The Art of Naming

Continuing with our theme, today we will explore names ending with -vy. Most of these are very rare or unusual. Do you like any names ending with -vy?  Of course, I love Ivy, but some of these others are interesting too, like Livy, Navy, Savvy and Chevy! Ivy currently ranks at #108 for girls in 2017. Avy Bevy Elvy Evy Ivy Keavy Levy Livvy Livy Lovy Maevy Navy Rivy Savvy Savy Silvy Tavy Truvy Vivy Alvy Arvy Chevy Covy Davy Garvy Harvy Ivy Kevy Levy Navy Rivy Tavy Stevy Zavy Are there any others you can think of? Which do you like most?

We've been exploring different name endings based on specific letters lately. We saw -ina names for girls, and -ian names for boys. Last week we looked at boy names ending with -us. Today we will try our best to narrow it down for the letters "-ra".  Like the other series, I limited myself to only choosing one name per letter. Here are my 26 picks from A-Z. What would you pick? I also listed the ranks of those within the Top 1000, so as you can see, most of these names are rare picks! Audra Barbara  (#908) Cora   (#83) Deidra Electra Flora Ginevra Honora Indira Jara Keira   (#331) Lysandra Mara   (#670) Nora    (#28) Ophira Pandora Quorra Riviera Sierra    (#452) Theodora Uhura Vespera Wara Xantara Yadira Zamora Would you use any of these names?

The majority of names that end with -us may bring to mind Ancient Latin rulers. While many of these will remain rare, there are others gaining popularity. I put the ranking of those within the Top 1000 in parenthesis.  Which do you like? I used Maximus for my son, and would consider Augustus, Cyrus, Erasmus, Julius, Thaddeus and Xanthus! What about you? Augustus  (#423) Belarius Cyrus  (#427) Darius  (#500) Erasmus Fergus Gaius Honorius Ignatius Julius  (#336) Klaus Linus Maximus  (#200) Nicodemus Octavius Pius Rufus Severus Thaddeus (#666) Urbanus Vitus Wenceslaus Xanthus Yunus Zacchaeus Do you have any other favorite names that would also belong on this list? 

We are nearing the end of this series. We have already explored a number of names ending with -y. Now we move on to the -ty names.  There's a number of virtue names that end with -ty on this list. Do you like any of these? Girls: Amity Arrietty Betty Charity Chastity Christy Clarity Cristy Divinity Dotty Dusty Enity Esty Eternity Felicity Hatty Hetty Honesty Jonty Kaity Kassity Katy Kirsty Kitty Kristy Letty Liberty Marty Maty Minty Misty Modesty Patty Royalty Serendipity Serenity Tranquility Trinity Unity Vanity Verity Boys: Barty Coty Dusty Getty Infinity Jonty Marty Monty Moriaty Rafferty Reality Rusty Scotty Trinity Ty Vincenty Walenty Wincenty Pick a name or two and give them a middle name! Share in the comments!

We previously looked at boy names ending with the letters "-ian" .  I swapped those letters around and found girl names ending with the letters "-ina". Do you have any favorites on this list? What about other names that aren't on this list but still end with "-ina"? Angelina Bettina Celina Delphina Emmelina Florentina Georgina Helaina Irina Josephina Kristina Leontina Martina Nicolina Olivina Paulina Quelina Regina Seraphina Trina Ursina Valentina Wilhelmina Xina Yekaterina Zarina Sometimes I make lists like this for fun, so naturally I decided to share. Have you ever challenged yourself to choose names fitting specific criteria? I often do this to sharpen my naming skills and discover new names.  Play along with me! Share your favorites in the comments!

Sometimes I come up with fun "exercises" in naming to strengthen my skills. I thought it would be fun to find boy names ending with -ian for each letter of the alphabet. It was going well until I got to a few more troublesome letters.  Take a look at my list and tell me which are your favorites! Adrian Brian Christian Damian Elian Fabian Gian Hadrian Ian Julian Killian Lucian Maximilian Nerian Octavian Paulian Quillian Rhydian Sebastian Tavian Urian Vian Xadrian Yulian Zavian I may or may not have created a few of these. Specifically Paulian, Quillian, and Urian. Those were the only letters of which I could not find names ending with -ian, However, they sound like the could work just fine along with the others.  Can you find any established names starting with P, Q and U that could take their place?

From our previous article listing names ending with the letters "-sy" , we find a diamond in the rough. The most popular name on the list is Daisy.   This pretty name is directly related to the flower. However, it also derives from the Old English word  dægeseage meaning "day eye".  Daisies  belong to one of the largest families of plants in the world. Often they have a yellow center and come in a variety of colors, with white being perhaps the most common. . By böhringer friedrich - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5 Sometimes Daisy is used as a nickname for Margaret. It happened in a round-about way due to the French name Marguerite becoming associated with the daisy in French. Margaret means "pearl" in Greek, and daisies were considered "pearls of the field" or "marguerites".  So Marguerite, and the Spanish Margarita, gained association with Daisy and Daisy became a nickname for Margaret. In pop-culture, there is the animated Daisy...

This series is nearing the end of the alphabet. With the letters -sy, we find several interesting names. Some of these are more on the nickname side, but usable nonetheless.  Are there any names below that you would considered? The most popular options are undoubtedly Daisy, Maisy and Tansy. Notice how there are many more options for females than males. Can you think of any others that could be added to the list? Girls: Bethsy Betsy Blessy Cassy Cessy Chrissy Cissy Crissy Daisy Deisy Dessy Elsy Gypsy Isy Jassy Jesy Jinsy Joisy Kassy Keisy Kelsy Krissy Lindsy Lissy Lynsy Maisy Mimsy Missy Pansy Patsy Posy Rosy Shannessy Sissy Susy Tansy Zissy Boys: Hennessy Jessy Massy Patsy Shaughnessy Sy Do you like any of these? Share your thoughts in the comments!  And view the other articles in this series focused on "name endings".

This series is finally in the last portion of the alphabet. We've looked at a lot of names ending with -y. Today we continue with -ry names.  Here are some of the best and most interesting options for this particular ending-sound. Which of these names catch your eye? Girls: Aimery Amory Aubry Audry Autry Avery Awtry Bellary Cabery Camry Cary Cathry Century Chandry Channary Cherry Clary Connery Cory Curry Dalary Dorry Dory Eiry Elery Ellery Ellory Embry Emery Emmary Emory Emry Fairy February Flannery Gentry Gerry Glory Hilary Hillary Ivory January Jenifry Jerry Kairy Kamry Kary Keary Kemery Kerry Kimery Kinnery Landry Lowery Mabry Maebry Mallory Malory Margaery Margery Marjory Mary Memory Merry Mindry Perry Rory Rosemary Sabry Saory Shannary Sherry Sonary Story Sury Terry Valery Victory Winry Boys: Alvary Amaury Amery Amory Ary Avery Avory Barry Berry Bravery Calvary Carbry Car...

The baby name Dagny is our featured name, taken from our list of names ending with the letters "-ny". Dagny is an Old Norse name for females. It comes from Dagný, which was derived from the elements dagr meaning "day" and ný meaning "new". If you ask me, "new day" is an adorable meaning, and it would be especially sentimental on a rainbow baby. It is often used in Scandinavian countries, including Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.  Another form includes the Latvian Dagnija. This name first appeared on record in the US in 1893. It has never had significant popularity and it has never been commonly used. If you're looking for a truly rare name, Dagny is a safe bet.  The most births in a single year that were earned by Dagny is 80 in 2013, which is its highest popularity peak on record. There were only 37 girls named Dagny in 2016. This name has never ranked within the Top 1000 in the US. It did rank in Iceland in 2007 at #75. It ...

This series explores different names ending with -y. We've already seen quite a few. Today we'll look at the many interesting and unusual names that end with the letters "-ny". Girls: Adrianny Albany Aleny Anny Aubuiny Audny Bethany Betony Bonny Borgny Briony Britany Britny Brittany Brittny Bryony Bunny Christany Dagny Delany Destiny Devany Devony Ebony Elleny Epiphany Estefany Evany Evony Fanny Franny Genny Ginny Giverny Harmony Henny Idony Janny Jenny Jessany Jinny Khyany Kiffany Kilmeny Linny Mahogany Marigny Marny Melany Melony Oddny Penny Peony Rainy Romany Sidony Signy Steffany Stephany Sunny Symphony Tawny Tiffany Tiffiny Tinny Tiny Tiphany Yolany Boys: Anthony Antony Benny Berthony Danny Denny Donny Giovanny Johnny Jonny Jovanny Jovany Kenny Lanny Lemony Lenny Lonny Manny Ronny Sonny Sunny Tony Vinny Are there any names on this list that you would consider usin...

We took a look at all the names ending with the letters -my in the previous post. Today we'll pull one of those from the list and get to know it better. I chose Jeremy,  which may feel a bit dated to many of you but it still deserves usage today. Jeremy comes from the name Jeremiah, it is the Medieval English version of it. Jeremiah comes from the Hebrew name יִרְמְיָהוּ ( Yirmiyahu ) meaning "YAHWEH has uplifted". Jeremy was occasionally the form used in England in place of Jeremiah since the 13th century. It wasn't until the Protestant Reformation that Jeremiah gained more common usage. Interesting related diminutives include Jez, Jezza, Jem, Jemmy, Jere and Jerry .  Other languages and cultures offer interesting choices such as the Finnish Jorma, Jarkko, and Jarmo; or the Biblical Greek Ieremias , the Biblical Hebrew Yirmiyahu , and the Biblical Latin Hieremias .  The French favor Jérémie and the Spanish use Jeremías . Jeremy itself works internationall...

We're halfway through our collection of names ending with the letter -y. We've seen plenty of common and rare names along the way as we've cruised through the alphabet. Next we will explore the few but interesting names ending with the letters -my. This series doesn't always feature a plethora of name options since these endings are more on the unusual side, but that's the beauty of it. How often have you stopped to think about names ending with these specific letters? Perhaps never. However, if someone is looking for that exact sound or letter combination with a sentimental purpose behind it, this list is sure to help. Take a look at the list below and share your thoughts in the comments. Can you think of any names that could be added? Girls: Aemy Alchemy Amy Bellamy Cammy Emmy Emy Jemmy Jessamy Jessemy Keimy Kimmy Kymmy My Naomy Nomy Remy Romy Stormy Tammy Boys: Barthelemy Bellamy Jeramy Jeremy Jeromy Jimmy Ptolemy Ramy ...

This featured name is pulled from the list of names that end with the letters "-ly". This list is one of the longest ones in this series so far. It was full of great options, but I decided to highlight Molly. Not many people will realize that Molly comes from the name Mary. It developed as a diminutive based on Malle and Molle over time. Polly is in the same boat. Now, Mary ultimately comes from the Greek Mariam and Maria , which were from the Hebrew Miryam . The meaning of Mary has never been absolutely certain, but meanings such as "sea of bitterness," "rebelliousness," and "wished for child" have been thrown about as possibilities. It's also likely that Mary was originally an Egyptian name derived from mry meaning "beloved". So by association, Molly and all of Mary's other forms, variants and translations, mean the same thing. In the US, Molly has always fared well as a stand-alone name. Since 1880, it has ...

To continue our series, let's take a look at the many names that end with the letters -ly.  This list is not necessarily exhaustive, but it is fairly long and full of great options if -ly is your favorite end-sound. Girl names: Ally Amberly Aracely Beverly Billy Blakely Bly Caily Caitly Callalily Carly Cecily Chantilly Chavelly Cicely Connolly Daily Dolly Donnelly Eily Emily Everly Gilly Haverly Havily Heavenly Holly Ily Irely Italy Jessaly Joely Josaly July Kaily Karly Keely Keily Kelly Kessly Kimberly Kirrily Lily Linsly Lolly Lovely Marely Mariely Molly Nallely Nathaly Nelly Nerilly Noely Orly Paigely Pialy Polly Reilly Romilly Sally Shyly Sicily Siddaly Sonaly Tally Temily Tessaly Thessaly Tigerlily Tilly Truely Truly Tully Vally Verily Waverly Weatherly Yanelly Yanely Zaily Zeely Boy names: Anatoly Beverly Billy Chavelly Connolly Dally Daly Donnelly Early Huntly Karoly...

This name comes from our list of names ending with the letters "-ky". If you saw that article, you know that this is a very limited club of names, but there are definitely some cool choices. One of the coolest options from the list is Rocky. Rocky is given as a full name, but it is also treated as more of a nickname. It could be considered a diminutive of the name Rocco which is a Germanic name from the element hrok which means "rest". Rocco is the patron saint of the sick. However, as you may know, Rocky is not so much a saint as a famous fictional boxer. The Rocky franchise of movies starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky began in 1976 and is possibly the most well-known association with this name. Another association comes from the old cartoons "The Bullwinkle Show" and "Rocky and His Friends" both of which aired in the 1960s. These featured a flying squirrel named Rocky and his moose pal experiencing a variety of adventures. Interestin...

We've covered nearly half the alphabet already. Sure, there are some letters that just won't fit into this category, so we have skipped a few of them. But here we are, arriving at letter K for a compilation of "-ky" names! How many can you name off the top of your head? Luckily, you don't have to since I did the legwork for you! I even went so far as to include names ending with "-kie" since the choices were slim for "-ky" names.  Enjoy: Girls: Becky   Jacky Lucky Nicky Pinky Ricky Sky Suky Vicky Beckie Cookie Frankie Jackie Lockie Markie Mickie Nickie Pinkie Rickie Rivkie Saskie Sookie Sukie Vickie Boys:   Chucky Dicky Franky Jacky Ky Melky Nicky Ricky Rocky Sky Starsky Dickie Frankie Mackie Mickie Nickie Rickie Can you think of any that I missed? Would you use any of these?

This series takes a closer look at a very limited set of names. If you're searching for a particular sound or spelling at the end of the name, this series may be for you. We've already considered names ending with -ay, -by, -cy, -dy, -ey, -fy, and -gy. All of these posts can be found here.   The only names that I could find ending with "-iy" are Andriy, Arkadiy, Arseniy, Bryliy, Dmitriy and Yuriy. I didn't find them common enough or appealing enough to earn their own post. We'll skip ahead to "-hy" names since there's a few more options available. Girls: Abernathy Amadahy Cathy Dorothy Dorthy Kathy Marthy Murphy Ruthy Sophy Stephy Boys: Adahy Joshy Malachy Murphy Timothy Would you ever use one of these? Which is your favorite?

This interesting name comes from our list of names ending with the letters "-gy" . There are not many -gy names. In fact, there were only two decent options for boys, Iggy and Ziggy. I chose to learn a bit more about Ziggy. Have you ever heard of this name before? Perhaps in the pop culture world, you've heard of the late Bob Marley's musician son named Ziggy. Where does the name come from? For Ziggy Marley, it's a nickname. His real name is David Nesta Marley. According to Bob Marley, Ziggy is just a nickname he gave his son meaning "little spliff".  He may have been inspired by David Bowie's album "Ziggy Stardust". Ziggy Stardust, of course, was David Bowie's alter ego. Bowie was quoted in Rolling Stone Magazine as saying that Ziggy was "one of the few Christian names I could find beginning with the letter Z". Later, he also said he was inspired by a tailor shop called Ziggy's. It is possible that Ziggy doesn...

Today's featured name comes from our list of names that end with the letters "-fy" . There weren't a ton of choices, but I picked out one of the most interesting names on that list. Buffy is one of many diminutives of the name Elizabeth. From the Hebrew name Elisheva , Elizabeth (and therefore Buffy) means "my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance". Elizabeth is known for its abundance of nicknames, short forms and diminutive options, which makes it very versatile if used in full. It has been extremely popular over the years, consistently being used as both a first name and a middle name for girls. However, Buffy is definitely one of the more obscure options as a nickname for Elizabeth. As a stand-alone full given name, Buffy is almost non-existent. It first appeared on record in the US in 1951. Nearly overnight between 1965 and 1966, Buffy caught on for a brief stint. It popped onto the Top 1000 chart at #793 in 1967, and climbed as h...