Roses and Cellar Doors

I know, it's been a while, but I suddenly find myself with a lot more free time right now.... Anyway, my husband asked in passing ear...

Gus  seems to be a rather polarizing nickname: either you find it adorable, or you find it hopelessly dorky. In the US, it's usually sho...

Even though it doesn't really lend itself to many nicknames, the "-arl-" sound seems to be on the rise, especially for girls (...

I originally started this post looking for new full forms for Beth , but it struck me that most could also work for Bess  and/or Betty  as w...

Well, probably not. Since Everett  (boys) and Everly  (girls) are amongst the quickest rising names in the US (admittedly, that might change...

I know, I know: how have I not done Finn  yet? It's trending in several countries across Europe, as well as in the US, Australia, & ...

Latin has had a lot of impact on our naming. There are certain constructions that we can instantly say "that's a girls' name...

Considering how many F-names seem to be trending ( Finn  and variants, Flynn , Ford ,  Fisher , Fletcher ,  Felicity , Fiona, Freya ), I...

Recently I did a breakdown on which letters were "feminine" vs. "masculine", and there were a couple surprises. Specific...

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, ...

Handsome Cal ! How have I forgotten you? While  Cal  is starting to gain use on its own, it's still down below the Top 1000. Traditional...

I know, it seems weird to group those together. But, Dolly & Dotty were nicknames for Dorothy thanks to that R-to-L/T/D shift that Middl...

I blame Alison & Madison. Despite "son" written straight out, many -son names are now trendy on girls. And while most of cours...

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 ...

What begins with A? Lots of smallish girls' names, and they also end that way: Abha  (ahb-hah, Hindi)--"light, luster" Ac...

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

There's a category of names that I love that really doesn't get much play anymore: the -ildas & -eldas. Maybe it's the medie...

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  ...

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...

How on earth did I do a Nicky-names post for boys, and not include some for girls? Shame, shame. Nicole , of course, was a staple of 80s na...