New twists on old names
But this isn’t always the case. Alexander might be Alistair to his Scottish cousins, Sasha to his friends.
This can come in handy if you’re looking for an invisible (to non-nerds) or at least indirect route to honoring a namesake. Ways you can do this include finding an interesting but accessible international variation, or an unexpected nickname that can be used on its own, or a mythological, biblical, or other name switch, or dual identity.
Here are some possibilities you might consider. How many of the connections are visible to you?
GIRLS
Agnes….Ines/Inez
Aileen….Aveline/Evelyn
Alexandra….Shura
Alice….Ailis/Ailish
Beatrice….Trixie
Berenice….Veronica
Bridget….Bedelia
Cora….Persephone
Dawn….Aurora
Diana….Artemis
Dorcas….Tabitha
Dorothea….Theodora
Eleanor….Nell
Elizabeth….Elspeth, Isabella, Libby– ad infinitum
Emerald….Esmeralda
Esther….Hadassah
Eve….Chaya
Hedwig….Edwige
Hope….Esperanza
Hyacinth…Jacinta
Jade….Giada
Jane….Ivana, Siobhán, Jensine
Janet….Sinéad
Jennifer….Guinevere
Lily….Shoshana
Lorelei.…Rory
Margaret….Maisie, Daisy, Pearl
Maria….Mitzi
Mary….Miriam, Moira
Matilda….Maud
Millicent….Melisande
Minerva….Athena
Sarah….Sally, Sadie
Susannah….Shoshana
Thomasina….Tamsin
Violet….Iolanthe, Yolanda
Vivian….Bevin
Xenia….Oksana
———
BOYS
Absalom….Axel
Adrian….Arjun
Alfred….Avery
Basil….Vassily
Bernard….Bjorn
Charles….Cathal
Edmund….Eamon
Edward….Ned
Eugene….Owen, Euan, Ewan
Frederick….Fritz
George….Joren, Jori, Yuri
Henry….Arrigo
Hugh….Ugo
James….Hamish, Seamus, Jago, Semaj
Jasper….Caspar
Jerome….Geronimo, Hieronymus
John….Euan, Eoin, Jens, Ivan, João
Joseph….Joos, Joop, Sepp
Lawrence….Lars, Lorenzo
Lazarus….Eleazar
Luther….Lothario
Matthew….Levi
Nathaniel….Bartholomew
Neil….Nels
Nicholas….Colin
Peter….Piers, Piet
Robert….Rupert
Roland….Orlando
Stephen….Esteban
Ulysses….Odysseus
———
Nameberry is a baby-naming site produced by Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz, co-authors of 10 bestselling baby name guides, including the newest, “Beyond Ave and Aiden: The Enlightened Guide to Naming Your Baby.” See more at www.nameberry.com ——— © 2013, Nameberry.com Distributed by MCT Information Services —————
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