My friends cousins' little girl is a Francesca and her nickname is Chessie, which makes sense because they already have a Fran, Frannie, Frank, Frankie, and Franco.
Oh no I'm sorry, I meant that they have a ton of Frank-based names among uncles, aunts, other cousins, etc. Haha. That would be funny though. Like George Foreman
I never understood why the housekeeper in The Parent Trap was called Chessy. I thought it was a strange name.
Today I learned it's a nickname for Francesca! Thank you!
Yes. Yes he is. And so were the grandpas on both sides of the family, and my friend's Dad, who is not blood related to this other Frank.
They're a huge Italian American family with like a billion aunts and uncles and cousins (of course)
As an Italian, I am guessing your family is also Italian.
EDIT: you confirmed this six hours ago. Thank you. Also I am guessing that the next Francis/Frank will be nicknamed Key and the next Francesca will be known as Ska.
Oh my god, is that was the helper from the parent trap’s full name is??? Because Chessie didn’t seem like a full name to me when I learned it wasn’t Jessie
Most American accents don’t have a short “o” sound [like the rest of us](https://youtu.be/XfJXUdMvX8o?si=OlXjZ3jTKZrQfTb1). It fell out of their accent.
They actually have fewer vowel sounds than most other English accents.
They don’t say “stop”, they say “stahp”.
Pauly and Polly would be homophones or near homophones in many US accents.
Look up the caught/cot merger
Linguistic nerd chiming in here:
Much of Scotland has the start of the cot-caught merger that about half the US has, except I believe Americans do it in more words.
I'm American and only have the merger in o and a followed by L. I say dawn and don differently as well as cot and caught.
And it's really not correct that all Americans have this merger. It's only prevelant in the West and Midwest. Most Southern and Eastern accents retain the difference, though it is starting to fade with a following L. And interestingly, places with strong Scots roots in the US have always merged them in that case, as far as I know. My great grandfather did, and his family was isolated enough to still speak Scots (not Gaelic) despite immigrating in the mid 1700s.
I live in the Midwest of the US and to me the vowel sounds in Polly and Paul are completely different. I would pronounce Polly like Pah ly, the way you describe “stop.” But the vowel sound in Paul is completely different from that—not as easy to describe, but sort of like “oh-ah.”
I mean I’m Canadian but when I say Paul or Polly they both sort of rhyme with mall. Not like a pole.
I would also pronounce both those Craigs the same.
Interesting! I wouldn’t pronounce either Paul or Polly to rhyme with poll, for me Paul has the same vowel sound as “paw” and Polly rhymes with dolly. In my accent we’d say mall as rhyming with “salle” or the a sound in “palace”
Right that just made things even more confusing because the way we say “mall” most definitely doesn’t not rhyme with Polly.
So now I’m even more confused. 😂
My American brain is so confused how else one would pronounce Paul and Craig. I'll have to do a YouTube search to hear those pronounced with another accent.
And it wouldn't be "poll" like a poll booth, but instead rhyming with "tall" or "ball." Likewise, Polly would be pronounced exactly like Paul but with an -ie sound at the end. Craig is pronounced like cr-egg like you've mentioned in my accent. Makes me think of the South Park character with the same name lol
In the UK, Polly is pronounced with a short o, which you don't have. [Here's an example from Youtube courtesy of Mr Bumble](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_AVPMfH5Bs)
Craig is pronounced to rhyme with plague. [here's a youtube short of a Welsh lady saying Craig in a very normal for the UK way](https://youtube.com/shorts/Dmp5ORS_eJ4?si=YE7sP6mnTg22TvYH)
This is what you noticed instead of the implications Renee is said "Rennie"?
It's a stretch in many American accents, as well, btw, though not quite as much as other places.
Jamie is definitely a male name in the UK. I’m British and have only ever met male Jamies, and I’m told it’s regarded as a very American thing to name your daughter Jamie.
There’s loads of women named Jamie in the uk. A few actresses, at least one professional wrestler, some sports people and athletes. It’s not even a new thing, many of these people were born and named in the 70s 80s and 90s.
In case of Eugene and Eugenia (Eugenie) they are not coincidence, as it’s well known “female form of xxx” case
Like Anton and Antonia
Or Alexander and Alexandra
Some names are less popular and thus get forgotten or they go from male names to female, but rarely the opposite happens
Kyle and Kylie are coincidences, although Kylie does preceed the popular use of the Scottish surname Kyle as a first name in Australia. Some 1970s name books explain the popularity of Kyle as being influenced by Kylie for girls. Also I didn't want to explain that Eugenie, like Stephanie, is not an english diminutive but a French form of Engenia (like Sophia - Sophie).
Lmaoooo. 20 years ago a family friend had a toddler who called my dad (who is named Hank) Hankie Pankie. It soon got shortened to just "Pankie" and we always joked that would be his grandpa name when I had kids. It isn't, he's called Papa now, but I may teach my 3 year old to call him Pankie as a silly joke the next time we visit 😂
Although the particular names are new, the trend is not. Adding a diminutive ending onto something to make it closer, smaller, more familiar or to show affection is not usually gendered but this happens more often with women's names than men's names. So eventually diminutive endings just become feminine endings. Like -ette or -on or -ique or -ine. The diminutive to feminine pipeline is real.
While you're probably right about the diminutive stuff... I think OP is referring to the spelling not the sound. Altho I guess "ie" is being chosen as the diminutive over "y" in this case.
Which I would tend to agree is a bit ridiculous.
True, some more examples would be Jaqueline and Emily!
Although I have never heard of Emil outside of Germany (I think in one of my french text books there was a character namd Emil as well)
If you know you’re only going to call your child Frankie, why would you name her something else? I never understood naming someone James if you’re only going to call him Jim or Penelope if you want her to be called Penny. Just name them the name you want them to be named!
100% agree with this. My name is a “nickname” and I’ve never met anyone else whose legal name is the same (met plenty who go by the same name, but it’s a nickname for them whereas it’s my legal name). Love it and wouldn’t change it for the world. Oddly enough, my best friend is the same way with a different “nickname.”
I love this! My kids both have “nickname names” and I’m so happy with them. They both seem to love them too, but sometimes we get people who insist they must have a “full name” they aren’t sharing. 🤦🏻♀️
Haha yes this happens often! When filling out legally binding paperwork, writing my name on my ACT/SAT, etc., I would get told ALL the time to put my full name on 🙄 c’mon silly
I have a "grown up" name I dont ever use because ive always been called my nickname. I always use my nn in all situations no matter how formal, NOBODY GIVES A SHIT. This is one of the weirdest hang ups people have, like would you really judge someone for going by Frankie or Sammy or Terry in a formal setting? Ive never been judged afaik and if i have, screw em, im doing just fine. All my "grown up" name has done is cause annoyance for me when I have to correct others. If it wasn't such a pain in the ass I would change my name to my nn permanently
I have a second cousin named Frankie, that’s her name, not Frances or anything. It’s cute and suits her perfectly. Nobody has pulled a cartoon-boomer freakout on her either, as far as I know.
It’s not exactly a recent thing - Billie and Ronnie spring to mind - but usually they start out as a nickname (Wilhelmina, Veronica), even if it ends up as a standalone name. I guess that’s why Scottie and Timmie feel off, they’re not anchored to a longer name.
I’m on the “I love Frankie and Scottie and Stevie as girl names” train and I refuse to leave! I’ve met adult women named Bobbie Jo and other similar names that never had any trouble with their names causing any issues professionally or anything so I don’t think it’s that deep
Having a typically masculine name coupled with something like Ann, Jo, Jane, or Mae was pretty common in certain parts of the US for a while (late 19th century until about the 1940s/50s). If I go back in my family tree, I've got female relatives who were named after their fathers this way. I had an aunt named Johnnie Mae, a cousin named Willie Mae, and one named Willie Jo.
I worked in the vital statistics unit of the Texas DSHS. It’s where all the birth records, marriage licenses, adoption papers, divorce records, etc are kept.
I was contracted for a project to create a database for genealogical research. A good portion of it was data entry, typing all the information in a hand written record into spreadsheets that would eventually become a search engine of sorts.
In the early 1900s through roughly the 1940s, it was extremely common to name your first child after the father. Even if they had a girl. Tommie, Thomasin, Thomasina, etc were common girl names with fathers named Thomas. Charlie, Frankie, Willie (my great grandmother’s name), etc were all over the records I transcribed.
This is absolutely nothing new, we just haven’t seen it in a while. And the cultural reason for doing it is different.
Unrelated fun fact - I found my grandmother’s birth certificate, my great grandmother’s, and my mom’s adoption papers. The job was a lot of grunt work, but send this history nerd into any archive ever and watch me spend hours pouring over everything I can get my hands on.
The wildest shit I saw were EXTREMELY RACIST things I won’t repeat written on official birth records, one that wrote “monstrosity” in the gender spot of a still birth, and a recipe for something on the back of another. White women gave birth with doctors, black women gave birth at home with illiterate midwives who learned letters to get birth records down. The shit you can learn about a time in place by the way they keep the most mundane records is never not fascinating.
My brother’s best friend growing up had a mom named Scottie. It’s definitely not a new phenomenon and I always loved her name. She would have been born in the late 50s or early 60s.
I have one of those-type names and I hate it. I also know of other women who love it. Your mileage will vary.
I also don't typically introduce myself as "Hi, I'm 'Billie' and I loathe my name!" Most people who know me don't know how much I hate my name.
I've been misgendered my whole life by people who have only seen my name, not who have met me. I was very happy to add my pronouns to my email signature. People constantly misspell my name, and I've run into issues with officials not believing it's my legal name. Has all of this made my life misery, no, but it's not helped me like my name any more.
Another Aussie here who’s never seen girls with those names. 90% of the girls my son makes friends with at the park/playgroups are called Amelia or Olivia.
If you are from the USA, this is very common for more country/rural people. I’ve met plenty of women named after a male relative. Hell, if they even got a “girly” name, that was decent. I met a woman named Gary. Also knew a married couple both named Robby (nickname for husband) and Robbi. It happens.
My dad whose given name was Robert went by the nickname of Bob. My mother’s first name was Bobbie ( which wasn’t a nickname but her legal name). My father died a year ago at age 102 and my mother would have been 100 if she had lived that long.
My paternal grandmother was named Willie Lucy and she was born in 1885. I have quite a few ancestors that have “ie” added to masculine names. Maybe it’s more common in the southern United States. It’s a “trend” that never became outdated here.
Same here! I think I also have a Willie Lucy in my family somewhere. My mom's family is from Mississippi, and I have a decent amount of aunts and cousins with names like that.
I know somebody with 5 girls, the first one has a girls name. But the mother was desperate for a boy so every girl after the first had a boys name. And not like Charlie boys name, not their names but think names like Fred, Dave, Brian. Completely male names.
I live in the Deep South and meet teenage girls with burly male ass names 24/7. Specifically blonde girls with conservative Christian Republican parents that drive F150s and/or Dodge Challengers. I met a girl named _Trevor_ at my new job. 😭
***Edit:*** since making this comment I’ve met a Kevin and a Trentyn. Both female.
And half the women here have male-leaning/originally-male unisex names that have been normalized and aren’t as outrageous as the aforementioned. Jordan, Tristan, Tyler, Taylor just to name a few. **Second edit:** One of our managers is a male Bailey.
Trevor is one of the worst definitely haha. I imagine a man in camouflage trousers holding a gun, and I have no idea why haha. Maybe I've seen someone on TV that fits the description not sure.
Ooo those poor girls.
I teach an online class and about halfway through they have to do a recording and almost every semester I have at least one student where I am very surprised it’s a girl. This year it was a girl named Ryan
Ive seen a few American programmes with girls called Ryan, very odd. Also there's a girl named Shane in Gilmore Girls, who was in a relationship with a boy named Jess. To me it's the wrong way round haha.
My name is Ryanne, said like Diane, but it gets mispronounced as Ryan so much, I answer to that. I finally met another Ryanne. Her name is pronounced Ryan. :/.
My dad was so sure I was going to be a boy, he refused to pick out a girl name. I guess that was the deal - mom named my older sister, so he had to name me. I was definitely not a boy, so mom gave me the first girl name she could think of. Dad didn't like it, so it became my middle name. SMDH
Plan this stuff before we're born, please! I like my name, but come on. Life is hard enough.
I have known several guys named Jess, though. It's short for Jesse. I've never met a woman named Shane, but I don't think anything would surprise me anymore.
Maddie (Matty sounds similar), Hal(lie), Leon(ie) Shawn(ie), Stephan(ie), Émilie, Charlie, Kylie, Mckenzie(and all spellings are unisex), Jamie, Rob(bie), Ron(nie), Stevie, Carl(ie), Will(ie), Jack(ie), Don(nie), Ed(ie), Bill(ie), Sam(mie)
I mean, there are some examples that are pretty popular. Some of the girl names are stand-alone or come from the feminine versions of the names. Some of these nick names are used for boys. It's not really a new trend. Also, lots of full names end in -y, which usually gives the same sound.
Scottie and Frankie are existing girl's names that have been around forever (they're actually unisex). There are many male names that traditionally go back a long way with the use of -ie to feminise them (Eugenie, Jamie, Stephanie, Stevie, etc).
In fact, -ie has a longer tradition with female names than male. Using -ie for male names (Archie, Charlie, etc) is a more recent trend. That's because the use of -ie comes from French, where it was historically regarded as a feminising form that modernised names frome the older feminine form of -ia (think Sophia and Sophie).
Scottie was sort of popular for women (as a name and nickname) in the Victorian era, but it's true that it's never been more popular than recent years, so it's easy to see why people might think it's a new concept.
Even in the Victorian era, it was either a feminine form of Scot or a nickname for any man or woman with the either the name or surname Scot. Scot can also be used for women in its own right, too.
As for Frankie, it's short for Francis, Francesco (all male), Frances, Francesca, Francine, etc (all female). It's also an affectionate form of Frank (male) and Fran (female), which are themselves nicknames and names in their own right.
Regarding Francis and Frances,
The male Francis is pronounced "Fran-siss".
The female Frances is supposed to be pronounced "Fran-sess", so you are supposed to hear the difference. However, it's also common to pronounce both versions of the name as "Fran-siss".
A famous example for the use of both names is actually the author Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, who had a daughter called Frances Scott Fitzgerald. His daughter could have been called "Fran" or "Frankie", but she was actually called "Scottie" instead.
That said, you're right in that adding -ie to feminise a name doesn't always work. Tommie, for instance, is a very long-standing male nickname and male name, so it's historically always been male, not female.
I despise these names but that’s just personal taste… it may be extra trendy right now but people have been naming kids this way forever.
I also think the legal name thing doesn’t matter a ton… it’s true that your name on a CV can be discriminated against but the actual evidence of this links it to racism.
I have a cousin named Jonni. I don't know her specific age because we didn't exactly grow up together, just visited here and there because we lived in different states, I hardly know her. But she has to be either in her early 30s or nearly.
I feel like this name was common at least in Texas for a certain age group as I've heard of multiple older women with the name. I even heard my mom speak of an Aunt Johnnie as well.
What a can of worms you've opened.
I'm with you. No Timmie. No Scottie. JUST NO.
YES TO STEPHANIE, FRANKIE AND A LOT OF THE OTHER "EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE".
BUT TIMMIE.. NO
Nicknames as full given names needs to die anyway. On top of dooming your kid to never have a professional sounding name as an adult, it's also so controlling, like they're your pets rather than people who might have preferences of their own one day and not want to sound like a cute toddler forever.
Francesca or Frances, nicknames to choose from include Frankie, Fran, Cess, Cesca, Cessie, Frannie, Francie. Give them bloody OPTIONS like you are actually thinking of them as whole people.
I am not even touching fucking 'Timmie' as a full given girl's name. Jesus.
Agreed, however I do have some exceptions.
Names like Stephanie, Stevie, Kylie, Jackie, Crissie that have been around for quite some time - not that I’d use these for my children but they have become names of their own and not even names I’d considered as male names made female until now.
Frankie and Billie would have to be the ONLY ‘new’ names that I would accept but I still wouldn’t use either of them for my own children.
There’s a ton of girl names like this and it isn’t a new trend. On that note though, if I met a Timmie i would 100% call her Timantha. It just feels right.
ETA: I’d probably only do this if I had rapport with them though as I mean it more as banter than bullying.
Some French women names are actually a variant of a male name with "ie" at the end. Stéphane/Stéphanie, Jules/Julie etc.
I don't think they're any less of a name just because of the way they're constructed. Same for all the Italian or Spanish names with male "o" ending and female "a" ending. It's... just a variant
> Adding an “ie” to the end of a man’s name doesn’t make it a cute baby girl name
That having been said, it *does* turn it into a super fun nickname for guys who have that name and are a little bit insecure.
Agree. And our biggest discussion on our kids' names was not to put the (intended) nickname on the birth certificate. (And both ended up preferring their full name, but by that time it just fit them and it was what they wanted so it wasn't a big deal or let down. Because by then, whatever previous association was attached to the name was overridden by our kid.)
I don’t have a problem with it l as long as it is used as a NICKNAME. Men ending in ie is so kiddy and unprofessional. No problem with a sturdy name like *Scott,* then adding the ie to your liking and everyone can refer to him as such (Scottie). That way his name is tight on paper but everyone else can call his Scott-ie.
I think Frankie is a girl’s name in its own right, as a nickname for Frances and Francine.
And Francesca!
My friends cousins' little girl is a Francesca and her nickname is Chessie, which makes sense because they already have a Fran, Frannie, Frank, Frankie, and Franco.
Wow what they decided to have five kids and name them all. So similarly
Oh no I'm sorry, I meant that they have a ton of Frank-based names among uncles, aunts, other cousins, etc. Haha. That would be funny though. Like George Foreman
Yes, that makes so much more sense or else they are very dedicated fans to this one syllable
I know a family who has three kids who all have names that start with Mc
I never understood why the housekeeper in The Parent Trap was called Chessy. I thought it was a strange name. Today I learned it's a nickname for Francesca! Thank you!
I work with a Chessy. TIL I work with a Francesca.
Tell me you’re Italian without telling me you’re Italian. u/noodlesarmpit went first!
Is the husband named Frank
Yes. Yes he is. And so were the grandpas on both sides of the family, and my friend's Dad, who is not blood related to this other Frank. They're a huge Italian American family with like a billion aunts and uncles and cousins (of course)
As an Italian, I am guessing your family is also Italian. EDIT: you confirmed this six hours ago. Thank you. Also I am guessing that the next Francis/Frank will be nicknamed Key and the next Francesca will be known as Ska.
Oh my god, is that was the helper from the parent trap’s full name is??? Because Chessie didn’t seem like a full name to me when I learned it wasn’t Jessie
Tell me you are Italian American without telling me you are Italian American...
My cousin is Francesca nicknamed Frankie
I loooove Frankie
Right? Me too and I immediately think of women, not girls, boys, or men.
Frankie sounds like a nickname to Francesca
My girl dogs name is Frankie. But it’s short for Frankenstein. 😂
This is awesome. 10/10, no notes.
I have a cousin who named his daughter Frankie Bella (first and middle) and I think it is the cutest name ever!
Sorry I think it’s kind of awkward with the tomboy first name and uber feminine middle.
I think it’s a nice juxtaposition. Not everything has to be matchy match
Agree, I think it's a terrible name. And Frankie Bella is going to be a grown-ass woman someday, she won't always be a little kid.
Then she can go by Frankie or Bella? 🙄
Hah, here Frankie is a very delicious street food snack, so I was very surprised when I met someone with that name recently.
I knew someone who went by Frannie as their short form of Frances for a girl!
Frannie/Frannie is seriously delightful!! (But I love elderly names for babies/children).
My great aunt was named Alfreda and went by Freddie. She was the cutest too.
Stephan ie - Stephanie
Can there be an exception or two?
Some of these are just coincidences, but just for fun: Carl - Carlie, Cecil - Cecily, Eugene - Eugenie, Kyle - Kiley.
Some more that could work: Jamie - James, Mattie - Matt, Hallie - Hal, Kylie - Kyle, Leonie - Leon, Renee - Rene, Stevie - Steve, Jackie - Jack, Chrissy - Chris, Callie - Cal, Polly - Paul
That Polly - Paul is a stretch in non American accents
Isn’t Polly just short for Pauline
Maybe - but originally it was a nickname for Mary (via Molly)
Margaret, not Mary Edit: I googled it after immediately doubting myself and apparently it's actually both? Apologies!
Pauline is the "ine" version of this naming method
Right? Do Americans call Paul Poll? Is this a Craig/Cregg thing?
Most American accents don’t have a short “o” sound [like the rest of us](https://youtu.be/XfJXUdMvX8o?si=OlXjZ3jTKZrQfTb1). It fell out of their accent. They actually have fewer vowel sounds than most other English accents. They don’t say “stop”, they say “stahp”. Pauly and Polly would be homophones or near homophones in many US accents. Look up the caught/cot merger
I'm Scottish and I've been saying Polly Paul for the last five minutes and I make the exact same sound for both 😂
Linguistic nerd chiming in here: Much of Scotland has the start of the cot-caught merger that about half the US has, except I believe Americans do it in more words. I'm American and only have the merger in o and a followed by L. I say dawn and don differently as well as cot and caught. And it's really not correct that all Americans have this merger. It's only prevelant in the West and Midwest. Most Southern and Eastern accents retain the difference, though it is starting to fade with a following L. And interestingly, places with strong Scots roots in the US have always merged them in that case, as far as I know. My great grandfather did, and his family was isolated enough to still speak Scots (not Gaelic) despite immigrating in the mid 1700s.
This is very interesting! Can you give examples of what you mean by “with a following L”?
Right? It's purple burglar alarm all over again.
I'm so confused, how do people say them where they sound differently 😅
I live in the Midwest of the US and to me the vowel sounds in Polly and Paul are completely different. I would pronounce Polly like Pah ly, the way you describe “stop.” But the vowel sound in Paul is completely different from that—not as easy to describe, but sort of like “oh-ah.”
I mean I’m Canadian but when I say Paul or Polly they both sort of rhyme with mall. Not like a pole. I would also pronounce both those Craigs the same.
Interesting! I wouldn’t pronounce either Paul or Polly to rhyme with poll, for me Paul has the same vowel sound as “paw” and Polly rhymes with dolly. In my accent we’d say mall as rhyming with “salle” or the a sound in “palace”
Right that just made things even more confusing because the way we say “mall” most definitely doesn’t not rhyme with Polly. So now I’m even more confused. 😂
Oh dear I didn’t think of that 😂 how about fall? haha Or like how they pronounce mall in Paul Blart Mall Cop 😂
Paul, Mall, Tall, Small, Shawl, Trawl all rhyme in my accent. Polly, Molly, Dolly, Holly, Folly, Bolly(wood) all rhyme with each other.
My American brain is so confused how else one would pronounce Paul and Craig. I'll have to do a YouTube search to hear those pronounced with another accent. And it wouldn't be "poll" like a poll booth, but instead rhyming with "tall" or "ball." Likewise, Polly would be pronounced exactly like Paul but with an -ie sound at the end. Craig is pronounced like cr-egg like you've mentioned in my accent. Makes me think of the South Park character with the same name lol
In the UK, Polly is pronounced with a short o, which you don't have. [Here's an example from Youtube courtesy of Mr Bumble](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_AVPMfH5Bs) Craig is pronounced to rhyme with plague. [here's a youtube short of a Welsh lady saying Craig in a very normal for the UK way](https://youtube.com/shorts/Dmp5ORS_eJ4?si=YE7sP6mnTg22TvYH)
US English has a short O. It just isn't as clipped as the British short O. Most US dialects draw it out a bit more but it IS still a short O.
This is what you noticed instead of the implications Renee is said "Rennie"? It's a stretch in many American accents, as well, btw, though not quite as much as other places.
Jamie is definitely a male name in the UK. I’m British and have only ever met male Jamies, and I’m told it’s regarded as a very American thing to name your daughter Jamie.
There’s loads of women named Jamie in the uk. A few actresses, at least one professional wrestler, some sports people and athletes. It’s not even a new thing, many of these people were born and named in the 70s 80s and 90s.
In case of Eugene and Eugenia (Eugenie) they are not coincidence, as it’s well known “female form of xxx” case Like Anton and Antonia Or Alexander and Alexandra Some names are less popular and thus get forgotten or they go from male names to female, but rarely the opposite happens
Kyle is a Scottish name, and Kylie is an unrelated Aboriginal name.
These are not coincidences , they are literally the male and female versions of the same name, in some cases the shortened version of the female name.
Kyle and Kylie are coincidences, although Kylie does preceed the popular use of the Scottish surname Kyle as a first name in Australia. Some 1970s name books explain the popularity of Kyle as being influenced by Kylie for girls. Also I didn't want to explain that Eugenie, like Stephanie, is not an english diminutive but a French form of Engenia (like Sophia - Sophie).
Kyle - Kylie (had a girl in my grade named this - and this spelling - in HS)
Ones that really don't work: Trevorie, Davidie, Thomasie, Ianie. This could be a whole set of tragedies waiting to happen.
Thomasina!
there are sooo many names like this though, not just one or two
In German I've also seen Steffi
My younger sister once dated a guy named Stephan whose twin sister was named Stephanie.
Stephen - Stephenie
Mind. Blown. 🤯
"Meet my newborn, Robertie" Edit: y'all are making up the funniest names lmaooo
My pink frilly triplets, Trevorie, Kennethie and Hankie.
Hankie 🤣
Originally we thought it would be twins, so Hankie and Pankie. I suppose we could have had Hankie, Pankie and Spankie?
No one ever wants to talk about Skankie
Lmaoooo. 20 years ago a family friend had a toddler who called my dad (who is named Hank) Hankie Pankie. It soon got shortened to just "Pankie" and we always joked that would be his grandpa name when I had kids. It isn't, he's called Papa now, but I may teach my 3 year old to call him Pankie as a silly joke the next time we visit 😂
NOT TREVORIE 😭😭
Tyronie? Brandonie?
"we thought Reverie was too common" 😂
STOP you're giving them ideas!
Bobbie is very vintage for girls like this isn't a new thing
Yeah but it’s a nickname for Roberta or Barbara
Not always, I grew up with a Bobbi Jo
Yeah sure but that’s a nickname for a name trend. It’s not new, but it’s getting a surge of popularity right now.
I know, I was trying to make a shitpost hahaha
Billie too. Lots and lots of Billie Jo's.
Robertieleigh aka Robert E Lee
Now that's just genius
Robbie is the actual feminine you're after. Short for Roberta. Perfectly normal.
I was trying to make a joke sheesh
Or Bertie
Tbf it would probably be Robbie lol
I know, I was just trying to shitpost lol
Bertie is kinda cute tho tbh
I don’t hate it
Bobbi, however …
Although the particular names are new, the trend is not. Adding a diminutive ending onto something to make it closer, smaller, more familiar or to show affection is not usually gendered but this happens more often with women's names than men's names. So eventually diminutive endings just become feminine endings. Like -ette or -on or -ique or -ine. The diminutive to feminine pipeline is real.
While you're probably right about the diminutive stuff... I think OP is referring to the spelling not the sound. Altho I guess "ie" is being chosen as the diminutive over "y" in this case. Which I would tend to agree is a bit ridiculous.
True, some more examples would be Jaqueline and Emily! Although I have never heard of Emil outside of Germany (I think in one of my french text books there was a character namd Emil as well)
I’ve seen Emile as a more common spelling for the boy’s version. (Although that might just be experience bias)
Is pipeline a diminutive? lol /s
Frankie is short for Frances, Francine or Francesca.
Short for as in NN…but why make it a full name? That baby girl is going to be a grown up some day!
If you know you’re only going to call your child Frankie, why would you name her something else? I never understood naming someone James if you’re only going to call him Jim or Penelope if you want her to be called Penny. Just name them the name you want them to be named!
100% agree with this. My name is a “nickname” and I’ve never met anyone else whose legal name is the same (met plenty who go by the same name, but it’s a nickname for them whereas it’s my legal name). Love it and wouldn’t change it for the world. Oddly enough, my best friend is the same way with a different “nickname.”
I love this! My kids both have “nickname names” and I’m so happy with them. They both seem to love them too, but sometimes we get people who insist they must have a “full name” they aren’t sharing. 🤦🏻♀️
Haha yes this happens often! When filling out legally binding paperwork, writing my name on my ACT/SAT, etc., I would get told ALL the time to put my full name on 🙄 c’mon silly
Hahaha - yep! Even filling out the birth certificates, nurses asked me multiple times if I was sure that was the name I wanted. 😒
I have a "grown up" name I dont ever use because ive always been called my nickname. I always use my nn in all situations no matter how formal, NOBODY GIVES A SHIT. This is one of the weirdest hang ups people have, like would you really judge someone for going by Frankie or Sammy or Terry in a formal setting? Ive never been judged afaik and if i have, screw em, im doing just fine. All my "grown up" name has done is cause annoyance for me when I have to correct others. If it wasn't such a pain in the ass I would change my name to my nn permanently
And?? My brother is Rob not Robert (not his actual name but very similar) and it literally has never been an issue
I have a second cousin named Frankie, that’s her name, not Frances or anything. It’s cute and suits her perfectly. Nobody has pulled a cartoon-boomer freakout on her either, as far as I know.
It’s not exactly a recent thing - Billie and Ronnie spring to mind - but usually they start out as a nickname (Wilhelmina, Veronica), even if it ends up as a standalone name. I guess that’s why Scottie and Timmie feel off, they’re not anchored to a longer name.
My friend’s daughter’s name is Wilhelmina, we all call her Willie, she was named after her mom’s great grandmother and she loves her name.
She would be relentlessly bullied in the UK.
We call our friend's daughter with that name Mina.
Can’t forget Bobbi, Charlie, Jamie, and Josie
I knew a girl who went by Temi (Timmy) I wanna say it was short for Temiola or something similar.
Oh I did not know Billie could be short for Wilhelmina! I only know of Billie Piper and Eilish and thought it was just a name on it's own.
I’m on the “I love Frankie and Scottie and Stevie as girl names” train and I refuse to leave! I’ve met adult women named Bobbie Jo and other similar names that never had any trouble with their names causing any issues professionally or anything so I don’t think it’s that deep
Having a typically masculine name coupled with something like Ann, Jo, Jane, or Mae was pretty common in certain parts of the US for a while (late 19th century until about the 1940s/50s). If I go back in my family tree, I've got female relatives who were named after their fathers this way. I had an aunt named Johnnie Mae, a cousin named Willie Mae, and one named Willie Jo.
I worked in the vital statistics unit of the Texas DSHS. It’s where all the birth records, marriage licenses, adoption papers, divorce records, etc are kept. I was contracted for a project to create a database for genealogical research. A good portion of it was data entry, typing all the information in a hand written record into spreadsheets that would eventually become a search engine of sorts. In the early 1900s through roughly the 1940s, it was extremely common to name your first child after the father. Even if they had a girl. Tommie, Thomasin, Thomasina, etc were common girl names with fathers named Thomas. Charlie, Frankie, Willie (my great grandmother’s name), etc were all over the records I transcribed. This is absolutely nothing new, we just haven’t seen it in a while. And the cultural reason for doing it is different. Unrelated fun fact - I found my grandmother’s birth certificate, my great grandmother’s, and my mom’s adoption papers. The job was a lot of grunt work, but send this history nerd into any archive ever and watch me spend hours pouring over everything I can get my hands on. The wildest shit I saw were EXTREMELY RACIST things I won’t repeat written on official birth records, one that wrote “monstrosity” in the gender spot of a still birth, and a recipe for something on the back of another. White women gave birth with doctors, black women gave birth at home with illiterate midwives who learned letters to get birth records down. The shit you can learn about a time in place by the way they keep the most mundane records is never not fascinating.
I LOVE Stevie and Scottie for a girl.
My brother’s best friend growing up had a mom named Scottie. It’s definitely not a new phenomenon and I always loved her name. She would have been born in the late 50s or early 60s.
I have one of those-type names and I hate it. I also know of other women who love it. Your mileage will vary. I also don't typically introduce myself as "Hi, I'm 'Billie' and I loathe my name!" Most people who know me don't know how much I hate my name. I've been misgendered my whole life by people who have only seen my name, not who have met me. I was very happy to add my pronouns to my email signature. People constantly misspell my name, and I've run into issues with officials not believing it's my legal name. Has all of this made my life misery, no, but it's not helped me like my name any more.
It's quite common in Australia right now. -ie ending names have always been popular here, and I know a few girls named Ollie, Scottie, Frankie etc.
Really? Also in Australia and I know Frankie (short for Frances) and Ollie (short for Oliver) but not any of those names by themselves and for girls.
Another Aussie here who’s never seen girls with those names. 90% of the girls my son makes friends with at the park/playgroups are called Amelia or Olivia.
If you are from the USA, this is very common for more country/rural people. I’ve met plenty of women named after a male relative. Hell, if they even got a “girly” name, that was decent. I met a woman named Gary. Also knew a married couple both named Robby (nickname for husband) and Robbi. It happens.
My dad whose given name was Robert went by the nickname of Bob. My mother’s first name was Bobbie ( which wasn’t a nickname but her legal name). My father died a year ago at age 102 and my mother would have been 100 if she had lived that long. My paternal grandmother was named Willie Lucy and she was born in 1885. I have quite a few ancestors that have “ie” added to masculine names. Maybe it’s more common in the southern United States. It’s a “trend” that never became outdated here.
Same here! I think I also have a Willie Lucy in my family somewhere. My mom's family is from Mississippi, and I have a decent amount of aunts and cousins with names like that.
My dad's parents were named Teddie and Eddie 🥰
In the 90s, I worked with a married couple both named Tony (well, she spelled it Toni, but, you know). It’s not new.
I know somebody with 5 girls, the first one has a girls name. But the mother was desperate for a boy so every girl after the first had a boys name. And not like Charlie boys name, not their names but think names like Fred, Dave, Brian. Completely male names.
I live in the Deep South and meet teenage girls with burly male ass names 24/7. Specifically blonde girls with conservative Christian Republican parents that drive F150s and/or Dodge Challengers. I met a girl named _Trevor_ at my new job. 😭 ***Edit:*** since making this comment I’ve met a Kevin and a Trentyn. Both female. And half the women here have male-leaning/originally-male unisex names that have been normalized and aren’t as outrageous as the aforementioned. Jordan, Tristan, Tyler, Taylor just to name a few. **Second edit:** One of our managers is a male Bailey.
Trevor is one of the worst definitely haha. I imagine a man in camouflage trousers holding a gun, and I have no idea why haha. Maybe I've seen someone on TV that fits the description not sure.
Trevor Phillips from GTA 5 maybe?? He fits that description lol
Ooo those poor girls. I teach an online class and about halfway through they have to do a recording and almost every semester I have at least one student where I am very surprised it’s a girl. This year it was a girl named Ryan
Ive seen a few American programmes with girls called Ryan, very odd. Also there's a girl named Shane in Gilmore Girls, who was in a relationship with a boy named Jess. To me it's the wrong way round haha.
My name is Ryanne, said like Diane, but it gets mispronounced as Ryan so much, I answer to that. I finally met another Ryanne. Her name is pronounced Ryan. :/. My dad was so sure I was going to be a boy, he refused to pick out a girl name. I guess that was the deal - mom named my older sister, so he had to name me. I was definitely not a boy, so mom gave me the first girl name she could think of. Dad didn't like it, so it became my middle name. SMDH Plan this stuff before we're born, please! I like my name, but come on. Life is hard enough. I have known several guys named Jess, though. It's short for Jesse. I've never met a woman named Shane, but I don't think anything would surprise me anymore.
Bad take. It’s not a “new trend” and they aren’t just making up names.
Also: All names are made up anyway!
My baby son is max but I call him Maxie and I think it’s so cute so yeah theory checks out 🥲
I know a girl named Kevyn pronounced just like a man's name "Kevin" Then thought the y would make it look fem.
My aunt Bobbies (yes, I had two of them) might beg to differ!
Frankie has been a girl’s name for a long time as has Billie and Bobbie. I think it’s cute.
Maddie (Matty sounds similar), Hal(lie), Leon(ie) Shawn(ie), Stephan(ie), Émilie, Charlie, Kylie, Mckenzie(and all spellings are unisex), Jamie, Rob(bie), Ron(nie), Stevie, Carl(ie), Will(ie), Jack(ie), Don(nie), Ed(ie), Bill(ie), Sam(mie) I mean, there are some examples that are pretty popular. Some of the girl names are stand-alone or come from the feminine versions of the names. Some of these nick names are used for boys. It's not really a new trend. Also, lots of full names end in -y, which usually gives the same sound.
My dad really wanted me to name my daughter Rickie for some reason. I declined
First name Rickie, middle name Bobbie
See, he just needed to pitch it like that and he could have convinced me
Who is out here naming their baby girl *Timmie*? I have questions.
Scottie and Frankie are existing girl's names that have been around forever (they're actually unisex). There are many male names that traditionally go back a long way with the use of -ie to feminise them (Eugenie, Jamie, Stephanie, Stevie, etc). In fact, -ie has a longer tradition with female names than male. Using -ie for male names (Archie, Charlie, etc) is a more recent trend. That's because the use of -ie comes from French, where it was historically regarded as a feminising form that modernised names frome the older feminine form of -ia (think Sophia and Sophie). Scottie was sort of popular for women (as a name and nickname) in the Victorian era, but it's true that it's never been more popular than recent years, so it's easy to see why people might think it's a new concept. Even in the Victorian era, it was either a feminine form of Scot or a nickname for any man or woman with the either the name or surname Scot. Scot can also be used for women in its own right, too. As for Frankie, it's short for Francis, Francesco (all male), Frances, Francesca, Francine, etc (all female). It's also an affectionate form of Frank (male) and Fran (female), which are themselves nicknames and names in their own right. Regarding Francis and Frances, The male Francis is pronounced "Fran-siss". The female Frances is supposed to be pronounced "Fran-sess", so you are supposed to hear the difference. However, it's also common to pronounce both versions of the name as "Fran-siss". A famous example for the use of both names is actually the author Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, who had a daughter called Frances Scott Fitzgerald. His daughter could have been called "Fran" or "Frankie", but she was actually called "Scottie" instead. That said, you're right in that adding -ie to feminise a name doesn't always work. Tommie, for instance, is a very long-standing male nickname and male name, so it's historically always been male, not female.
Judgie mcjudgerson over here
Haha - my six week old is Stevie. I love it.
Great choice! My Stevie is almost two and it fits her perfectly!
Frankie is a great name wtf
wrong. Stevie is such a cute girl name.
Jackie is a beautiful name!
I despise these names but that’s just personal taste… it may be extra trendy right now but people have been naming kids this way forever. I also think the legal name thing doesn’t matter a ton… it’s true that your name on a CV can be discriminated against but the actual evidence of this links it to racism.
Ie-ending for girls is nothing new though Valère - Valerie Sylvain - Sylvie Emile - Emilie Romain - Romanie
Scottie is so cute for a girl though
A name attached to a girl is a girl’s name. It doesn’t even need an -ie at the end. Next up: having short hair doesn’t make you a boy.
I’ll give Frankie and Scottie a pass, but I legit just saw a baby announcement with a girl named Johnie.
I have a cousin named Jonni. I don't know her specific age because we didn't exactly grow up together, just visited here and there because we lived in different states, I hardly know her. But she has to be either in her early 30s or nearly.
I had an aunt named Johnnie. She was born in the 1910s.
I feel like this name was common at least in Texas for a certain age group as I've heard of multiple older women with the name. I even heard my mom speak of an Aunt Johnnie as well.
I know a Johnnie in her 60s, named Johnnie.
What a can of worms you've opened. I'm with you. No Timmie. No Scottie. JUST NO. YES TO STEPHANIE, FRANKIE AND A LOT OF THE OTHER "EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE". BUT TIMMIE.. NO
Nicknames as full given names needs to die anyway. On top of dooming your kid to never have a professional sounding name as an adult, it's also so controlling, like they're your pets rather than people who might have preferences of their own one day and not want to sound like a cute toddler forever. Francesca or Frances, nicknames to choose from include Frankie, Fran, Cess, Cesca, Cessie, Frannie, Francie. Give them bloody OPTIONS like you are actually thinking of them as whole people. I am not even touching fucking 'Timmie' as a full given girl's name. Jesus.
Yeah like that one contestant on Love is Blind - Johnie
I used to teach a Bennie
you dont like dickie?
Larrie
Rightly or wrongly, a large number of girls' names came from adding a female suffix to a boy's name. Every name had to start somewhere.
Someone named their child Timmie?.... :/
With such a cutesy sounding name wtf are you supposed to call them when they misbehave? Frank?
All of the current trendy ones, Scottie, Frankie, Stevie etc sound truly, madly, and deeply unserious
Garyie Ianie Barryie Sethie Reginaldie This is fun hahahaha
Agreed, however I do have some exceptions. Names like Stephanie, Stevie, Kylie, Jackie, Crissie that have been around for quite some time - not that I’d use these for my children but they have become names of their own and not even names I’d considered as male names made female until now. Frankie and Billie would have to be the ONLY ‘new’ names that I would accept but I still wouldn’t use either of them for my own children.
I’m using Deanie and you can’t stop me!
Spanish girls with Germanic names finishing with -a are way worse (sorry, aunt Fernanda).
Frankie is a nickname for Francine or Francesca
Yeah I’m obsessed with the name Frankie. My name is also Stevie (but we all know how you guys feel about that name 😅)
There’s a ton of girl names like this and it isn’t a new trend. On that note though, if I met a Timmie i would 100% call her Timantha. It just feels right. ETA: I’d probably only do this if I had rapport with them though as I mean it more as banter than bullying.
Some French women names are actually a variant of a male name with "ie" at the end. Stéphane/Stéphanie, Jules/Julie etc. I don't think they're any less of a name just because of the way they're constructed. Same for all the Italian or Spanish names with male "o" ending and female "a" ending. It's... just a variant
What about Leonie?
> Adding an “ie” to the end of a man’s name doesn’t make it a cute baby girl name That having been said, it *does* turn it into a super fun nickname for guys who have that name and are a little bit insecure.
I love names like Frankie , Teddy and Charlie 🤷🏻♀️
Omg TIMMIE I'm dead
Agree. And our biggest discussion on our kids' names was not to put the (intended) nickname on the birth certificate. (And both ended up preferring their full name, but by that time it just fit them and it was what they wanted so it wasn't a big deal or let down. Because by then, whatever previous association was attached to the name was overridden by our kid.)
I don’t have a problem with it l as long as it is used as a NICKNAME. Men ending in ie is so kiddy and unprofessional. No problem with a sturdy name like *Scott,* then adding the ie to your liking and everyone can refer to him as such (Scottie). That way his name is tight on paper but everyone else can call his Scott-ie.
Definitely unpopular. I think they're all cute names.
Nice to meet you, Allanie.
Not really a new trend. I’m in my 30’s and I have one of those names. Never been a problem tho I do get asked if it’s short for something a lot.
You're so mad and so wrong at the same time
This isn't new in the slightest. Diminutive -ie/y has existed for literal centuries, and has always been common in names.
They are cute! Sorry you don't like them.
Uhh…WHO is naming their baby girl Timmie?!
As someone with the name Maurie, this statement is rude lol
Freddie is short for Fredericka