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

Middle Name Survey

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Hello everyone! Today's middle name post is more of a middle name survey. In fact, that's exactly what it is. Please take the quick survey below--with enough responses I can glean some statistics from the data. Feel free to submit other forms with the middle names of your children, parents, siblings, etc. Thanks so much! I'll see you back here on Wednesday for Greek Names for Boys.



*UPDATE* This survey is now closed. Thanks to everyone who participated--I was blown away with hundreds of responses!

Same Meaning Sibsets: Part Three

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Hello everyone! I have some more same meaning sibsets for you today. If you are into meanings of names, this can be a fun way to coordinate sibsets. Take a look.

Bright
Albert + Clara
Electra, Phaedra, + Xavier
Eileen, Robert + Shirley
Yelena + Ziva

Star
Aster, + Seren
Svetlana + Vesper
Esther, Roxanna, + Stella

Noble
Elke + Freja
Alvin, Eugene, + Ethel
Keefe + Oberon
Allison, Grady, + Patrick
Adele, Alice, + Audrey

Faith
Amina, Fidel + Saladin
Minette + Vera

Handsome
Allen + Beale
Kenneth + Kevin
Bo + Irwin
Hassan + Jamal

Fair
Justin + McKinley
Banning, Finley, + Venn

*Note: Some names may appear on lists for different meanings due to multiple meanings or meanings with more than one part.*

Claire Names

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Claire is a modern classic. You wouldn't be surprised to meet a mom named Claire, and it's not uncommon to run into younger ones either. Claire has many variants, which are getting exceedingly popular. Though Claire reigns supreme, I have a feeling Clara could beat her out for the number one Claire name in the coming years. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Clara- Elegant and vintage, it's no wonder parents love Clara. At #131, is it possible she could crack the top 100?

Clarabella- She may seem like a smoosh name, but Clarabella has real Latin roots. She's quite a mouthful, though. If you must, choose Clarabelle.

Clarabelle- Slightly more subdued than Clarabella. For a slimmed-down version, try Claribel.

Claremont- My first thought is college--but as a high school senior, I have higher education on the brain. I like her sound, and I think she works.

Clarice- My association with this name is Clarice Bean, a funny childrens book series by Lauren Child. Clarice may be a little outdated, but she still fits in on the playground.

Clarinda- I know most of you will hate it, but I think Clarinda is pretty charming! I've explained my love of Lucinda before, I think -inda names are due for a comeback.

Clarion- Clarion is definitely the most contemporary name on this list. I think she's lovely.

Clarissa- Maybe it's her similarity to Melissa, or the '90s TV show Clarissa Explains it All, but I cannot picture her on a baby born in 2015.

Clarity- Clarity is a unique virtue name with an updated sound. Much better than Chastity.

Clary- She's a nickname, but I think Clary would also work well on her own. Maybe as a sister to Sadie?

Eclair- Does Eclair work as a name? She should work in theory--it's only one extra syllable to the name Claire--but she still seems a little off.

Montclair- Switch around Claremont, and you've got Montclair. I could see this one working on a boy.

Sinclair- Another Claire name that swings masculine is Sinclair. He has a sauve, old-timey feel that I love.

Warby Parker Names

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Do you guys like Warby Parker glasses? I don't wear glasses, but I might invest in a pair of their sunglasses (that are super awesome as well). All the Warby Parker glasses have names, which are just as cool as the glasses themselves. I've left out a few obscurities (mainly Duckworth), but the rest of these names are perfect for any hip baby.

Girls
Annette
Clara
Julia
Madison
Mallory
Minnie
Piper

Boys
Aldous
Ames
Arthur
Aslin
Ballard
Banks
Baxter
Beckett
Begley
Bensen
Burke
Chamberlain
Chandler
Cliff
Clyde
Crane
Crossfield
Dale
Dean
Dixon
Downing
Durand
Duval
Eli
Everett
Felton
Fillmore
Finch
Fitz
Garrett
Griffin
Halford
Hall
Hardy
Haskell
Holt
Hutton
Huxley
Ingram
Kidd
Langston
Linwood
Lyle
Marcel
Marple
Marshall
Miles
Mitchell
Nash
Nedwin
Neville
Oliver
Ormsby
Owen
Percey
Pierce
Preston
Quentin
Raglan
Ramsay
Robinson
Ryder
Seymour
Sims
Sinclair
Stewart
Teddy
Thatcher
Theo
Thompson
Upton
Wally
Watts
Webb
Wilkie
Wiloughby
Winston
Zagg

Unisex
Ainsworth
Batten
Coley
Ellison
Goodney
Kimbal
Lowry
McKee
Paley
Quimby
Raleigh
Reece
Reilly
Ripley
Rowan
Sibley
Sloan
Walker

Summer Names

Summer's almost here! To celebrate, I thought I'd do a post on names for summer babies.

Girls:

Calida
Clara
Iliana
Isla
June
July
Marina
Marisol
Muriel
Phoebe
Rae
Rubyaina
Sandy
Shirley
Sky
Sol
Soleil
Summer
Sunny
Sunshine

Boys:

Albert
Alberto
August
Augustus
Brighton
Cyrus
Fulbright
Julio
Junot
Kai
Leo
Ray
Sol
Stash

Names With the -ara Sound

When you think of names with the -ara sound at the end, your first thought will most likely be Sarah. She was in the top ten, from '78 to '02. Like me, you probably know many Sarahs of all ages. Here are some other less popular -ara sounding names

Ara- This Arabic name is just okay to me.
Cara- I like this name, but it reminds me too much of Jon and Kate plus 8.
Clara- I really like this name. It's very beautiful, and it means bright.
Farrah- I don't like this name at all. It sounds very stuck-up to me.
Kara- Another form of Cara. I don't like this spelling as much.
Tamara- It sounds very 70's to me, probably because she would have the nickname Tammy.
Tara- I don't mind this one. Tara is one of the better ones on this list.
Vara/Vera- I like it pronounced VEAR-uh, but not VARE-uh.