Roses and Cellar Doors

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 incre...

Spelled the same, with (usually) slight pronunciation difference: Ada --AY-dah, English; AH-dah, Polish Adela --ah-DEL-ah, English & ...

Spelled the same, with (usually) slight pronunciation difference: Adam --AD-am, English; AH-dahm, Polish Adrian --AY-dree-an, English; AH...

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 ...

I was surprised to find that Samuel  & Samantha are currently ranked #25 & 29 in the US (for boys & girls, respectively, of cour...

Poor Molly . Is she a nickname, or a full given name? I guess the answer is 'both': Molly was originally a regional pronunciation of...

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 , Dais...

It's funny how when asked for classic boys' names, we have a tendency to list names we know from our  generation. Jason, Andrew, Rya...

Aubrey  (AW-bree, English)) Alberico  (al-BEHR-ee-koh, Italian) Auberon  (OH-behr-on, French)--Also spelled  Oberon . Avery  (AY-ver-ee...

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 h...

There are quite a few popular nicknames that are seriously lacking a variety of sources! Of course, I have to try anyway. This will definite...

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 ...

Poor confused Bridget . To some, she's an underused classic; to others, inescapably 70s'; and to many, quintessential Irish. One of ...

Quite frequently, I come across a name with a couple interesting variants, but not enough to dedicate an entire post to. I've been stori...

Oh, that tricky 'th'. Agatha  is mostly recognizable from language to language, but that last syllable sure is variable. With only ...

Quite a ways back, I did a post on mini-names (which could probably use an update, or maybe a sequel). In general, American names are getti...

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...

As the centuries have passed, so have our nickname conventions. Most of the historical nicknames for Margaret  seem fusty or nonsensical now...

I actually had to go and double-check previous posts to make sure I haven't done this one yet. How on earth have I missed Margaret ? A c...

Christian is an interesting case. Originally used for both males and females, in the last 100 years or so, it's become almost completely...