Nicknames beginning with L

79 nicknames and formal names starting with L. Search below, or open any name to see what it stood for in the records and when.

Loading tool…

What is each L nickname short for?

Old nicknames for formal names starting with L

Is it a nickname at all? Straight verdicts for L

Looking for something else? Back to the nickname finder, or read our guide to why an ancestor’s name keeps changing spelling.

FAQs

How does the nickname finder work?+

Type a nickname to see the formal names it stood for in historical records, or type a formal name to see its short forms. It searches a curated dataset of US, British and Irish record nicknames both directions — Polly→Mary and Mary→Polly.

Why do old records use such different nicknames?+

Before standardized spelling, clerks wrote the pet name a family used — often unrecognizable today (Polly for Mary, Nancy for Ann, Sukey for Susan). Missing these variants is one of the most common reasons a genealogy search stalls.

Is my search private?+

Yes. The lookup runs entirely in your browser against a dataset shipped with the page — nothing you type is uploaded or stored on our servers.

Start with one relative and see what comes back.

Add what you remember and AncestorIQ searches for the rest. Free to build your tree for as long as you like.

Start your tree, free

No credit card needed. Your tree stays yours.