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Ari for Zachariah and Ian for Damian / Adrian make sense to me, the others don't really seem intuitive to me. Maybe Reno if you're pronouncing it RHEN-O but not if it's REE-no like the town. Similarly if Gene doesn't make much sense since Genesis starts with JEN and Gene is GEEN.

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Ari for Zachariah - Ari doesn't make me think of Zachariah in the slightest. The only connection I see between the names is that Zachariah contains "ari." They sound nothing alike, though.

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Ian for Damian, Adrian, and other -ian names - Ian is so well-known as a full name that I think it seems odd as a nickname.

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Reno for Lorenzo - If Reno is pronounced REN-o rather than REE-no in this case, it could work. Reno (REE-no) doesn't sound like the -renzo part of Lorenzo, so I wouldn't recommend it as a nickname for Lorenzo. I automatically think of the city in Nevada and casinos when I see Reno. I would be more inclined to use Renzo or Enzo as a nickname for Lorenzo.

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Axel for Maxwell - I know them as two completely different names. If I wanted the nickname Axel so badly, I would just use Axel as a full name.

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Silver for Silvester - It works.

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Alis for Alister - People might think of the girls' name Alice, but Alis works as a nickname for Alister.

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Gene for Genesis - Gene doesn't sound like the beginning of Genesis, so I think it seems odd as a nickname for Genesis. Gen (pronounced like Jen) and Genny / Gennie (pronounced like Jenny) make more sense.

I've considered using Ian as a nickname for Sebastian, so I think that one works fine. I also don't mind Silver for Silvester. The others don't really work, imo.

Ari doesn't make sense. It's zacha-RYE-a
Ian is too artificial. I address a guy with an -ian name every day and calling him Ian would be the phoniest thing ever. Like calling a Brendan "Dan" or a Brandon "Don."
Reno from Lorenzo makes no sense to me.
Axel from Maxwell also seems very artificial because Max is right there
Silver from Sylvester makes sense to me and isn't too artificial
Alis from Alister also makes sense
Gene from Genesis seems artificial, but Gen from Genesis isn't since the vowel sound matches.

This message was edited 12/27/2012, 9:56 AM

The only ones I like are Ari and Ian.

Ari -- I wouldnt use it, personally, I dont really like the name.
Ian -- I think it works as a nn, because some names that end in -ian, dont have any other nns so that works.
Reno -- I actually like it.
Axel -- certainly unique...but I think its a stretch as most people wouldnt guess what his name really was.
Silver -- I have considered this before, I really love it. I love the sound of Silver (I do like the metal silver a lot, too, lol), and I think it provides a decent nn for the long Sylvester.
Alis -- sounds like a girls name (Alice) and, in fact, is the Welsh version of the name Alice...so no I dont like it.
Gene -- a stetch. Genesis is pronounced like Jen not Gene...so I dont think it works.

Even though all the letters are there, most seem like stretches, because you don't pronounce the longer names in a way that makes the nickname come naturally.

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(Like, Genesis is JEN-ə-sis, not JEEN-ə-sis. I don't know about everyone else, but I pronounce Ian by itself differently than the way I pronounce the end of -ian names.)

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The ones I could see work is Ian (I've thought about that one myself) and Silver.
The others are just forced and a bit odd.

Ari- the full name ends with a long i sound, not long e, but it does look like it could work when you see the names written down.
Ian- okay
Reno- Ren would be better imo
Axel- seems odd to use the ends of the syllables, but I guess it could work, especially if you want to honor both a Maxwell and an Axel
Silver- works, but why would you want the nn silver?
Alis- too feminine for a male name
Gene- if Genesis is a boy- yes, if a girl- no.

Gene for Genesis I don't find that unusual though i guess Genny is more common - although Genesis is a pretty unsual name in itself.
The only one I don't see working Ari for Zachariah, the ari sound in the name just isn't prominent enough to make it plausible, plus Zach is just too common.
I absolutely love Silver for Silvester and would use it myself if my family didn't think Silvester was such a ridiculous name - or it had connotations with the animated cat.
Alis for Alister is too feminine and close to Alice for my liking, plus I just really like Ali.
As for the others I could see them working, especially Ian.

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I think they all sound forced and odd, especially since they're all completely separate names (or places, in one case).