Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Cam

Cam is one of the few nicknames I can easily see on either gender. Whether sort for Cameron and Camden for boys, or Cameron and Camilla (or more recently, Cambria) for girls, it's quite versatile.

(there is a surprisingly high number of coincident names in this post--names of different origins that are spelled/pronounced alike. Apparently 'kam' is a common construction in many languages!)

Boys:

• Camillo (kah-MEEL-loh, Italian)
• Kamal (kah-MAHL, Arabic, Hindi)--"perfection" [Arabic]; "lotus" [Hindi]
• Kambiz (kahm-BEEZ, Persian)
• Kamen (KAH-men, Bulgarian)--"stone"
• Kamik (kah-meek, Greenlandic, Bengali)
• Kamil (KAH-meel, Arabic, Polish)--"perfect" [Arabic] or form of Camillo [Polish]

Girls:

• Camellia (kah-MEL-yah, kah-MEE-lee-ah, English)
• Kamala (KAM-ah-lah, Hindi)--feminine of Kamal, "lotus"
• Kamaria (kah-mah-REE-ah, Swahili)--from Arabic, "moon"
• Kamarina (kah-mah-REE-nah, [Ancient] Greek)--nymph of the Sicilian city Kamarina. Also spelled Camarina.
• Kamini (kah-MEE-nee, Hindi)
• Kamma (KAHM-mah, Danish)

Unisex:

• Camlin (KAM-lin, English)--from English, "camel-cloth seller", or Irish, "crooked line"
• Kamea (kah-meh-ah, Hawaiian)
• Kamon (kah-MOHN, Thai)--"heart" or "lily"

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 (girls)

Girls' name-trends are more nickname-driven apparently, and shorten to Addy, Maddy, Emma, Bella, Ella, or Lily (mostly skipping these, as they're covered in other posts). Girls' names are also more likely to start with A, K, Z; contain H, K, X, Y, Z, ; and end in 'lee' [and to a lesser extent, 'ee' in general], 'aya', or 'ia'.

• Abigaia (ah-bee-GYE-ah, Greek [Biblical])--form of Abigail
• Acacia (ah-KAY-shah, English)
• Adannaya (ah-dah-NAH-yah, Igbo)--"her father's daughter"
• Alaia (ah-lah-yah, Basque)--"happy"
• Antheia (an-THAY-ah, Greek)--original form of Anthea
• Araceli (ah-rah-SEH-lee, Spanish)
• Arlie (AR-lee, English)
• Atalia (ah-TAHL-yah, Hebrew)
• Aviya (ah-vee-YAH, Hebrew)
• Aya (ah-yah, Japanese, Hebrew, Arabic)
• Caelia (SAY-lee-ah, English; CHAY-lee-ah or KYE-lee-ah, Latin)--"heaven"
• Clelia (CLEHL-yah, Italian)
• Deòiridh (JOR-ee, Scottish)
• Eilidh (AY-lee, Scottish)--form of Helen or Eleanor
• Evelia (eh-VEH-lee-ah, Spanish)
• Freya (FRAY-ah, English)--from Norse, "lady"
• Gioia (JOY-ah, Italian)
• Idriya (ee-dree-ah, Hebrew)
• Iole (ee-OH-lee, EYE-ah-lee, Greek)--"violet"
• Junia (JOO-nee-ah, Latin)
• Kamaria (kah-mah-REE-ah, Swahili)--from Arabic, "moon"
• Keziah (keh-ZYE-ah, English)--from Hebrew "cassia spice"
• Kyveli (kih-VEL-ee, Greek)
• Laelia (LAY-lee-ah, English; LYE-lee-ah, Latin)
• Lígia (LEE-zhee-ah, Portuguese)
• Magali (mah-gah-LEE, French)--form of Magdalene/Madeline. Also spelled Magalie.
• Mahalia (mah-HAY-lee-ah, English)--from Hebrew, "lyre"
• Marsaili (MAR-sah-lee, Scottish)
• Melia (MEL-ee-ah, Greek)--"honey"
• Micaiah (mee-kah-yah, Hebrew)
• Minali (MEE-nah-lee, Hindi)
• Mireia (mee-RAY-ah, Spanish)--also spelled Mireya.
• Nephele (NEF-el-ee, Greek)
• Noya (noh-yah, Hebrew)--"beauty"
• Priya (PREE-ah, Hindi)--"beloved"
• Rheia (RAY-ah, Greek)--original form of Rhea.
• Riya (REE-ah, Hindi)--"singer"
• Suraya (soo-RAH-yah, Arabic)
• Tacey (TAY-see, English)--from Latin, "quiet"
• Taisiya (tah-EE-see-ah, Russian)
• Thulile (too-lee-leh, Zulu)--"quiet"
• Velia (VEHL-yah, Italian)