My wife gave birth to our beautiful baby boy on 23rd August. The name we went for was Alex, as it was a name we both liked. We will be going into town to register the birth tomorrow. Until now I assumed we would be registering his first name as Alexander. However my wife has just told me she wants to simply call him Alex. Now neither one of us can agree on which is best!
I said calling him Alexander sounds more distinguished. Also, I’m sure he’ll get called Alex anyway by most people. Also, it will be handy to use his full name if he is being naughty. You can say “Alexander, stop that!”.
I’ll put it to you for your opinions… what name would you go for? 
The surname is Armstrong in case it helps.
I agree with you on Alexander. Not only do you have the full name to use when he’s in trouble (make sure he’s got a good middle name, too, so you can throw that in when he’s in BIG trouble), but when he decides to rebel and change his name, he can call himself Zander or Xan or something. Everybody’s happy.
I’d go for the full name and then call him the shorter version. It gives him more options when he’s older. For example, my son’s legal name is Samuel, and everyone calls him Sam. However, if he grows up and becomes a lawyer, having that full formal name might come in handy.
Just don’t make the mistake some of our friends did. They named their daughter “Sasha Alexandria”. Oops … .
I also agree that Alexander is better. It gives him more options when he’s older, and clearly indicates his gender (I know quite a few women named Alex).
Speaking as someone who almost always goes by the shortened version of my name my whole life, I’m happy to have the long version as an option in the grown up world. Even though I like it, my shortened name is sort of is a stripper name, so it’s nice to have another option. Oh, the short name is one that is simultaneously a stripper name for ladies and a name for Hispanic men. So, long name is definitely more feminine. . . and less stripperish.
That’s weird- you don’t strike me a Candi at all…
Another benefit of giving him a longer “formal” first name- when he’s a teenager, his little emo girlfriends can call him by it to make themselves appear to be special to him and very close. Spoken as a mother of a Jamison that goes by Jamie.
Go for the full name. Everyone is going to assume a boy or man called Alex has the full name Alexander anyway, and it will save him the trouble of explaining that he’s ‘just Alex.’
Alexander. Because people will assume all his life that his name is Alexander. Even when you prefer your short name, it’s less frustrating to be called by your full name than it is to be called by the wrong name. People will call him Alexander regardless and those who would continue to call him Alexander after you or he tell them you/he prefers Alex will also continue to call him Alexander regardless of whether or not it’s actually his name.
This is what I was thinking. Most people will call him Alex, but there will be plenty of situations - school, for example - where people will want to use the “official” or “full” version of his name, and he’ll have to explain that “Alex” is his full name. And he’ll probably have a hard time making people believe him until he’s an adult.
Both my sons are known by nicknames based on their middle names. We did that intentionally to give them good names for kid’s, that have traditional long forms, and an alternate name (their first) to be used later in life if they so chose. This happened accidentally with my older brother, but worked out well for him. He chose to go with his first name in college, and carried that forward. For my older son, we were able to use a more fanciful middle name, which gives him a really cool nickname. The point of this though, was to provide flexibility. Their full three part names sound distinquished, and they have a choice of two different traditional long form names, and two different nicknames. It also gives them a story to tell.
Another vote for the longer, formal name. If you have a common last name, I would also recommend a variation of the spelling of the first name. Like Alexandor. I have known plenty of people who have had credit snafus with people with identical names.
My last name is an odd spelling of a common surname. internet searches tell me that I am only one of three people in the country with my first and last name. And my first name is very common name and spelling.
My name isn’t as unique as “Alexandor,” but it’s pretty unique. I can assure you: I’ve had to send many a letter to the credit agencies to get my shit straightened out because some moron typed my name in “Angelica” or “Angelina.” I’m the only one with my first and last name, if the internet can be believed, but that comes with its problems, too.
Yeah as one who was christianed Matti, everyone asumes I am a Matthew. PIA when IDs don’t match with some stupid bank system!
But hey Matti is a cool name!
I say go for the long name, but then I’m biased. Both of my kids are named this way: Kathryn (Kate) and William (Will). I like that it gives them options.
If I found out that someone’s name was just a nickname and they had no “official” full name, I would assume their parents were hillbillies honestly. While Alex is not quite Billy Bob, generally only hillbillies use nicknames as their kid’s full official name.
I have an uncle Don and a friend named Danny. These are the names on their birth certificates. Everyone assumes that their real names are Donald and Daniel, and they’ve had to correct people all their lives. I vote for naming the baby Alexander and calling him Alex.
A vote against this. Why give the kid the unnecessary burden of having to explain how to spell his name all the time? Instead, give him an unusual MIDDLE name that he can choose to use or not to use, and you pretty much get the best of both worlds. I know this, since my RL name is the equivalent of Jane Splurfendeister Smith.
My husband’s last name is a bit of a chore to spell, and as his wife I get to participate in the hassles he experiences as a result. Having seen firsthand how the world works with an easy-to-spell name and a hard-to-spell name, I much prefer the former. The nice thing about a weird middle name is that it can be used at one’s discretion; I’m just Jane S. Smith or Jane Smith when I want to keep things simple or have a low profile. When I want to make sure the whole world knows that yes, I was the one that wrote the paper/ran the department/won the award, I make sure to be listed as Jane Splurfendeister Smith.
Name him Alexander. If your wife continues to disagree, have her declared an unfit mother and sue for full custody. Or, if that fails, tell her you’ll give her an ice cream sandwich if she lets you name him Alexander. Everyone likes a nice ice cream sandwich.
Alexander. Don’t burden your kid with half a name.
My son happens to be an Alexander called Alex.
Another vote for Alexander, and a plea to NOT get creative with the spelling. The gender explanation thing and the versatility are my reasons to go formal, as well as the “when you’re bad” name. Plus it just flows better when they announce him as president.
How is your wife going to react when she finds out she is outvoted? Will she listen to reason? She’ll still get to call him Alex all she wants, and I think it is important to let husbands have a say in naming their kids.