'Arl's All Around

Even though it doesn't really lend itself to many nicknames, the "-arl-" sound seems to be on the rise, especially for girls (Charlotte, Charlie, Scarlett, Marley, Harley, Marlowe, Harlow). And there are so many more fun possibilities!
[yes, multiple forms of Charles/Carlos/Carla/Charlotte belong on this list, but there are just so many that I'm only including the really rare ones]

Boys:

• Arlen (AR-len, English)--origin unknown, poss. from Erlend (Norse, "foreigner"), Harlan (Old English, "hare-land" or "hard land"), or Erlwin (Old English, "earl-friend"). Also spelled Arlan.
• Arlind (ar-LIND, Albanian)--"gold-born".
• Arlindo (ar-LIN-doo [short 'oo', like "foot"], Portuguese)--masculine form of Arlinda, prob. from Erlinde "army-shield", or similar Germanic name
• Arlo (AR-loh, English)--from Irish place name Aherlow, prob. "between two high lands", or poss. a form of Harlow (Old English, "army hill" or "rocky hill")
• Carlin (CAR-lin, English)--from Irish surname O'Caireallán, prob. "little warrior". Also Anglicized as Carlan or Carlon.
• Charlot (shar-loh, [archaic] French)--diminutive of Charles. Another form was Charlon (shar-lohn).
• Carlton (KARL-ton, English)--from Old English "freeman-town". Another form is Charlton (CHARL-ton). 
• Garland (GAR-land, English)--from Old English, "triangle land" or "crown, wreath"
• Harlan (HAR-lan, English)--from Old English, prob. "hare land" or "hard land". Also spelled Harland.
• Jarl (YARL, Scandinavian)--"chief". Another form is Jarle (YAHR-leh, Norwegian).
• Karlis (KAR-lis, Scandinavian)--form of Charles. Another form is Kārlis (KAR-lis [rolled R], Latvian).
• Karlmann (KARL-mahn, German)--"freeman"
• Marlon (MAR-lon, English, German, Scandinavian)--origin unknown, poss. a form of Merlin (English, "falcon"), Marcelin (French, diminutive of Marcel/Marcus), or Marland (Old English, "moorland")
• Varlam (VAR-lam, Russian)--form of Barlaam. Also transliterated as Varlaam.

Girls:

• Arla (AR-lah, Scandinavian)--short form of Arnlaug "eagle-promised" [also means "early" in Swedish]
• Arlette (ar-LET, French)--form of Germanic Herleva, poss. "army battle" or "noble battle"; or similar Her/Earl-name.
  Other forms include Arlete (ar-LEH-teh, ar-LEH-chee, Portuguese), Arletta (ar-LET-tah, English) and Arleta (ar-LEH-tah, Polish, Scandinavian).
• Arlinda (ar-LIND-ah, Albanian)--feminine of Arlind, "gold-born"
• Arlinda (ar-LIND-ah, English, Portuguese)--prob. from Germanic Erlinde "army-shield" or similar
• Arline (ar-LEEN, English)--origin uncertain, poss. from the English surname Arline (prob. from Erlwin, "earl-friend", or similar Erl-name) or an invention based on names like Charline and Arlette. Also spelled Arlene or Arleen.
  Other forms include Arlene (ar-LAYN, Swedish; ar-LEH-neh, Norwegian, Finnish), Arlène (ar-LEN, French), and Arlina (ar-LEEN-ah, English, Spanish)
• Carlijn (KAR-line, Dutch)--form of Caroline. Another form is Carlina/Karlina (kar-LEE-nah, German, Scandinavian)
• Darlene (dar-LEEN, English)--from English word 'darling'. Also spelled Darline or Darleen. Another form is Darla.
• Jarla (YAR-lah, Icelandic, Swedish)--feminine of Jarl, "chief"
• Marla (MAR-lah, English)--short form of Marlene/Marlena
• Marloes (mar-LOOS, Dutch)--contraction of Maria Louise
• Marlis (MAR-lees, German; mar-LEES, Dutch)--contraction of Maria Elisabeth. Also spelled Marlies.
• Sarla (SAR-lah, Hindi)--from Sanskrit, "honest, straight"

Unisex:

• Arlie (AR-lee, English)--from Old English "eagle-meadow". Also spelled Arley or Arleigh.

There are also tons of surname and place-names (mostly Old English), that fit the bill (like the modernly-trending Marlowe, Harley, Harlow, Marley, Charleston, etc), for almost every letter of the alphabet. :p

• Arliss / Arlosh
• Barlow
• Carlyon / Carleon
• Carlow
• Darley
• Darlow
• Darlton
• Farlam
• Farley / Varley
• Farlow / Varlow
• Garley / Jarley
• Parley
• Sharland

-Ric Rollin'

Haha, now that song's in your head!

I love a good -ric name. And unlike many constructions, this one is pretty much exclusively male (well, I did turn up modern unisex word-name Lyric, Irish girls' name Aifric, and Thai girls' name Bundarik, but that's it!).
Eric was a 70s/80s staple, Frederick's been on the downswing for the last century, Patrick is my age (or my parents'), and Maverick is quickly scaling the US charts.
While relatively uncommon today, -rich/ric names used to be fairly widespread in Europe, thanks to good ol' Proto-Germanic, where '-rich' meant "ruler" or "power".

• Adalrich (AHD-al-rik, Germanic)--"noble ruler"
• Alaric (AL-ah-rik, English)--from Germanic "ruler of all"
• Alberich (AHL-beh-rikh, German)--original form of Aubrey
• Aldric (ahl-DREEK, French)--from Germanic "old power". Other forms include Aldéric (ahl-day-REEK) and Audric (oh-DREEK).
• Amalric (AHM-al-rik, ah-MAHL-rik, Germanic, ah-mahl-REEK, French)--from Germanic "work power". One of the possible sources for Emmerich/Emery.
• Ardaric (AR-dah-rik, Germanic)--poss. "brave power"
• Athanaric (ah-THAN-ar-ik, Germanic)
• Baderich (BAH-der-ik. Germanic)--"battle ruler"
• Baldric (BAHL-drik, English)--from Germanic "bold power"
• Berich (BEHR-ik, Germanic)--"bear ruler"
• Brunric (BROON-rik, Germanic)--"armor ruler" or poss. "brown ruler"
• Bystrík (BIS-treek, Slovak)--poss. "quick-witted"
• Cedric (SED-rik, English)
• Cenric (KEN-rik, Old English)--"bold power". One of the sources of surname Kendrick. 
• Cyneric (KIN-eh-rik, Old English)--"royal power". Another possible source for Kendrick.
• Eboric (EB-or-ik, Germanic)--"boar power"
• Edric (ED-rik, Old English)--"wealth ruler"
• Elric (EL-rik, English)--either from Old English Alfric (AL-frik) "elf power" or Athelric (ATH-el-rik) "noble power"
• Embrik (EM-brik, Norwegian)
• Erchamrich (EHR-kam-rik, Germanic)--"chief ruler"
• Ermenrich (EHR-men-rik, Germanic)--"great ruler" Another possible source for Emmerich/Emery.
• Emmerich (EM-er-ikh, German)--other forms include Émeric (ay-meh-REEK, French) and Aymeric (eh-muh-REEK, French).
• Garrick (GEHR-ik, English)--from Occitan "oak tree", or possibly Germanic "spear power"
• Genseric (GEN-ser-ik, Germanic)--poss. "spear power". Variants include Gaiseric (GYE-ser-ik), and Geiserich (GYE-ser-ikh, German)
• Godric (GAHD-rik, English)
• Guerric (gehr-REEK, French)
• Gumerich (GOO-mehr-ik, Germanic)--"ruler of man"
• Gunderic (GOON-deh-rik, Germanic)--"war ruler"
• Heinrich (HINE-rikh, German)--original form of Henry "home ruler". Other forms include Henrik (HEN-rik, German, Scandinavian) and Hendrik (HEN-drik, Dutch). Another possible source for Kendrick, as well as a possible source of Emmerich/Emery.
• Hilderich (HIL-der-ik, Germanic)--"battle ruler"
• Imrich (IM-rik, Czech, Slovak)--form of Emmerich/Emery
• Isanric (EE-san-rik, Germanic)--poss. "iron ruler". Also written as Isenric.
• Jarich (YAH-rikh, Frisian)--poss. from Germanic "spear"
• Landrich (LAHN-drik, Germanic)--"land ruler"
• Leofric (lee-OF-rik. Old English)--"beloved ruler"
• Lorik (LOHR-ik, Albanian)--poss. "quail"
• Merrick (MEHR-rik, English)--from Welsh Meurig (a form of Maurice) or Germanic "famous ruler".
• Odrich (AHD-rik, Germanic)--"ruler of riches". Variants include Audéric (oh-day-REEK, French).
• Osric (OZ-rik, Old English)--"god power"
• Pierrick (PYEHR-eek, French)--form of Pierre/Peter
• Roderick (RAHD-er-ik, English)--from Germanic, "famous ruler". Other forms include Rörik (ROH-rik, Swedish), Rorik (ROH-rik, Old Danish), and Rurik (ROO-rik, Russian).
• Romaric (RAHM-ah-rik, Germanic; roh-mah-REEK, French)--poss. "famous power"
• Serik (SEHR-ik, Kazakh)--"support"
• Shurik (SHOOR-ik, Russian)--diminutive of Alexander
• Sigerich (SEE-geh-rik, Germanic)--"victory ruler"
• Siserich (SEE-ser-ik, Germanic)--"song ruler"
• Tarık (TAHR-ik, Turkish)
• Theodoric (thee-AHD-oh-rik, Germanic)--"ruler of the people". Variants include Dietrich (DEET-rikh, German), Diederich (DEE-der-ikh, German), Dederick (DED-er-ik, English), and Dedrick (DED-rik, English).
• Ulrich (OOL-rik, German, ool-REESH, French)--variants include Olric (OHL-rik) and Odalric (OH-dahl-rik). 
• Volkrich (VOHL-krik, Germanic)--"people's ruler"
• Waldrich (VAHL-drik, Germanic)--"ruler of power". Other forms include Waldric (WAHL-drik, English) and Gaudéric (goh-day-REEK, French), and Galdric (gahl-DREEK, French).
• Wilrich (VEEL-rik, Germanic)--"willful ruler"
• Winrich (VEEN-rikh, German)--from Germanic, "friend ruler"
• Wirich (VEER-ikh, German)--from Germanic, "war ruler"
• Witteric (VEET-er-ik, Germanic)--poss. "forest ruler"
• Wulfric (WOOL-frik, Old English)--"wolf power". Another form is Ulfric (OOL-frik).
• Yorick (YOHR-ik, English, Dutch)--form of George. Other spellings include Jorick (YOH-rik, Dutch) and Jorik (YOH-rik, Dutch)

And don't let the -richs scare you off! ;) There's plenty of precedent to Anglicize those German/Germanic names by changing the '-rich' to '-ric/rick' or '-ry'.
So for instance, Winrich would logically be Winric/Winrick (WIN-rik), or Winry (WIN-ree) in Modern English.
(Full Metal Alchemist fans rejoice! :p )

X-cellent.

(I know, my puns are getting worse. Sorry.)

Continuing my posts of rare-letter names, it is now time for X. X is the third-least-common starting letter in American names for both boys and girls, after U and Q. Chances are you can name Xavier and Xander for boys, but girls are more difficult--perhaps rare name-nerd favorite Xanthe springs to mind, or Spanish imports Xiomara and Ximena.
X-names may be hard to come by in English, but I bet we can find plenty abroad....
(if you're feeling a bit of deja vu, I did indeed do an X-themed post a few years ago, but this time I'm focusing solely on names starting with X ;) )

Boys:

• Xabier (shah-bee-ehr, Basque, Galician)--form of Xavier. Other forms include Xaver (KSAH-vehr, German).
• Xacobe (shah-KAW-bay, Galician)--form of Jacob
• Xanthus (KSAHN-toos, ZAN-thus, [ancient] Greek)--"yellow, blond". Other forms include Xanthias (ksahn-TEE-ahs, ZAN-thee-as).
• Xanti (shahn-tee, Basque)--form of Santiago
• Xenios (KSEN-ee-os, ZEN-ee-os, [ancient] Greek)--"hospitality".
• Xenophon (ZEN-ah-fon, ksen-ah-FOHN, [ancient] Greek)--"foreign voice"
• Xesús (shay-SOOS, Galician)--form of Jesus/Joshua. Other forms include Xosué (shaw-soo-AY).
• Xherdan (JEHR-dahn, Albanian)--poss. "necklace"
• Xhevahir (jev-ah-HEER, Albanian)--from Turkish, "jewel"
• Xhevdet (JEV-det, Albanian)--poss. from Arabic [via Turkish], "excellence"
• Xian (SHEE-ahn, Galician)--form of Julian
• Xicu (SHEE-koo, Asturian)--poss. a form of Francis/Francisco
• Ximeno (hee-MAY-noh, Spanish)--poss. a form of Simon
• Ximo (SHEE-moh, Catalan)--short form of Joaquín/Joaquim
• Ximun (shee-moon, Basque)--form of Simon
• Xoán (shoh-AHN, Galician)--form of John. Other forms include Xuan (SHOO-ahn, Asturian).
• Xulio (SHOO-lee-oh, Galician)--form of Julio/Julius
• Xunio (SHOO-nee-oh, Galician)--form of Junius
• Xurxo (SHOOR-shoh, Galician)--form of George
• Xustino (shoos-TEE-noh, Galician)--form of Justin

Girls:

• Xabierra (shah-bee-ehr-rah, Basque)--feminine of Xabier/Xavier. Other forms include Xaveria (ksah-VEHR-ee-ah, German), Xaverine (ksah-ver-REE-neh, German; zah-veh-REEN, French), Xaviera (zay-vee-EHR-ah, English; ksah-vee-EHR-ah, Dutch), and Xavière (zahv-YEHR, French), 
• Xana (SHAH-nah, Portuguese)--short form of Alexandra
• Xandra (KSAHN-drah, Dutch; SHAHN-drah, Galician; ZAN-drah, English)--short form of Alexandra
• Xanthe (KSAHN-tay, ZAN-thee, [ancient] Greek)--"yellow, blond". Other forms include Xanthis (KSAHN-tis, ZAN-this) and Xantho (KSAHN-toh, ZAN-thoh).
• Xanthippe (ksahn-TEE-pay, zan-THIP-ee, [ancient] Greek)--"yellow horse". Other forms include Xanthippi (ksahn-TIP-pee, Greek), and Xantippa (zan-TIP-pah, Latin).
• Xelha (SHEL-hah, Mayan)--"spring of water". Also spelled Xel-Ha.
• Xenia (ksen-EE-ah, Greek)--"hospitality". Other forms include Xene (KSEN-ee, Greek) and Xenie (ksen-EE-eh, Czech). 
• Xènia (SHEN-yah, Catalan)--short form of Eugenia. Portuguese form is Xenia (shen-EE-ah).
• Xenoveva (shen-aw-VEH-vah, Asturian, Galician)--form of Genevieve
• Xesca (SHES-kah, Catalan)--form of Francesca
• Xheneta (jen-EH-tah, Albanian)--poss. "paradise"
• Xhevahire (jev-ah-HEER-eh, Albanian)--from Turkish, "jewel"
• Xia (shee-AH, Mandarin)--"daybreak" or "summer" [also a surname]
• Xiana (shee-AH-nah, Galician)--feminine of Xian/Julian
• Ximena (hee-MAY-nah, Spanish)--feminine of Ximeno
• Xiomara (see-oh-MAHR-ah, Spanish)--poss. from Germanic, "famous battle"
• Xoana (shoh-AH-nah, Galician)--form of Joan/Jane
• Xochitl (SHOH-chee-tl, Nahuatl)--"flower"
• Xulia (SHOO-lee-ah, Asturian, Galician)--form of Julia
• Xunia (SHOO-nee-ah, Galician)--form of Junia

Unisex:

• Xiu (shee-oo, Mandarin)--"beautiful" [usually fem.], or "rest" or "build" [both masc.]
• Xuan (soo-un, Vietnamese)--"spring"
• Xue (shoo-eh, Mandarin)--"snow" or "learning"
• Xun (shoon, Mandarin)--"fast, sudden"

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Nick/Niko

It's funny how when asked for classic boys' names, we have a tendency to list names we know from our generation. Jason, Andrew, Ryan....and yes, Nicholas, all seem to be considered "classic". And yet, they're all very trendy to the 80/90s! While having an out-of-style name somehow isn't has horrible for guys as it is for girls, there are still quite a few nice substitutes for a little Nick. Nico/Niko is starting to gain use as a full name in its own right, too.

• Aniketos (ah-NEEK-eh-tohs, Greek)--"unconquerable"
• Besnik (BES-neek, Albanian)--"faithful"
• Domenico (doh-MEN-ee-koh, Italian)--form of Dominic
• Nicanor (nee-kah-NOHR, English, Spanish)--from Greek, "victory"
• Nikifor (nee-KEE-fohr, Polish, Russian)--from Greek, "carrying victory".
• Nicodème (nee-koh-DEM, French)--from Greek, "victory of the people"
• Nicomedo (nee-koh-MEH-doh, Italian)--from Greek, "thinking of victory"
• Nikhil (nik-HIL, Hindi)
• Nikias (nee-KEE-as, [ancient] Greek)
• Yannick (yah-NEEK, Breton, French)--form of Yann/John

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"

Usual Name, Unexpected Nickname--Alexander

For such a long time, Alex was the favored nickname for Alexander, but in recent years, you're just as likely to hear Xander. Thanks to Alexander the Great, his name spread throughout Europe and the Middle East, and while the variants of Alexander all bear strong resemblance to the original (Eskandar, Alistair, Oleksander, to name a few), the nicknames have surprising variety.

• Ace (AYS)--English
• Ace/Atse (ATS-eh)--Macedonian
• Aleš (AH-lesh)--Czech & Slovak
• Lekso (LEK-so)--Serbian
• Sandy (SAN-dee)--English
• Santeri (SAHN-teh-ree)--Finnish
• Sasha (SAH-shah)--Russian
• Sawney (SAW-nee)--Scottish
• Shurik (SHOOR-eek)--Russian
• Skender (SKEN-der)--Albanian

Although it's technically a full name in its own right, the related Alexis and variant forms are sometimes used as a nickname for Alexander and company. While Alexander means "defender of man", Alexis is simply "defender". 

• Aleix (ah-LAYSH)--Catalan
• Alejo (ah-LEH-hoh)--Spanish
• Aleksei (ah-lyek-SAY)--Russian
• Alessio (ah-LES-syoh)--Italian

If you saw this post when it first went up, I apologize! I'm not sure how I managed to only publish part of it, but I've added in the missing Alexis segment. :)

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

Calendar Names

It appears that the holiday shopping season is upon us again (and getting earlier every year, it seems), which got me thinking about Christmas-type names, which of course, got me thinking of all sorts of name things. Names like Noelle and Natalie are fairly well known for their Christmas connections, but what about other holidays? So, here are some names with holiday or other calendar meanings.

Boys:

• Dominic (DOM-in-ik, English)--traditionally given to boys born on a Sunday
• Ekain (eh-kine, Basque)--"June"
• Lenz (LENTS, German)--"springtime"
• Noel (NOLE, NO-el, English)--from French, "Christmas". French form is Noël.
• Palmiro (pahl-MEER-oh, Italian)--traditionally given to boys born on Palm Sunday
• Pascal (pas-KAHL, Dutch, French, & German)--"Easter" or "Passover". Other forms include Pascual (Spanish) and Pasco (Cornish).

Girls:

• Abena (a-BEHN-ah, Akan)--"born on Tuesday"
• Afia (AH-fee-ah, Akan)--"born on Friday"
• Akiko (ah-kee-ko, Japanese)--"summer child"
• Calan (CAL-an, Welsh)--"New Year's Day"
• Candela (cahn-DEHL-ah, Spanish)--"Candlemas" (Feb. 2)
• Hazan (hah-ZAHN, Turkish)--"autumn"
• Iona (ee-OH-nah, Welsh)--from Ionor, "January"
• Medeni (med-AY-nee, Welsh)--"born in September"
• Natalie (NAT-ah-lee, French & German)--"Christmas". Other forms include Natalia (Italian) and Natalya/Natasha (Russian).
• Nedelya (ned-EHL-yah, Bulgarian)--"Sunday" 
• Noelle (no-EL, English, French)--feminine of Noel
• Suvi (SOO-vee, Finnish)--"summer"
• Tiffany (TIF-fan-ee, English)--traditionally given to girls born on Epiphany (Jan. 6). Original form is Theophania.
• Tola (toh-LAH, Khmer)--"October"
• Vera (VEHR-ah, Albanian)--"summer"
• Vesna (VEHS-nah, Slavic)--"spring"

Unisex:

• Sivan (see-VAHN, Hebrew)--9th month of the Hebrew calendar, usually May-June.
• Tammuz (tahm-MOOZ, Hebrew)--10 month of the Hebrew calendar, usually June-July.

Hurricane Baby Names

A recent post on another board got me wondering just how many little surprises are going to be due about 40 weeks after Hurricane Irene. So, in honor of those future little ones, names inspired by one big storm:

Boy:

• Anan (AY-nan, Hebrew)--"cloud"
• Corentin (koh-REN-tin, Breton)--"hurricane"
• Esmond (ES-mond, English)--"grace and protection". Older form is Eastmund.
• Guntur (GOON-toor, Indonesian)--"thunder"
• Ireneus (eye-REN-eh-us, Greek)--The male form of Irene,  ironically, meaning "peaceful".
• Mazin (MAZ-in, Arabic)--"rain clouds"
• Meriwether (MEHR-ee-we-ther, English)--"happy weather"
• Noah (NOH-ah, Hebrew)
• Perun (PEHR-uhn, Slavic)--"thunder"
• Raijin (rye-jin, Japanese)--the Japanese thunder god. Also transliterated as Raiden.
• Salman (SAL-man, Arabic)--"safe"
• Shemer (SHEH-mer,  Hebrew)--"preserved"
• Tollak (TOL-lak, Norwegian)--"Thor's play" [Thor was the Norse god of, among other things, thunder.]
• Zephyr (ZEF-er, Greek)--the Greek god of the west wind

Girls:

• Arina (ah-REE-nah, Russian)--form of Irene
• Arke (AR-kay, Greek)--Greek rainbow and messenger goddess; twin sister to Iris.
• Anila (ah-nee-lah, Indian [Hindi])--"wind"
• Audra (AW-drah, Lithuanian)--"storm"
• Enfys (EN-vis, Welsh)--"rainbow"
• Era (EHR-ah, Albanian)--"wind"
• Esen (EH-sen, Turkish)--"the wind"
• Gabija (gah-bee-YAH, Lithuanian)--"to cover". The Lithuanian goddess of the home.
• Gale (GAYL, English)--"strong wind". Also a short form of the unrelated Abigail.
• Haven (HAY-ven, English)--"safe place"
• Iria (EE-ree-ah, Portuguese)--form of Irene.
• Iris (EYE-ris, Greek)--Greek rainbow and messenger goddess.
• Keshet (KESH-et, Hebrew)--"rainbow"
• Maya (mah-yah, Hebrew)--"water"
• Mealla (mee-AHL-la, Irish)--"lightning"
• Nephele (NEF-el-ee, Greek)--"cloudy"
• Nerissa (nehr-IS-sah, English)--from Greek, "sea sprite"
• Salma (SAL-mah, Arabic)--"safe"
• Tempest (TEM-pest, English)--"storm"
• Thora (THOHR-ah, Scandinavian)--feminine of Thor.