Short Baby Names
Compact names that are already the short version, and what they do for the rhythm of a full name.
Short names have a particular advantage: they are already the diminutive. Nobody will shorten Leo or Nell for you, which means the name you choose is the name your child actually gets called — not a formal version that lives only on documents.
They also do useful work rhythmically. A long or multi-syllable surname tends to swallow a long first name; a short one lands cleanly in front of it. If your surname is a mouthful, this is the category to look at first.
Say the whole name before deciding
Short first names live or die on the join. Say the full name aloud several times and listen for two things: whether the first name ends in the same sound the surname begins with, and whether the stresses collide. A one-syllable first name in front of a one-syllable surname can sound abrupt — more like a command than a name.
Adding a longer middle name is the standard fix, and it works. It gives the full name somewhere to breathe without touching the name your child uses daily.
Short does not mean slight
Most of the names below are ancient. Ruth, Ada, Otto and Jude have centuries behind them; they are brief rather than lightweight, which is a different thing entirely.
If you want the brevity without giving up the formal option, several have longer forms you can put on the certificate — Theo from Theodore, Nell from Eleanor, Gus from August. Your child then gets to choose which one they use, which is a small gift.
The names
Tap any name to add it to your list.
Girls
- Germanic — Noble, nobility
- English — A short form of Eleanor or Helen
- Hebrew — Friend, companion
- Greek, via English — A short form of Theresa
- English — From the month; also a form of Mary
- Russian and Latin — Faith; also truth
- Greek — Glory — a short form of Cleopatra
- Greek — Rainbow
- Latin — From the month, named for the goddess Juno
- English — A short form of Rachel — ewe
Boys
- Latin — Lion
- Germanic — Wealth, prosperity
- Hebrew — Praised — a form of Judah
- Irish — Fair, white
- Hebrew — Help, helper
- Latin — A short form of August — venerable
- Several origins — Sea in Hawaiian; also a Frisian form of Gerhard
- Greek — A short form of Theodore — gift of God
- French — Handsome
- Latin — King
Short names are deceptively hard to choose between — they are all crisp, they all fit, and none of them gives you an obvious reason to rule it out. That is exactly the situation a head-to-head comparison is built for.
Found a few you like? Take them to the games and let the voting do the narrowing — swipe through them one at a time, or put them straight into a bracket. Or browse the other name guides.