or "fast"
  • Siv (SEEV, Scandinavian)
  • Sky (SKYE, English)--also spelled Skye.
  • Sloane (SLOHN, English)--also spelled Sloan.
  • Sol (SOHL, Spanish, Portuguese)--"sun"
  • Spring (SPRING, English)
  • Star (STAHR, English)--also spelled Starr.
  • Stav (STAHV, Hebrew)--"autumn"
  • Tal (TAHL, Hebrew)--"dew"
  • Thùy (TWEE, Vietnamese)--"gentle"
  • Wren (REN, English)
  • Wynne  (WIN, English)
  • Zan (ZAHN, Chinese)--"favor"
  • Ziv (ZEEV, Hebrew)