Looking for a girl name that honors a boy name? There are so many possibilities, whatever your style.

　　Feminizations are girl names that build on traditionally male names, or which have a masculine equivalent. They’re a varied group with lots of interesting options that are full of feminine spirit.

　　

What Counts as a Feminization?

Some feminized names are pretty straightforward. Add an ending, and Henry becomes Henrietta, Jalil becomes Jalila, Michael becomes Michaela. But what about Makayla, or just Kayla? Do they count, when parents run with the sound they like and leave the original boy name behind?

　　What about boy/girl pairs that probably arose alongside each other, like Julius and Julia, or ones where you might not even know there’s a link, like John and Jane?

　　What about Londyn? The Y spelling marks it out as feminine, but the original London is more popular for girls anyway. Can you feminize a name that’s already unisex, leaning female?

　　How picky do we get about etymology? If you look in a Latin dictionary, Victor means “winner” and Victoria means “victory”: they’re different words. A pedant might say the feminine form of Victor is Victrix, or at least something like Victorine. But does that mean you shouldn’t name your daughter Victoria in honor of Grandpa Victor? Like heck.

　　In practical naming terms, intention plays a part in deciding what counts as a feminization. If you choose the name Raelynn to honor a special Ray, by all means it’s a feminization. If you just love the sound of the name, you might not see it as one.

　　Let’s look at today’s most popular feminized names and the different ways to make them, beyond adding -ina.

　　

Popular Feminizations

Olivia, the reigning Number 1 girl name in the USA and a popular choice around the world, could be considered a feminization of Oliver. And many other feminized names are rising up the charts, too. These are the most popular names in the latest US statistics that we’d call feminizations — all are in the Top 200 girl names.

　　HeartOliviaChevron - RightHeartCharlotteChevron - RightHeartGiannaChevron - RightHeartVictoriaChevron - RightHeartValentinaChevron - RightHeartJosephineChevron - RightHeartCarolineChevron - RightHeartGabriellaChevron - RightHeartRaelynnChevron - RightHeartSamanthaChevron - RightHeartJuliaChevron - RightHeartCeciliaChevron - RightHeartEmersynChevron - RightHeartGeorgiaChevron - RightHeartAlexandraChevron - RightHeartAndreaChevron - RightHeartJulietteChevron - RightHeartAlaniChevron - RightHeartBriannaChevron - Right

　　

6 Ways to Make a Fab Feminization

1. Add an Ending

Perhaps the most obvious way to turn a male name female. A lot of the endings are based on Romance languages like Latin, French and Spanish, but there are some more modern endings that do the same job.

　　Acelynn

　　Adriana

　　Alexia

　　Bernadette

　　Cecily

　　Davina

　　Georgiana

　　Harriet

　　Jamesetta (Etta James’s birth name)

　　Leonie

　　Markella

　　Normani (the singer was named after her uncle Norman)

　　Pauline

　　Simone

　　Thomasin

　　Willa

　　

2. Change the Spelling

Want to use a more male or unisex name, but make it clear that it belongs to a girl? Tweaking the spelling is a popular way to show this. A few examples:

　　HeartBayleeChevron - RightHeartBlaireChevron - RightHeartCamrynChevron - RightHeartCharliChevron - RightHeartEllietteChevron - RightHeartIndieChevron - RightHeartMykaChevron - RightHeartRaeChevron - RightHeartReeseChevron - RightHeartRyleighChevron - Right

　　

3. Use a Diminutive

Are names like Wilhelmina and Jacqueline too long and clunky for you? Using a short form of the original is a great way to get a girl name that’s casual, friendly, and more gender-neutral. For example:

　　HeartAliChevron - RightHeartBillieChevron - RightHeartBobbieChevron - RightHeartCharlieChevron - RightHeartDanniChevron - RightHeartFrankieChevron - RightHeartGeorgieChevron - RightHeartGianniChevron - RightHeartGrayChevron - RightHeartJamieChevron - RightHeartJayChevron - RightHeartJoeyChevron - RightHeartJulesChevron - RightHeartLeniChevron - RightHeartMalChevron - RightHeartMelChevron - RightHeartNickiChevron - RightHeartRonnieChevron - RightHeartStevieChevron - RightHeartTeddyChevron - RightHeartVinnieChevron - Right

　　

4. Use an International Form

Different languages have their own ways of feminizing names. So if you’re feeling uninspired by Jane and Joanna as female forms of John, how about Jana, Gianna or Sinead instead? Here are a few more ideas.

　　HeartAlastrionaChevron - RightHeartCarlottaChevron - RightHeartEnricaChevron - RightHeartFranziskaChevron - RightHeartGiordanaChevron - RightHeartJacobaChevron - RightHeartJosetteChevron - RightHeartNoaChevron - RightHeartOttilieChevron - RightHeartPolinaChevron - RightHeartPerrineChevron - RightHeartSianChevron - RightHeartSilkeChevron - RightHeartTomineChevron - Right

　　

5. Try a Soundalike

If the sound and personal meaning of a feminization are more important to you than 100% linguistic accuracy, the opportunities are wide.

　　You could use a girl name that shares a same root with the male name, even if they’re not an exact his/hers match:

　　Christopher → Christina

　　Edward → Edith

　　Everett → Everly

　　Noam → Naima

　　Oliver → Olivia

　　Or you could choose a girl name with a similar sound, even though they have different origins. For example:

　　Alex → Alix

　　Brian → Bryony

　　Cassius → Cassandra

　　Grayson → Grace

　　Jasper → Jasmine

　　Kai → Kylie

　　Kayden → Cadence

　　Luke → Lucille

　　Miles → Mila

　　Reuben → Ruby

　　Roman → Romy

　　

6. Get creative

What if you can’t find a feminized name you like, or the name you want to honor doesn’t have an established feminine version? As long as it’s legal where you live, you’re free to invent your own.

　　Some interesting ones I’ve heard recently are Davya (named after dad Dave), Floy (used in the American South as a female form of Floyd), and Benjamenne (in this post on Nancy’s Baby Names — and there are even more creative ideas in the comments). The only limit is your imagination… and people’s ability to spell and pronounce it.

　　It's becoming increasingly popular to give the male name to a girl, as is. James has become one of the most fashionable middle names for girls. There are celebrities named Glenn, Drew, and Geffri. Two of the most successful American female authors are Curtis Sittenfeld and Lionel Shriver.

　　

Feminization in Action

To finish up, here some ways to feminize some of the most popular names on Nameberry for boys, including traditional and more creative options. Have we missed any good ones?

　　Arlo: Aria, Arla, Arlet, Arlette, Harlow

　　Atticus: Addy, Attica, Attie

　　Casper, Cassius: Cassandra, Cassia, Cassie

　　Cyrus: Cy, Cyan, Cypress, Cyra, Cyrene, Lucy, Soleil

　　Felix: Felicity, Felicia, Fifi

　　Hugo: Goldie, Indigo, Margo, Hudson, Hughes, Huria

　　Milo: Mila, Milani, Milena, Miley, Millie, Myla

　　Oliver: Liv, Liva, Livia, Olia, Olina, Olive, Olivette, Olivia, Olivine, Ollie

　　Oscar: Carina, Carice, Carrie, Ozzie

　　Otto: Edith, Odette, Odile. Ottilie, Ottoline

　　Silas: Sali, Silvia, Sylvestra, Sylvie

　　Soren: Ren, Serena, Severine, Sorcha

　　Theodore: Dora, Dorothea, Dorothy, Thea, Theodora, Theodosia

　　

About the Author

　　

Clare Green

　　Clare Green has been writing for Nameberry since 2015, covering everything from names peaking right now to feminist baby names, and keeping up-to-date with international baby name rankings. Her work has featured in publications such as The Independent and HuffPost. Clare has a background in linguistics and librarianship, and recently completed an MA dissertation researching names in multilingual families. She lives in England with her husband and son. You can reach her at [email protected]

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