Nickname Names

This old-timey nickname for Otis and Odell is strongly tied to Garfield’s canine companion in the Garfield comic, movie, and TV franchise.

The ultimate nicknamey name, à la Ziggy Stardust or the comic-strip character Ziggy. Then again, there's Ziggy Marley, and most anything Marley is cool. It's used for a handful girls every year in England & Wales.

A sassy, spunky, punchy kind of name, Dixie can also be considered a place name, one that has become problematic because of its association with the antebellum South. The Dixie Chicks recently dropped Dixie from their band name because of its association with slavery and white privilege.

Nelly or Nellie is an adorable nickname name that can be short for a wide range of more formal appellations or that can stand on its own, and is typical of the vintage nickname genre that is growing in popularity. While Nelly can be used for several different names, from Helen to Eleanor to Cornelia, it has stood on its own for more than a century. It was one of the most popular names – spelled as Nellie – in the U.S. at the end of the 1800s.

Ike, once the quirky one-person nickname of President Dwight Eisenhower, has morphed into a cool kid nickname of the early 21st century.

Cute Gracie is one of the more recently revived nickname names by parents who chose it over the more formal Grace--or variations like Graziella or Grania. Country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw cut straight to the nickname when they called one of their daughters Gracie, and actors Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt named their newborn daughter Gracie James. Gracie Gold is a popular young figure skater.

Rakish nickname able to stand on its own.

Iconic folk singer Joni Mitchell (born Roberta Joan) lends this cute vintage nickname a cool, bohemian feel. This spelling feels more streamlined and modern than Mad Men-esque Joanie.

Since female cousins Mitzi and Fritzi have entered the realm of possibilities, there's a chance that Cousin Fritz could as well. Fritz is the name of several notables, from early German-born film director Lang to early footballer Fritz (born Frederick) Pollard, the first African-American to play in the Rose Bowl in 1916.

One of the glamour girl names of the Rita Hayworth 1940s, Rita was once a Top 50 name and stayed on the SSA list until 2002.

Posey is fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is only starting to be heard here.

Sasha in all its forms -- which include Sacha and Sascha -- is rising in popularity for both boys and girls. Its most prominent current bearer is Sacha Baron Cohen.

When aspiring British writer Sadie Smith decided to change her name to the more distinctive and zippy Zadie at the age of fourteen, this attention-magnet name was born. But though it might sound like a modern initial-switch, Zadie was actually Number 539 in 1881, remaining in the Top 1000 for almost thirty years.

Just when we had written off Peggy as the eternal perky, pug-nosed prom-queen she projected from the 1920s into the fifties, along came Mad Men, with intriguing mid-century characters with names like Joan and Betty--and Peggy, causing a bit of a re-think. MM's proto-feminist Peggy Olson was followed by Amy Adams's strong Oscar-nominated Peggy Dodd character in The Master.

This cool and quirky short form of the suave Ludovic could be an even-more-adventurous spin on Nico and Hugo.

Avi, the short form of many Hebrew names, is often used on its own in Israel. It entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2015.

We've seen Beatrice and Beatrix climb in popularity, along with traditional nickname Bea. And now there's Bee, giving it a buzzy nature world spin, plus a tie to popular late night TV''s Samantha Bee, not to mention Aunt Bee on the old The Andy Griffith Show TV show. Bee can theoretically be short for any girl names starting with B.

Though most parents would shy away from Ebenezer, short form Eben is affable and creative and perfectly able to stand alone; nothing Scroogish about it. This also makes a fresh new spin on the very popular Ethan or Evan.

Benji is undeniably cute, much in the way of a — yes, an adorable movie mutt. Ben is the handsome traditional short form of Benjamin, but Benji makes a more unexpected nickname

Very much in style, especially after its starring role in Six Feet Under, Nate is one of a new generation of nicknames that go directly on the birth certificate. Other similar names: Sam, Jack, Mack.