Short Names

Four letters or fewer, or one syllable. Short names pair well with long surnames and badly with short ones, which is the single most reliable thing anyone can tell you about choosing on sound.

Rankings for

153 names, most popular first in United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Bastien Bastien means venerable, and it is the Greek translation of Augustus — sebastos rendered the emperor's title in the eastern half of the empire, and cities renamed Sebaste carry the same honor in Greek dress.
French #6,244 in US
Reo Reo is a boy's name used in Japanese, where it is written with a range of characters, and in Māori, where it means voice or language.
Japanese #6,830 in US
Bob Bob comes from Robert, and the B is not a corruption but a system — medieval English made pet names by rhyming, which is why Rob gave Bob, Will gave Bill and Rick gave Dick.
English #10,578 in US
Jacky Jacky is 98 percent male in our records, which is the reverse of the English Jackie — France took it as a boy's name and kept it, while English-speaking countries made it a woman's.
French #11,096 in US
Gabin Gabin is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "from Gabii," an ancient town near Rome.
French 54,596 births
Côme Côme is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "order" or "beauty," the French form of Cosmas.
French 18,697 births
Livio Livio is a boy's name of Latin origin, the Italian form of the Roman family name Livius, usually connected to a word meaning bluish.
Italian 9,775 births
Conn Conn is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "chief" or "hound," borne by the High King from whom Connacht takes its name.
Irish 806 births
Barra Barra is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "fair-haired," a short form of Fionnbharr, and the Hebridean island of Barra is named for a different saint entirely.
Irish 333 births

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A style is our reading of a name. A decade is the register — the names children were actually given, in order, with the counts.

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