Contraction Nicknames

What is a contraction nickname you ask? Just like contractions in English, a contraction nickname takes the first part of a name and the last part of the name to form a shorter nickname, sans middle. There are so many great options if you like contraction nicknames--take a look and let me know your favorites!

Ada: Adalia, Adamina, Adara, Adelina, Adina, Adriana
Adele: Adelaide, Adeline
Alexa: Alexandra, Alexandria, Alexandrina, Alexandrita, Alexia
Ana: Anahita, Anala, Anastasia, Andrea, Andromeda, Angela, Angelica, Angelina, Anita, Annabella, Annika, Annissa, Annora, Antonella
Aria: Arcadia, Arcelia, Arianna, Ariella, Arizona, Artemisia
Aura: Aurelia, Aurelina, Aurora
Bay: Bailey
Bea: Beata, Becca, Beeja, Begonia, Belinda, Bellona, Bertha
Bex: Beatrix
Bria: Brianna, Brietta, Brigitta, Britta
Cara: Carlotta, Carolina, Carissa, Carmela, Cassandra
Clara: Claribella, Clarinda, Clarissa
Clea: Clementina, Cleopatra
Corie: Coralie
Dana: Danica, Daniela, Danita
Elsa: Elisa, Eloisa
Emme: Emmanuelle, Emmeline
Eva: Evangelina, Evanthia, Evelina
Fae: Fable, Faustine
Fia: Felicia, Fidelia, Fiona, Fiorella
Gala: Gabriella, Galatea, Galena
Gia: Gardenia. Georgia, Giada, Gianna, Gilda, Giordana, Giovanna, Gisella
Ina: India, Indiana, Indra
Isa: Isabella, Isabetta, Isadora, Isauara, Isla
Jette: Jeanette, Juliette
Jessa: Janessa, Jessamina, Jessica
June: Julianne, Juline, Junelle, Junette, Junine
Lena: Leanna, Leona, Levina
Lia: Lavinia, Lelia, Leocadia, Lilia, Lilianna, Linnea, Liviana
Lola: Lolita, Louella
Lora: Lorena, Lorenza, Lorinda
Lula: Ludmila, Luella
Luna: Luciana
Mia: Maria, Melania, Milada, Milagra, Milena, Miranda, Mireya, Mischa
Mila: Michaela, Milada, Milagra, Milania
Mina: Marina, Martina, Milena, Minerva
Mira: Milagra, Mirabella
Nia: Nabila, Nadia, Nahlia, Natalia, Nelia, Nicasia, Nicola, Nicolina, Nigella, Nina, Nisha
Noa: Nola, Nona, Nora, Nordica, Norma, Novella
Ola: Olida, Olina, Olivia, Olympia
Pia: Pamelia, Pascasia, Patricia, Petunia, Pippa, Piritta, Portia
Pippa: Philippa
Ren: Reagan. Reign
Roma: Romana, Romola
Rory: Rosemary
Rosa: Rosalia, Rosalinda, Rosanna, Rosetta. Rosita
Sara: Sahara, Samara, Samira, Sandra, Sapphira, Sarika
Sia: Sienna, Sierra, Silvana, Simona, Sistina, Sophia, Sophronia, Stephania, Sylvia
Tara: Takara, Tamara
Thea: Theodora, Theodosia, Theresa
Thora: Theodora
Zara: Zahara

Names with "an"

I recently got an email from a reader asking for some naming inspiration.

Fiona writes:

My first 2 children both have a theme of "an" - Marianne and Kassandra. It happened accidentally, but the more we think about future names, the more we seem attracted to this sound. It would be great to have some help and inspiration please! 
Our second child was only born this year, so we are jumping the gun a little but we do plan a 3rd child (hopefully, as obviously thanks to mother nature's blips, having a child is not in our complete control!) and our experience is that it is never too early to start thinking about names.

With many thanks,
Fiona 

Past the page break I have put together an exhaustive list of names with -an in them. I've italicised the ones I think work best with Marianne and Kassandra. Feel free to leave your thoughts or suggestions for Fiona in the comments. If you have a naming question that you would like me to post on the blog, feel free to email me at skihm (at) hotmail (dot) com. 

Names for a Fourth Born

Image Credit

Hooray! Yesterday, S, My Name is Sophie turned four! To celebrate, we are going to look at names that mean four--perfect for a fourth born child.

Anana- Anana is an African name meaning "fourth born." Ana or Annie would be sweet nicknames.

Chatura- If you are looking for a lovely Indian name for your fourth born daughter, Chatura is the one for you. In my opinion, she could easily be worn on an American baby.

Cuarto- Cuarto means "fourth" in Spanish, and would make a fun middle name for a boy or a girl. If you're brave enough, Cuarto could even be a first name.

Delta- Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, and a recent celebrity baby name. All that makes her a subtle and fashionable choice for your fourth born.

Quade- Quade is the Latin word for four, and always on my list of suggestions for Q names. In fact, I talked more about him here.

Quartilla- This Latin beauty is ultra-feminine--ideal for a little princess. If all the frills aren't your thing, you could always use Quade for a girl.

Reba- Reba is definitely the most familiar name on this list, but I bet most of you didn't know that she means "fourth born." The Hebrew name is definitely dated--but she peaked in 1915, so she's due to come back sometime soon.

Shiro- Shiro is a sweet Japanese name meaning "fourth son." Like Chatura, Shiro would definitely work on an American boy.

Names ending in -ana

The -ana sound is popular. It seems like everywhere I go I meet a Aliana, Giovanna, or Liliana. If you love the sound but need some more ideas, here is a great long list of names ending in -ana.

Expected:
Adriana
Alana
Ana
Briana
Eliana
Gianna
Juliana
Lana
Liliana
Luciana
Shana
Tatiana

Unique:
Audriana
Aviana
Christiana
Emiliana
Georgiana
Giovanna
Jordana
Juana
Liviana
Svetlana
Shoshana
Tiana

Unheard of:
Bibiana
Katiana
Liana
Oceana
Oriana
Sylvana

Nicknames for Georgiana

Georgiana is a great name if you're looking for something long and girly, but has cool, tough-girl nicknames. Here's a list of things your little Georgiana could go by.

Ana
George
Georgia
Georgie
Gia
Gianna
Gigi
Gina

Palindrome Names

Ada
Aja
Aleela
Ana
Anina
Anna
Anona
Ara
Asa
Ava
Aviva
Aza
Ede
Elle
Emme
Eve
Hannah
Otto
Oro

Do any of you have a palindrome name?