Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Sunny

Okay, yet again, not really a usual nickname, but a nickname-y full name. Happy and off-beat, it's not surprising that Sunny (as well as Sunshine) has been used as a girls' name occasionally, especially during the 70s. As cheery as it is, though, it suffers from two major problems--it's a nature-name, which tend to be love-or-hate; and it sounds like a diminutive.

• Allison (AL-ih-son, English)
• Aysun (eye-SOON, Turkish)--"beautiful as the moon"
• Josune (yoh-soo-neh, Basque)--feminine of Josu/Jesus
• Sidony (sih-DOH-nee, English)--French form is Sidonie (see-doh-NEE).
• Sonali (son-AH-lee, Hindi)--"golden"
• Sonata (soh-NAH-tah, English)
• Sonia (SOHN-yah, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)--form of Sophia. Also spelled Sonja or Sonya.
• Sonnet (SAHN-net, English)--from Italian, "little poem"
• Sonora (soh-NOHR-ah, English)
• Sophronia (soh-FROHN-yah, [Ancient] Greek)--"sensible"
• Sunaya (soon-AH-yah, Hindi)--"just"
• Sunčana (SOON-chah-nah, Croatian)--"sunny". Another form is Sunčica (SOON-cheets-ah)
• Sunilda (soon-EEL-dah, Swedish)--form of Swanhilda.
• Sunita (soon-EE-tah, Hindi)--"polite"
• Sunitha (soon-EET-hah, Hindi)--"righteous"
• Sunniva (SOON-ee-vah, Scandinavian)
• Susanna (soo-ZAN-nah, English; soo-SAH-nah, Scandinavian, Italian)--from Hebrew, "lily, rose". Variants include Susan & Shoshana.

Single Syllable Roundup--Boys

I did a Mini Names post a while back, focusing on the tiny & trim. Fun, but thanks to the craziness of phonetics, short in length doesn't necessarily mean short on sound. So, I've decided to do a compilation of single-syllable names, starting with boys. (I suspect the girls' list will give me more difficulty...)

• Ash (ASH, English)
• Baer (BEHR, Germanic)--"bright"
• Beau (BOH, English)--from French, "handsome"
• Bede (BEED, Old English)--"prayer"
• Berk (BEHRK, Turkish)--"strong"
• Bình (BEENG, Vietnamese)--"peace"
• Bjorn (BYORN, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "bear"
• Blaine (BLAYN, English)
• Blair (BLEHR, English, Scottish)
• Blaise (BLEZ, French; BLAYZ, English)
• Blake (BLAYK, English)
• Boyce (BOYS, English)
• Boyd (BOID, English)
• Brais (BRIZE, Galician)--form of Blaise
• Braith (BRAITH, English)
• Bram (BRAM, BRAHM, English, Dutch)
• Bran (BRAN, Irish; BRAHN, Welsh)--"raven"
• Brant (BRANT, English)--from Old Norse, "sword". Also spelled Brandt.
• Brecht (BREKT, Dutch, German)--from Germanic, "bright"
• Brent (BRENT, English)
• Brett (BRET, English)
• Brice (BRICE, English)--also spelled Bryce
• Brock (BROK, English)
• Broen (BROON, Limburgish)--form of Bruno
• Brooks (BROOKS, English)
• Bruce (BROOS, English, Scottish)
• Bryn (BRIN, Welsh)
• Burke (BURK, English)--from Old English, "fortress"
• Bysshe (BISH, English)
• Cade (KAYD, English)
• Cain (KAIN, English)
• Carl (KAHRL, English, German, Scandinavian)--form of Charles. Also spelled Karl.
• Cash (KASH, English)
• Cem (JEM, Turkish)
• Cenk (JENK, Turkish)
• Chad (CHAD, English)
• Chaim (KHIME, Hebrew)--"life"
• Chance (CHANTS, English)
• Charles (CHAHRLZ, English; SHAHRL, French)
• Chase (CHAYS, English)
• Chen (CHEN, Chinese)--"morning, dawn"
• Clark (KLAHRK, English)
• Claude (KLAWD, English; KLOHD, French)
• Clay (KLAY, English)
• Clive (KLIVE, English)
• Clyde (KLIDE, English)
• Cole (KOHL, English)
• Côme (KOOM, French)--form of Cosimo/Cosmas
• Conn (KON, Irish)--"chief"
• Craig (KRAYG, English, Scottish)
• Cruz (KROOS, Portuguese, Spanish)
• Curt (KURT, English; KOORT, German)--form of Conrad or Curtis. Also spelled Kurt.
• Dale (DAYL, English)
• Dane (DAYN, English)
• Dax (DAKS, English)
• Dean (DEEN, English)
• Dell (DEL, English)
• Dev (DEV, Hindi)--"god"
• Dirk (DURK, English; DEERK, Dutch & German)
• Dor (DOHR, Hebrew)
• Dov (DOHV, Hebrew)--"bear"
• Drake (DRAYK, English)--"dragon"
• Duane (DWAYN, English, Irish)
• Duff (DUF, Scottish)
• Duke (DOOK, English)
• Dwight (DWITE, English)--form of Dennis/Denise
• Earl (URL, English)--also spelled Earle or Erle.
• Ernst (EHRNST, German)--form of Ernest
• Eun (OON, Korean)--"silver" or "charity"
• Faust (FOWST, Croatian, German; FOHST, French)--from Latin, "lucky"
• Fionn (FYIN, Irish)--"fair". Anglicized as Finn.
• Flann (FLAN, Irish)--"red"
• Floyd (FLOYD, English)--form of Lloyd
• Flynn (FLIN, English)
• Ford (FORD, English)
• Fox (FOKS, English)
• Franck (FRAWNK, French)--form of Frank
• Frank (FRANK, English)
• Frans (FRAHNS, Dutch, Scandinavian)--form of Frank
• Franz (FRAHNTS, German)--yet another form of Frank
• Frey (FRAY, Scandinavian)--"lord". Another form is Frej (FRYE, Danish; FRAY, Swedish).
• Fyfe (FIFE, Scottish)--also spelled Fife.
• Gad (GAD, English; GAHD, Hebrew)--from Hebrew "fortune"
• Gage (GAYJ, English)
• Gale (GAYL, English)--from Old English, "cheery"
• Garth (GARTH, English)--from Old Norse, "garden"
• Geir (GIRE ['r' is rolled], Scandinavian)--"spear"
• George (JORJ, English)--other forms include Georges (ZHORZH, French) and Siôr (SHOHR, Welsh)
• Gil (ZHEEL, Portuguese; HEEL, Spanish)--form of Giles
• Giles (JILEZ, English)
• Gilles (ZHEEL, French)--another form of Giles
• Glaw (GLOW [rhymes with 'cow'], Welsh)--"rain"
• Glenn (GLEN, English, Scottish)
• Graham (GRAM, English)
• Grant (GRANT, English, Scottish)--from French, "grand"
• Gray (GRAY, English)
• Guy (GYE, English; GEE, French)
• Hale (HAYL, English)--from Old English, "refuge" or "healthy"
• Hall (HAHL, English)
• Heath (HEETH, English)
• Hersh (HEHRSH, Yiddish)--"deer"
• Horst (HAWRST, German)--"thicket"
• Hoyt (HOYT, English)
• Hugh (HYOO, English)--from Germanic, "heart, spirit"
• Hwan (HWAHN, Korean)--"shining"
• James (JAYMZ, English)--other forms include Jaime (ZHIME, Portuguese).
• Jarl (YAHRL, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "nobleman"
• Jay (JAY)--English, from Old French, "merry"; Hindi, "victory"
• Jett (JET, English)
• Joel (JOLE, English)
• John (JAHN, English)--from Hebrew, "God is gracious". Other forms include Gian (JAHN, Italian), Hans (HAHNS, German, Scandinavian), Ion (YAHN, Basque), Jack (English), Jan (YAHN, German, Polish, Scandinavian), Jean (ZHAHN, French), Jens (YENS, Scandinavian), Juan (Spanish), Sean (Irish, English), Shane (Irish, English), Sion (SHAHN, Welsh), Yann (YAHN, Breton, French), Žan (ZHAHN, Slovene)
• Jove (JOVE, Latin)--form of Jupiter
• Judd (JUD, English)--form of Jordan
• Jude (JOOD, English)--from Hebrew, "praised"
• Jules (JOOLZ, English; ZHOOL, French)
• Kai (KYE, English, German, Hawaiian, Scandinavian)
• Kean (KEEN, English)--form of Cian. Also spelled Keane.
• Keir (KEHR, English, Scottish)--also spelled Kerr.
• Keith (KEETH, English, Scottish)
• Keld (KELD, Danish)--other forms include Kjeld (KYELD, Danish) & Kjell (SHEL, Norwegian, Swedish)
• Kemp (KEMP, English)--from Old English, "champion"
• Kent (KENT, English)
• Kir (KEER, Russian)--form of Cyrus
• Kirk (KURK, English)
• Knox (NAHKS, English)
• Knut (KNOOT, German, Scandinavian)
• Kyle (KILE, English, Scottish)
• Lake (LAYK, English)
• Lance (LANTS, English)
• Lane (LAYN, English)
• Lars (LAHRS, German, Scandinavian)--form of Laurence
• Lee (LEE, English)
• Leif (LAYF, Scandinavian)
• Lev (LEV, Hebrew)--"lion"
• Llyr (LEER, Welsh)--"the sea". Irish form is Lir.
• Lloyd (LOYD, English, Welsh)
• Lorne (LOHRN, English)
• Lugh (LOO, Irish)
• Luke (LEWK, English)--French form is Luc.
• Lyle (LILE, English)
• Mark (MARK, English, Russian, Scandinavian)--Also spelled Marc.
• Merle (MURL, English)
• Miles (MILEZ, English)--Also spelled Myles.
• Nash (NASH, English)
• Neil (NEEL, English, Irish, Scottish)--Also spelled Neal.
• Niles (NILEZ, English)--form of Neil.
• Nils (NEELZ, German, Scandinavian)--form of Nicholas
• Niv (NEEV, Hebrew)
• Noel (NOLE, English)--masculine of Noelle
• Pace (PAYS, English)--from Old English, "peace"
• Paul (PAWL, English; POHL, French; POWL, German & Scandinavian)--Other forms include Pau (POW, Catalan), Pól (POHL, Irish & Scottish), & Poul (POHL, Danish)
• Pier (PEER, Dutch)--form of Peter
• Pierce (PEERS, Englise)--another form of Peter. Also spelled Pearce or Piers.
• Pierre (PYEHR, French)--yet another form of Peter
• Prem (PREHM, Hindi)--"love"
• Price (PRISE, Welsh)--also spelled Pryce.
• Quân (KWAHN, Vietnamese)--"army"
• Quinn (KWIN, English, Irish)
• Rain (RAYN, English)
• Raj (RAHJ, Hindi)
• Ralph (RALF, English)--from Old Norse, "wolf counsel". Other forms include Ralf and Rafe.
• Reid (REED, English)--also spelled Reed.
• Rein (RINE, Dutch, German)--"counsel"
• Ren (REN, Japanese)--"lotus" or "love"
• Rex (REKS, English)--from Latin, "king"
• Rhett (RET, English)
• Rhys (REES, English, Welsh)--from Welsh, "enthusiasm". Also spelled Reece.
• Roch (ROHK, French; RAWK, Polish)--form of Rocco
• Rolf (RAWLF, German, Scandinavian)--form of Rudolf
• Ron (ROHN, Hebrew)--"joy"
• Ross (ROS, English, Scottish)
• Roy (ROY, Dutch, English, Scottish)--from Scottish, "red"
• Royce (ROYS, English)--form of Rose
• Sage (SAYJ, English)
• Saul (SAWL, English)--from Hebrew, "asked for"
• Scott (SKOT, English, Scottish)
• Sem (SEM, Dutch)
• Seth (SETH, English)
• Shad (SHAHD, Arabic)--"happy"
• Shea (SHAY, Irish, English)
• Slade (SLAYD, English)
• Stav (STAV, Hebrew)--"autumn"
• Sten (STEHN, Scandinavian)--"stone". Other forms are Stein (STINE, Norwegian) & Steen (STEEN, Danish)
• Stig (STEEG, Scandinavian)
• Storm (STOHRM, English, Scandinavian)
• Sven (SVEN, German, Scandinavian)
• Tadhg (TIGE, Irish)--"poet". Anglicized as Tighe or Teague.
• Taj (TAJ, Arabic)--"crown"
• Tal (TAHL, Hebrew)--"dew"
• Tate (TAYT, English)
• Thane (THAYN, English)
• Thanh (TAHNG, Vietnamese)--"pure" or "azure"
• Till (TIL, German)
• Todd (TOD, English)--"fox"
• Tor (TOOR, Norwegian & Swedish; TOHR, Danish)--form of Thor, "thunder". 
• Trent (TRENT, English)
• Troy (TROY, English)
• Truls (TROOLS, Norwegian & Swedish)--another form is Troels (TROHLS, Danish)
• Tyr (TEER, Scandinavian)
• Ulf (ULF, OOLF, Scandinavian)
• Urs (OORS, German)--from Latin, "bear"
• Vance (VANTS, English)
• Vaughn (VAWN, English, Welsh)
• Veit (FITE, German)--form of Vitus/Guy
• Vid (VEED, Slavic)
• Vinh (VEENG, Vietnamese)--"glory"
• Wade (WAYD, English)
• Ward (WAHRD, English)
• Wayne (WAYN, English)
• Wen (WEN, Chinese)--"culture"
• Wolf (WOOLF, English; VOHLF, German)
• Wyn (WIN, Welsh)--"blessed, fair". Also spelled Wynn.
• York (YOHRK, English)
• Yves (EEV, French)
• Zane (ZAYN, English)
• Zayd (ZAYD, Arabic)
• Zayn (ZAYN, Arabic)--"grace"
• Ziv (ZEEV, Hebrew)--"bright"