Rare Names With Popular Nicknames

Have you ever known the excitement of meeting a Ben who is not Just Another Benjamin but is, in fact, Benedict? Or Nicki whose “secret” full name is Danika? If so, this list is for you.

Rare full names with familiar nicknames can be the best of both worlds, for parents and children. You can make a bold choice — like honoring Grandpa Leopold or your favorite flower, Anemone — but still use a cool, cute nickname like Leo or Emmy for everyday.

Or maybe your style doesn’t quite match with your partner’s. You like Marlowe, they like Molly… well, you can have both!

And your child can choose, whenever they wish, between a short name that fits in, and a full name that stands out.

Here are 100+ popular nicknames and shortenings with ideas for fun, offbeat full names that wouldn’t be your first guess. Maybe not even your tenth!

Popular Nicknames For Girls, A-L

Abby — Abilene, Abra, Arabella, Rahab, Zainab

Addie — Adelia, Adrielly, Ariadne, Cariad, Zenaida

Allie — Alaska, Allegra, Citlali, Opal, Rosalie

Andi — Andromeda, Anadelia, Fernanda, Holland, Leandra

Annie — Anastasia, Anahita, Diana, Ianthe, Stefania

Bee — Beata, Bettony, Deborah, Phoebe, Ruby

Bella/Belle — Bellamy, Campbell, Ishbel, Mabel, Mirabel

Billie — Bilqis, Jubilee, Nabila, Sybil, Wilhelmina

Bo — Boheme, Boston, Bowie, Isabeau, Rainbow

Callie — Callahan, Calliope, Callista, Clarissa, Kalani

Cassie — Cassia, Cassiopeia, Charis, Dorcas, Lucasta

Edie — Benedicta, Eden, Enid, Frederica, Meredith

Ella/Elle/Ellie — Aurelia, Ellery, Elowen, Noelle, Yareli

Elsie — Demelza, Eloise, Elspeth, Elysia, Felicity

Emmy — Anemone, Clementine, Embla, Emerald, Emmanuelle

Etta — Colette, Estelle, Evolet, Harriet, Hester

Eva/Evie — Evadne, Geneva, Niamh, Reverie, Yvaine

Fran/Frankie — Francine, Franka, Franklin, Saffron, Sophronia

Gia/Gigi — Genesis, Georgiana, Giovanna, Ginevra, Pelagia

Haddie/Hattie — Behati, Hadriana, Harvest, Hathaway, Hyacinth

Hallie — Hallelujah, Halliday, Halston, Harlow, Mahala

Izzy — Isadora, Ismay, Ismene, Izumi, Louisa

Josie — Jocasta, Jocelyn, Josette, Journey, Rejoice

Kate/Katie — Cadence, Cataleya, Catesby, Ekaterina, Kateri

Lena/Lina — Adeline, Leonora, Linnea, Magdalena, Selena

Lettie — Alethia, Aletta, Electra, Scarlett, Violet

Lily — Amaryllis, Delilah, Galilee, Lilibet, Lilinoe

Liv — Livia, Lively, Livingston, Olivine, Sullivan

Lizzie — Adeliza, Elise, Felizia, Lisette, Polyxena

Lottie — Carlotta, Clotilde,E Elliot, Loretta, Pilot

Lou/Lulu — Liluri, Ludovica, Lunabelle, Raluca, Tallulah

Popular Nicknames for Girls, M-Z

Maddie — Amadea, Maddox, Madigan, Madrigal, Marjorie

Maggie — Magnolia, Maguire, Mairead, Margot, Marigold

Maisie — Esme, Mason, Mazikeen, Meilani, Thomasina

Mia — Emiliana, Hermia, Miamor, Miriam, Noemia

Millie/Mila — Camilla, Ludmila, Milan, Mireille, Vermilion

Molly — Amalia, Kamala, Malka, Marlowe, Romola

Nell/Nellie — Annelise, Endellion, Fenella, Helena, Penelope

Nina — Angelina, Clementina, Eponine, Penina, Valentina

Nora — Eleanora, Elsinore, Gwenora, Honor, North

Penny — Aspen, Pennington, Penrose, Spencer, Tuppence

Pippa — Epiphany, Olympia, Persephone, Phyllis, Primrose

Polly — Apollonia, Hippolyta, Leopoldine, Paloma, Polina

Ren/Wren — Brenna, Laurentia, Reagan, Renata, Serenity

Romy — Andromache, Hiromi, Promise, Romola, Rosamund

Rory — Aurora, Dolores, Floriana, Rosemary, Roxana

Rosie — Ambrosia, Generosity, Primrose, Rosalind, Rozina

Sadie — Elysee, Mercedes, Sadira, Sarita, Seraphina

Thea — Amalthea, Anthea, Philothea, Theodosia, Theophania

Tilly — Chantilly, Domitilla, Tilden, Tyler, Ottilie

Winnie — Baldwin, Guinevere, Winona, Winslet, Winsome

Vivi — Aviva, Genevieve, Octavia, Sylvia, Viveka

Popular Nicknames For Boys, A-L

Ace — Acacius, Aidan, Grayson, Horatio, Wallace

Albie — Albus, Alban, Alberic, Athelbert, Talbot

Alex — Alaric, Alessandro, Alexavier, Alexei, Alistair

Alfie — Alfredo, Alpha, Alphonso, Balfour, Ralph

Archie — Aarush, Archer, Arshia, Larch, Plutarch

Art/Artie — Aristotle, Artemas, Arthen, Bartholomew, McArthur

Ash — Ashford, Ashok, Ashwin, Augustine,Washington

Ben — Benedict, Benaiah, Corben, Ebenezer, Reuben

Bax — Barrett, Barrington, Basil, Baxley, Sebastian

Beau/ Bo — Beauden, Boaz, Bowen , Columbo, Robert

Cal — Calder, Callahan, Calixto , Macallister Pascal

Cam — Callum, Camillo, Camber, Campbell, Sycamore

Casey — Casimir, Caspian, Cassius , Kayson, Nicasius

Charlie — Carlo, Calloway, Charlemagne, Charleston, Charlton

Cory — Corbin, Corentin, Cormac, Courtland, Scorpio

Cy — Cyan, Isaiah, Kasai, Osiris, Silas

Dan/Danny — Aidan, Danger, Sawson, Keldan, Riordan

Dash — Darius, Dashworth, Davies, Dawson, Tadashi

Dex — Decker, Declan, Derek, Destry, Maddex

Eddie — Edison, Edmund, Frederick, Kindred, Obed

Eli — Eleazar, Elio, Ellery, Elliot, Felix

Ford — Ashford, Clifford, Rutherford, Stanford, Trafford

Fred — Alfred, Farid, Federico, Fredricksen, Wilfred

Gus — Angus, Argus, Constantine, Fergus, Gustav

Hal — Cathal, Halloran, Harris, Harrison, Marshall

Jack/Jax — Ajax, Jacinto, Jackman, Jacoby, Jasper

Joe — Banjo, Joachim, Jolyon, Jonas, Josiah

Kit — Cillian, Cristian, Kenneth, Kingston, Kittery

Leo — Achilleo, Galileo, Leonidas, Leopold, Napoleon

Luke — Gianluca, Lucien, Luckson, Lucretius, Ludovic

Popular Nicknames for Boys, M-Z

Mac/Mack — Cormac, McCoy, Macon, Makaio, Malachi

Max — Lomax, Macsen, Maddox, Makaio, Marcu

Nate — Anatole, Ignatius, Jonathan, Natan, Renato

Ned — Benedict, Edmund, Kennedy, Nehemiah, Zinedine

Nick/Nico — Dominic, Finnick, Nicanor, Nicasio, Nicodemus

Ollie — Apollo, Aurelius, Oleander, Olek, Olimpio

Oz/Ozzie — Ocean, Octavius, Oisin, Oscar, Oswin

Ray — Graham, Moray, Raphael, Reign, Thackeray

Remy — Ephrem, Jeremiah, Jeremy, Rembrandt, Tremaine

Rob — Nairobi, Robin, Robinson, Robley, Ruben

Ronnie — Aaron, Byron, Geronimo, Roland, Rowan

Sam — Esaam, Isambard, Salman, Samson, Samwell

Sasha — Alessandro, Lysander, Salvator, Sebastian, Saunders

Ted/Teddy — Armistead, Edwin, Tedric, Thaddeus, Theoden

Teo — Aristeo, Dante, Meteor, Teodoro, Timoteo

Theo — Matheo, Theoden, Theodoric, Theophilus, Thierry

Toby — Cristobal, October, Oluwatobiloba, Tobin, Tobiah

Tom/Tommy — Atom, Bartholomew, Ptolemy, Thompson, Tomek

Ty — Matthias, Tiberius, Tiger, Titus, Tycho

Wally — Cadwalader, Oswald, Waldemar, Walid, Walker

Wes — Waylon, Webster, Wellesley, Westley, Weston

Will — Fitzwilliam, Wilder, Willis, Willoughby, Wilmot

Zack — Balzac, Isaac, Zacharias, Zako, Zakkai

For even more ideas, use our advanced search to find names containing specific letters and sounds.