Many parents like long baby names that offer a slew of nickname options. The classic Elizabeth, for example, can be shortened to Eliza, Elsa, Elsie, Liz, Lizzy, Libby, Betsy, Betty, Bette, Beth, and many other pet forms.

But other parents don't want to bother with a long name. They'd prefer something short and sweet. These parents tend to be drawn to the simplicity of super-short names.

The most extreme of these are 2-letter names, including boy names like Al and Ed and girl names like Jo and Lu. Most of these began as nicknames for longer names (such as Albert, Edward, Josephine and Louise), but they became popular enough on their own to be used as stand-alone names. Today's most popular two-letter names are the boy names Ty (ranked 247th) and Bo (840th).

Most three-letter also began as humble nicknames. Here's a sampling of three-letter names for each gender. The ones in bold are currently ranked in the U.S. top 1,000.

BOYS
Abe, Alf, Ali, Ari, Asa, Ben, Bob, Bud, Cal, Dan,
Dax, Del, Don, Edd, Eli, Gus, Guy, Hal, Ian, Ike,
Ira, Jax, Jay, Jed, Jim, Joe, Jon, Kai, Ken, Kip,
Lee, Len, Leo, Les, Lex, Lon, Lou, Mac, Max, Mel,
Moe, Nat, Ned, Noe, Ray, Rex, Rey, Rob, Rod, Ron,
Roy, Sal, Sam, Sid, Sim, Sol, Tad, Ted, Tex, Tim,
Tod, Tom, Tre, Val, Van, Vic, Von, Wes, Zeb, Zed

GIRLS
Ada, Aja, Ala, Ama, Ami, Amy, Ana, Ann, Ara, Ava,
Bea, Bev, Deb, Dee, Dot, Eda, Ela, Ena, Eva, Eve,
Exa, Fae, Fay, Flo, Gia, Ida, Ila, Ima, Ina, Ira,
Isa, Iva, Ivy, Joi, Joy, Kay, Kia, Kim, Kya, Lea,
Lia, Liz, Lou, Luz, Lyn, Mae, Mai, May, Meg, Mia,
Mya, Nan, Nia, Nya, Ola, Oma, Ona, Ora, Osa, Ota,
Ova, Pam, Rae, Sky, Sue, Tai, Tia, Una, Zoa, Zoe


Names with 4 letters are (of course) not as short as the names above, but many are also good choices for parents who are attracted to minimalist names.

3-Letter Baby Names The most complete, up-to-date list of 3-letter boy names and 3-letter girl names being given to U.S. babies. Click here to learn more!