A friend of mine announced her pregnancy a few weeks ago (congrats, E!). She doesn’t know the gender of the baby yet, but if it’s a girl, she thinks she’d like to use the name Isabella.
The problem? Isabella has been one of the most popular baby names in the nation for almost a decade now. My friend is still prepared to use it, but she’s also wondering what else is out there.
What she likes most about Isabella is the nickname Izzy, so I thought I’d help her out by coming up other girl names that can be shortened to Izzy. Some of these may be a stretch, but this is a brainstorm so anything goes. :)
Isabel/Isabelle
Part of the same name-family, but not as popular as Isabella.
Isidora/Isadora
Isabella and Isidora aren’t related (the former is based on Elizabeth, the latter on Isis) but they sound like they could be.
Elizabeth or Lizette
Why not lop the L off Lizzy and make it Izzy?
Giselle
French name that can be traced back to a Germanic word meaning “pledge.” Popularized recently by model Gisele, but still outside the top 100.
Desiree (Désirée)
French name meaning “desired.”
Zipporah (Tzipora, Tzipporah, etc.)
Hebrew name meaning “bird.”
Cosima
Italian name derived from the ancient Greek word for “order.”
Louisa or Louise
Derived from Ludwig, made up of elements meaning “fame” and “war.”
Eloise (Éloïse) or Heloise (Héloïse)
Might come from the Germanic name Helewidis, made up of elements meaning “hale” and either “wide” or “wood.”
Therese (Thérèse)
Unknown etymology, though perhaps based on the name of a Greek island.
Aziza
Arabic name meaning “powerful.”
Aliza
Hebrew name meaning “joyful.”
Can you think of any other girl names that can be shortened to Izzy?
