The Complete List and Guide to Choosing a Baby Name With Amazing Nicknames (4 Steps and 162 Ideas)
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You might already have a bunch of names in mind, or none at all, for your baby. But either way, it can be difficult boiling it down to one.
One way to help combat this, is to choose a name that can be shortened into a nickname.
Below, you will find a simple guide on how to name your child so they can attract nicknames, along with a list of some ideas to help you.
Pros for Picking a Name with a Nickname
Most names can be turned into a nickname, even if it's not an easy task to do. But why choose a name for your baby just so it can be shortened? Before we share the advantages, if you would like to see reasons for doing the opposite, you can check out our article on The Complete List and Guide to Choosing a Baby Name Without Nicknames. For now though, we'll continue on with the benefits!
Benefit 1: It gives you more options
As mentioned before, you could have a bunch of names that you love for your child, and picking a name with a number of nicknames can keep your options open for the future. Take the name Elizabeth, for example. A few nicknames that work well here are Ellie, Lisa, Liz and Beth, and all of a sudden, you have five very different names to choose from, all within the same one!
Benefit 2: It gives your child more options
Similar to the first reason, this gives your child a little more freedom to choose their own name in the future. Once they reach a certain age, they might prefer to change their name around a little bit, and this gives them more options to work from!
Benefit 3: Having a nickname can help with making friends
Imagine a little boy named Theodore on his first day at school. You wouldn't expect it to take long for young Theodore to pick up a nickname like Ted, Teddy or Theo. But what's the advantage of this? Having a nickname can help with fitting in and making things more personal. If another child gives your child a nickname, it can establish an immediate connection and can generate trust. In the future, when meeting someone new, Theodore could introduce himself and say something like, "you can call me Theo" - again helping to create a friendly connection.
Guide to Choosing a Baby Name With Nicknames
It's easy to come up with names that can attract a nickname, but the real difficulty is picking one that can be shortened to multiple nicknames. That said, maybe you would rather choose one that can only be shortened a limited number of times - either way, we can help. Just follow the steps below to find the perfect baby name with nicknames!
Step 1: Search for longer names
As mentioned earlier, the longer the name, the higher the possibility it can be shortened. Using this to your advantage is one of the best ways of attracting nicknames. Let's look at the name Bartholomew as an example. With eleven letters, people are usually going to try to whittle this down to Bart or Tolly, so keep this in mind while on your search!
Step 2: Think about syllables
This is quite similar to the first step, in that you're again looking at the length of the name. However, it's also a great way of guessing the nicknames your baby may receive. With three syllables, the name Christina, can be split into Chris and Tina, by just separating the syllables.
Step 3: Look for names within the name
This may seem almost unnecessary if you look at names with a bunch of letters and syllables in them. But take the name Alfred, for example. It's short in both respects, yet we have five options for nicknames in our list below. One of the reasons for this is because the name Fred is completely visible within it, which allows people to use a lot of the shortened versions of the name Frederick.
Step 4: Consider common names that have nicknames
If you're searching for a more unique name, then you may want to ignore this step, but it's worth keeping in mind. There are a handful of names that a lot of people automatically turn into a nickname. Matthew turns into Matt, Samantha turns into Sam, Stephanie turns into Steph, and so on. With a name like one of these, a nickname is almost a guarantee!
Step 5: Think in reverse
You may have some thoughts on short names that you like the sound of, but want a longer name for more nickname options. By thinking in reverse, you could research a name to see if it's a nickname of another. For example, you could love the name Millie for your baby girl, and work back to Camilla as a full name. You may be surprised at how many names are diminutives of others!
The Complete List of Baby Names With Nicknames
Now that we're finished with the guide, we have created a list of 162 names for you to choose from. Separated into boy, girl, and gender neutral names, we hope this list of ideas will help you on your mission of naming your beautiful baby!
Boy Names:
There are a huge range of names that can be turned into nicknames - even the ones we find near impossible to change can be turned into something else. But this list of 71 names for boys have at least two nickname suggestions beside each of them. We hope this helps!
- Abraham: Abe, Bram
- Albert: Al, Albie, Bert, Bertie
- Alfred: Al, Alf, Alfie, Fred, Freddie
- Andrew: Andy, Drew
- Anthony: Ant, Tony
- Archibald: Arch, Archie
- Arnold: Arn, Arnie
- Bartholomew: Bart, Barty, Tolly
- Benjamin: Ben, Benj, Benji, Benny
- Bernard: Barney, Bernie
- Charles: Char, Charlie, Chuck, Chuckie
- Christopher: Chris, Chrissy, Christy, Christoph
- Daniel: Dan, Danny
- David: Dave, Davey
- Dennis: Den, Denny
- Desmond: Des, Dezzy
- Dominic: Dom, Nic
- Donald: Don, Donny
- Douglas: Doug, Dougie
- Edward: Ed, Eddie, Ted, Teddy
- Ferdinand: Ferdie, Fred, Freddie
- Francis: Fran, Frank, Frankie
- Frederick: Fred, Freddy
- Gabriel: Gabby, Gabe
- Gareth: Gary, Gaz
- George: Geordie, Georgie
- Gerard: Ger, Gerry
- Gilbert: Gib, Gil
- Gordon: Gordie, Gordo
- Gregory: Greg, Gregor, Grey
- Harold: Hal, Harry
- Hugo: Hugh, Hughie
- Isaac: Ike, Zach
- Jacob: Coby, Jake, Jay, Jeb
- James: Jamie, Jay, Jem, Jim, Jimmy
- Jason: Jace, Jay
- Jeffrey: Jeff, Jep
- Jeremy: Jer, Jerry
- Jonathan: John, Johnny
- Joseph: Joe, Joey
- Kenneth: Ken, Kenny
- Kristian: Kris, Kristy
- Laurence: Lar, Larry
- Leonard: Lenny, Leo, Leon
- Lewis: Lew, Lewie
- Marcus: Mark, Marky
- Martin: Martie, Marty
- Matthew: Matt, Matty
- Michael: Mick, Mickey, Mike, Mikey
- Nathan: Nat, Nate
- Nicholas: Nick, Nicky
- Oliver: Oli, Ollie
- Oscar: Oz, Ozzy
- Patrick: Paddy, Pat
- Peter: Pete, Petey
- Philip: Phil, Pip
- Richard: Dick, Dickie, Rich, Richie, Rick, Rickie
- Robert: Bob, Bobby, Rob, Robbie
- Ronald: Ron, Ronnie
- Samuel: Sam, Sammy
- Sebastian: Seb, Sebby
- Steven: Ste, Steve, Stevie
- Stewart: Stew, Stewie
- Theodore: Ted, Teddy, Theo
- Thomas: Tom, Tommy
- Timothy: Tim, Timmy
- Victor: Vic, Vicky
- Vincent: Vin, Vince, Vinny
- Walter: Wal, Wally, Walt
- William: Bill, Billy, Will, Willy
- Zachary: Zach, Zack
Girl Names:
If you're looking for a name for your beautiful baby girl, this list of 70 names is sure to help! Again, each name has at least two suggestions beside them, but if you can't find what you're looking for, you can check out our generator for more help!
- Abigail: Abbey, Gayle
- Adaline: Ada, Addie
- Alexis: Alex, Lexi
- Alicia: Ali, Lisha
- Amanda: Mandi, Mandy
- Annabelle: Anna, Mabel
- Arianna: Ari, Aria
- Barbara: Babs, Barb, Barbie
- Camilla: Cammie, Millie
- Caroline: Cali, Carol, Carrie
- Catherine: Cat, Cate, Cathy, Kitty
- Cecilia: Cece, Celia, Cissy
- Charlotte: Charlie, Lottie
- Christina: Chris, Chrissy, Tina
- Corinna: Cora, Corrie
- Cynthia: Cindy, Sindy
- Danielle: Dani, Danna
- Deborah: Deb, Debbie, Debs
- Dolores: Dolly, Lola
- Dorothy: Dee, Dolly, Dory, Dotty
- Eleanor: Ellie, Lenora, Nel, Nelly, Nora
- Elena: Ella, Ellie, Nel
- Elizabeth: Beth, Ellie, Lisa, Liz
- Emily: Em, Emy
- Emma: Em, Emmie
- Estelle: Essie, Esta
- Evangeline: Eva, Eve
- Felicia: Licia, Lisha
- Gabrielle: Bree, Gabby
- Harriet: Etta, Ettie, Hattie, Hettie
- Isabella: Bella, Izzy, Libby
- Jacqueline: Jackie, Jacqui
- Janet: Jan, Janna, Netta
- Jennifer: Jen, Jenna, Jenny
- Jessica: Jess, Jessie
- Josephine: Jo, Joey, Jojo, Posy
- Judith: Jodie, Judie
- Julia: Jule, Jules, Julie
- Katherine: Kat, Kate, Kathy, Katy, Kit, Kitty
- Kimberley: Kim, Kimmy
- Kirsten: Kiki, Kirstie
- Larissa: Lara, Rissa
- Lauren: Larrie, Laurie
- Leticia: Lettie, Tisha
- Lillian: Lillie, Lyanna
- Lorraine: Lori, Lorrie
- Louise: Lou, Lula
- Lucia: Luce, Lucy
- Madeline: Maddie, Maddy
- Margaret: Maggie, Marge, Margie, Peg, Peggie
- Megan: Meg, Megs
- Melissa: Lissa, Mel, Missie
- Michelle: Chelle, Shelly
- Michaela: Kayla, Mica
- Natasha: Nat, Tasha
- Olivia: Liv, Livvy, Ollie
- Patricia: Pat, Patty
- Penelope: Pen, Penny
- Rebecca: Bec, Becca, Becky, Reb
- Rachel: Rache, Rae
- Roxanne: Rox, Roxy
- Sabrina: Sab, Sabby
- Samantha: Sam, Sammy
- Sophia: Soph, Sophie
- Stephanie: Steph, Stevie
- Susan: Sue, Susie
- Theresa: Terry, Tess, Tessie
- Tiffany: Tiff, Tiffy
- Vanessa: Ness, Nessa
- Victoria: Vic, Vikki
Gender Neutral Names:
Below is a list of 21 gender neutral names that can be shortened into nicknames. While this list is quite small, you can also (as another option) look into nicknames that are the same for both boys and girls. For example, you could like the nickname Sam, and keep Samuel and Samantha in the back of your mind when naming your baby. This obviously depends on why you're choosing a gender neutral name, so it's just another option!
- Ashton: Ash
- Brooklyn: Brooke
- Casey: Case
- Chandler: Chan
- Charlie: Char, Chaz
- Danny: Dan
- Florence: Flo
- Harper: Harp
- Indiana: Indie
- Jamie: Jay
- Joey: Jo
- Jordan: Jordi
- Leslie: Lez
- Murphy: Murph
- Parker: Park, Parkes
- Reagan: Rae, Ray
- Riley: Riles, Rye
- Robin: Robi
- Skyler: Sky
- Stevie: Ste
- Taylor: Tay
Why not try our Generator?
We truly hope you've found our guide and list insightful, and with any luck, you may have even found the perfect name! But if not, don't worry, we also have a baby name generator you can use to help you further. With a huge number of ideas, you can also set multiple filters that will narrow down your search to align with your preferences - have fun!