It only takes one look at the Social Security Administration’s Top 1,000 Baby Names to make it clear: A lot of today’s parents are picking various versions of the same baby names. But how do they differentiate their little Aidan or Mason from the crowd? By optiong for a different — trendy, alternative — version of the name spelling. All of these spelling variations listed below appeared on the most recent SSA list. In each case, we’ve listed the spelling that is currently most popular, plus so many iterations you’re bound to find a favorite.

Add, omit or change vowels

A, E, I, O, U (and sometimes Y) are fun to play with. Mix them up or swap them out and enjoy a brand-new version of a traditional name.

Occasionally, you’ll find examples of first-letter modifications (Ian to Ean and Emmanuel to Immanuel) but, unlike Cs and Ks, most vowel changes occur within the name.

On the list of Most Popular Baby Boy Names, there are 28 combined spellings of Aiden, Brayden, Jayden and Kaden!

Aiden: Aaden, Adan, Aden, Aidan, Aidyn, Aydan, Ayden, Aydin

Brayden: Braden, Bradyn, Braeden, Braiden, Braydon

Jayden: Jaden, Jadon, Jaeden, Jaiden, Jaidyn, Jaydon

Kaden: Caden, Caiden, Kaeden, Kaiden, Kayden

Girl names are great for vowel-swapping, too:

Adalyn: Adalynn, Addilyn, Adelyn, Adelynn

Raina: Rayna, Reyna

Reagan: Raegan, Regan

Zoey: Zoe, Zoie

For boy baby names, the vowels most frequently changed are those near the end of a name: Brandon becomes Branden and Weston becomes Westin.

Brendan: Brenden, Brendon

Damian: Damien, Damion

Grayson: Graysen, Greyson

Gunner: Gunnar

Jordan: Jorden, Jordyn

Landon: Landen, Landyn

Mason: Maison, Masen, Mayson

Tristan: Tristen, Tristian, Tristin, Triston, Trystan

Ramsey: Ramsy or Ramzy

For more feminine names, the long E sound might be represented by E, EE, IE, Y, EY or EIGH. The name Bailey, for example, is pronounced just the same when it’s spelled Bailee, Baylee or Bayleigh, all of which are in the Top 1,000 Names for Baby Girls.

Aleah: Aleigha, Alia

Amy: Aimee

Aubrey: Aubree, Aubrie, Aubri

Avery: Averi, Averie

Brylee: Bryleigh

Destiny: Destinee

Emily: Emely, Emilee, Emilie, Emmalee

Hailey: Hailee, Haleigh, Haley, Haylee, Hayleigh, Hayley, Haylie

Layla: Laila, Lailah, Laylah, Leila, Leyla

Riley: Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie

Sylvia: Sylvie, Sylvee, Sylveeah

Change C to K, or vice-versa

The letters C, K, CH and CK are generally interchangeable. A traditional name, such as Christopher, becomes more modern when the hard CH sound is changed to just a C (Cristopher) or a K (Kristopher).

Within the top 1,000 names for boys, some C and K names boast as many as seven different spellings!

Cameron: Camren, Camron, Camryn, Kameron, Kamron and Kamryn.

Colton: Colten, Kolten, Kolton

Connor: Conner, Conor, Konner, Konner

Kason: Casen, Cason, Cayson, Kasen, Kaysen, Kayson

The same holds true for the names we love for baby girls:

Carly: Carlee, Carleigh, Carley, Carlie, Karlee, Karlie

Kalyn: Cailyn, Kaelyn, Kaelynn, Kailyn, Kailynn, Kaylen, Kaylyn, Kaylynn

Kailey: Caylee, Kailee, Kaleigh, Kaylee, Kayleigh, Kaylie

Katelyn: Caitlyn, Caitlin, Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Katelynn

Popular boy names such as Caleb, Carterand Colby become Kaleb, Karter and Kolby, while girl names Cassandra, Catalina and Chloe become Kassandra, Katalina and Khloe.

When C/K swaps are made within the name, you see modifications like these:

Danica: Danika

Dominic: Dominick, Dominik

Eric: Erick, Erik

Jacob: Jakob, Jaycob

Lucas: Lukas

Mackenzie: Makenzie, Mckenzie

Makayla: Mckayla, Michaela, Mikaela, Mikayla

Marcus: Markus, Marquis

Nicholas: Nickolas, Nicolas, Nikolas

Zachary: Zackary

Play with X, Y and Z

For both masculine and feminine names, adding or removing uncommon consonants results in fresh new names.

Alexander: Alexzander

Austin: Austyn

Elise: Elyse

Isabelle: Izabelle

Jasmine: Jazmine

Gavin: Gavyn

Hayden: Haden, Hadyn

Jackson: Jaxson

Jalen: Jaylin

Jason: Jayson

Josiah: Joziah

Lauren: Lauryn

Xavier: Xzavier

Double or half the consonants

One of the most common ways to modify the spelling of a girl baby name is to add or remove one or more of the consonants within the name. In many cases, adding an H seals the deal.

Alana: Alanna, Alannah

Aubrianna: Aubriana

Ava: Avah

Braelyn: Braelynn

Eliana: Elianna

Emmalyn: Emmalynn

Giselle: Gisselle

Janiyah: Janiya

Liliana: Lilianna, Lilliana, Lillianna

Madison: Maddison

There is a drawback

When it comes to baby name spellings, there really are no hard and fast rules, but keep one thing in mind. Your modifications may make your baby’s name personal and unique, but that kid may also end up spending a lot of time correcting people who misspell it. You decide if it’s worth it!

A version of this story was originally published in December 2013.