Amanda & Her Sisters

I somehow got sucked into a rabbit-hole of looking up names based on Latin "love", the most familiar of which today are probably Amanda & Amy. It's a nice break from the long line of SSA-based posts, so here we go......

• Amabilis / Amabilia--"lovable". Modern forms include Mabel (English), Amable (masc., French), Amabile (unisex, Italian), and Amábile (fem., Portuguese). 
• Amadeus / Amadea--"love of God". Modern forms include Amédée (masc., French), Amadeo (Italian), Amadeu (Portuguese), Amade (fem., Basque), and Amadej/Amadeja (Slovenian).
• Amandus / Amanda--"needs to be loved". Other forms include Amandine (fem., French), Amandina (fem., Dutch, Portuguese), and Amando (masc., Spanish). 
• Amantius / Amantia--"loving". Modern forms include Amancio/Amancia (Spanish & Portuguese) and Amanzio/Amanzia (Italian). 
• Amator / Amatrix--"lover" [not used as a name in Latin]. Medieval French & Spanish form was Amador (masc.).
• Amatus / Amata--"beloved". Modern forms include Aimé/Aimée (French), Amy (English), Amado/Amada (Spanish), Amate (fem., Basque), and Amato/Amata (Italian). 
• Amicitia (fem.)--"friendship" [from Roman mythology]. Modern English form is Amity. 
• Amicus / Amica--"friend" [not used as a name in Latin]. Medieval forms included Amicia/Amice/Amis (fem., English) and Amice (fem., French). 
• Amor (masc.)--"love" [from Roman mythology]. Modern feminine forms [all quite rare] include Amora (English, Spanish) and Amorina (Swedish, Portuguese).

Latinized Places

Cambria is gaining popularity, and Brittania/Britannia also has sporadic use. There's also Lydia (although I doubt people today associate it with Asia Minor), and I've seen Scotia & Caledonia tossed around on forums as well.
While I'm not personally a fan of place-names in general, I wonder: do the Latin versions work better?

• Anglia (ANG-lee-ah)--England
• Avenio (ah-VEN-ee-oh)--Avignon, France
• Berytus (BEHR-ee-toos)--Beirut, Lebanon
• Britannia/Brittania (brit-TAN-yah)--Great Britain
• Caledonia (kal-eh-DOHN-yah)--Scotland
• Cambria (KAM-bree-ah)--Wales
• Dania (DAHN-ee-ah)--Denmark
• Fennia (FEN-nee-ah) / Finnia (FIN-nee-ah)--Finland
• Florentia (floh-REN-tee-ah, floh-REN-shah)--Florence, Italy
• Francia (FRAHN-kee-ah, FRAN-shah)--France
• Galatia (gah-LAH-tee-ah, gah-LAY-shah)--central Turkey
• Genua (GEN-oo-ah)--Genoa, Italy
• Helvetia (hel-VET-ee-ah, hel-VEE-shah)--Switzerland
• Hibernia (hye-BURN-ee-ah) / Ivernia (eye-VER-nee-ah)--Ireland
• Italia (ee-TAHL-ee-ah, it-AL-yah)--Italy
• Lentia (LEN-tee-ah, LEN-shah)--Linz, Austria
• Londinium (lun-DIN-ee-um)--London, Great Britain 
• Lutetia (loo-TEH-tee-ah, loo-TEE-shah)--Paris, France
• Lydia (LEE-dee-ah, LID-ee-ah)--western Turkey
• Melita (MEL-ee-tah, meh-LEE-tah)--Malta
• Noricum (NOH-rik-oom)--Austria
• Numidia (noo-MID-ee-ah)--Algeria
• Phoenicia (fee-NEE-kee-ah, fen-EE-shah)--Lebanon & Western Syria
• Portugallia (por-too-GAHL-lee-ah)--Portugal
• Raetia (RYE-tee-ah, REE-shah)--western Switzerland, northern Italy, & southern Germany [basically the area around the central Alps]
• Scotia (SKOH-tee-ah, SKOH-shah)--originally Ireland, later Scotland
• Sena (SEH-nah)--Siena, Italy [where the modern color-name Sienna comes from]
• Suecia (soo-EH-kee-ah) / Svecia (SVES-ee-ah)--Sweden
• Syene (see-EN-eh, sye-EE-nee)--Aswan, Egypt
• Tyrus (TEER-oos, TYE-rus)--Tyre, Lebanon
• Valentia (vah-LEN-tee-ah, vah-LEN-shah)--Valencia, Spain, and Valence, France
• Venetia (ven-EH-tee-ah, ven-EE-shah)--Venice, Italy
• Vindelicia (veen-deh-LEE-kee-ah, vin-del-EE-shah)--Switzerland & southern Germany [above Raetia]

Elias, Silas, Titus, Tobias, Cyrus, Leonidas, Matthias....

It's pretty easy to come up with multiple phonetic trends for girls, but I've been trying to even things up and discover some for boys. Surnames, obviously: -ers, -sons, and -dens, but surely there's an alternative trend or two, right?
Well, I think I found one--"eye_as". The names listed in the title: all Top 1000, and all rising! It makes sense--"eye"-sounding names are trending all over the place for both genders, and the softer vintage-y -s ending makes some interesting and handsome combinations.
Can we find more? Of course! :D

• Achaios (ah-kye-AHS, [ancient] Greek)--Latin form is Achaeus (ah-KYE-us). 
• Aelius (EYE-lee-us, Latin)--poss. from Greek Helios, "sun"
• Alkaios (AHL-kye-os, [ancient] Greek)--"strength". Latin form is Alcaeus (al-KYE-us). 
• Amias (ah-MYE-as, English)--poss. from Latin "friend"
• Aineias (eye-NAY-as, [ancient] Greek)--"praise". Latin spelling is Aeneas. 
• Aias (EYE-as, [ancient] Greek)--original form of Ajax, prob. "eagle" or "earth"
• Alphaios (AHL-fye-os, [Biblical] Greek)--from Hebrew, poss. "change, renew". Latin form is Alphaeus (al-FYE-us). 
• Ananias (an-an-EYE-as, [Biblical] Greek)--from Hebrew, "Yahweh is gracious"
• Argyros (ar-GYE-ros, [anglicized] Greek)--"silver"
• Aristaios (ah-ris-TYE-os, [ancient] Greek)--"most excellent". Latin spelling is Aristaeus. [Greek god of rustic occupations: beekeeping, shepherding, cheesemaking, etc]
• Astraios (AS-trye-os, [ancient] Greek)--"of the stars". Latin form is Astraeus (as-TRYE-us). [Greek Titan of the stars and astronomy]
• Azarias (az-ah-RYE-as, [Biblical] Greek)--from Hebrew, "Yahweh has helped"
• Caiaphas (KYE-ah-phas, [Hellenized] Aramaic)--poss. "valley, depression"
• Caelius (KYE-lee-us, Latin)--masculine of Caelia/Celia, "heavenly"
• Esaias (eh-SYE-as, [Biblical] Greek)--form of Hebrew Isaiah, "Yahweh is salvation". Other forms include Isaias (ee-SYE-as, Spanish) and Isaías (ee-ZYE-as, Portuguese). 
• Euryalus (yoo-RYE-ah-lus, [anglicized] Greek)--prob. "wide sea" or "wide roaming"
• Eutychus (yoo-TYE-kus, [anglicized] Greek)--"good luck"
• Ezekias (ez-eh-KYE-as, [Biblical] Greek)--form of Hebrew Hezekiah, "Yahweh strengthens"
• Gaius (GYE-us, Latin)--origin unknown. Other forms include Caius (KYE-us) and Gaianus (GYE-an-us).  
• Hephaistos (HEF-eye-stos, [ancient] Greek)--Latin form is Hephaestus (hef-EYE-stus). [Greek god of fire, smiths, and craftsmen]
• Iairos (YIGH-ros, [Biblical] Greek)--from Hebrew, "he enlightens". Latin spelling is Iairus. 
• Josias (joh-SYE-as, [Biblical] Latin)--form of Hebrew Josiah, "Yahweh supports"
• Kairos (kye-RAHS, [ancient] Greek)--"opportunity". Latin form is Caerus (KYE-rus). [Greek god of opportunity and luck; means "weather" in modern Greek]
• Laelius (LYE-lee-us, Latin)
• Linus (LYE-nus, [anglicized] Greek)--"flax"
• Lycus (LYE-kus, [anglicized] Greek)--"wolf"
• Ozias (oh-ZYE-as, [Biblical] Greek)--from Hebrew, "my strength is Yahweh"
• Phaidros (FYE-dros, [ancient] Greek)--masculine of Phaedra, "bright". Latin spelling is Phaedrus. 
• Phyleus (FYE-lee-us, [anglicized] Greek)--prob. "clan"
• Quirinus (kwer-EYE-nus, Latin)--prob. "spear"
• Tiberius (tye-BEER-ee-us, English)--from Latin "from the Tiber River"
• Timaios (TIM-eye-os, [ancient] Greek)--"honored". Latin form is Timaeus (tim-EYE-us). 
• Tiras (TYE-ras, [Biblical] Hebrew)
• Traianus (TRYE-an-us, Latin)--original form of Trajan, origin unknown
• Tydeus (TYE-dee-us, [anglicized] Greek)
• Urias (yoo-RYE-as, [Biblical] Latin)--from Hebrew, "Yahweh is my light"
• Zacharias (zak-ah-RYE-as, [Biblical] Greek)--form of Zachary, "Yahweh remembers"

(I can't seem to get away from the ancient boys' names, can I? Somehow I didn't expect that that's pretty much all this list would consist of......)

F-abulous Names

Considering how many F-names seem to be trending (Finn and variants, Flynn, Ford, Fisher, Fletcher, Felicity, Fiona, Freya), I'm surprised there aren't any except Faith in the SSA Top 100--and it's down at #91! After that, it's Finn for boys at #204 and Finley for girls at #209.
F-names were all the rage at the turn of the century (Frank, Florence, Frances/Francis, Fred, Ferdinand, Floyd, Faye, etc), and I think it's time for a comeback. ;)

(this turned into a much longer list than I had expected. How is it that there are so many F-names world-wide, but so few in use in the US?)

Boys:

• Faolán (FWEE-lawn, FWAY-lawn, Irish)--prob. "little wolf"
• Faiz (FAH-eez, Arabic)--"victorious"
• Fanuel (FAHN-oo-el, Scandinavian)--from Hebrew, "face of God"
• Faramund (FAHR-ah-mund, Germanic)--"journey protection". Old Swedish form is Farmund.
• Faris (FEHR-is, Arabic; FAH-rees, Bosnian)--from Arabic, "knight"
• Farman (FAHR-man, Scandinavian)--"traveller". Also spelled Farmann. 
• Faustin (foh-STAHN, French; FOW ['ow' like "now"] -steen, Russian)--from Latin, "lucky". Other forms include Faustyn (FOW-stin, Polish) and Faustino (fow-STEEN-oh, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish). 
• Fen (FEN, Frisian)--nickname for Germanic frid names, "peace" [coincides with an English word for a type of wetland]
• Ferapont (fyehr-ah-PAHNT, Russian)--from ancient Greek, "servant, caregiver"
• Ferris (FEHR-ris, English [surname], Irish [surname])--from French, "ironworker", or a form of Fergus
• Fife (FIFE, Scottish)--from the Scottish region, origin unknown. Also spelled Fyfe.
• Finlo (FIN-loh, Manx)--"fair Lugh" [Irish god]
• Finnegas (FIN-eh-gas, Irish [mythology])--poss. "Finn the Seer". Also written as Finegas or Finneces.
• Finnvid (FIN-vid, [somewhat archaic] Swedish)--"Finn-tree" or "magician-tree"). Other forms include Finnevid (also somewhat archaic Swedish), Finnved (archaic Norwegian), and Finwith (old Danish, old Swedish)
• Fishel (FISH-el, Yiddish)--"little fish" [also sometimes used as a nickname for Ephraim]
• Fivos (FEE-vos, Greek)--modern masculine form of Phoebe, "light"
• Flemming (FLEM-ming, Scandinavian [esp. Danish!])--"from Flanders" [probably ultimately from Old Frisian "of the flowing water"]. Also spelled Fleming. 
• Flint (FLINT, English [surname])
• Fordel (FOR-del, Norwegian)--from Germanic, "advantage"
• Fosco (FOHS-koh, Italian)--prob. from Latin, "dark"
• Fraser (FRAY-zher, FRAY-zer, Scottish, English)--also spelled Frazier
• Fredmund (FRED-moond, Norwegian)--"peace protection"
• Frey (FRAY, Danish, Swedish)--masculine of Freya "lord". Also spelled Frej.
• Fulton (FUL-ton, English [surname])

Girls:

• Fabia (FAH-bee-ah, Latin, Italian)--other forms include Fabiana (fah-bee-AH-nah, Latin, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish), Fabienne (fah-bee-EN, French), and Fabiola (fah-bee-OH-lah, Spanish, Italian).
• Fadime (fah-dee-MAY, Turkish)--form of Fatima
• Faina (fah-EE-nah, Russian)--poss. from ancient Greek Phaenna, "shining"
• Faiza (FYE-zah, Arabic)--"victorious"
• Fanchon (FAN-shawn, French)--nickname for Françoise/Frances
• Fanélie (fah-nay-LEE, French)--form of Françoise/Frances or Stéphanie
• Fara (FAH-rah, Italian, Scandinavian)--nickname for Germanic fara names, "journey"
• Fausta (FOW ['ow' like "now"] -stah, Latin, Italian)--from Latin, "lucky". Other forms include Faustine (foh-STEEN, French), Faustina (fow-STEEN-ah, Latin, Italian), and Faustyna (fow-STIN-ah, Polish). 
• Favonia (fah-VOH-nee-ah, Latin)--"favored"
• Fedea (fed-eh-ah, Basque)--"faith"
• Femke (FEM-keh, Dutch, Frisian)--nickname for Germanic frid names, "peace". [coincides with the Frisian word for "girl"]
• Fenareti (fen-ah-REH-tee, Greek)--"shining virtue". Also transliterated as Fainareti. 
• Fenna (FEN-nah, Dutch, Frisian)--another nickname for Germanic frid names, "peace". Also spelled Fenne. 
• Feray (feh-RYE, Turkish)--poss, "radiance of the moon"
• Ffion (FEE-on, Welsh)--"foxglove"
• Fia (FEE-ah, Scandinavian)--short form of Sofia
• Fiadh (FEE-ah, Irish)--"wild" or "deer"
• Fiadhnait (FYAH-nat, Irish)--"fawn"
• Fiamma (fee-AHM-mah, Italian)--"flame"
• Fiammetta (fee-ahm-MET-tah, Italian)--"little flame"
• Fiorenza (fee-oh-REN-tsah, Italian)--form of Florence. Other forms include Florentia (floh-REN-tee-ah, Latin; floh-REN-shah, English) and Florencia (floh-REN-see-ah, Spanish). 
• Fira (feer-AH, Russian)--nickname for Esfir/Esther
• Flavia (FLAH-vee-ah, Latin, Spanish, Italian)--from Latin, "golden, yellow". Other forms include Flavie (flah-VEE, French), Flavienne (flah-vee-EN, French), and Flaviana (flah-vee-AH-nah, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese).
• Freydis (FRAY-dis, Norwegian)--"lady goddess". Another form is Frøydis (FROOY [somewhere between English "ay" and "oy"] -dis). 

Unisex:

• Farah (FAH-rah, Arabic)--"joy". Also spelled Farrah. 
• Firdaus (FEER-dohs, Arabic; fur-DOHS, Persian)--"paradise". Also transliterated as Firdos. [definitely unisex, although more common for boys, in Arabic; might be exclusively masculine in Persian]

Primer: Ancient Greek Names

If you have any sort of background or interest in Ancient Greece, you've probably noticed that I've been rather inconsistent on pronunciation. Part of this is laziness, but another part (especially the further back in my blog you go) was lack of knowledge. I might go back and correct or clarify previous posts later, but for now, I'll just resolve myself to be better going forward!

This is not intended to be a thorough guide to Ancient Greek names, but it should be helpful for the newbie or for passing interest.

First, there are three ways to pronounce Ancient Greek names:
--reconstructed Ancient Greek (what most scholars believe the language actually sounded like)
--Latinized (how the Romans pronounced the names when they imported them)
--Anglicized (how we usually say them today, which is based off the Latinized versions)

The letters are mostly the same as English, but there are some exceptions:

• A (Α, α) -- "ah" (like 'father') in Ancient Greek and Latin. In English, like "a" ('cat') or "ah" ('father') or "ay" ('play').
• C (Κ, κ) -- always hard ('cat') in Ancient Greek and Latin. In English, like our C: hard before a, o, u ('cat'); soft before i, e, y ('cent'). Also soft before 'ae'.
  Latin didn't have the letter K, so older transliterations will have C. More authentic transliterations will use K (which English adopted directly from Greek).
• G (Γ, γ) -- always hard ('gift') in Ancient Greek and Latin. In English, like our G: hard before a, o, u ('go'); soft before e, i, y ('gem'). Also soft before 'ae'.
• I (Ι, ι) -- "ee" in Ancient Greek and Latin; in English, "ih" ('it'), "ee" ('see'), or "eye" ('sight'). Usually 'ih' if followed by two consonants, otherwise whichever is easiest to say, it seems. 
• X (Ξ, ξ) -- "ks" in Ancient Greek and Latin; in English "z" at the start of a word ('xylophone'), "ks" otherwise.
• Y (Υ, υ) -- "eu" in Ancient Greek (doesn't exist in English; think of the French 'u'); "ee" in Latin. In English, like I, basically a toss-up. 
• U (Υ, υ) -- "eu" in Ancient Greek (doesn't exist in English; think of the French 'u'); "oo" in Latin; "oo" in English, or "yoo" when at the beginning of a word.
  (yes, the letter upsilon (Υ, υ) is written either Y or U. If after another vowel, it tends to be written as U, and as Y after consonants)
• CH (Χ, χ) -- "kh" in Ancient Greek and Latin; "k" in English.
• PS (Ψ, ψ) -- "ps" in Ancient Greek; "s" in Latin and English.
• TH (Θ, θ) -- "t'h" in Ancient Greek and Latin (an aspirated T, rather like a 't'-sound followed immediately by a 'h'-sound); "th" in English ("thigh").
  (Interestingly, in Modern Greek, now pronounced "th".)

I've saved the two trickiest for last--E & O. Both are represented by two letters in Ancient Greek, and the pronunciation depends on which.

• E can be either from epsilon (Ε, ε), which is short ('let'), or eta (Η, η), which is similar to the long English "ay" sound ('play'). When Anglicized, the eta says "ee" ('see'), and sometimes the epsilon does too.
• Similarly, O can be either from omicron (Ο, ο), which is short ('cot') or omega (Ω, ω), which is long ('coat'). When Anglicized, both tend to follow English pronunciation rules.
  Names ending in -os are usually changed to -us in Latin and English.

Ancient Greek uses the following digraphs:

• ai (αι) -- "eye". Written as ae in Latin, still pronounced "eye". Often ae in English as well, but then is pronounced "ee" or "eh".
• au (αυ) -- "ow", like 'cow'.
• ei (ει) -- "ay" in Ancient Greek and Latin, usually "eh" ('set') or "ee" ('see') in English. Often written as just e or i in Latin and English (e.g. Rheia --> Rhea; Dareios --> Darius).
• eu (ευ or ηυ) -- "eh-oo" in Ancient Greek and Latin, "yoo" in English ('Europe').
• oi (οι) -- "oy", like 'boy'. Written as oe in Latin, and usually in English as well, but then pronounced "ee" (not to be confused with the name ending -oe, which is two separate vowels, οη or ωη).
• ou (ου) -- "oo", like "boot". Often written as just u in Latin and English (and in English, then pronounced "yoo" at the start of the word, like in 'Uranus').
• yi or ui (υι) -- "oo-ee" in Ancient Greek and Latin, "ee" in English.

So, that was easy, right? :p On to stress!

--Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek used tonal stress, which is something that a native English speaker will have a hard time imagining, let alone pulling off! Most just approximate it by using the dynamic ("loudness") stress we Anglophones are used to.
(aside: stress is something that's generally quite lacking in pronunciation guides, and if you want a really in-depth look, I suggest this page: http://enargea.org/homyth/translit.html, which is amazingly thorough on stress differences in Ancient Greek and Latinized pronunciations)
If you happen to have the actual Greek spelling of the name, you can often quite easily tell where the stress is--many names have the stressed syllable marked with the acute accent (ά, έ, ή, etc).
If the name does not have the accents marked, it can get quite complicated since stress is dependent on word length and vowel length (really, the simplest way might be to just stick the Greek spelling into Forvo)!

• Two-syllable names are usually stressed on the first. 
• Greek often has final-syllable stress, particularly in names ending in -o, -is, -os or -us. 
• If the name ends in -as, -on, -e, -ia, or -ea, it's usually the second-last syllable stressed (but not -eia, however! Those are stressed on the third-last).
  Remember that the vowel pairs -oe, -ia and -ea are separate syllables, so the stress would be on the o, i, or e (Beroe = "beh-RAH-ay"; Delia = "day-LEE-ah"; Leucothea = "lyoo-koth-EH-ah").
• With longer names, the third-last is usually a good guess, especially if the name does not fall into one of the previously mentioned patterns. 

We're used to Latinized pronunciations, so if it sounds awkward, you're probably pretty close. :p


--Latin and English

• If you don't care about attempting Ancient Greek accent, and are content with Latinized or Anglicized, just stress the second-last syllable.
• Common exceptions are when the name ends in -ia or -e (Eumelia = "yoo-MEL-ee-ah; Antigone = "an-TIG-on-ee"), or -ias, -ion, or -eus (Callias = "KAL-ee-us", Endymion = "en-DIM-ee-on", Proteus = "PRO-tee-us").
• With names of 4 syllables. it's sometimes the third-to-last that's stressed (Eidothea = "ed-OTH-ee-ah"), but not always (Amalthea = "am-al-THEE-ah").

Here are a few names, showing common differences in the three pronunciation methods.

	Ancient Greek	Latin	English
Psyche (Ψυχή)	"psoo-KHAY"	"SEE-khay"	"SYE-kee"
Theseus (Θησεύς)	"t'hay-seh-OOS"	"T'HAY-seh-oos"	"THEE-see-us"
Kelaino / Celaeno (Κελαινώ)	"kel-eye-NOH"	"kel-EYE-noh"	"sel-EE-noh"
Chryseis (Χρυσηἰς)	"khroo-say-EES"	"kree-SAY-ees"	"krye-SEE-is" or "kris-AY-is"
Medousa / Medusa (Μέδουσα)	"MED-oo-sah"	"med-OO-sah"	"med-OO-sah"

"Quick primer". Ha!
Well, hopefully that wasn't too confusing, and maybe a little bit helpful. ;)

"Girlish" Boy Names

I did "boyish" girl names, so now I have to do the reverse, of course! Boys have much more diversity when it comes to name endings, but girls do have a higher proportion of names ending in -a, ah, ne, le, th, i, and y. Boys also have the minority of names starting with A, E, P, S, & V, so I'll be looking especially for those. :)
(I do not have room to list all the Biblical -iah names for boys, so just look here if those strike your fancy)

• Achille (ah-SHEEL, French; ah-KEEL-leh, Italian)--form of Achilles
• Adlai (AD-lay, AD-lye, [Biblical] Hebrew)
• Alexei (ah-leks-AY, al-leks-EE, Russian, Ukrainian)--form of Alexis. Other forms include Aleksi (AH-lek-see, Finnish) and Aleksy (AH-lek-see, Polish).
• Alvah (AL-vah, [Biblical] Hebrew)--poss. "ascending". Also spelled Alva.
• Alwi (AL-wee, Old English)--prob. "elf battle". Also spelled Alwy. 
• Amaury (ah-moh-REE, French)--form of Emmerich/Emery
• Arkady (ar-KAH-dee, Russian)--also spelled Arkadi or Arkadiy
• Arne (AHR-neh, Scandinavian, German)--from Germanic, "eagle"
• Artemiy (ar-TEM-ee, Russian)--from ancient Greek, "of Artemis"
• Asa (AY-sah, English; ah-sah, Hebrew)--from Biblical Hebrew, prob. "healer"
• Aulay (AW-lee, Scottish)--form of Olaf
• Augustine (AW-gus-teen, aw-GUS-tin, English)--from Latin, "great"
• Braith (BRAYTH, English)--prob. from Old Norse, "broad"
• Columba (koh-LUM-bah, Latin)--"dove"
• Conleth (KAHN-leth, Irish)
• Dara (DAH-rah, Irish)--"oak tree" or "fruitful". Also spelled Darragh. [feminine in other languages]
• Davi (DAH-vee, Portuguese)--form of David. Another form is Daveth (DAV-eth, Cornish).
• Éanna (AY-nah, Irish)--also spelled Énna. Anglicized form is Enda. 
• Elisha (ee-LYE-shah, [Biblical] Hebrew)--"God is my salvation"
• Emrys (EM-ris, Welsh)--form of Ambrose
• Fiachra (FEE-ahk-rah, Irish)--"raven". French form is Fiacre (fee-AH-creh). 
• Harith (HAH-rith, Arabic)--prob. "cultivator"
• Heath (HEETH, English)
• Hirah (HYE-rah, [Biblical] Hebrew)--"splendor"
• Iorwerth (YOR-werth, Welsh)--"handsome lord". Anglicized as Yorath.
• Kuisma (KOO-ees-mah, Finnish)--form of Cosmo. Other forms include Cosme (KAHZ-mee, Portuguese; COHM, French) and Kuzma (kooz-MAH, Russian).
• Lorne (LORN, English)--from Scottish place name
• Malachy (MAL-ah-kee, Irish)
• Perry (PEHR-ree, English)--from English "pear tree" or Welsh "son of Harry". Also spelled Parry. 
• Pryderi (prid-EHR-ee, Welsh)--prob. "cared for"
• Rishi (rish-EE, Hindi)--"poet"
• Savely (sah-VEL-ee, Russian)--form of Sabine. Also spelled Saveliy or Saveli. 
• Selby (SEL-bee, English)--from Old Norse, "willow farm"
• Sindre (SIN-dreh, Scandinavian)--another form is Sindri (SIN-dree)
• Visti (VEES-tee, Danish)--from Old Norse, "west". Other forms include Vesti (VES-tee, Danish) and Vestri (VES-tree, Old Norse).

"Boyish" Girl Names

Thanks at least partially to Latin, girls are seriously lacking in ending-letter diversity. Girls have the majority of -a, e, y, ah, and i, but all the rest are more common for boys! Some aren't noticeably more common, but many definitely are: -ch, k, b, o, p, c, f, sh, d, m, x......

So, for this post, I thought I'd track down girls' names that have "boyish" endings (with special consideration for names that also have significantly more "boyish" beginning letters as well: W, U, J, & D).

• Brigid (BRIJ-id, English; BREED, Irish)--also spelled Brid or Brighid
• Brónach (BROH-nakh, Irish)
• Callisto (kah-LIS-toh, [ancient] Greek)--"most beautiful" [masculine in Italian]
• Caridad (kah-ree-DAHD, Spanish)--form of Charity
• Carmo (KAHR-moh, Portuguese)--from Hebrew, "garden"
• Cleo (KLEE-oh, English)--from Greek, "glory". Also spelled Clio. 
• Dagmar (DAHK-mar, German; DAHG-mar, Scandinavian)--from Germanic, "day maiden"
• Deitlind (DEET-lint, German)--from Germanic, "gentle people"
• Derehild (DEHR-eh-hild, Old English)--prob. "precious battle" or "beast battle"
• Diamanto (dee-ah-MAHN-toh, Greek)--"diamond"
• Dido (DEE-doh, DYE-doh, Latin)
• Ellisif (EL-lis-eef, Scandinavian)--form of Elizabeth. Also spelled Elisif or Ellisiv (EL-lis-eev). 
• Fedelm (FEH-delm, Irish [mythology])--poss. from Old Irish, "constant"
• Hero (HEER-oh, [ancient] Greek)--Modern form is Iro (EER-oh).
• Kinborough (KIN-bur-roh, [medieval] English)--"royal fortress"
• Ingrid (EEN-grid, English, German, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "beautiful Ing"
• Isfrid (EES-frid, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, poss. "beautiful ice"
• Jochebed (JAHK-ah-bed, YAHK-ah-bed, [Biblical] Hebrew)--"Yahweh is glory"
• Jorund (YOHR-oond, Norwegian)--from Old Norse, "horse love" or "chief love"
• Juno (JOO-noh, Latin)
• Leto (LEE-toh, [ancient] Greek)--poss. "gentle" or "forgotten"
• Lilach (lee-LAHKH, Hebrew)--"lilac"
• Lilias (LIL-ee-as, Scottish)--form of Lily. Also spelled Lillias. 
• Liv (LEEV, Scandinavian; LIV, English)--from Old Norse, "protection"
• Loreto (loh-REH-toh, Italian, Spanish)--prob. from Latin, "laurel"
• Luned (LIN-ed, Welsh)
• Nahid (nah-HEED, Persian)--form of Anahita, poss. "pure". Also spelled Naheed. 
• Neus (NEH-oos, Catalan)--"snow"
• Pallas (PAL-las, [ancient] Greek)--poss. "maiden" or "spear". [unisex]
• Ravid (rah-VEED, Hebrew)--"necklace"
• Ríonach (REE-ah-nahkh, Irish)--"queen". Feminine of Rían/Ryan.
• Rocío (roh-SEE-oh, Spanish)--"dew"
• Rosalind (RAHZ-ah-lind, English)--from Germanic "gentle horse"
• Rosamund (ROHZ-ah-mund, RAHZ-ah-mund, English)--"horse protection"
• Solfrid (SOHL-frid, Scandinavian)--"beautiful house" or "beautiful sun"
• Timo (TEE-moh, [ancient] Greek)--prob. "honored" [masculine in other languages]
• Turid (TOOR-eed, Norwegian)--from Old Norse, "beautiful Thor"
• Waltraud (VAHL-trowt, German)--from Germanic, "strong ruler" or "foreign strength"
• Winifred (WIN-ah-fred, English)--anglicized from Welsh Gwenfrewi "blessed peace"
• Xeno (KSEN-oh, ZEE-noh, [ancient] Greek)--"foreign"
• Yanick (YAH-neek, French)--form of John/Jane. Also spelled Yannick. [unisex]

Potential -ianas and -inas

We get lots of our modern names from Latin--no denying that! And many of them are obviously closely related--Lucia & Luciana, Paula & Paulina, Julia & Juliana, etc. While -ina is usually considered a diminutive nowadays, back then, it was a suffix of possession or origin, as was -iana. So, Luciana = "like/of Lucia/Lucius/light"; and Paulina = "like/of Paula/Paulus/a small thing".
We already have a lot of these pairs, but since -ana is a rather trendy ending right now, I though it'd be fun to see if there's any we've forgotten, or possibly have never been used.
(there doesn't seem to be a hard rule for when words/names get -iana and when they get -ina. Usually -ia names become -iana and anything else is -ina, but not always. There's also a third suffix, -ana, but that one's pretty uncommon.)

• Aetiana, Aetina; from Aetius
• Amabiliana, Amabilina; from Amabilia 
• Amandina; from Amanda 
• Amantina, Amantiana; from Amantis 
• Amatina; from Amata 
• Appiana; from Appius
• Atiliana, Atilina; from Atilius
• Aulina, Auliana; from Aulus
• Aureana, Aurina; from Aurea 
• Aurorina, Auroriana; from Aurora 
• Aviliana, Avilina; from Avilia
• Avitina; from Avitus
• Beatina; from Beata
• Caeciliana/Ceciliana; from Caecilia/Cecilia
• Caeliana/Celiana; from Caelia/Celia
• Camilliana, Camillina; from Camilla
• Cardeana, Cardina; from Cardea 
• Cassiana; from Cassius
• Celsina; from Celsus
• Clarina, Clariana; from Clara
• Claudiana, Claudina; from Claudia
• Cloelina, Cloeliana; from Cloelia
• Concordina; from Concordia 
• Corneliana; from Cornelia
• Drusina; from Drusa
• Drusilliana, Drusillina; from Drusilla
• Duiliana, Duilina; from Duilius
• Egeriana; from Egeria
• Eliciana; from Elicius
• Eligiana, Eligina; from Eligius
• Emerentina; from Emerentius
• Fulviana; from Fulvia
• Gallina, Galliana; from Gallus
• Hilariana; from Hilaria
• Janina/Ianina; from Janus/Ianus
• Jovina/Iovina, Joviana/Ioviana; from Jove/Iovis
• Juniana/Iuniana; from Junia/Iunia
• Laeliana; from Laelia
• Laurina, Lauriana; from Laura
• Luciliana; from Lucilius
• Marciana, Marcina; from Marcia
• Maurina; from Maurus
• Naeviana/Neviana, Naevina/Nevina; from Naevius/Nevio
• Octaviana; from Octavia
• Olivina; from Oliva
• Patriciana; from Patricia
• Priscina; from Prisca
• Priscilliana, Priscillina; from Priscilla
• Remigiana; from Remigius
• Remina; from Remus
• Sabelliana, Sabellina; from Sabellius
• Silviana/Sylviana, Silvina/Sylvina; from Silvia/Sylvia
• Tulliana; from Tullius
• Ursina; from Ursa
• Variana; from Varius
• Victoriana; from Victoria
• Vitina, Vitiana; from Vitus

If you want an -iana that's a bit less "out-there" but still uncommon, I did an earlier post here. :)

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Rory

Yes, yes, I know: Rory isn't a nickname; it's a full boys' name. But, thanks at least partially to Gilmore Girls, Rory is increasingly common on girls, both as a full name and as a nickname for Lorelei.

Boys:

• Aurelio (ow-RAY-lee-oh, Italian, Spanish)--from Latin, "golden". Other forms include Aurélien (oh-ray-lee-AWN, French), Aurélio (ow-RAY-lee-oh, Portuguese) & Aurelius (aw-RAY-lee-us, or-EE-lee-us, Latin).
• Florian (FLOH-ree-ahn, Danish, French, German, Polish, Swedish)--Italian form is Floriano (floh-ree-AH-noh).
• Gregory (GREG-oh-ree, English)--from ancient Greek, "watchful". Other forms include Gregorius (Latin), Gregorio (greh-GOH-ree-oh, Italian, Spanish), Grigore (gree-GOR-eh, Romanian), and Grigoriy (gree-GOR-ee, Russian).
• Horatio (hoh-RAY-shee-oh, English)--other forms include Horacio (oh-RAH-see-oh, Spanish), Horatius (hoh-RAH-tee-us, hor-AY-shus, Latin), and Orazio (oh-RAHTZ-yoh, Italian).
• Laurence (LAW-rens, LOR-ens, English)--also spelled Lawrence. Other forms include Laurynas (lor-EE-nas, Lithuanian) and Laurentius (law-REN-tee-us, lor-EN-shus, Latin).
• Maurice (moh-REES, French; mor-REES, MOR-is, English)--other forms include Mauricio (mow-REE-see-oh, Spanish), Mauritius (maw-REE-tee-us, mor-ISH-us, Latin), Maurizio (mow-REE-zee-oh, Italian), and Maurycy (mow-RITS-ih, Polish).
• Rörik (ROH-rik, Swedish)--form of Roderick, from Germanic "famous power". Other forms include Rodrigue (rohd-REEG, French), Rodrigo (rohd-REE-goh, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish), Rorik (ROH-rik [Old] Danish), and Rurik (ROO-reek, Russian).
• Roland (ROH-land, English; roh-LAWND, French)--other forms include Orlando (ohr-LAHN-doh, Italian), Loránd (LOH-rahnd, Hungarian), Lóránt (LOH-rahnt, Hungarian), Rolando (roh-LAHN-doh, Italian, Portuguese), Roldán (rohl-DAHN, Spanish), and Roldão (ROHL-dow, Portuguese).

Girls:

• Aurelia (ow-RAY-lee-ah, Spanish, Italian; or-REE-lee-ah, English)--feminine of Aurelio. Other forms include Aurélia (ow-RAY-lee-ah, Portuguese), Aureliana (ow-ray-lee-AH-nah, Italian), Aurélie (oh-ray-LEE, French), and Aurélienne (oh-ray-lee-EN, French).
• Aurora (ah-ROR-ah, English; ow-ROH-rah, Danish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Spanish; OW-roh-rah, Finnish)--from Latin "dawn". French form is Aurore (oh-ROHR).
• Dolores (doh-LOHR-es, English, Spanish)
• Florence (FLOR-ens, English; floh-RAWNS, French)--from Latin, "flourishing". Other forms include Florencia (floh-REN-see-ah, Spanish), Florentia (floh-REN-tee-ah, flor-EN-shah, Latin), Florentina (floh-ren-TEE-nah, German, Romanian, Spanish), and Fiorenza (fee-oh-REN-tsah, Italian).
• Floriane (floh-ree-AN, French)--from Latin, "flower". Feminine of Florian. Other forms include Floriana (floh-ree-AH-nah, Italian), Florina (floh-REE-nah, Romanian), and Florinda (floh-REEN-dah, Portuguese, Spanish).
• Gloria (GLOH-ree-ah, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish)--other forms include Glória (GLOH-ree-ah, Portuguese), Gloriana (glor-ee-AN-ah, English; gloh-ree-AH-nah, Spanish), and Gloriela (gloh-ree-EL-ah, Spanish).
• Laurencia (law-REN-see-ah, lor-EN-shah, English)--feminine of Laurence. Other forms include Laurence (loh-RAWNS, French), Laurentia (law-REN-tee-ah, lor-EN-shah, Latin), Laurentina (law-ren-TEE-nah, Latin), Laurentine (loh-rawn-TEEN, French), Lorena (loh-REE-nah, English), and Lorenza (loh-REN-tsah, Italian; loh-REN-sah, Spanish).
• Liora (lee-oh-rah, Hebrew)--"my light". Another form is Liorit (lee-oh-reet). 
• Mallory (MAL-oh-ree, English)
• Marjorie (MAR-jor-ree, English)--form of Margaret
• Oriana (oh-ree-AH-nah, Italian)--from Latin "gold". French form is Oriane (oh-ree-AN).
• Regnora (reng-NOR-ah, Norwegian, Swedish)
• Roberta (rah-BERT-ah, English; roh-BEHT-tah, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Swedish)
• Rolanda (roh-LAHN-dah, Italian, Spanish)--feminine of Roland. Another form is Orlanda (or-LAHN-dah, Italian). 
• Rosaria (roh-SAH-ree-ah, Italian)--from Latin, "rosary". Other forms include Rosario (roh-SAH-ree-oh, Spanish), Rosário (roh-SAH-ree-oh, Portuguese), and Rosaire (roh-ZEHR, French).
• Rosemary (ROHZ-mehr-ee, English)--other forms include Rosemarie (ROH-zeh-mah-ree, German; rohz-meh-REE, English, ROHZ-mah-ree, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish).

Triple Goddesses!

No, that's not an anime (that I know of, anyway).
Goddess-trios are a common theme in mythology, and while the Greeks are most famous for them, they do exist in many ancient pantheons. And many of them have fun names! (perhaps better for cats than human babies, but still fun!)

The Charites (Greek) [sing.: Charis, "grace"]; goddesses of beauty and creativity:

• Aglaea (ah-GLYE-ah, ah-GLEE-ah) "glory"
• Euphrosyne (yoo-FROS-in-ee) "mirth"
• Thalia (THAHL-yah) "festivity"

The daughters of Maderakka (Sami); goddesses of childbirth and children:

• Sarakka (SAH-rahk-kah) "separating woman"
• Juksakka (YOOK-sahk-kah) "bow [archery] woman"
• Uksakka (OOK-sahk-kah) "door woman"

The Erinyes (Greek) [sing.: Erinys, poss. "angered" or "dark"]; goddesses of vengeance:

• Alecto (ah-LEK-toh) "unceasing"
• Tisiphone (tis-IF-oh-nee) "avenging murder"
• Megaera (meh-JEER-ah) "grudge"

The goddesses of Mecca (pre-Islamic Arabian):

• Allat (al-LAT) poss. "the goddess"
• Al-‘Uzzá (al-OOZ-ah) poss. "the mightiest"
• Manat (man-AT) poss. "fate"

The Gorgons (Greek) ["terrible"]; personifications of the dangers of the sea:

• Medusa (meh-DOO-sah) "queen"
• Euryale (yoo-RYE-ah-lee) prob. "wide step" or "wide sea"
• Stheno (STHEN-oh) "strength"

The Graeae (Greek) [sing.: Graea, "gray woman, old woman"]; personifications of sea foam:

• Pemphredo (pem-FREE-doh), poss "alarm" or "guide"
• Enyo (EN-yoh) "warlike"
• Deino (DEE-noh) "dread"

The Hesperides (Greek) [sing.: Hesperis, "of the evening"]; personifications of the evening:

• Aegle (EG-lee) "shining"
• Erytheia / Erytheis (eh-REETH-ay-ah / eh-REE-thays) "red"
• Hesperethousa (hes-pehr-eh-THOO-sah) "swift evening"; sometimes replaced with Hespere (HES-peh-ree) or Hesperia (hes-PEHR-ee-ah)

The Horae (Greek) [sing.: Hora, "hour" or "season"]; goddesses of nature, or of law and order:

• Thallo (THAH-loh) "blossom"
• Carpo (KAR-poh) "fruit"
• Auxo (OWKS-oh) "growth"
  
  

• Dike (DYE-kee) "justice"
• Eunomia (yoo-NOH-mee-ah) "good order"
• Eirene (eye-REE-nee) "peace"

The Hyperboreiai (Greek) [sing: Hyperboreia, "beyond the North Wind']; Artemis' archery attendants:

• Oupis (OO-pis) "sighting"
• Hecaerge (heh-SEER-jee) "distancing"
• Loxo (LOKS-oh) "angling"

The Moirai (Greek) [sing.: Moira, "portion"]; controllers of each person's fate:

• Clotho (KLOH-thoh) "spinner"
• Lachesis (LAK-eh-sis) "allotter"
• Atropos (AT-rop-ohs) "inevitable"

The Morrigna (Irish) [sing.: Morrigan, prob. "phantom queen"]; war & sovereignty goddesses:

• Badhbh (BIVE) "crow" 
• Macha (MAH-khah), prob. "field"
• Neamhain (NYAV-an), prob. "poison" or "seizer"; sometimes replaced with Anand or Morrigan

The (three original) Muses (Greek); goddesses of the arts:

• Aoide (ah-EE-dee, ay-EE-dee) "voice"
• Melete (MEL-eh-tee, mel-ET-ee) "practice"
• Mneme (NEE-mee) "memory"

The Norn (Norse) [prob. "whisper" or "twine"]; goddesses of destiny:

• Urd/Urth (OORD / OORTH [hard 'th', like "the"]) "fate"
• Verdandi/Verthandi (VEHR-dahn-dee / VEHR-thahn-dee [hard 'th']) "becoming"
• Skuld (skoold ['oo' like in "foot"]) "future" or "blame"

The Parcae (Roman) [sing.: Parca, prob. "frugal" or "slight"]; equivalent to the Greek Moirai:

• Nona (NOH-nah) "ninth"
• Decima (DES-ee-mah) "tenth"
• Morta (MOR-tah) "death"

The patron goddesses of Ireland:

• Éire (EHR-eh) poss. "abundant"
• Banbha (BAHN-uh-vah) poss. "unplowed land" or "sow"
• Fodhla (FOH-lah) poss. "sod"

The Praxidicae (Greek) ["exacting justice"]; goddesses of justice:

• Praxidike (prak-SID-ik-ee) "exacting justice"
• Arete (EHR-eh-tee) "virtue"
• Homonoea (hoh-MOH-nee-ah) "unanimity"

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name: Etta/Ettie

Despite the fact that Etta rose higher than any of her long forms, I still think of her as a nickname. I'm not sure why--because -etta is a diminutive suffix, perhaps?
Anyway, she's usually listed as a nickname for Henrietta on sites and in books, but there are tons of fun possibilities...

• Agneta (ahng-NET-ah, Swedish)--form of Agnes. Other forms include Aunetta (Finnish).
• Aleta (ah-LET-ah, English, Scandinavian)--form of Adelaide or Alethea. Also spelled Aletta.
• Aniceta (ah-nee-SEH-tah, Spanish; ah-nee-TSEH-tah, Polish)--from Greek, "unconquerable"
• Annetta (ah-NET-tah, Italian)
• Antonietta (ahn-tohn-YET-tah, Italian)
• Arletta (ar-LET-tah, English)
• Benedetta (beh-neh-DET-tah, Italian)--feminine of Benedict
• Bernetta (bur-NET-tah, English)--form of Berenice/Veronica
• Caieta (kye-ET-ah, Latin)
• Claretta (clah-RET-tah, Italian)
• Concetta (kon-CHET-tah, Italian)
• Coretta (koh-RET-tah, English)
• Dionetta (dee-oh-NEH-tah, Italian, English)--form of Denise/Dionysia
• Elettra (eh-LET-trah, Italian)--form of Electra
• Elisabetta (eh-lee-zah-BET-tah, Italian)--form of Elizabeth. Other forms include Alžbeta (Slovak), Elżbieta (Polish), Elisaveta (Macedonian), & Yelizaveta (Russian).
• Etelka (ET-el-kaw, Hungarian)
• Etelvina (et-el-VEE-nah, Spanish)--from Germanic, "noble friend"
• Eteri (eh-teh-ree, Georgian)--"air, ether"
• Étiennette (ay-tee-en-ET, French)
• Fiammetta (fee-ah-MET-tah, Italian)--"little flame"
• Fioretta (fee-oh-RET-tah, Italian)--"little flower"
• Floretta (floh-RET-tah, English)
• Georgeta (jor-JEH-tah, Romanian)
• Giosetta (joh-ZET-tah, Italian)
• Iveta (ee-VEH-tah, Czech, Latvian, Slovak)--form of Yvette
• Jacquetta (jah-KET-tah, English)--form of Jacqueline
• Julieta (joo-lee-ET-ah, English. Portuguese; hoo-lee-EH-tah, Spanish)--also spelled Julietta
• Lauretta (law-RET-tah, lohr-ET-tah, English; low-RET-tah, Italian)--form of Laura. Another form is Loretta.
• Lucetta (loo-SET-tah, English)--form of Lucy
• Margaretta (mar-gah-RET-tah, English)--other forms include Margareta (Dutch, German, Scandinavian), Margrete (Scandinavian), Marjeta (Slovene), Marketta (Finnish), & Merete (Dutch).
• Marietta (mah-ree-ET-tah, Italian)
• Nicoletta (nee-koh-LET-tah, Italian)--other forms include Nikoleta (Greek) & Nicoleta (Romanian)
• Odetta (oh-DET-tah, English)
• Pauletta (paw-LET-tah, English)
• Rosetta (roh-ZET-tah, Italian)
• Stenetta (sten-EH-tah, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "stone"
• Violeta (vee-oh-LEH-tah, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Serbian, Spanish)--Italian form is Violetta.
• Žaneta (zhah-NET-ah, Czech, Slovak)--form of Jane/Jean/Joan. Another form is Żaneta (Polish)

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--Remy

Remy/Remi is another in a long line of traditionally-masculine-but-sounds-feminine-to-modern-ears names that seems to be on the rise for both genders (see also: Avery, Reese/Reece/Rhys, Emery, etc). Although it is (again) a full name in its own right, having a gender-specific full name for a (now) unisex nickname isn't a bad idea.

Boys:

• Jeremy (JEHR-eh-mee, English)--form of Hebrew Jeremiah "God has uplifted". Another form is Jeremias (German, Portuguese, Spanish).
• Raymond (RAY-mond, English; ray-MAWn, French)
• Remaliah (rem-ah-LYE-ah, English)--from [Biblical] Hebrew, "exaltation of God"
• Rembert (REM-bert, Dutch, German)--from Germanic "bright advisor"
• Rembrandt (REM-brahnt, Dutch; REM-brant, English)--from Germanic "sword advisor"
• Remiel (REM-ee-el, English)--from [Biblical] Hebrew, "mercy of God"
• Remigio (rem-EE-jyoh, Italian, Spanish)--form of Remy/Remi. 

Girls:

• Mirembe (mee-rem-beh, Luganda)--"peace"
• Raymonde (ray-MAWND, French)
• Remedios (reh-MEH-dyohs, Spanish)--"remedies". Catalan form is Remei (reh-MAY)
• Remigia (reh-MEE-jyah, Latin)--feminine of Remigius/Remigio/Remy
• Remina (reh-MEE-nah, Frisian)--short form of Ragn-names (Germanic, "advise")

Dead Names.

Okay, yes, I know--there have been thousands, possibly millions of names that were once in use which, for whatever reason, just...stopped. Today, I'm going to have fun looking for now-obsolete names used in England within the last 5-700 years or so. A few survive today in surname form, but otherwise, they're gone--feminine or masculine, in pretty much any language I could find (apologies if I missed something).
(nowhere near a comprehensive list, obviously!)

Boys:

• Adelard--Old English or Germanic "noble" + "brave"
• Beneger--prob. from Germanic bern "bear" + gar "spear"
• Botolph--Old English "help", "messenger", or "battle" + wulf "wolf"
• Cuthbert--Old English cuæ "famous" + beorht "bright"
• Degory/Digory--prob. from French egare "lost", or possibly Anglo-Norman desgarry "dispossessed"
• Edulf--Old English ead "rich" + wulf "wolf"
• Gerlick--from Germanic gar "spear" + laic "contest"
• Hereward--Old English here "army" + weard "guard"
• Osgood--Old English os "god" + Germanic god "god"
• Osmer--Old English os "god" + mære "famous"
• Rocelin--from Germanic hrod "fame", via French & Germanic diminutives
• Turbert--Old Norse Thor + Germanic bert "bright"
• Warin--from Germanic war "guard"
• Wicard/Wychard--from Germanic wig  "war" + hard "brave"
• Wolfstan--Old English wulf + stan "stone"
• Wymark--from Germanic wig "war" + mar "famous", via Old Breton
• Wymer--from Germanic wig "war" + mar "famous"
• Wymond--from Germanic wig "war" + mund "protector"

Girls:

• Agenilda/Einilda--from Germanic agi "sharp" or haga "enclosure" + hild "battle"
• Ailith--Old English æðel "noble" + gifu "gift"
• Ailova--Old English æðel "noble" + lufu "love"
• Amice/Amicia--from Latin amicus "friend"
• Aldiva--Old English eald "old" + gifu "gift"
• Alviva--Old English ælf "elf" + gifu "gift"
• Belsant/Belsante/Belisencia--poss. from Germanic bili (?) "sword" + sinþ "journey"
• Brithwen--Old English beorht "bright" + wynn "joy"
• Claremonde/Claremunda--from Latin clarus "bright" + Germanic mund "protector"
• Estrild/Estrilda/Estrelda--Old English Eastre "Easter" [Germanic goddess] + hild "battle"
• Hawis/Hawisia--from Germanic hadu "battle" + widis "wide"
• Idemay--poss. Germanic id "work" + mæg "power"
• Idony/Idonea--from Old Norse Iðunn [Norse goddess]
• Kinborow--Old English cyne "king" + burg "fortress"
• Leva--Old English léofe "beloved"
• Levith--Old English léofe "beloved" + gýð "battle" 
• Leviva/Lyveva--Old English léofe "beloved" + gifu "gift"
• Maysant/Maisenta--from Germanic matha "council"(?)+ suent "strength", or magan "strength" + sinþ "journey"; via French
• Merewen--Old English mære "famous" + wynn "joy"
• Quenell/Quenilda--Old English cwen "woman, queen" + hild "battle"
• Queniva--Old English cwen "woman, queen" + gifu "gift"
• Rametta/Ramett--from Latin ramus "branch" or Germanic ragn "advice"
• Seilda/Seild--Old English sæ "sea" + hild "battle"
• Selova--Old English sæ "sea" + lufu "love"
• Welthian--unknown, poss. "Wealthy Anne"; or a corruption of "Welsh woman" or of a Welsh name (like Gwenllian)
• Wymark--poss. from Germanic wig "war" + mar "famous", via Old Breton

And yet again, I come up with more feminine names than masculine. I'm amazed at how many boys' names, even from over half a millennium ago, are still in use today. Girls' names really do have more turnover!

D-Dun-Dun-Dun-Duuuuunn

Did you know there're no D-names for girls in the Top 100? Destiny is the highest-ranked, at #113, followed by Delilah, Daniela, Daisy, & Delaney also in the Top 250.
In the past, a few different D-names have been common for girls (several currently are for boys!), but I guess most must be 'unstylish' right now.

• Daciana (dah-chee-AH-nah, Romanian)
• Dagny (DAHG-nee, Norwegian; DAHNG-nee, Swedish; DAG-nee, English)--from Old Norse, "new day". Latvian form is Dagnija (DAHG-nee-yah).
• Dahlia (DAH-lee-ah or DAY-lee-ah, English)--Spanish form is Dalia (DAHL-yah)
• Daina (DAY-nah, Lithuanian; DYE-nah, Latvian)--"song"
• Dáiríne (DAH-rin-yeh, Irish)--Anglicized as Darina. 
• Damaris (DAM-ah-ris, English; DAH-mah-ris, German; dah-MAH-rees, Spanish)
• Damhnait (DAV-nat, DOW-nat, Irish)--"fawn". Anglicized as Devnet or Dymphna (DIMF-nah)
• Damiana (dah-mee-AH-nah, Italian)--feminine of Damian. 
• Danaë (dah-NAH-ee, Greek)
• Danica (DAN-ik-ah, English; DAH-nee-kah, Slavic)--"morning star"
• Daniyah (DAN-ee-ah, Arabic)
• Daphne (DAF-nee, English; DAHF-neh, Dutch & German)--from Greek, "laurel". Other forms include Dafna (Hebrew), Dafne (Italian), & Dafina (Albanian & Macedonian)
• Dara (DAH-rah, Slavic)--"gift". Other forms include Darinka, Darina & Daryna.  [masculine in other languages/origins]
• Darcy (DAR-see, English)
• Daria (DAH-ree-ah, Italian, Polish)--feminine of Darius. Other forms include Dareia (Greek), Darija (Croatian, Serbian), Darja (Czech), and Darya (Russian)
• Darya (dahr-YAH, Persian)--"sea"
• Davina (dah-VEE-nah, English)--feminine of David
• Deirdre (DEER-dreh, English; DEHR-dreh, Irish)
• Delphine (del-FEEN, French)--other forms include Delphina (Latin), Delfina (Italian, Spanish), & Delphia (English)
• Delwen (DEL-wen, Welsh)--"pretty & blessed"
• Delyth (DEL-ith, Welsh)--"pretty"
• Demeter (deh-MEE-ter, English; deh-MEH-tehr, Greek)--"earth mother"
• Demetria (deh-MEE-tree-ah, English; deh-MEH-tree-ah, Greek, Italian)
• Denica (deh-NEETZ-ah, Macedonian, Bulgarian)--"day, morning"
• Despina (DES-pee-nah, Greek, Russian, Macedonian)
• Desta (DEH-stah, Amharic)--"joy"
• Devi (DEV-ee, Hindi)--"goddess"
• Devika (DEV-ee-kah, Hindi)--"little goddess"
• Diantha (dee-AHN-thah, Dutch, English)--from Greek, "heavenly flower"
• Dilan (dee-LAHN, Turkish)--"love"
• Dinah (DYE-nah, English; dee-NAH, Hebrew)
• Dionisia (dee-oh-NEE-see-ah, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian)--form of Denise. 
• Doina (DOH-ee-nah, Romanian)--"folk song"
• Domenica (doh-MEH-nee-kah, Italian)--feminine of Dominic. Other forms include Dominga (Spanish), Dominica (Latin), Dominika (Czech, Russian, Polish, Slovak), and Domnika (Macedonian)
• Donata (doh-NAH-tah, Italian)
• Dorothea (doh-roh-THEE-ah, English; doh-roh-TE-ah, German)--other forms include Dorete (doh-REH-teh, Danish, Swedish), Dorotea (doh-roh-TEH-ah, Italian, Spanish, Croatian) & Dorit (DOHR-it, Scandinavian). 
• Drusa (DROO-sah, Latin)--another (Latin) form is Druscilla.
• Dua (DOO-ah, Arabic)--"prayer"
• Dulcinea (dool-sin-EH-ah, Spanish, English)
• Dunja (DOON-yah, Slavic)
• Dušana (doo-SHAH-nah, Slavic)--"soul"

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Grab Bag I (boys)

There are quite a few popular nicknames that are seriously lacking a variety of sources! Of course, I have to try anyway. This will definitely be the first of several of these 'grab bag' posts.
Thanks to Ashlie for several nickname suggestions. :)

"Dom" without Dominic:

• Adomas (ah-DOM-as, Lithuanian)--form of Adam
• Damasus (dah-MAH-soos, Latin)
• Damir (DAHM-eer, Slavic)--"giving peace"
• Dómald (DOH-mald, Icelandic)
• Domar (doh-MAHR, Swedish)
• Domen (DOM-en, Slovene)--form of Dominic
• Domitian (dom-EE-tee-an, dom-ISH-an, English)
• Edom (EE-dom, English)

"Huck/Hux" without Huxley (had to go really surname-y for this one!):

• Habakkuk (huh-BAK-uk, HAB-ah-kuk, English)--from Hebrew, "embrace"
• Huckett (HUK-ett, English)--surname form of Hugh
• Huckin/Hukin, Huckins/Hukins (HUK-in, HUK-ins)--another surname form of Hugh
• Hucknall  (HUK-nal, English)--surname, "Hucca [tribe] valley"
• Huxham (HUKS-am, English)--surname, "Hoc's home"

"Sam" without Samuel:

• Bassam (bah-SAM, Arabic)--"smiling"
• Samad (sam-AHD, Arabic)--"eternal"
• Samang (sahm-ANG, Khmer)--"lucky"
• Samay (sam-EYE, Khmer)--"daydream"
• Samir (sam-EER, Arabic)
• Sampo (SAHM-poh, Finnish)
• Samson (SAM-son, English)--from Hebrew, "sun"
• Samuli (SAH-moo-lee, Finnish)--form of Samuel

Elementary

I've done quite a few nature-name posts, but I realized I'd left out a lot of names! Captain Planet would be ashamed.

Earth:

• Avani (ah-vah-NEE)--Hindi, feminine
• Bhumi (bhoo-mee)--Hindi, feminine
• Daichi (dah-ee-chee)--Japanese, masculine; "great earth/land" [other meanings possible dep. on characters]
• Demeter (deh-MEE-ter, deh-MEH-tehr)--Ancient Greek, feminine; "earth mother" 
• Gaia (GAH-yah)--Greek, feminine
• Ila (EE-lah)--Hindi, feminine
• Kun (KOON)--Chinese, usually masculine
• Terra (TEHR-rah)--English [from Latin], feminine

Wind:

• Anemone (ah-NEM-ah-nee)--English [from Greek], feminine
• Anil (an-NEEL), masculine; Anila (ah-NEE-lah), feminine--Hindi
• Era (EH-rah)--Albanian, feminine
• Ghobad (ghoh-BAHD)--Persian, masculine
• Haizea (eye-seh-ah)--Basque, feminine
• Ilma (EEL-mah)--Finnish, feminine; "air"
• Meltem (mel-TEM)--Turkish, feminine; "breeze"
• Nasim (nah-SEEM)--Arabic, feminine; "breeze"
• Tuula (TOO-lah)--Finnish, feminine. Other forms include Tuuli, Tuulia, & Tuulikki (TOO-lik-kee).
• Vayu (VAH-yoo)--Hindi, masculine
• Zephyr (ZEF-er)--Greek, masculine; "west wind". French feminine form is Zéphyrine.

Fire:

• Agni (AHG-nee)--Hindi, masculine
• Aodhán (AY-ahn, AY-dahn), masculine; Aodnait (AY-nat), feminine--Irish, "little fire". Anglicized as Aidan & Enat, respectively.
• Azar (ah-ZAR)--Persian, feminine
• Cináed (KIN-ee, KIN-ay, KIN-ahd)--Scottish, masculine; "born of fire". Anglicized as Kenneth.
• Fiammetta (fee-ah-MEH-tah)--Italian, feminine; "little fire"
• Jehoash (jeh-HOH-ash)--English [from Hebrew], masculine; "fire of God". Another form is Joash (JOH-ash).
• Nina (NEE-nah)--Quechua, feminine
• Plamen (PLAH-men)--Slavic, masculine
• Shula (SHOO-lah)--Arabic, feminine
• Şule (shoo-LEH)--Turkish, feminine
• Ugnė (OOG-nee)--Lithuanian, feminine

Water:

• Aysu (eye-SOO)--Turkish, feminine; "moon & water"
• Damla (dahm-LAH)--Turkish, feminine; "water droplet"
• Douglas (DUG-las)--Scottish, masculine; "dark water"
• Kelda (KEL-dah)--English [from Old Norse], feminine, "spring, fountain"
• Maayan (mah-ah-yahn)--Hebrew, feminine; "spring, fountain"
• Mayim (mah-yeem)--Hebrew, feminine. Another form is Maya.
• Mortimer (MOR-tim-er)--English [from Old French], masculine; "still water"
• Neith (NEETH, NAYTH)--English [from ancient Egyptian], feminine
• Nerio (NEHR-yoh)--Italian [from Greek], masculine
• Shui (shoo-ee)--Chinese, usually masculine
• Su (SOO)--Turkish, feminine
• Tirto (TEER-toh)--Javanese, masculine; "holy water"

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)

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Kai

Okay, technically, Kai is quite an established name in many parts of the world (with several different origins).
But, in the U.S., where nicknames like Ty for Tyler & Sy for Silas/Simon are fairly expected, I can see how Kai can feel incomplete, especially since Kyle is still quite a common name.

And yes, Kai is unisex, but it's overwhelmingly more common for boys in the U.S., and besides, boy-only posts are in the minority on this blog. :)

• Arkaitz (ahr-kites, Basque)--"rock"
• Caetano (kye-eh-TAH-noh, Portuguese)
• Caius (KYE-us, Latin)--prob. the original form of Kai (in Europe)
• Chaim (KHIME, Hebrew)--"life"
• Ekain (eh-kine, Basque)
• Ekaitz (eh-kites, Basque)--"storm"
• Hezekiah (hez-eh-KYE-ah, Hebrew)--"God strengthens"
• Ikaia (ee-kye-ah, Hawaiian)--form of Isaiah
• Ikaika (ee-kye-kah, Hawaiian)--"strong"
• Kaino (KYE-noh, Finnish)
• Kaito (kah-ee-toh, Japanese)
• Makaio (mah-kye-oh, Hawaiian)--form of Matthew
• Malachi (MAL-ah-kye, Hebrew)--"my angel"
• Micaiah (mih-KYE-ah, Hebrew)--original [unisex] form of Micah
• Mordecai (MOHR-deh-kye, Hebrew)
• Nikolai (NIK-oh-lye, Russian)--form of Nicholas

People with People-Names, Round 2

Yeah, it's been a while. But, I kept coming across names I'd somehow missed the first time around, and my persnickety nature insists that I either add a whole bunch to the original post, or make a new one. I like sequels, so here're more names based on location/tribe.

Boys:

• Gaetano (gah-eh-TAH-noh, Italian)--from Latin, "of Caieta/Gaeta" [central Italy]
• Laurence (LAW-rents, LOH-rents, English)--from Latin "of Laurentum" [western Italy]
• Luke (LUEK, English)--from Greek, "of Lucania" [southern Italy]
• Saveliy (sah-VEHL-ee, Russian)--from Latin, "of Sabine" [central Italy]
• Sebastian (seh-BAS-tyen, English)--from Latin "of Sebaste" [central-eastern Turkey]

Girls: 

• Cynthia (SIN-thee-ah, English)--from Greek, "of Kynthos" [Island of Delos, Greece]
• Delphine (del-FEEN, French)--from Latin "of Delphi" [central-southern Greece]
• Gaetana (gah-eh-TAH-nah, Italian)--feminine of Gaetano
• Isaura (ee-SOW-rah, Portuguese, Spanish)--from Latin, "of Isauria" [central-southern Turkey]
• Jocelyn (JOS-el-in, English)--from the Germanic tribe Gaut/Goth [prob. originally Scandinavian; spread thoughout Europe]
• Magdalene (MAG-dah-leen, English)--from Latin, "of Magdala" [prob. Migdal, Israel]
• Romola (ROH-moh-lah, Italian)--from Latin, "of Rome"
• Sidonie (see-doh-NEE, French; sih-DOH-nee, English, zee-DOH-nee-eh, German)--from Latin, "of Sidon" [Saida, Lebanon]
• Svea (SVAY-ah, Swedish)--"of Sweden"
• Sveva (SVAY-vah, Italian)--from the Germanic tribe Suebi [originally Swabia, Germany; migrated to Portugal]

Unisex:

• Devon (DEV-on, English)--from the Celtic tribe Dumnonii [south-west U.K.]
• Indigo (IN-dih-goh, English)--from Greek, "of India"