Similar-sounding substitutes for popular Gen X girls’ names

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We’ve probably all known people with names that were much more popular in prior generations (e.g., a Barbara born in 2000, a Milton born in 1980). However, when it comes to general popularity trends, names that rocketed up the chart and then plummeted just as quickly a decade or two later are often seem as too dated to use anytime soon. This doesn’t mean the names will never come back into popularity, but it rarely happens overnight.

As macabre as this sounds, many people don’t consider those names until the generation associated with them have died off. Then the reaction goes from “Ew, that’s an old lady name!” or “That’s so middle-aged!” to “Ooh, that was my great-grandma’s name!” or “That’s so cute and vintage!”

With that in mind, here are some names with similar sounds and meanings if you’re thinking of naming a baby after a special older relative or friend but just can’t get past the dated associations. It’s hard to believe, but many Gen Xers are now grandparents! Some of these names are also very common among elder Millennials, and will be revisited in another post about name substitutes for that generation. As always, absolutely no offence is intended towards people with these names!

Jennifer: Guinevere, Genevra, Ginevra, Ginebra, Geneva, Genevieve, Jenny/Jennie, Juniper, Xenebra, Xenevra

Amanda: Amandine, Amadea, Amabel, Amabilia, Amada, Amaya, Amaia

Danielle: Daniela/Daniella, Danita, Danica, Danaë, Daniya, Donatella

Courtney: Cora, Corinne, Corrine, Coralie, Coraline, Coral

Nicole: Nicolette, Nicoletta, Niccolosia, Niccolosa, Nicolosa, Nicolasa, Nikolina, Nikora, Colette, Nixie, Nyx

Amy: Amia, Amaya, Amaia, Amata, Amada, Amadea

Kimberly: Kimber, Kimbra, Ember, Cambria, Ambria, Kimiko (means “valuable, beautiful child” in Japanese)

Michelle: Michalina (with a guttural CH like in loch and Chanukah), Michal (also has a guttural CH), Michi (means “path” in Japanese), Michiko (means “beautiful wisdom child” in Japanese)

Melissa: Millicent, Mélisande, Melantha, Melinda, Melati (means “jasmine” in Indonesian and Malay), Melina, Melika, Melia (means “ash tree” in Greek), Meliora, Melinoe, Lyssa, Lysandra

Stacy: Stamatia, Stamatina, Steliana

Tracy: Teresia, Terezia, Therasia, Terra, Taryn, Tariro (means “hope” in Shona), Tarina, Tarana, Tertia, Teruko (means “shine, illumine, reflect” plus “child” in Japanese), Tressa, Trista

Angela: Aniela, Annette, Anela

Stephanie: Stepanida, Stefania, Étiennette, Fanchon, Fanchette, Sterope (means “lightning” in Greek)

Dawn: Aurora (means “dawn” in Latin), Ausma (means “dawn” in Latvian), Aya (means “dawn” in Akkadian; also the name of the goddess of dawn), Danita, Danica, Daniya, Danaë, Zora (means “dawn” in Czech, Slovakian, and the South Slavic languages)

Heather: Hera, Hattie, Henrietta, Henriette, Hatsue (means “first picture” in Japanese), Hecuba, Hecate, Hefina (means “summer” in Welsh), Hestia

Kelly: Akilina, Akulina, Aquilina, Callie, Caledonia, Calla, Calista, Calypso

Shannon: Sharona, Sanaa (means “radiance, brilliance, splendour” in Arabic), Sana (means “thread, silk” plus “greens, vegetables” in Japanese), Shabnam (means “dew” in Persian and Urdu), Shandiin (means “sunshine” in Navajo), Shani (means “scarlet, red” in Hebrew), Shanti (means “peace, quiet, tranquility” in Sanskrit)

Dana: Danita, Danica, Daniya, Danaë

Misty: Kasumi (can mean “mist” in Japanese), Lilinoe (means “fine mist” in Hawaiian), Noelani (means “heavenly mist” in Hawaiian), 

Brandy: Branwen, Bronwen, Brenna, Bryony

Megan: Megara, Megaira, Meghana/Meghna (means “cloud” in Sanskrit), Margarita, Margit, Margaret, Megumi (means “love, affection” and “favour, benefit” in Japanese)

Jessica: Jessamine, Jessamyn, Jessa, Yiska (means “to behold” in Hebrew; the original form of the name that inspired Shakespeare to create Jessica), Yesenia

Crystal: Cressida, Creusa, Crescentia, Christiana

Erin: Irene, Irina, Irena, Iryna, Eirene, Arina, Yarina, Erina

Holly: Hollis, Halina, Helena, Hala, Hallie, Hilda

Tiffany: Theophania, Teofania, Tihana (means “quiet” in the South Slavic languages), Tryphena (means “softness, delicacy” in Greek), Trifena

The Zs of baby names I’ve considered

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Male names:

Zabdiel is the Anglicized form of Hebrew name Zavdiel (“God has bestowed” or “gift of God”). I’ve really liked this name since I discovered it in 2002, and surprisingly prefer the English form instead of the Hebrew transliteration. This would be part of a Hebrew name.

Zuriel means “my rock is God” in Hebrew. This is also an Anglo spelling, which I like more than the authentic Hebrew form Tzuriel.

Female names:

Zelda, in addition to being a nickname for Grizelda and Griselda (grey battle), is a Yiddish name which may be a feminine form of Zelig (holy, blessed). This was the name of my ninth journal, named after the Pete Townshend song on Scoop. I also love that this was the name of a Sobibór survivor, Zelda Kelberman (later Metz).

Zenobia is the feminine form of Greek name Zenobios (life of Zeus). The Ancient Greeks skirted the sacrilege of naming children Zeus by using the secular forms Zenon and Zeno (derived from Zen, the poetic form of Zeus). It’s like how Christians outside the Spanish-speaking and Assyrian world don’t name boys Jesus, but have no issue with the various forms of Joshua. Anyway, I’ve always adored this name, and the French form Zénobie. It’s so delightfully vintage and under the radar.

The Ys of baby names I’ve considered

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Female names:

Yael means “ibex” (a mountain goat) in Hebrew. This would be part of a Hebrew name. It’s so cute, simple, and sweet, even if it is quite trendy these days.

Yseult is the French form of Isolde, and of uncertain etymology, either Celtic or Germanic. One theory is that it comes from Ishild, a potential Germanic name meaning “ice battle.” This is my favoritest form of the name, since I love the Medieval style of a Y replacing I as the first letter.

Male names:

Yehudah is the original Hebrew form of Judah, which may derive from yada (praise). Curly Howard’s Hebrew name was Yehudah Leib (Leib meaning “lion” in Yiddish). Though it’s a very common Hebrew name, it would be very meaningful to use it in honor of Curly, along with the middle name Jerome (his real first name).

The Xes of baby names I’ve considered

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Male names:

Xaviel is a Spanish name dating back to at least the 18th century, of unknown etymology. A huge amount of Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Basque, and Asturian names of old vintage start with X instead of, as in their modern versions, J, G, or S. The -el ending suggests Hebrew origins and a meaning related to God, but it can’t be determined at present. This would be a middle name.

Female names:

Xanthe means “blonde” and “yellow” in Greek, from root xanthos. I’ve always thought this is such a neat, spiffy name, and one of my favorite million-dollar thesaurus words is the related xanthochroid (i.e., blonde). It’s pronounced KSAHN-thee in Greek, though I know most Anglophones interpret it as ZAN-thee. The modern Greek spelling is Xanthi, though I prefer the original one from mythology.

Ximena is the Medieval Spanish form of Simone, which derives from original male Hebrew name Shimon (hearing, listening). I absolutely love X names, and this one is so stunningly beautiful and unique.

Xiomara (ZEE-o-mah-rah or SEE-o-mah-rah) may be an old Spanish form of Guiomar, a unisex name derived from Wigmar, a Germanic name meaning “famous battle.” This is one of my top fave female X names. It just makes such a strong, powerful, distinctive statement.

Xylona means “wood” in Greek, from xylon (also the root of words like xylophone, xylem, and xylitol). I’ve thought this is an awesome name since I first saw it decades ago.

The Ws of baby names I’ve considered

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Female names:

Walina means “softness” in Arabic. This would be a middle name.

Wren obviously comes from the name of the bird, the original Old English word for which was wrenna. This would be a really groovy middle name.

Male names:

William derives from Old Germanic name Willehelm (will helmet). Though this is historically one of the most common male names in the Anglophone world, and has never been out of the Top 20 in the U.S. since name records began in 1880, it was my uncle’s middle name. Since I was twelve years old, I’ve wanted to use this as the middle name for my future firstborn son Samuel. My uncle died in a car accident the month after his 33rd birthday, and it would mean a great deal to me to honor him. Given how common this name is, there are also many other Williams and Wilhelms in my family tree. My maternal grandpap’s middle name was William too, presumably because that was the name of my great-grandma’s father.

Wolfram derives from Old Germanic roots wolf (wolf) and hram (raven). I’ve always loved this name, and after Arthur, I think it’s one of the male names that would’ve worked really well on me had I been a guy. I love how strong and powerful it sounds, and what a bold statement it makes.

Unisex:

Winter obviously comes from the name of the season. This would be a fitting middle name for a child born at this time of year. Stunningly for me, I also kind of like the alternative spelling Wynter.