Have you ever noticed that classic names for girls usually have ten-plus elaborations? These can be the classic name in another language, an alternate spelling, or just an elaboration. Consider:
[name]Lucy[/name]
[name]Lucia[/name] (can be pronounced lou-SEE-ah, lou-che-ah, or [name]LOU[/name]-sha)
[name]Lucie[/name]
[name]Loucille[/name]
[name]Lucinda[/name]
[name]Luciana[/name]
[name]Luna[/name] (Ok, this is not a variant of [name]Lucy[/name], but it sounds alike.)
[name]Luella[/name]
[name]Mary[/name]
[name]Marie[/name]
[name]Maria[/name]
[name]Marya[/name]
[name]Maren[/name]
[name]Maris[/name]
[name]Marissa[/name]
[name]Marilyn[/name]
[name]Marine[/name]/[name]Marina[/name]
[name]Mara[/name]
[name]Marianne[/name]/[name]Mariana[/name] (Somehow, I always end up saying Marinara.)
[name]Marlene[/name]
[name]Marietta[/name]
There’s actually a whole Nameberry about [name]Mary[/name]'s variations; it can be found here:https://nameberry.com/blog/2009/05/14/the-mary-month-of-may/
[name]Anne[/name]
[name]Anna[/name]
[name]Annie[/name]
[name]Annika[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name]
[name]Annette[/name]
[name]Anneliese[/name]
[name]Anita[/name]
[name]Anya[/name]
[name]Jane[/name]
[name]Janet[/name]
[name]Janessa[/name]
[name]Janelle[/name]
[name]Jade[/name] (This one seems like [name]Jane[/name] to me.)
[name]Janice[/name]
[name]Janay[/name]
[name]Margaret[/name]
[name]Marjorie[/name]
[name]Margot[/name]
[name]Margareta[/name]
[name]Marguerite[/name]
[name]Marilla[/name]
[name]Maggie[/name]
[name]Maisie[/name]
[name]Mae[/name]
I think elaborations are the result of the “similar but different” trend. Maybe your mother was [name]Mary[/name] and you want to honor her, but think her name is too plain or hum-drum. So you come up with [name]Marya[/name] or [name]Marilla[/name] or [name]Maren[/name]. Maybe you like [name]Annie[/name] but not [name]Anne[/name] and you end up with [name]Anna[/name] or [name]Annabel[/name].
In some cases elaborations seem frivolous or unsubstantial. Like [name]Janessa[/name] for [name]Jane[/name] or [name]Mariette[/name] for [name]Mary[/name]. It can look like you’re trying to sidestep a name while making it more “current”. In many cases, though, elaborations are pretty. My favorites are usually the name in another language, like [name]Lucia[/name] for [name]Lucy[/name] or [name]Anke[/name] for [name]Anne[/name].
[name]Do[/name] you have any more elaborations for these names and others? What do you think of elaborations?