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

　　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

　　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.

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]

　　View all of Clare Green's articlesChevron - Right