ALL ABOUT JOE! - March 27th is National Joe Day

March 27th is considered National Joe Day! From a "cup of Joe", to Sloppy Joes to the Average Joe; from Joe DiMaggio, to Joe Jonas, to Joe Biden, there are a ton of Joes to celebrate! So today we will take a closer look at Joseph, Josephine, Joe and other similar names.

According to Behind the Name, Joseph comes from From Ioseph, the Latin form of the Greek Ιωσηφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning "he will add". Since it his Hebrew in origin, of course it is a biblical name. In the Old Testament, Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel.

Joseph is one of those names that translate well across a variety of languages and cultures around the world:

Yousef, Youssef, Yusef, Yusuf (Arabic) Youcef (Arabic (Maghrebi)) Hovsep (Armenian) Yusif (Azerbaijani) Joseba (Basque) Ioseph, Ioses (Biblical Greek) Yosef (Biblical Hebrew) Ioseph (Biblical Latin) Jusuf (Bosnian) Yosif (Bulgarian) Josep (Catalan) Ghjaseppu (Corsican) Josip, Joško, Joso, Jozo (Croatian) Josef (Czech) Josef (Danish) Josephus, Jozef, Jef, Joep, Joop, Joos, Joost, Jos, Sjef, Zef (Dutch) Jozefo, Joĉjo (Esperanto) Joosep (Estonian) Jooseppi, Juuso (Finnish) Xosé (Galician) Ioseb, Soso (Georgian) Iosif (Greek) Yosef (Hebrew) Josephus (History) József, Jóska, Józsi (Hungarian)

Seosamh (Irish) Giuseppe, Beppe, Peppe, Peppi, Peppino, Pino (Italian) Iosephus (Late Roman) Jāzeps (Latvian) Juozapas, Juozas (Lithuanian) Josif (Macedonian) Hohepa (Maori) Josef (Norwegian) Josèp (Occitan) Yousef, Yusef (Persian) Józef (Polish) José, Zé, Zezé (Portuguese) Iosif (Romanian) Iosif, Osip (Russian) Seòsaidh (Scottish) Josif (Serbian) Jozef (Slovak) Josip, Jožef, Jože (Slovene) José, Josepe, Pepe, Pepito (Spanish) Josef (Swedish) Yusuf (Turkish) Ýusup (Turkmen) Yosyp (Ukrainian) Yusup (Uyghur) Yussel (Yiddish)

There is also a handful of feminine forms of the name:

Jody, Josepha (English), Josée, Josèphe, Joséphine (French), Josepha (German)

And you can't forget the diminutives and "nickname" options:

Jo, Joe, Joey, Jojo (English), Jo, Sepp, Seppel (German)

As you can see, the various translations are quite unique and interesting. I'm sure we have all known a Joseph/Joe, but have you ever known anyone with one of these other, more cultural names? 

Now, Nameberry has quite an extensive list of famous Josephs. It is far too long to repost here, but I encourage you to take a look. 

As far as popularity goes, Joseph has always ranked very well. It has never ranked lower than #22, which happened in 2011. It has ranked as high as #5!  It ranked at #20 in 2016 and will probably linger within the Top 100 for a very long time to come.

Just "Joe" by itself even ranks well. Up until 1970, it was within the Top 100 in the US. Even now, as of 2016, Joe still came in at #618.

The lovely Josephine experienced a high popularity peak of 8,682 births in 1918. It declined after that, but is currently ticking upward. In 2016, there were 2,766 girls given the name which ranked it at #114 in the US.

If you're a Joe fan, here are some ideas for sibling names and middle names:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Amelia, Caroline, Elizabeth, Isabelle, Lucy, Margaret, Sarah
Brothers: Benjamin, Isaac, Michael, Nathaniel, Simon, Vincent, William

Middle Name Ideas:
Joseph Alexander
Joseph Elliott
Joseph Martin
Joseph Riley
Joseph Thomas

Josephine Amelia
Josephine Claire
Josephine Grace
Josephine May
Josephine Rose

Joe Edward
Joe Harrison
Joe Julius
Joe Theodore
Joe Zachariah

As a Middle Name: 

Adrian Joseph

Carter Joseph

Gabriel Joseph

Maxwell Joseph

Tyler Joseph

Anna Josephine

Clara Josephine

Lily Josephine

Morgan Josephine

Wren Josephine

Benjamin Joe

Everett Joe

Henry Joe

Lincoln Joe

Timothy Joe

What do you think of these Joe names? Which would you choose? Have you already used one?

Can You Contract Longer Names to Form Shorter Ones?

Lately, I've been loving the name Thea. However, when I thought about longer, proper names, I just don't like Theodora or Dorothea enough to consider using those on the birth certificate with Thea as just a nickname. Some people like to skip that middle step and put nicknames or shortened forms directly on the paperwork.

It occurred to me that shortening or contracting names could work for those wishing to honor a relative. You love grandma Wilhelmina but don't wish to use her exact name, so you contract it and go with Willa. Easy, right?

Are there any names that you can think of that could be shortened to create interesting short forms? Maybe some that are a bit more unexpected than traditional? Sure, there's Thea from Theodora, and Tessa from Theresa. Are there any others that aren't as obvious? Just pick a name, drop a few letters and see what you're left with. Maybe it'll be the next big thing! Here are a few I came up with:

Adelaide > Ada, Adlai, Adele, Aida

Alexandra > Alexa, Andra, Alandra, Axara, Alara
Angelica > Anelia
Arianna > Aria
Aurora > Aura, Ara
Beatrix > Bix
Bianca > Bia
Brianna > Brina
Carolina > Cara, Carla, Calia, Calla
Cassandra > Candra, Casara
Cassidy > Cady
Cecilia > Celia
Dorothea > Dora, Dot
Eleanora > Elora
Elodie > Edie
Emilia > Elia
Esmeralda > Esme, Elda, Esra, Emerald
Estella > Ella, Esta
Evangeline > Evaline, Eline
Galilea > Gala
Georgiana > Gia, Gina, Gera, Giana
Giovanna > Gia, Gina, Gianna
Isabella > Isla, Isela
Juliet > Jet
Julietta > Jetta
Katherine > Karine
Leonora > Lena, Lora, Lea, Leona
Lillian > Lian
Lorraine > Laine
Louisa > Lia, Lisa
Marilyn > Maryn
Margaret > Maret
Margareta > Meta, Mara
Matilda > Mila
Meredith > Merith
Minerva > Mina, Meva
Miranda > Mira, Manda, Mandy, Mindy, Mina
Miriam > Mira
Natalia > Nala
Noelle > Nell
Penelope > Pelle, Penny, Poppy
Rebecca > Reba
Romilly > Romy
Rosalie > Rosie
Rosemary > Romy, Remy, Rory, Roma
Savannah > Sanna
Theodora > Thea, Thora, Theda, Thera, Tora, Téa
Theresa > Tess, Tessa, Téa, Tera, Tressa
Valentina > Vala, Valentia, Vena,
Veronica > Vera, Vona
Victoria > Vita, Vira, Via
Wilhelmina > Willa, Wilma, Wima

What other names can you come up with? Share your thoughts in the comments! 

Molly

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 consistently remained within the top half the Top 1000. Even with all the history, Molly's high-point for most usage in a year came rather recently in 1991 with 4,651 births and a rank of #74. Molly has spent a lot of time in the Top 100 in the past 30 years. However, she's slightly on the decline now as of 2015's data which listed her as the 144th most popular name in the country based on 2,235 births for the year.

This decline in usage could be a result of the drug "ecstasy" being nicknamed molly. Not as many parents are willing to commit to the name, but there's clearly many that still do, whether they are familiar with the association or not. Despite that, there have been many famous Mollys over time and the name is regularly heard throughout pop culture. One of the first associations came from James Joyce's 1920 novel "Ulysses" in which the wife of the main character was called Molly Bloom. 

There's also the American Titanic survivor Margaret Brown who was nicknamed Molly. Additionally, the Irish community have a folk heroine called Molly Malone; and there's a song titled "Good Golly, Miss Molly" by Little Richard. These are just a few references among dozens of other Mollys out there. Do you have a favorite Molly?

What do you think of this name? Is it on your list? If so, here are a few ideas for middle names and sibling names for Molly:

Sibling Name Ideas: 
Sisters: Amelia, Charlotte, Elise, Lucy, Olivia, Sadie, Tessa
Brothers: Arthur, Evan, Henry, Liam, Nathan, Raymond, Warren

Middle Name Ideas:
Molly Abigail
Molly Evelyn
Molly Caroline
Molly Harper
Molly Rae
Molly Vivienne

As a Middle Name:
Alexandra Molly
Christina Molly
Eleanor Molly
Julianne Molly
Sabrina Molly
Viola Molly

What would you pair with the name Molly? Share your thoughts below!

Rocky

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. Interestingly, Rocky was short for "Rocket", which would definitely be a bold choice for a baby name today.

As a baby name in the US, Rocky appeared on the charts in 1913. In 1942, it entered the Top 1000 chart and had a great year in 1957 with its record-high 911 births for a single year. It had its ups and downs but has mostly remained within the Top 1000 except for the years 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2008-2012. Nowadays, Rocky still lingers in the #900s as a viable option for usage on a modern boy. There have even been a handful of female Rockys, including 6 in 2015, but mostly given between 1949-1984. Do you know anyone named Rocky?

If not, perhaps it would be an appealing choice for your child. If so, here are some ideas for middle names and sibling names for Rocky if you were to use it:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Ada, Dolly, Frankie, Laurel, Minnie, Robin, Vona
Brothers: Daryl, Jack, Jett, Lou, Mickey, Russell, Val

Middle Name Ideas:
Rocky Allen
Rocky Carter
Rocky James
Rocky Lucas
Rocky Oliver
Rocky William

As a Middle Name:
Alvin Rocky
Donald Rocky
George Rocky
Laurence Rocky
Max Rocky
Vince Rocky

These may be a bit unconventional and over-the-top, but they work if you strictly remain in the same tough, nicknamey vein as Rocky. What would YOU pair with Rocky?

Buffy

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 high as #530 in 1972 which accounted for 319 births.

By 1978, though, Buffy was already on its way out the popularity door. By 1991, it wasn't being used at all except for a handful of births from 2002-2005, and a few in 2013.

However, you do need to take into consideration its biggest association: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course, was a television show that ran from 1997-2003.

If you are taken by short, spunky nicknames as given names, Buffy is an interesting, obscure name that could be the one for you! If that's the case, here are some ideas for siblings and middle names so you can start planning your family in full:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Bella, Darby, Elsie, Maisie, Mindy, Sadie, Winnie
Brothers: Brody, Eddie, Johnny, Kirby, Milo, Tobin, Wyatt

Middle Name Ideas:
Buffy Amelia
Buffy Charlotte
Buffy Michaela
Buffy Olivia
Buffy Veronica

As a Middle Name:
Alexandra Buffy
Catherine Buffy
Emilia Buffy
Juliana Buffy
Violet Buffy

What do you think of Buffy? What names would you pair with it?

Robert or Bobby? - Full Given Names or Nicknames on the Birth Certificate?

Here in America, we tend to like putting the long, proper form of the name on the birth certificate even if we end up calling them by something else as a nickname. Other countries sometimes cut to the chase more often and just name them the short form to start with.

However, it isn't unheard of here in the US. The #2 boys' name of 2015, Liam, is essentially the second half of the name William. It's considered the Irish form, but it still ranks higher than its longer companion.

I thought it would be fun to browse the Top 1000 and find some names that are typically thought of as nicknames (or diminutives or short forms) more often than given names. Most of these are considered nicknames for something longer and many have probably stood alone for years. You may be surprised at how well some of these more abrupt names actually rank on their own:

Liam #2

Luke #28
Jack #40
Eli #53
Jace #75
Leo #91
Max #118
Jayce #132
Alex #134
Jase #182
Mark #196
Jake #205
Xander #207
Jax #214
Zander #249
Johnny #310
Andy #323
Enzo #330
Thiago #333
Drew #363
Jay #394
Theo #408
Danny #426
Alec #455
Nico #464
Ty #484
Jaime #485
Jerry #491
Tony #504
Chris #507  
Hank #534
Sam #554
Larry #556
Randy #570
Jimmy #575
Ricky #584
Joe #596
Niko #636
Mack #661
Terry #664
Eddie #668
Marc #673
Toby #689
Zeke #704
Tommy #705
Ray #713
Clay #718
Jon #737
Bobby #738
Ben #740
Joey #758
Ronnie #771
Willie #775
Maxim #779
Harry #781
Trace #801
Billy #8009
Jamie #821
Van #826
Will #834
Rudy ##868
Jordy #874
Franco #878
Kenny #890
Rey #903
Jessie #918
Rocky #927
Louie #967
Freddy #990
Frankie #992

Would you ever use any of these names alone or would you opt for Edward with the nickname Eddie or Kenneth with the nickname Kenny instead?  Can you think of any other names like these that you would consider?

Cool 3-Letter Names for Girls

Finding the perfect name is no easy task. While it may come relatively quickly for some parents, it can take months for others to narrow down their options. Sometimes it is a matter of feelings. A mom knows if the name is right or not based on holding that new baby in her arms for the first time. Other parents go more on facts and how the name looks and sounds than how it feels. Either method is fine!

Sometimes parents wind up limiting their choices on purpose to make the process a bit easier. For example, they'll set guidelines they wish to follow. Perhaps these parents have a long last name that demands a short first name for balance. They end up looking for one-syllable names or 3 or 4 letter names and fall in love with a list like this one. Thus, little Ada Montgomery is named!

Some of the names on this list could also be a short-form or nickname of a longer name. For instance, perhaps you fell in love with the name Ana. Ana can stand alone but perhaps you wish for a longer formal name for her so you can simply nickname her Ana. You may be inspired to consider a name like Anastasia or Analiese instead. Whatever your reasons are for browsing a list like this, be assured that these are some of the very best 3-letter names available to you! Which are your favorites?

Abi             Ada Adi Aja Ali Ama Ami Amy Ana Ane Ani Ann Aoi Ara Åsa Åse Aud Ava Ave Avy Aya Ayn Bao Bay Bea Bev Bia Bly Cai Cat Cho Day Dea Deb Dee Dia Dot Dru Dua Eda Eir Ela Eli Ema Emi Emy Ena

Eos             Era Eva Eve Evy Ewa Fae Fay Fia Flo Gia Gya Haf Hue Icy Ida Iga Ila Ily Ima Ina Ine Ino Ira Iro Isa Iva Ivy Jan Jia Joe Joi Joy Kai Kat Kay Kea Kia Kim Kit Kya Lai Lea Lee Leo Lia Lif

Lil             Lin Liv Liz Lou Lua Lue Lux Luz Lyn Mae Mai Mar Max May Mea Meg Mei Mia Mie Min Miu Moa Mya Nan Nao Nea Nia Noa Noe Nur Nya Nyx Oda Ola Oma Ona Ora Osa Ova Pam Pat Paz Peg Pia Pip Pru

Rae Ray Rei Ría Rie Rin Rio Rue Rut Rya Ryn Sam Sea Sia Sif Siv Sky Sol Sue Sun Tai Tal Tea Tia Toi Toy Tru Tui Ula Uma Ume Una Unn Val Via Viv Xia Xoe Yma Yue Yui Zee Zel Zia Zoa Zoe Zoi

If it is a short name that you seek, allow me to direct you to this Four-Letter Girl Name list as well as this One-Syllable Girl Name list! Don't forget to check out the Cool 3-Letter Names for Boys list too!

 If you could use a second opinion about your options or if you need help finding a name you love, feel free to ask The Art of Naming Community a question! We'd love to help you!

Cool 3-Letter Names for Boys

There are many parents who search high and low to find the perfect name. Sometimes it is a matter of "I'll know it when I see it" and other times they have very specific guidelines they wish to follow. For example, perhaps these parents have a long last name to bestow upon a child and want to find a short first name to balance things out. They end up looking for 3 or 4 letter names and fall in love with a list like this one. Thus, little Ian Christensen is named!

Many of these may also be a short-form or nickname of a longer name. For instance, Gus could be short for the much longer Augustus; and while Max can certainly stand alone, it may inspire you to choose Maximilian as a formal name and simply call him Max. Whatever your reasons are for browsing a list like this, be assured that these are some of the very best 3-letter names available to you! Which are your favorites?

Abe           Ace Ade Åke Ala Alf Ali Apu Ara Ari Art Asa Ash Avi Ayo Bas Baz Ben Bix Bob Boq Bud Cab Cai Cal Cam Che Cid Coy Dag Dan Dax Dee Del Dev Dex Doc Don Dov Dow Ean Ebb Edd Edo Eli Ely Fox Foy

Gil Gio Gus Guy Hal Han Huw Ian Ike Ime Ion Ira Irl Isa Ivo Jad Jai           Jan Jax Jay Jed Jem Jet Jim Job Joe Jon Jye Kai Kal Kay Ken Kim Kip Kit Koa Kye Kyo Law Lee Len Leo Les Lev Lew Lex Lir Lon

Lot Lou Loy Luc Lyn Mac Max Mel Mic Mio Moe Nam Nat Ned Neo Noe Nym Oda Odo Ole Olu Ora Ori Ove Pål Pat Pau Pax Per Pio Pip Poe             Rab Rae Raj Ram Ray Raz Rei Ren Rex Rey Rio Rob Rod Ron Roy Rui

Rye Ryo Ryu Sal Sam Sem Sid Sim Sky Sly Sol Tab Tad Tag Taj Tal Tam Tao Taz Ted Teo Tex Tim Tod Tom Tor Tre Tye Tyr Udo Ugo Uri Uzi Val Van Vin Von Wes Wim Wyn Yul Zac Zak Zeb Zed Zen Zev Ziv

If you're looking for a short name, be sure to also view this list of 4-Letter Boy Names and One-Syllable Boy Names for further inspiration!  For a girl, try the Cool, 3-Letter Names for Girls list too!

Boy Name of the Week: Alfie

I decided to choose the Name of the Week from the Top 1000 baby names chart from England/Wales in 2012. My choice is #7, Alfie.  England is big on nickname names which basically means names that end with -ie and have a longer, "proper form" as well.  In this case, Alfie comes from the name Alfred.

Derived from Old English, Alfred is composed of elements that mean "Elf Counsel".  This name dates back as far as Alfred the Great in the 9th-century, and probably farther. He was the King of Wessex who notoriously fought against the Danes living in northeastern England. Beyond that, he was a scholar who translated many Latin books into Old English.

The name Alfred became very rare by the end of the middle ages and wasn't revived until the 18th century. Another famous Alfred was Lord Tennyson, a British poet who lived from 1809-1892.

Alfred peaked in usage in the US in 1928 when 6,244 baby boys were born, ranking the name at #33. Since then it has gone downhill.  It seems to be in danger of falling off the top 1000 chart in the next couple years at the rate it is falling. It fell to #949 in 2012 with only 211 boys born.

Source

As for Alfie, it may be #7 in England, but here in the States, it is no where near the Top 1000.  With a mere 13 births in 2012, Alfie ranks in at a very unpopular #6271. The name has always been sporadically used. There are no births on record for 2002-2005, and it is even worse before then, except for a slight peak from 1966-1978.  Alfie first appeared in the US in 1917, but it was rarely used. In fact, there were only 44 Alfie's born between 1917 and 1949, and none again until that peak in 1966.

I would use the combo Alfie James because I think its adorable.  Other ideas include Alfie Richmond, Alfie Theodore, Alfie Sebastian and Alfie Thomas.

What do you think? Are you a fan of these nickname names? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Other Nickname Names: Archie, Charlie, Freddie, Jamie, Teddy, Willy / Ally, Betsy, Evie, Jackie, Katie, Millie, Nellie

Sisters: Alice, Caroline, Elizabeth, Genevieve, Josephine, Katherine, Marion, Rose, Tabitha
Brothers: Andrew, Arthur, Edward, Frederick, George, Henry, Jack, Matthew, Peter, Thomas

Middle Name Ideas:
Alfie Theodore
Alfie Jonathan
Alfie Logan
Alfie Benjamin
Alfie Warren

As a Middle Name:
Nathan Alfie
Wilfred Alfie
Vincent Alfie
William Alfie
Daniel Alfie

Girl Name of the Week: Liesel

In honor of the post from yesterday regarding your favorite classic girl's name, I thought I'd choose a variant of the poll winner, Elizabeth.

If you are familiar with this name, you'll know that it has so many variants, diminutives and foreign versions, even whole names like Isabella and Lillian come from Elizabeth.  I searched high and low for an interesting choice and came up with Liesel.

Liesel is a German Diminutive of Elisabeth (which is obviously an alternate spelling of Elizabeth.) Pronounced LEE-zel.  It is also spelled Liesl.  Elizabeth is a Hebrew name meaning "Pledged to God." For Liesel, I only seemed to find the meanings "God is my Oath" or "My God is a Vow." You get the idea.

I saw Liesel appear all over baby name forums a couple years ago and it has seemed to completely fall off the radar once again. If you don't like it as a given name, it would make for a spunky nickname for Elizabeth that is probably not used very often.

As a given name, Liesel first hit the charts in 1954 with only 5 births. It wasn't heard from again until 1963, but it has been regularly used since then. However, the most births in a single year was in 2008 with just 33 baby girls born.  You know you have a unique name when only 32 other girls in the country also have it in your birth year.

In 2012, only 19 babies received this name, proving that it is indeed very obscure. It ranked at #6713.  Liesel might even do well to honor grandma Lisa by offering a more updated sound. Lisa also comes from Elisabeth.

Source

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Annabel, Gretel, Heidi, Lauren, Millicent, Renee

Brothers: Archer, Brenton, Calvin, Grant, Lance, Wilson

Middle Name Ideas:
Liesel Ramona
Liesel Evangeline
Liesel Grace
Liesel Minerva

As a Middle Name:
Catherine Liesel
Harriet Liesel
Penelope Liesel
Sabrina Liesel

It seems to flow better as a first name.  But whether you're looking for a rare given name or a spunky nickname for one of the most-used names in history, Liesel is it!  What do you think?

Stand-Alone Nickname-Names Vs. Proper Given Names

Baby Under The Towel by Vera Kratochvil

Many parents today choose long, proper names for the birth certificate but they call their little ones by a nickname. For girls, nicknames that end with -ie have always been popular.

For example, perhaps you love the idea of having a little Maggie but you aren't comfortable with Maggie as a given name. What do you do? Name her Margaret.   Now, some parents are skipping the proper name and using the nickname on its own.

While Maggie is a nickname for a specific name, some "nicknamey-names" could be short for any number of names.  What if you wrote Sadie or Callie directly on the birth certificate? And what about names that seem nicknamey but don't have an obvious long-form like Bonnie?

In the 1880's, Minnie, Annie, Bessie and Nellie ranked in the Top 20 as a whole name. So it begs the question, which of these nicknames can stand alone today, and which require a proper given name? 

Of course, there is no right or wrong answer but I will list some of the nicknamey-names that could possibly stand on their own for a modern girl.  I will break it down into three categories and put their possible long-forms in parenthesis, if applicable. 

Probably So:

Abbie (Abigail)

Allie (Alexandra, Alice, Allison)

Annie  (Ann, Anne, Anna, Annabelle, etc)

Bonnie 

Callie (Caroline, Charlotte, Calista, Calliope)

Cassie (Cassandra, Cassidy)

Edie (Edith)

Ellie (Eleanor, Elizabeth, Eliana, Estelle, etc)

Elsie (Elizabeth/Elspeth)

Evie (Evangeline, Evelyn)

Josie (Josephine, Josette, Joslyn)

Macie
Maisie (Margaret, Mary, Melissa, Marissa)

Millie (Mildred, Millicent, Camille)

Sadie  (Sarah)

Tessie (Tessa, Theresa)

Maybe:

Hattie (Harriet, Henrietta)

Lettie (Letitia)

Lottie (Charlotte) 

Mamie (Margaret, Mary)

Minnie (Wilhelmina, Minerva)

Nellie (Helen, Ellen, Eleanor, Penelope)

Tillie (Matilda)

Trudie (Gertrude)

Possibly Not: 

Bessie (Elizabeth)

Birdie

Dixie

Effie (Euphemia)

Lizzie (Elizabeth)

Trixie (Beatrix)

Vinnie (Lavinia)

There are also names that are legitimate French names or variations of names that end with -ie. These are considered full/real names as opposed to a nickname. Some of those include:

Aimee

Elodie

Jolie

Julie

Leonie

Lucie

Maelie

Marie

Sophie

Sylvie

Valerie

Of course there are probably many other examples that I missed. What do you think of the nicknamey-names?  Would you use any of these as a stand-alone or do you believe in a proper given name?

For a longer list of names ending in -ie, take a look at this article: Trendy Girl Names From 1900. This style of names was actually high-fashion at the time and they were all given names as opposed to nicknames!