Big A, little a

What begins with A?
Lots of smallish girls' names, and they also end that way:

• Abha (ahb-hah, Hindi)--"light, luster"
• Achsa (AHK-sah, [Biblical] Hebrew)
• Ada (AY-dah, English; AH-dah, German, Polish, Scandinavian, Turkish) [multiple derivations]
• Adla (AHD-lah, Swedish)--form of Adela/Adelaide
• Adva (ahd-vah, Hebrew)--"little wave"
• Aella (EYE-lah, [ancient] Greek)--"whirlwind"
• Agda (AG-dah, Swedish)--form of Agatha
• Aida (ah-EE-dah, English, Italian)--from Arabic, "returning"
• Aika (ah-ee-kah, Japanese)
• Ailsa (AYL-sah, Scottish)
• Aina (EYE-nah, Finnish, Spanish; ah-ee-nah, Japanese) [separate derivations]
• Aira (EYE-rah, Finnish)
• Aisha (ah-EE-shah, Arabic)--"life, alive". Other forms include Asha (Swahili).
• Alba (AHL-bah, Italian, Latin, Spanish)
• Alda (AHL-dah, Italian, Portuguese)
• Alka (AHL-kah, Croatian)
• Alma (AL-mah, English; AHL-mah, Italian, Scandinavian, Spanish)
• Alta (AL-tah, English)
• Alva (AHL-vah, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "elf"
• Ambra (AHM-brah, Italian)--form of Amber
• Anca (AHN-kah, Romanian)
• Anna (AN-nah, English; AH-nah, everywhere else)--Also spelled Ana. Other forms include Ania, Anka, & Anya.
• Ansa (AHN-sah, Finnish)
• Arja (AHR-yah, Finnish)
• Arla (AHR-lah, Swedish)
• Arna (AHR-nah, Germanic, Scandinavian)--"eagle"
• Arwa (UR-wah, Arabic)
• Åsa (OH-sah, Norwegian, Swedish)
• Asha (AH-shah, Hindi)--"hope"
• Asta (AHS-stah, Scandinavian)--form of Astrid and other Ast-names. 
• Auda (OW-dah, Germanic)--form of Otto/Odette
• Audra (OH-drah, Lithuanian; AW-drah, English) [separate derivations]
• Aura (OW-rah, Finnish)
• Aušra (OH-shrah, Lithuanian)--"dawn"
• Ava (AY-vah, English; AH-vah, German, Persian, Scandinavian) [multiple derivations]
• Avra (AH-vrah, Greek)--"aura, breeze"
• Aya (ah-yah, Japanese, Scandinavian) [separate derivations]
• Ayça (eye-jah, Turkish)--"crescent moon"
• Ayla (AY-lah, English; eye-LAH, Turkish) [separate derivations]
• Azra (AZ-rah, Arabic, Bosnian, Turkish)

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Molly

Poor Molly. Is she a nickname, or a full given name? I guess the answer is 'both': Molly was originally a regional pronunciation of Mary (that pesky R-to-L shift), but became widespread as a nickname during medieval times.
So, nowadays, she's rather in limbo--too "nickname-y" for a full name, but Mary to Molly isn't really intuitive in Modern English.

• Amalia (ah-MAH-lee-ah, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish)--form of Amelia
• Amalthea (ah-mahl-THEE-ah, ah-mahl-THEH-ah, [ancient] Greek)--"soothing"
• Magali (mah-gah-LEE, Provençal)--form of Magdalene. Also spelled Magalie. 
• Mahalah (mah-hah-lah, mah-khah-lah [Biblical] Hebrew)--also written as Mahlah (mah-lah, mah-khlah) or Maala (mah-ah-lah).
• Mahalath (mah-hah-lahth, mah-khah-laht, [Biblical] Hebrew)--"lyre"
• Mahalia (mah-HAY-lee-ah, English)--form of Mahalah or Mahalath. 
• Mahulena (mah-hoo-LEH-nah, Czech). Slovak form is Mahuliena (mah-hoo-LYEH-nah).
• Malaika (mah-LYE-kah, Arabic, Swahili)--from Arabic "angels"
• Malati (MAHL-uh-tee, Hindi)--"jasmine"
• Malena (mah-LEH-nah, Czech, Scandinavian, Spanish)--form of Magdalena or Mahulena.
• Malie (mah-lee-eh, Hawaiian)--"calm"
• Malika (mah-LEE-kah, Arabic)--"queen"
• Malina (MAH-lin-ah, mah-LEE-nah, Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Polish, Serbian, Slovak)--"raspberry"
• Malini (MAH-lin-ee, Hindi)--"sweet-smelling"
• Marilena (mah-ree-LEH-nah, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian)--contraction of Maria Elena
• Marsaili (MAR-sah-lee, Scottish)--also spelled Marsali
• Maryla (mah-RIL-ah, Polish)--form of Maria

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Oz

I really need to come up with a better title for these posts--I'm rapidly running out of "usual" nicknames! Anyway, I see Oz bounced around a bit online, and I do see the appeal: short, snazzy, that zippy Z. The problem is associations--Oz alone is reminiscent of "Land of Oz" (along with a few other pop culture references), and Ozzy...is all Osbourne.
There's Oscar of course, and Oswald, and even Austin if your accent allows, but what else?

• Osbert (OZ-bert, English)
• Osgood (OZ-good, English)
• Osman (OHS-man, Turkish)
• Osmar (OS-mahr, Portuguese)--from Germanic "fame of God"
• Osmond (OZ-mond, English)--also spelled Osmund
• Osric (OZ-rik, English)
• Ossian (OS-see-an, Scandinavian, German)--form of Irish Oisin
• Osulf (OZ-ulf, Old English)
• Osvit (OS-veet, Serbian)--"dawn")
• Oswin (OZ-win, English)
• Ozan (OH-zahn, Turkish)--"bard"
• Ozazias (oz-AHZ-ee-as, [Biblical] Greek)
• Ozias (OZ-ee-as, [Biblical] Greek; oh-ZEE-as, Greek)
• Oziel (oz-ee-EL, [Biblical] Greek)
• Ozren (OZ-ren, Croatian, Serbian)

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.

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Millie/Mila

I haven't done this one yet? Really?? *hangs head in shame*
Originally short for Millicent, Mildred, and other musty Germanic names, Millie is more likely today to be a nickname for the comeback favorites Amelia & Camilla.
And speaking of rising favorites, Mila has quite a bit of potential overlap with Millie. Although it's pretty established as a given name overseas, it was originally a nickname for many Slavic -mil- names.

• Amelina (ah-meh-LEE-nah, Germanic)--original form of Emmeline
• Bohumila (baw-hoo-MEE-lah, Czech)--from Slavic, "dear to God"
• Camellia (kah-MEE-lee-ah, kah-MEL-ee-ah, English)
• Jamila (jah-MEE-lah, Arabic)--"beautiful". Spanish form is Yamila.
• Magnhild (MANG-nhild, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "mighty in battle"
• Marsaili (MAR-sah-lee, Scottish)--form of Marcella
• Matilda (mah-TIL-dah, English)
• Maximiliane (maks-ee-mil-YAH-neh, German)--other forms include Maximilienne (French) & Maximiliana (Latin)
• Mélisande (may-lee-SAHND, French)--form of Millicent
• Melitta (meh-LIT-tah, German, Scandinavian)--form of Melissa
• Micheline (mee-sheh-LEEN, French)--form of Michele/Michaela
• Mielikki (MEE-eh-lik-kee, Finnish)
• Mihaela (mee-HYE-lah, Croatian, Romanian)--another form of Michaela/Michele
• Milada (mee-LAH-dah, Croatian)
• Milagros (mee-LAH-grohs, Spanish)--"miracles"
• Milda (MEEL-dah, Lithuanian)--Lithuanian goddess of love
• Milena (mee-LEH-nah, Slavic)--another form is Milana.
• Milica (MEE-lee-tsah, Slavic)--also spelled Militsa
• Milou (mee-LOO, Swedish, French)--from French, form of Émilie/Emilia
• Milva (MEEL-vah, Italian)
• Romilda (roh-MEEL-dah, Italian)--from Germanic, "famous battle'
• Sharmila (shar-MEE-lah, Hindi)
• Theomilla (theh-oh-MEE-lah, German)

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Evie/Evvie

That's a double-V, not a W. ;)
Evie is one of the fasting-rising nicknames, from traditional picks like Evelyn, Eva, & Evangeline, modern choices like Everly, Evianna, & Ever, and even imports like Ivanna, Evelina, & Evelia. There's possibilities for every style.

• Eavan (EE-van, Irish)--"beautiful radiance". Anglicized from Aoibheann.
• Evadne (eh-VAHD-nee, [ancient] Greek)--"good and holy"
• Evalda (EH-vahl-dah, Scandinavian)
• Evalill (EH-vah-lil, Scandinavian)--combination of Hebrew Eve ("life") & Old Norse "little"
• Evangeliya (eh-vahn-geh-LEE-yah, Bulgarian)--"good messenger" [angel]
• Evanthe (eh-VAHN-thee, [ancient] Greek)--"good flower". Latin form is Evanthia.
• Evdokia (ev-doh-KEE-ah, Greek)--"good thought"
• Eveliese (eh-veh-LEE-zeh, German)--combination of Eva & Elisabeth
• Evena (EH-veh-nah, Scandinavian)--other forms are Evinda & Evina.
• Everild (EV-er-ild, English)
• Everina (eh-veh-REE-nah, Scandinavian)--feminine of Evert [Everett]. Another form is Everta.
• Evgenia (ev-GEN-yah, Greek)--feminine of Evgenios [Eugene]
• Évike (AY-vih-keh, Hungarian)--form of Eve
• Evita (eh-VEE-tah, Spanish)--another form of Eve
• Evren (ev-REHN, Turkish)--"the universe" [unisex]
• Ewara (EH-vah-rah, German)--"law and protection"
• Ifanwy (ee-VAN-wee, Welsh)
• Ivančica (ee-vahn-CHEE-tsah, Croatian)--"daisy"

Same Name?!?--Agnes

Oh, poor Agnes. Once one of the most popular girls names in all the English-speaking world, she fell off the charts in the early 70s, and has hardly been seen since. If the "hundred-year rule" holds true, we may be seeing more of her soon, but thanks to a celebrated saint, you can already find a different version in nearly every language in the Western world.

Original Greek form: Hagne [Άγνη] (HAHG-nee)
Latin form: Agnes (AHG-nes)

Other forms:

• Agnė (AHG-nay)--Lithuanian
• Agnese (ahn-YEH-zeh)--Italian
• Agnese (AHG-neh-seh)--Latvian
• Agnessa (ahg-NYEH-sah)--Russian
• Agneta (ang-NEH-tah)--Scandinavian. Also spelled Agnetha.
• Agneza (ahg-NEH-zah)--Croatian
• Agnieszka (ag-NYESH-kah)--Polish
• Agnija (AHG-nee-ah)--Macedonian, Serbian
• Annis (AN-nis)--English
• Aune (OW-neh)--Finnish
• Inès (ee-NEZ)--French
• Inês (EE-nez)--Portuguese
• Inés (ee-NES)--Spanish
• Inez (ee-NEZ, EYE-nez)--English
• Jagusia (yah-GOO-shah)--Polish
• Nancy (NAN-see)--English
• Nesta (NES-tah)--Welsh
• Neža (NEH-zhah)--Slovene
• Oanez (WAHN-ez)--Breton

Ideals & Imagery

While doing my virtue-names post a while back, I came across many names with meanings that weren't quite virtues. While naming your daughter Beauty would probably be seen as presumptuous (not to mention a bit too Disney), there are plenty of names that mean 'beauty', as well as many other poetic inspirations.

Boys:

• Argi (ahr-gee, Basque)--"light"
• Argider (ahr-gee-dehr, Basque)--"beautiful light"
• Arman (ahr-MAHN, Kazakh)--"dream"
• Asher (ASH-er, English)--from Hebrew, "blessed"
• Ayman (AY-man, Arabic)--"blessed, lucky"
• Barak (bah-RAHK, Arabic)--"blessing"
• Benedict (BEN-eh-dikt, English)--from Latin, "blessed"
• Bhaskar (BHAHS-kar, Hindi)--"shining"
• Cemal (jem-AHL, Turkish)--"beauty"
• Daiki (dah-ee-kee, Japanese)--"great radiance" or "great & noble"
• Enver (en-VEHR, Turkish, Albanian)--"radiance"
• Eyal (eh-YAHL, Hebrew)--"strength"
• Jamal (jah-MAHL, Arabic)--"beauty"
• Kallias (KAHL-lee-as, Greek)--"beauty"
• Kibwe (KEE-bweh, Swahili)--"blessed"
• Krešimir (KRESH-ih-meer, Croatian)--"bringer of peace"
• Macario (mah-KAHR-yoh, Spanish)--from Greek, "blessed"
• Prakash (prah-KAHSH, Hindi)--"light"
• Roshan (roh-SHAN, Persian)--"light"
• Sisu (SEE-soo, Finnish)--"strength, willpower"
• Taiki (tah-ee-kee, Japanese)--"great radiance"

Girls:

• Abha (ahb-hah, Hindi)--"splendor"
• Aditi (ah-DEE-tee, Hindi)--"freedom"
• Aiman (eye-MAHN, Kazakh)--"beauty of the moon"
• Áine (AW-nyeh, Irish)--"radiance"
• Aisling (AHSH-leeng, Irish)--"dream"
• Aoibhe (EE-vah, Irish)--"beauty"
• Argiñe (ahr-gee-nyeh, Basque)--"light"
• Audrey (AW-dree, English)--"noble strength"
• Beata (beh-AH-tah, Latin)--"blessed"
• Bracha (BRAH-khah, Hebrew)--"blessing"
• Caoimhe (KWEE-vah, Irish)--"beauty". Anglicized to Keeva.
• Carwen (KAHR-wen, Welsh)--"pure love"
• Daina (DAY-nah, Lithuanian; DYE-nah, Latvian)--"song"
• Dipika (dee-PEE-kah, Hindi)--"light"
• Duana (DOO-an-ah, Irish)--"poem, song"
• Feray (feh-RYE, Turkish)--"radiance of the moon"
• Fotini (foh-tee-NEE, Greek)--"light"
• Gita (GEE-tah, Hindi)--"song"
• Hikari (hee-kah-ree, Japanese)--"light"
• Indira (IN-dih-rah, Hindi)--"beauty"
• Jyoti (jyot-EE, Hindi)--"light"
• Kanti (KAHN-tee, Hindi)--"beauty"
• Kavita (KAH-vee-tah, Hindi)--"poem, poetry"
• Keren (keh-rehn, Hebrew)--"ray of light"
• Lesedi (leh-seh-DEE, Tswana)--"light"
• Lucy (LOO-see, English)--from Latin, "light". Other forms include Lucia, Luce, Lucille, Lucette, Lux, Luz, and Luzia.
• Luule (LOO-leh, Estonian)--"poetry"
• Masego (mah-seh-hoh, Tswana)--"blessing"
• Megumi (meh-goo-mee, Japanese)--"blessing"
• Mele (meh-leh, Hawaiian)--"song"
• Nadra (NAH-drah, Arabic)--"radiance"
• Nima (NEE-mah, Arabic)--"blessing"
• Noya (no-yah, Hebrew)--"beauty"
• Nur (NOOR, Arabic)--"light". Other forms include Nuru (NOO-roo, Swahili).
• Säde (SAD-eh, Finnish)--"ray of light"
• Sana (SAH-nah, Arabic)--"brilliance"
• Saoirse (SEER-shah, Irish)--"freedom"
• Sanja (SAHN-yah, Croatian, Serbian)--"dream"
• Shira (shee-rah, Hebrew)--"poetry"
• Solveig (SOHL-vay, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "strength of the sun"
• Svajonė (svah-YOH-nyeh, Lithuanian)--"dream"
• Svatava (svah-tah-VAH, Czech)--"light" or "world". Another form is Svetlana (Russian, Slavic)
• Thi (TEE, Vietnamese)--"poem"
• Treasa (TRAH-sah, Irish)--"strength"

Unisex:

• Amets (ah-mehts, Basque)--"dream"
• Li (LEE, Chinese)--"reason" or "strength" [several other meanings possible depending on the characters]
• Liron (lee-rohn, Hebrew)--"my song"
• Noa (noh-ah, Hawaiian)--"freedom"
• Ori (oh-ree, Hebrew)--"my light"
• Shir (SHEER, Hebrew)--"song"

Modern But Not (boys)

I've dedicated quite a few posts to names that stand out. But what if you want a name that's modern, but not too weird or derivative--that is, blends in?
Modern American names tend to follow certain phonetic trends--the biggest trend for boys is the Aidens (I'll be bypassing this one; pretty much any iteration is probably already in use!). In general, modern boys' names tend to start with 'Br', J, K, T, Z; contain A, J, K, Q, X, Z; and end in 'en', 'on', or 'er'.

• Aeson (EE-son, Greek)
• Ariston (AH-ris-ton, Greek)--"the best"
• Andon (AHN-don, Bulgarian)--form of Anthony
• Anson (AN-son, English)
• Azhar (AZ-har, Arabic)--"shining"
• Berker (BEHR-kehr, Turkish)
• Bhaskar (BHAS-kahr, Hindi)--"shining"
• Brynjar (BRIN-yar, Scandinavian)--"armoured warrior"
• Brynmor (BRIN-mohr, Welsh)
• Cebrian (seb-ree-AHN, Spanish)
• Dathan (DAY-tahn, DAH-than, English)--from Hebrew, "fountain"
• Davorin (DAH-vor-in, Croatian)
• Dražen (DRAH-zen, Croatian)--"precious"
• Demir (deh-MEER, Turkish)--"iron"
• Eifion (AYV-yon, EYE-vyon, Welsh)
• Elystan (eh-LIS-tan, Welsh)
• Evren (ev-REHN, Turkish)--"the universe"
• Fintan (FIN-tan, Irish)--"white fire"
• Imran (im-RAHN, Arabic)
• Karsten (KAR-sten, German)--form of Christian
• Kayetan (KYE-eh-tahn, German)
• Kenyon (KEN-yon, English)
• Kynaston (KIN-ah-ston, English)
• Macsen (MAK-sen, Welsh)--form of Maximus
• Nayden (NYE-den, Bulgarian)
• Nevan (NEV-an, Irish)--anglicized from Naomhán, "little saint"
• Rayner (RAY-ner, English)
• Saxon ( SAKS-on, English)
• Torsten (TOR-sten, German, Scandinavian)
• Tychon (TYE-kon, Greek)
• Zaman (zah-MAN, Arabic)--"time, era"
• Zorion (soh-ree-ohn, Basque)--"happiness"

Same Name?!--Guy

Guy is a bit odd. Most people today consider it a slang term rather than a name, and that's not completely unreasonable, since it's probably one of the oldest bits of slang in use today--coined in the mid 1800s! Guy was a name long before that, most famously borne by Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up Parliament in 1605. It's also thanks to him that guy is now a term for "man"--his tale was romanticized in a popular book, and guy entered general terminology meaning "shabby man", later expanded to any male.
Despite this, Guy remained in common use for quite some time, only dropping off the US charts 5 years ago.

And for such a short name, it has a surprising amount of variation from language to language. This is partially because its original form sounded almost identical to a Latin name, Vitus, and where the two languages overlapped, they were treated as the same name. Consequently, it's difficult to separate which modern form evolved from Vitus, and which from Wido.

Original Germanic form: Wido (VEE-doh)
Modern French form: Guy (GEE)

Other forms:

• Guido (GEE-doh)--German
• Guido (GWEE-doh)--Italian
• Gvidas (GVEE-dahs)--Lithuanian
• Veit (FITE)--German
• Vid (VEED)--Croatian, Slovene. Feminine is Vida.
• Wide (WEE-deh)--Frisian
• Wit (VEET)--Polish

April Showers Bring....

May flowers! Happy, uh, May Day? We'll go with that.
On the heels of my bird-themed post, a flower-themed post also seemed like a fun idea. So, here're various flower-names from other languages. Unless otherwise noted, these are female.

• Aoi (ah-oh-ee, Japanese)--"hollyhock"
• Aravind (ahr-ah-vind, Hindi)--"lotus" [masculine]
• Amaranta (ah-mah-RAHN-tah, Spanish & Italian)--"amaranth"
• Ayame (ah-yah-may, Japanese)--"iris"
• Azucena (ah-soo-SEH-nah, Spanish)--"madonna lily"
• Brânduṣa (brahn-DOO-shah, Romanian)--"crocus"
• Briallen (bree-AHL-len, Welsh)--"primrose"
• Capucine (kah-poo-SEEN, French)--"nasturtium"
• Crina (KREE-nah, Romanian)--"lily"
• Cullen (KUL-len, Irish)--"holly" [masculine]. Variant is Quillan.
• Celyn (KEL-in, Welsh)--"holly" [masculine]
• Daphne (DAF-nee, Greek)--"laurel"
• Đurđica (joor-JITS-ah, Croatian)--"lily of the valley" [also the Croatian form of Georgia]
• Eirlys (IRE-lis or AYR-lis, Welsh)--"snowdrop"
• Endzela (end-ZEL-ah, Georgian)--"snowdrop"
• Ffion (FEE-on, Welsh)--"rose" or "foxglove"
• Hollis (HOL-lis, English)--"holly tree" [usually masculine]
• Ianthe (ee-AN-thee or eye-AN-thee, Greek)--"violet"
• Ibolya (ee-boy-ah, Hungarian)--"violet"
• Ivančica (ee-vahn-CHEE-tsah, Croatian)--"daisy"
• Irit (ee-reet, Hebrew)--"asphodel"
• Jessamine (JES-sah-min, English)--"jasmine"
• Kamala (kah-mah-lah, Hindi)--"lotus"
• Kielo (KEE-eh-loh, Finnish)--"lily of the valley"
• Kiku (kee-koo, Japanese)--"chrysanthemum"
• Laleh (lah-LAY, Persian)--"tulip"
• Lan (LAHN, Chinese & Vietnamese)--"orchid"
• Liên (LEE-en, Vietnamese)--"lotus"
• Madara (mah-DAH-rah, Latvian)--"galium"
• Madelief (mah-deh-LEEF, Dutch)--"daisy"
• Marganita (mahr-gah-nee-tah, Hebrew)--"scarlet pimpernel"
• Margarita (mahr-gah-REE-tah, Spanish)--"daisy" [also the Spanish form of Margaret]
• Marguerite (mahr-ge-REET, French)--"daisy" [also the French form of Margaret]
• Mawar (MAH-wahr, Indonesian)--"rose"
• Melati (mel-AH-tee, Indonesian)--"jasmine"
• Nasrin (nahs-REEN, Persian)--"wild rose"
• Nóinín (NOH-neen, Irish)--"daisy"
• Nurit (noo-REET, Hebrew)--"buttercup"
• Orvokki (OHR-voh-kee, Finnish)--"pansy"
• Raisa (rye-sah or rye-zah, Yiddish)--"rose"
• Ren (ren, Japanese)--"lotus" [can also mean "love"]
• Rhoda (ROH-dah, English)--from Greek, "rose"
• Rotem (roh-TEM, Hebrew)--"retama" [unisex, more often masculine]
• Rozenn (ROH-zen, Breton)--"rose"
• Růžena (roo-ZHEN-ah, Czech)--"rose"
• Sakura (sah-koo-rah, Japanese)--"cherry blossom"
• Sayuri (sah-yoo-ree, Japanese)--"small lily"
• Spomenka (spoh-MEHN-kah, Croatian)--"forget-me-not"
• Vartan (VAHR-tahn, Armenian)--"rose" [masculine]
• Vered (veh-REHD, Hebrew)--"rose"
• Vuokko (VOO-oh-ko, Finnish)--"anemone"
• Yolanda (yoh-LAHN-dah, Spanish)--from Latin, "violet"
• Yuri (yoo-ree, Japanese)--"lily"

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Nell

With all the names that Nell is historically short for, it's surprising it's not more popular. The usual suspects include Helen, Eleanor, & Ellen, although any English name with a prominent 'el' sound is possible. Of course, it's not the most intuitive nickname in modern English.
Nell came about either as a rhyming nickname for Ell, or through the habit of calling loved ones 'Mine ____'. For instance, 'Mine Ellen' turned eventually into 'My Nell'. Most likely, both factors contributed.

• Antonella (an-toh-NEL-lah, Italian)--feminine form of Anthony.
• Daniella (dan-YEL-lah, English)
• Finella (fin-EL-lah, Irish)--Anglicized from Fionnuala.
• Ionela (yoh-NEL-lah, Romanian)--feminine form of John.
• Kornelia (kor-NEL-yah, German)
• Marianela (mahr-ee-an-EL-ah, Spanish)
• Narelle (nah-REL, English)
• Nedelya (ned-EHL-yah, Bulgarian)
• Nelda (NEL-dah, English)--feminine of Neil
• Nelinha (nel-EEN-yah, Portuguese)
• Nephele (NEF-el-ee, Greek)
• Ninel (neen-YEL, Russian)
• Noella (noh-EHL-lah, French)--"Christmas"
• Ornella (or-NEL-lah, Italian)
• Penelope (pen-EL-oh-pee, English)--from Greek, "weaver"
• Peronel (PEHR-oh-nel, English)--form of Petronilla. Other forms include Petronel, Petronella, & Pernel.
• Prunella (proo-NEL-lah, English)--from Latin, "plum"
• Sanela (sah-NEH-lah, Croatian)--from Latin, "healthy"

Weathering the Weather

I admit, sometimes I come across fun new names, and have to come up with a way to work them into a post (without being ridiculously obvious, of course). So, we'll say these names are in honor of this unusual winter.
I covered rain & other bad-weather names pretty well in the Hurricane Names post, so here're (mostly) happy meteorological names.


Boys:

• Edur (ED-oor, Basque)--"snow"
• Elio (EL-yoh, Italian)--from Latin Aelius, "sun"
• Frediano (fred-YAH-noh, Italian)--"cold"
• Pyry (PÜ-rü, Finnish [ü is roughly between the English 'ih' & 'uh'] )--"snowstorm"
• Ravi (rah-VEE, Indian [Hindi])--"sun"
• Ryo (ryoh, Japanese)--"cool, refreshing" [can also mean "reality"]
• Sorin (soh-REEN, Romanian)--"sun"

Girls:

• Bora (BOH-rah, Albanian)--"snow"
• Edurne (eh-DOOR-nay, Basque)--"snow"
• Eira (AY-rah or EYE-rah, Welsh)--"snow"
• Fanna (FAHN-nah, Swedish)--from Old Norse, "snowdrift"
• Haizea (eye-ZAY-ah, Basque)--"wind"
• Heulwen (HAYL-wen, Welsh)--"sunshine"
• Kasumi (kah-soo-mee, Japanese)--"misty"
• Lumi (LOO-mee, Finnish)--"snow"
• Nasim (nah-seem, Arabic)--"breeze"
• Soleil (soh-LAY, French)--"sun"
• Sorina (soh-REEN-nah, Romanian)--"sun"
• Sunčana (SOON-chah-nah, Croatian)--"sunny"
• Terhi (TEHR-hee, Finnish)--"mist"
• Tesni (TES-nee, Welsh)--"warming sunshine"
• Yuki (yoo-kee, Japanese)--"snow" [can also mean "happiness"]

Unisex:

• Haru (hah-roo, Japanese)--"sunlight" [can also mean "spring"]
• Makani (mah-kah-nee, Hawaiian)--"wind"
• Noe (noh-ay, Hawaiian)--"mist"
• Xue (shooeh, Chinese)--"snow" [can also mean "learning"]

Usual Name, Unexpected Nickname--Katherine

There are about as many different ways to form nicknames as there are cultures. While many nicknames for our most enduring classics seem out of date or boring, an imported diminutive can be fresh & fun.
The first name I'm tackling in this new series is Katherine. Kate & Katie are just as popular as ever, Kathy is so 30 years ago, Kitty is somewhere between cobwebs and vintage-cute, while Kat is indie-cool.
That's about it for the usual English nicknames, I think, so how about....

• Cadi (KAH-dee)--Welsh
• Caja/Kaia/Kaia (KYE-ah)--Scandinavian
• Cato (kah-TOH)--Dutch
• Kadri (KAH-dree)--Estonian
• Kai (KYE)--Scandinavian
• Kaisa (KYE-sah)--Finnish, Estonian
• Kari (KAHR-ee)--Norwegian
• Kasia (KAH-shah)--Polish
• Kata (KAH-tah)--Croatian, Finnish, Hungarian
• Katenka (kah-TEN-kah)--Russian
• Käthe (KET-eh)--German
• Katia/Katja/Katya (KAHT-yah)--Dutch, German, Russian, Scandinavian
• Kay (KAY)--English
• Nienke (NEEN-keh)--Frisian
• Nine (NEE-nah)--Frisian
• Rina (REE-nah)--Dutch, Italian
• Trine (TREE-neh)--Danish

Same Name?!--George

George. It's one of those names where the consensus is split pretty evenly--some think it's purely boring, stodgy old-man, and some think it's stately & timeless. George caught on pretty early because of a dragon-slaying saint, first primarily in Eastern Christianity, and then spreading to the western world during the crusades. It even became moderately used for women for a while in the 1930s & 40s. 

Original Greek form: Georgios [Γεωργιος] (gee-OR-gee-ohs)

Modern forms:

• Deorsa (JOR-sa)--Scottish
• Đurađ (JOOR-ahj)--Croatian, Serbian. Also spelled Djuradj or Juraj.
• Gevorg (gev-org or kev-ork)--Armenian. Also transliterated to Kevork.
• Giorgio (JOR-joh)--Italian
• Gorka (GOR-kah)--Basque
• György (DYOOR-dyeh)--Hungarian
• Jerzy (YEHR-zheh)--Polish
• Jordi (JOR-dee)--Catalan
• Jorgen (YOR-gen)--Scandinavian
• Jorge (ZHOR-zheh)--Portuguese
• Jorge (HOR-heh)--Spanish
• Joris (YOR-is)--Dutch
• Jory (JOH-ree)--Cornish
• Seoirse (SHOR-sheh)--Irish
• Seoras (SHOR-as)--Scottish
• Siôr (SHOR)--Welsh
• Xurxo (SHOOR-shah)--Galician
• Yorick (YOR-ik)--English (via Jorgen)
• Yuriy (YOO-ree)--Russian. Also spelled Yuri.

Feminine Forms:

• Đurđica (joor-JEE-tsah)--Croatian
• Georgeta (jor-JET-ah)--Romanian
• Georgette (zhor-ZHET)--French
• Georgia (JOR-jah)--English
• Gergana (gehr-GAHN-ah)--Bulgarian
• Jirina (YEE-ree-nah)--Czech

Same Name?!--Anna

Poor Anne is often held as the epitome of 'boring' names. And yet, she's also one of the most common contributors to compound names (e.g. Leanne, Marianne, Roseanna, Anneliese). Easy to say, with a sweet meaning, and a Biblical namesake, it's no wonder that Anna has been popular throughout the ages and all over the world.

Original Hebrew form: Channah [חַנָּ] (khah-nah)
Greek transliteration: Anna (AHN-nah)
English transliteration: Hannah (HAN-nah)


Modern versions:

• Anaïs (ah-nah-EES)--French, Catalan
• Aneta (ah-NET-ah)--Czech, Polish
• Anika, Annika (AH-nee-kah)--German, Dutch, Scandinavian
• Aniko (AW-nee-ko)--Hungarian
• Anina (ah-NEE-nah)--German
• Anita (ah-NEE-tah)--Spanish, Portuguese
• Annag (AHN-nak)--Scottish
• Annette (an-NET)--French
• Annick (AHN-eek)--Breton
• Anouk (ah-NOOK)--Dutch, French
• Anu (AH-noo)--Estonian, Finnish
• Anya (AHN-ya)--Russian
• Hana (HAH-nah)--Croatian, Czech
• Hania (HAHN-yah)--Polish
• Nancy (NAN-see)--English
• Ninon (nee-NOHN)--French
• Ona (OH-nah)--Lithuanian

Same Name?!--Jacob

Jacob--a seeming contradiction; both traditional and trendy. It was a top name back when the SSA started keeping track over 120 years ago, but was steadily on the decline. For some reason, it shot back to the top in the 1970s, and has been there ever since. Jacob wasn't exactly the most honorable of Biblical characters to be sure, but he has that eye-catching J up front, that fun-to-say 'ay', that crisp 'c', and that rare 'ob' ending. The mixture of familiar and unusual is probably what's kept him so appealing for so long. Jacob is also the original form of another perennial boys' name--James.

Original Hebrew form: Ya'aqov [יַעֲקֹב] (ya-ah-kov)
Greek form: Iacobus [ Ιακωβος] (ya-COH-boos)
Later Latin form: Iacomus (YA-coh-moos)

Modern versions:

• Cobus (KOH-bus)--Dutch
• Diego (dee-AY-go)--Spanish (via Santiago, an elision of Santo [Saint] Yago)
• Giacomo (JAH-koh-moh)--Italian
• Hamish (HAY-mish)--Scottish (from James)
• Iago (ee-AH-goh)--Galician & Welsh
• Jacques (ZHAHK)--French
• Jago (JAY-goh)--Cornish
• Jaime (HYE-may)--Spanish (from James)
• Jaime (ZHIME)--Portuguese (from James)
• James (JAYMZ)--English (via the late Latin Iacomus)
• Japik (YAH-pik)--Frisian
  
• Jaume (ZHOW-meh)--Catalan (from James)
• Jem (JEM)--medieval English (from James)
• Kimo (kee-moh)--Hawaiian (from James)
• Seamus (SHAY-mus)--Irish (from James)
• Tiago (tee-AH-go)--Portuguese (via Santiago)
• Xanti (SHAHN-tee)--Basque (via Santiago)
• Yago (YAH-goh)--Spanish
• Yacov (YAH-kof)--Bulgarian & Russian
  

Feminine forms:

• Giachetta (jah-KET-tah)--Italian
• Jacomina (ZHAK-oh-mee-nah)--Dutch
• Jacqueline (zhak-a-LEEN)--French
• Jamesina (JAY-meh-SEE-nah)--Scottish (from James)
• Jayma (JAY-mah)--English (from James)
• Zaklina (zhak-LEE-nah)--Croatian & Polish