The Baby Name Wizard

Well I guess I'll be the first one to give it a go...
Adam=Adamyn(Ay-da-min)
Austin=Austianna
Brandon=Brandy
Chase=Chassidy
Colton=Colleen
Connor=Connie/Constance
Cooper=
Ethan=Anthea(anagram of sorts)
Gavin=Gaviella(Gah-vee-ella)
Ian=Ani(also anagram)
Isaac=
Jackson=Jackqueline
Joshua=Joshalyn works
Kevin=Kevanna
Landon=Landonna
Lucas=Lucasha(Loo-cah-sha)
Owen=
Wyatt=Twyla(anagram of sorts)

Aaron- forgive me, but what's wrong with using Erin to honor Erin? I don't think either name is so stuck in their origins that they can't be used as a way of honoring the other.

Joshua- Jerusha? Josephine (still has the Jos-beginning)?

Adam - Adina
Austin - Autumn
Brandon - Brenda, Brandy
Chase - Any female Ch- name - Charlotte, Christa, Chastity
Colton - Colleen
Connor - Connie
Cooper - again, any C name
Ethan - Eve
Gavin - Gabrielle
Ian - Iona, Shawn, Juanita, Jane, Joan...any female version of John
Isaac - Isis, Iris
Jackson - Jacqueline
Kevin - Keva
Landon - Lana
Lucas - Lucia
Owen - Rowena
Wyatt - Wilhelmina

Adam - Adah
Austin - Augustine
Brandon - Branwen
Chase - Charis
Colton - Collette
Connor - Constance
Cooper - Juniper
Ethan - Étaín
Gavin - Gwen
Ian - Jane
Isaac - Isla
Jackson - Jacinda
Joshua - Joscelin
Kevin - Keelin
Landon - Linden
Lucas - Lucia
Owen - Owena
Wyatt - Wynne

There's a musician whose first name is "Isaaca". I don't know how she pronounces it. She's a member of the band The Bridges (fantastic band, by the way... check them out).

I just finished a book by a woman named Joshilyn Jackson and was wondering about her name. I thought maybe it was just a variation on Jocelyn, but possibly she's named after a Josh/Joshua. Really interesting!

On an unrelated note, my husband is mildly obsessed with sporcle.com, and we've recently come across a few baby name quizzes that I thought were really fun. I'm not sure if anything like this has been posted here ever, but I figured people in this community would probably be very good at them. :)

After you finish the quiz or run out of time, be sure to click on the "see the most missed" link to find more interesting data: your percentile and the percentage of quiz takers who guess each particular answer.

Here are the links:
Can you name the baby names that appear in the top ten for at least two decades?
http://www.sporcle.com/games/triviahappy/Top_Names_of_A_Century

Can you name the top 100 baby girl names of the 1990s?
http://www.sporcle.com/games/jkat/top100girlsnames1990s

Can you name the top 100 baby boy names of teh 1990s?
http://www.sporcle.com/games/jkat/100mostpopularboysnamesof1990s

They have quizzes for other decades/years too! Search for baby names.

A bunch (most) of these I can see people using on girls directly, just like honoring Grandpa Kyler.

Especially the ending in n ones strike me as very plausible (though whether or not I approve is another thing entirely). I think they become even more plausible with the ever popular i/e -> y switch, or with a middle name of "Elizabeth" or "Marie" or "Grace" or something very traditionally feminine. Austin or Austyn seems absolutely not surprising, and Brandon/Brandyn and Landon neither, given the popularity of London for little girls and boys alike.

In fact, a bunch of these appear already in use for girls... though as always, it's hard to distinguish occasional the sex-mixups in the SSA data. Below are the numbers of female births with a given name last year... and I noted when one of the previous years jumped out as being much higher than last year.
Adam, 7 (has been as high as 102 in 1987)
Austin, 92 (228 in 1994)
Brandon, 11 (217 in 1987)
Chase, 100 (229 in 1997)
Colton, 6
Connor, 18 (133 in 1997)
Cooper, 74 (122 in 2008)
Ethan, 23 (126 in 2004)
Gavin, 13 (55 in 2004)
Ian, 5
Isaac, 11
Jackson, 21 (65 in 2004)
Joshua, 24 (307 in 1986)
Kevin, 20 (134 in 1973)
Landon, 26
Lucas, 9 (39 in 2004)
Owen, 14 (28 in 2004)
Wyatt, 18

I almost wonder if in 2004 someone made some enormous data entry errors with switching a lot of boys to girls! But I'm guessing these aren't all errors.

In my personal style direction: I think Olwen would be a nice substitute for Owen, Lucasta for Lucas.

And since that was all very on-topic, I think I'm going to just edit in a mention of the fact that Draco Verta is the name Danica McKellar (former actress, current mathematician) gave her son. Very cool, and I think makes me feel better about keeping Hermione on our list!

Speaking of honoring a beloved Joshua, here's announcing our sixth: Joshua Edmund, named after his father, Joshua Stewart and all the wonderful Edmunds of history and literature:) Thanks to all here who helped us decide on Edmund as the middle name!

Fun!
Ethan-Etta

re: Joshilyn: also reminds me of the Indian name Joshi.

Adam- Adamina
Austin- Augustine, Augusta
Brandon- Branwen
Chase- Chasity
Colton- Colombe
Connor- Honor
Cooper- Perry
Ethan-Eithne
Gavin- Vina, Gavriella
Ian- Iana, Iona
Isaac- Isabel
Jackson- Jacqueline
Joshua- Josune (Basque-- I looked it up)
Kevin- Vina
Landon- Lana
Lucas- Lucy
Owen- Olwen
Wyatt- Wynn

Congrats Jane Mother of Six! What a handsome name! Hope you can get a babymoon of sortsw!

A family member is married to a Kevin. When their daughter acts like him, the running joke is that she is being "Kevina" (Kev-een-a). I actually thought that Owen-Rowena was brilliant.

Here are mine:

Adam - Adina
Austin - Austina
Brandon - Brandy/ie/ee
Chase - Chassie, Chas(e)anna
Colton - Coltyn
Connor - Connie/ee
Cooper - Cooperlee
Ethan - Ethina
Gavin - Gavina
Ian - Ianna
Isaac - Isaacbelle
Jackson - Jackl/lyn/lynn/lin
Joshua - Joshelle
Kevin - Kevina
Landon - Landyn
Lucas - Luca
Owen - Owenella
Wyatt - Wyette

Also, congrats on the arrival of Joshua Edmund. A handsome name for what, I'm sure, is a handsome little boy!

Adam - Adalyn, Addison
Austin - Austine
Brandon - Brandi
Chase - Chastity
Colton - Chloe
Connor - Corinne
Cooper - Cora
Ethan - Ethel
Gavin - Gavrielle
Ian - Rian (pronounced Re-in)
Isaac - Isabelle
Jackson - Jacqueline
Joshua - Joslin
Kevin - Kevlyn
Landon - Lana
Lucas - Luca
Owen - Anwen, Olwen
Wyatt - Wynn

Although I know a girl named Kevan.. and a girl named Austin.

Owen = Rowena is clever. On the same topic Ethan = Bethany.

I would not choose any of these names myself, but here are my possibilities.

Adam -- Eve would be an interesting variation. Adama's been used for a male on Battlestar Galactica

Austin -- Austine; I have seen this name in Beverly Cleary.

Brandon--Brandine, Brandine Brenda

Chase --Chaselyn, Chasely(lee, leigh)

Colton- Coltine, Coltona--difficult, that "Colt" is very masculine no matter what you do to it

Connor I've seen this as a girl's name

Cooper Ditto

Ethan-- Ethel, a combination with grandma's name; Marethan, Allysethan

Gavin -- Gavine

Ian--Iana, most likely pronounce Yanna

Isaac--Keep the very unusual double-a in variation of a girls name

Jackson--Jackie, Jacqueline

Joshua Joshetta, Joshephine,

Kevin--Kevina, Kevinna, Kevine

Landon--Lana, Landa, Landine

Lucas--Luca (even though this is a male name in Italy.)

Owen-- Owena, Wenna, Owana

Wyatt--Wyette, Wynonna

I tried to do this without looking at other posters' suggestions. Forgive the inevitable repeats.

Adam -- Ada Mae
Austin -- Austine (actually know of one)
Brandon -- Brandene, Brandy
Chase -- Chaslie, Chasie
Colton -- Coltyn
Connor -- Connie, Conorah
Cooper -- Cooper (this sounds like it could cross over to girls--if Carson can, can Cooper be far behind?!)
Ethan -- Ethalyn
Gavin -- Gavynne
Ian -- Eanne (pronounced Ee-anne)
Isaac -- Islie
Jackson -- Jackie
Joshua -- Joslyn
Kevin -- Kevyn (my son has a girl named Devyn in his kindergarten class)
Landon -- Landen, Lindie, Landie
Lucas -- Lucah
Owen -- Owette (?!)
Wyatt -- Wyetta

OK, some of these are atrocious. But this was a fun exercise!

Oh and congratulations, Jane!!! Wonderful news. And I've always loved both Joshua and Edmund.

I don't know that I'm any good at coming up with female namesakes for these names, but I wanted to give props to YCCII for suggesting Eithne for Ethan. I have a friend called Eithne and this is the only other place I've seen it.

And big congrats to Jane on the arrival of Joshua Edmund. I love Edmund so much and think the entire name is super!

Aaronisha? Seriously? What's wrong with Erin?

Adam - Eve, just kidding. Addy, Adel, Adelyn.
Austin - Austin would still be a cute girl name. If not, what about Audrey or Aubrey? Has the same start off sound.
Brandon - Brenda, Brenna, Brandy
Chase - Casey, Char, Chelsey,Charisse, or CHASE could even work for a girl.
Colton -Colleen, Collette,
Connor - Connie
Cooper - Stuck on this one!
Ethan - Etta, Etha,
Gavin - Gavy, Gabi.
Ian - Ida, Ianthe (it doesn't sound the same but I love it and it has the spelling) Nia, Ina, Imani. You could really go crazy with this one. The list could go on and on.
Isaac - Izzy, Iscah (Love this one!)
Jackson - Jacqueline
Joshua - Josephine, Jocelyn,
Kevin - Evelyn, Keva, Keyna, Vivi, Vieena, Vena, Venita,
Landon - Landie,
Lucas - Luca, Lucy
Owen - Rowen, Wren, Wendi, Wenona,
Wyatt - Wylee (like Wile E. Coyote?), Atta, Atti, Yetta

I really like the creativity in a lot of the suggestions!

Just on the Aaron - Erin suggestion, with my Australian accent Aaron and Erin sound very different so this wouldn't necessarily make sense! I can see it would work for some though.

Interesting name spotting: a new baby girl called Billie G@briel. Yes a girl.

Adam- Adalyn
Austin- Austine
Brandon- Brandy
Chase- I think this could stay Chase for a girl
Colton- Coltyn
Connor- Connie
Cooper- Copper
Ethan-Ethena
Gavin- Gavinna
Ian- Iana
Isaac- Isabel
Jackson- Jacklyn
Joshua- Joshalyn
Kevin- Kerin/ Kevette
Landon- Landyn
Lucas- Lucy
Owen- Olwyn
Wyatt- Wynette

hmmm...seems I think adding "Y" makes a name more feminine.

I once met a little girl named Davis after her Grandpa David. I thought it was pretty cute and pretty brave.

I also once knew a female Austin, born in the 80s, with a sister named Casey—guess the parents were into androgynous names. You could also spell it Austen in homage to Jane—a very feminine reference.

Ok, these are not suggestions for names I'd personally use, just ones that aren't too cringe-tastic that are very similar to the original, so not too much imagination is needed to see that they're tributes. I'm not looking at everyone else's before typing this, so forgive repeats:

Adam--I like Adah, or Adama (I knew a girl of African heritage named Adama, pron. "uh-dom-uh", and I thought it was nice)
Austin--Austen, maybe, for Jane, or Austyn for trendiness.
Brandon--Brandy? Brenda? Branna? Brenna?
Chase--Chase could work for a girl, or Chess, Chessie, Chessa
Colton--Colette, Colleen, Colta, Coulter
Connor--Constance, Connie,
Cooper--could work for a girl, I guess
Ethan--Esther? Ethanie (like bethany, no b)? Ethel?
Gavin--Gavyn? Gavrielle? Gavie?
Ian--Ianna, Ina
Isaac--Isa, Isla
Jackson--ok, if Madison can work for a girl, why not Jackson? But I guess I'd say Jaqueline/Jackie, more seriously
Joshua--Josie, Joshia, Jessica?
Kevin--Keva, Kevyn
Landon--Landry, Landa, Lana
Lucas--Luca (I know, I know), Lulu, Lucy
Owen--Owenna (Rowenna, no R), Owyn(ne), Wynne
Wyatt--Wyla

some extra thoughts (and apologies if repeats)

Brandon -- Brandonna, heh.

Cooper --- Coppelia, Copper from NameFinder.

Ian -- like I think someone suggested, you could also add letter(s) to the start and maybe end too, like Lian / Lianne, Rian / Rianne etc. and of course Vivian and most anything else ending with -ian.

Joshua -- Josette, and Joshi (but perhaps there's potential for cultural mix-up with the surname Joshi).

Kevin -- Kevia, Kevinne

I wouldn't necessarily use any of these, but it's a fun exercise to think about.

I apologise for low quality/ repeats:
Adam- Adele
Austin- Austine (een sound)
Brandon- Brandine
Chase- Chase, a girl might get away with this
Colton- I'd say Collie, but that's a type of dog
Connor- Connie/ Constance
Cooper- Coco
Ethan- Bethan
Gavin- Gavinia. (Like Lavinia.)
Ian- Ina (ee-na)
Isaac- Isabel
Jackson- Jacklyn (Sorry)
Joshua- Josepha
Kevin- Kevlyn???
Landon- Landonna? Maybe just Landon
Lucas- Lucy, Cass. Lucy (and variants) and Lucas (and variants) have the same root
Owen- Wennie or Winnie
Wyatt- Wynetta
Interesting but I wouldn't put myself in charge of finding female alternatives to modern names (that should be a job). If a male realtive *needs* to be honoured a plain male middle name could work. Emily Isaac or Grace Kevin. That type of thing.

I am enjoying all the female variations of male names, but why aren't we/don't we talk about the male tributes to females? It seems the only time we consider this an option is using mom's maiden name--but rarely if ever a masculine version of a female's name.

Especially getting creative enough to come up with something like Aaronisha.

You know what's interesting to me about this post? Many of us are responding without looking at the previous posters responses and coming up with the same ideas. Does this say something about the creation of names, the people responding or a little bit of both? I wonder about the top 10 girls names being turned to boy names and vice versa in 20 years or so. What will you use to honor Uncle Aiden or Grandma Kaylyn? I think Aidyn works on a girl or Kaelen on a boy maybe. Is that how androgynous names come to be?

I am with you, knp-nli! I wanted to name my son after family but all the male names in the family are boring or insane or already taken while the female names are wonderful but I couldn't figure out a masculine equivalent. Here was my list:

Audrey
Sonia
Marie
Berit
Birgitte
Anna

It's too late now, but I have a feeling that if I get pregnant again it will be another boy.

Here's my list of the top 10 girls names and corresponding boy honors.
Emma=Emory
Isabella=Asa, Isan?
Emily=Ellory
Olivia=Oliver
Ava=Aven
Madison=Matthison
Sophia=Sophacles
Abigail=Abner
Elizabeth=Albert
Chloe=Koen
Not great but maybe some keepers.

Here's my response to Birgitte-
Audrey-Auden, Alden, Austin (just keeping that Aww sound)
Sonia-Son...(I guess anything with a son on the end would be a bit removed huh?)
Marie-Mark?, Marik?, Maren?
Berit-Bernie/Bernard (not my personal fav but?)
Birgitte-???
Anna-Anson (your best choice I think)

Ugh, personally I don't get into naming a baby (first name) after someone in the family, we like using the middle name for that and giving the baby their own unique (to the family at least) first name. I don't understand why you would want to go to such great lengths to try to MAKE a name work for the opposite sex. Either use it as a middle name (I know plenty of females with middle names like James etc. and that works fine!) or name the child after a female relative and wait to see if you have a boy next time. I've got some wonderful names picked out for girls (including namesake middle names) but we had a boy so we picked a boys name for him, and if we never have a girl, so be it! You've got to work with what you get!

I apologize if I come across strong, really to each his/her own, this just really strikes me as silly!

Hehe, zoerhenne! If you are having problems too, then I don't feel so bad. Since my maiden name had -sen as an ending (same meaning as -son) it would weird out both me and my family to have a first name ending that way, but nice try. Hopefully we will have a girl next time and it will be a moot point!

I've met a female Austyn, and I rather liked the name on her (although Austin or Austen would have been a preferable spelling IMO). I've also met a female Kevin, named after her father. That one struck me as strange. I've also met a Kevi ("keh-vee"), and I wonder if she might be named after a Kevin.

I don't like using variants much to honor a namesake. I think if I wanted to honor a man with a name that didn't lend itself to a similar-sounding, similarly-spelled feminine form, I'd use the namesake's given name for my daughter, probably as a middle name.

Responding to Birgitte --
Audrey - Aubrey, Auden; I think Audrey would work just fine for a boy on its own though, especially as a middle name.
Sonia - Sonny
Marie - Mario, Marius
Berit - Birger
Birgitte - Birger
Anna - well, John and its variants come from the same origin as Anna, but it's not an obvious connection. Ananiah, Ananias, and Annas are variants of the same biblical name that shares the "grace" meaning and Hebrew origin with Anna and sounds more like Anna than John, Johan, etc. Anson, Anselm, Anton, Andre, and Anakin have similar sounds to Anna but aren't related.

Adam - Ada, Addie
Austin - Aspen
Brandon - Brenda, Brandy
Chase - Casey
Colton - Colleen
Connor - Constance, Connie
Cooper - Kip
Ethan - Ethel
Gavin - Gabi, Gavina
Ian - Giana
Isaac - Izzy
Jackson - Jacklyn
Joshua - Jessica, Jocelyn
Kevin - Kaitlin, Kevlyn
Landon - Linda
Lucas - Lucy
Owen - Rowen
Wyatt - Wynne

And zoerhenne's girls names one (I went to the top 18 because there are eighteen boys names on Laura's list, but I kept your 2008)
Emma - Emmett
Isabella - Isaiah
Emily - Emile
Olivia - Oliver, Ollen
Ava - Avery
Madison - Addison
Sophia - ?
Abigail - ?
Elizabeth - Elliot
Chloe - Cody
Samantha - Samuel
Addison - Addison, Adelaide
Natalie - Nathan
Mia - Milo?
Alexis - Alexei, Alexander
Alyssa - Ellis, Alexei

And Birgitte's girls names list
Audrey - Austin, Aubrey
Sonia - Mason, Jason, Jackson, etc.
Marie - Marty, Mario
Berit - Barry
Birgitte -Birch, Barrett, Beckett, Bennett
Anna - Andy, Anthony, etc.

By the time I got pregnant both my parents were deceased, so I had ready-made a name for a boy and one for a girl. Had only my mother Sylvia Eleanor been deceased and I had had a boy, then Elliott Sylvain would have been an option. Had only my father Edward (Eliyahu/Elijah) been deceased and I had had a girl, then something like Ella/Elle/Edith.

Another possibility is to duplicate the meaning. If I had had a bunch of kids and reached the point where I was commemorating my grandparents, if I wanted to name a daughter after my grandfather Shlomo Chaim (peace life), I would have gone for Zoe Irene (which also has the air of Byzantine empresses) or Frieda Vivian. If I were naming a son after my grandmother Tzvya Chaya (female deer), I would go for Hart or Hirsch (but not, I think, Buck). For my other grandmother Tzippa (birdie), I might pick for a son Jay, Robin, Hawk (but not Woody Woodpecker or Daffy Duck). My other grandfather was Meyer Wolf, and I, Miriam, was named for him. My parents also considered Myra and Myrna (double yuck!). I am rather sorry I didn't get the Wolf part. The feminine form of wolf is wylf, but that is beyond obsolete, because the vowel sound represented by y, a rounded front vowel, departed from the English language long ago.

BTW my son is writing a detective novel, and his main character is a woman named Chase Harmon, the name Chase chosen particularly because it is unisex with a somewhat more masculine than feminine vibe.

My husband's name is Aaron; I actually really like Aeryn as a middle name for a potential daughter, he's not really so keen in naming anyone or anything after himself though

Ok, onto the rest, I'll give it a go:

adam - Addie (even Adelaide, Adaline, or Adalynn if that's not going too far off base), Ada

Austin - I've actually known a few women named Austin so I'll let this one stand; I think one of them was an "Austen"...

Brandon - Brenna ("Branna" too weird?)

Chase - Again, I've known girls/women with this name... Chassie? Cassie?

Colton - Colby, Collette

Connor - The obvious Connie, Condie, but really this could be a girls/woman's name

Cooper-ditto to the above; otherwise the typical "C" nicknames could apply; Cookie (my childhood nickname--I turned out OK!), Coco, etc.

Ethan - Ethel, Etta

Gavin - Gavi/ Gabby and variations of

Ian - Iliana

Isaac - Isa, Isis

Jackson - Jackie/Jacquie/Jacquelyn etc.

Joshua-Josie

Kevin - Kavi

Landon - Lindy/Linda or Andy/Adrea etc.

Lucas - Lucia, Luci

Owen - This also, I've seen as a girls name, but for fun, Olwen (is that an actual name? I'm thinking of all of those beautiful welsh names ending in "wen"...)

Wyatt - Wyanne (I think I totally made this last one up...)

Great suggestions, guys! I will keep these in mind.

Miriam - Ylva is a Swedish female name that comes from Ulv (wolf). Kind of pretty too, I think.

Yes, Birgitte, that's the same vowel alternation in Swedish as once was in English long ago. BTW Grendel's mother (who doesn't have a name--she is known only in relation to her son) is at one point called a brimwylf (sea-'wolfess'). In modern English among the canids, girl foxes have a cool name, vixen (the voiced initial consonant comes from the southern dialect around Somerset in England), girl dogs not so much. I suspect that the reason we do not have a separate word for the female wolf is because we lost that rounded front vowel and so were left with wolf and wolf, no distinction. Now we have to make do with she-wolf, and even in these crazy days, no one is going to name a baby girl She-wolf.

Kevin is my Dad's name, so I've enjoyed reading the female suggestions for his name. (Especially as my father in law is Charles and I did like Charlotte for a girl.)

Another suggestion:

Kevin = Kevalina (Kev-ah-lee-nah)

Fun to think about, but not sure if I would really use these....

Adam - Adama
Austin - Tina
Brandon - Brandy
Chase - Chase
Colton - Toni
Connor - Connie
Cooper - Percie
Ethan - Thena
Gavin - Vina
Ian - Iana
Isaac - Isa
Jackson - Jackie
Joshua- Josephine
Kevin - Vina
Landon - Laney
Lucas - Cassie or Lucy
Owen - Rowen
Wyatt - Wynne or Wyetta

Oh, what fun!

Aaron - Nora
Adam - Eve (get it!?)
Austin - Augustine
Brandon - Brandy
Chase - Chayse
Colton - Colby
Connor - Constanze
Cooper - Coco
Ethan - Eden
Gavin - Gwen
Ian - Jeanne
Isaac - Isabella
Jackson - Jacobine
Joshua - Josie
Kevin - Kevon
Landon - Lana
Lucas - Lucia
Owen - Evan
Wyatt - Wye

Hm, interesting ideas on the Girls top 10, Zoerhenne, but I would go with;
Emmette for Emma and Emory for Emily.
Maybe just do Eli for Elizabeth?

I don't see why a namesake has to sound exactly like the original? If you wanted to honor someone but give the baby their own name you could find names that have the same meaning. That way you still have a connection to the person being honored yet, have a name to make their own. On the other side, I think kids have a fun time saying "Hi, My name is Jonnie. I'm named after my Grandpa John".

I like the male to female names that have similar sounds to them but may not be the same as tacking on an 'A' at the end.

I think English naming patterns suggest that a masculine name most easily crosses over to the feminine when you (a) add a feminine suffix or (b) combine the masculine name with a more feminine one. This theory would suggest the following names:

Adamina
Austine
Brandolyn/Brandosia
Chassica/Chassily
Coltolina
Constina/Constine
Coopley/Coopra
Ethanne
Gaviline/Gavinda
Ianesca/Iandra
Isamyn
Jacinda/Jackella
Joshlyn/Joshlise
Kevina
Landella/Landely
Lucastra/Lucandra
Owenna/Owenda
Wya/Wyattra

Odd as some may sound, I can see them being used.

Adam -- Ada, Addie or Adamina

Austin -- Autumn, maybe, or Augustine or Augustina. Or maybe Austen if you're a bit of a Janeite?

Brandon -- Brenda (which I hate so I won't recommend it)... or Branwen! I love Branwen!

Chase -- This one's giving me trouble. Chelsea sounds similar... Chassy sounds plausible as a nickname for Charlotte, maybe? I don't really like Chase itself on a girl.

Colton -- Colette, Colleen or even Courtney... anything with that initial sound.

Connor -- Constancia/tia or Connolly.

Cooper -- Piper or Winter, maybe.

Ethan -- Ethel, if you're feeling daring. Or Esther, Etta or even Ethyr/Ether, which would be a really interesting name.

Gavin -- Gavriel/le or Gavriella. Or just Gabby.

Ian -- Any variant of Jane; Janna, Jana, Sinead. If you want to keep the "i" change it to Iantha, maybe? Or Iona/e?

Isaac -- Isa, Isadora, Isabel or Isabella (though we have too many of those.)

Jackson -- Jacqueline/Jacqui is really all I can think of.

Joshua -- Don't like any of forms in the article; Joshlynne doesn't cut it for me... so it would have to be something not including the syllable "Josh" itself. But not Josie because that would be short for a variant of Joseph... Jocelyn, maybe?

Kevin -- Caoimhe or the anglicized Keavy is all I can come up with. Or is Kevina a name?

Landon -- Lana, Lena or Lani.

Lucas -- Lucia! Or even just Lucy. Or Lucetta, Lucinda or Luca.

Owen -- Owena sounds relatively legitimate. Actually I think any girl's name starting with "o" would do just fine -- Ottilie, Odile, Opal, Olivia -- the letter's rare enough for that to be okay. Something like Wendy would also work.

Wyatt -- Winona. It has that same Western twang.

And that was fun!

I agree some of these ideas are a bit crazy and not my style. I had fun coming up with sound-alike equivalents for the opposite gender but in reality would probably consider a meaning related name first. There is also the personality of the original bearer to consider. As an example, if Grandma Kyleigh loved hawks then maybe instead of naming a boy Kyler you could name him Hawk.

interesting names from my local listings: MARLIENA - CALYPSO - ZOLLIE

I like Erin for Aaron. I think Edith could work for Ethan....I guess.....

I agree with those who think there has to be a better way to do tributes than these sound-a-likes. But the suggestions so far are really interesting.

Well let's see...

Adam-Adamia(a-day-mia),Adamina,Addy,Ada
Austin-Austinaya, Austina, Austa, Austi
Brandon-Brandina, Brandiana, Brandonette
Chase-Chasey, Chaya, Chay, Chayna,Chaynie
Colton-Collie, Coltie, Coltonetta
Connor-Connie
Cooper-Coco, Coopie, Coopa
Ethan-Ettie,Etta, Ethiana(ee-thee-ar-na)
Gavin-Vivi, Vinnie, Gavina
Ian-Ana, Ianna, Iana, Ania, Annia
Isaac-Isaacia(iy-zac-ee-ya), Izzy, Issie, Isia
Jackson-Jackie
Joshua-Josie, Josty
Kevin-Kevvy, Kezzy, Kevina, Kev, Keviza
Landon-Lanny, Laney, Donni, Donna
Lucas-Lucy, Lucia, Cassy, Lucassa
Owen-Owenna, Ownie, Wenna, Wennie
Wyatt-Wya, Yra, Attie, Atta

How's that?

On the topic of namesakes...
Some of you may remember my post from quite a while ago looking for namesakes that related to the name Tamara. My husband's aunt didn't particularly love her name, nor do we.
Since we couldn't come up with any obvious variants to Tamara that we liked, I started to look for names whose meanings related to travelers, kindness, joy, generosity etc - words often used when talking about my husband's aunt. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Beatrix has two common meanings - bringer of light/joy and blessed traveler. Beatrix is a name that has been mentioned a few times on this board (including by me). Both my husband and I love it, but hadn't wanted to commit to the name as it didn't directly relate to the name Tamara. I really can't think of any other combination of meanings that could more aptly describe the wonderful woman who was my husband's aunt.
We are due with our next child in February (not planning on finding out the sex), and if it's a girl we are planning on using the name Beatrix as a tribute to Tamara. We liked the sound of the name before we came across the "connection" to my husband's aunt, but having that extra layer of meaning has made Beatrix all the more special to us.

**As a note, after reading in the comments here of one widow who was hurt that her husband's name was not carried on by her nieces, I made sure to tell my husband's mother and uncle about why we have chosen Beatrix for a girl. Both think that the name is a wonderful tribute.

In the Midwest, a very common solution to this problem used to be to add the suffix -Anne to the male name being honored. So you would have:

Austin-Anne
Connor-Anne
Landon-Anne

etc., etc., with the child always addressed by both names. There was a Kevin-Anne in my grade.

This was sometimes also done with -Rose, -Jane or other short but clearly feminine name.

Jane Mo6 - congratulations, what a beautiful name. Strong and elegant. Hope he's settling in well.

I have some objections to finding female versions of some male names. My dad's name is Andrew, meaning man, but I wouldn't call a daughter Andrea. In my head it's like calling a little girl 'man' or 'manly'. Not cool.

Looking at the list, some meanings or histories may make a female version sound a little vulgar or uninformed. In the culture the name originated it may even be offensive or shocking. Which begs the question, is there ever a moral objection to using particular names where society can have a veto on a family's choice? What about an Adolfa? Would she sound more acceptable in society if named after a loving grandfather Adolf, and not Mr Hitler?

We do judge by names, and I can't honestly see a feminine version I would personally use for all the list, so my personal take on the given list is as follows: (blanks deliberate)

Adam - Eve
Austin - Austen
Brandon - Donna
Chase -
Colton -
Connor - Connie
Cooper - Opal
Ethan - Annette (reluctantly!)
Gavin - Gabrielle
Ian - Ina / Jan
Isaac - Something along the lines of laughing, from the meaning, e.g. Risa
Jackson - Janette
Joshua -
Kevin -
Landon -
Lucas - Lucia
Owen - Olwen
Wyatt - Wynatt? (not serious...)