# Baby boy's name dilemma **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 31, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189 "2010-08-31T22:16:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/21 "2010-09-01T00:56:56Z")
Alexander. The historical connection alone mandates it ;). I was named after my father’s uncle, who was a “Nick.” My father was fine with just plain Nick ( which is what I use 98% of the time ), but mother insisted on a full Serbian first name to match my surname and I ended up a “Nikola.” I didn’t appreciate it when I was young, but I do now and I’m glad she insisted. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/22 "2010-09-01T01:05:33Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Alexander. The historical connection alone mandates it ;). > > I was named after my father’s uncle, who was a “Nick.” My father was fine with just plain Nick ( which is what I use 98% of the time ), but mother insisted on a full Serbian first name to match my surname and I ended up a “Nikola.” I didn’t appreciate it when I was young, but I do now and I’m glad she insisted. Just say it - ‘Alexander is a great name’ ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/23 "2010-09-01T01:32:03Z")
Plus, with the longer name, you can shorten it to Alex, Sandy, Xander, etc. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/24 "2010-09-01T01:33:47Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Another vote for Alexander, and a plea to NOT get creative with the spelling. Another vote. My recommendations on names are three: 1. When you say the name, people should have a good idea how to spell it. You don’t want a name where you have to say it, and immediately start to spell it because no one will believe that’s how it’s really spelled. 2. When you see the name spelled, you should be able to pronounce it correctly. 3. It should withstand a sixth graders attempts to make fun of it. My brother claims that is impossible. But why name a girl Nefertiti when you know that she will go through middle school? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/25 "2010-09-01T01:42:51Z")
aleksei? alexis? go with alexander. always give the kidlet options, or they may just change it totally as soon as they can. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/26 "2010-09-01T01:46:24Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > 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. This is, quite possibly, the worse advice I’ve ever seen on these boards. I doubt it will stop “credit snafus”, and is combined with an almost zero likelyhood of ever having anything addressed correctly in the first place. A non-standard spelling for a sound, logical reason is indistinguishable from a non-standard spelling because you’re a dumbass who doesn’t know any better and people will assume it’s a result of the latter, not the former. I vote for the longer name because I have a “shortened” name as my full legal name and I’ve always wished I had the longer version. Half the time people just assume and call me by the long version anyway. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/27 "2010-09-01T02:08:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@Tamerlane](#): > > > > Alexander. The historical connection alone mandates it ;). > > > > I was named after my father’s uncle, who was a “Nick.” My father was fine with just plain Nick ( which is what I use 98% of the time ), but mother insisted on a full Serbian first name to match my surname and I ended up a “Nikola.” I didn’t appreciate it when I was young, but I do now and I’m glad she insisted. > > Just say it - ‘Alexander is a great name’ yeah my son got Niklas, he is called Nick but we wanted the Finnish spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/28 "2010-09-01T02:14:50Z")
Here’s a compromise: Xander. And if you have a girl next you can call her Zabeth. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/29 "2010-09-01T02:47:50Z")
Go for the formal name. Anecdote: I have a fairly popular-at-the-time name that, for most of us who bear it, got shortened. As a young adult entering the workforce, I quickly grew tired of being Nickname S. and began using the formal version. Now I stand out a bit among others with my first name and still use two other options among family and friends. On the other hand, my BFF received not only a shortened first name, but a shortened middle name. As common as her shortened version is, she still always has to spell it, because people assume that it’s the formal version, which in itself has several spellings/versions. I like my options better. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/30 "2010-09-01T03:34:26Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > 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**. Don’t do this. Alexandor = parents too stupid to know how to spell. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/31 "2010-09-01T03:35:52Z")
Another vote for Alexander over just Alex. A close friend named her son Ben. Not Benjamin. However, every scrap of paper sent home from school (usually from the truant officer, but that’s neither here nor there) said Benjamin. His mom gave up correcting the school after his sophomore year. She does regret not giving him a “full” name. When we named TheKid it was done so she would have a nickname and a decent “Oooh, you pulled out the full name, I know I’m in trouble” version. Of course, I prefer to say she has a nickname and a nice professional sounding name for later in life. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/32 "2010-09-01T03:56:18Z")
Alexander. Spell it correctly. Call him Alex. PLEASE. I’ve always wished I had a formal, “grown-up” version of my name. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/33 "2010-09-01T03:57:50Z")
Another vote for the long version. Alexander is a great name, and you can always call him Alex. Don’t go with any creative spelling, though. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/34 "2010-09-01T04:01:39Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Alexander. The historical connection alone mandates it ;). > > I was named after my father’s uncle, who was a “Nick.” My father was fine with just plain Nick ( which is what I use 98% of the time ), but mother insisted on a full Serbian first name to match my surname and I ended up a “Nikola.” I didn’t appreciate it when I was young, but I do now and I’m glad she insisted. I got “Niklas”, from the swedish great grandfather. 🙂 Nice to have.. its been a conversation starter all my life, and lets me tell some cool family stories. I am, on the other hand, constantly correcting spelling, both long form and short form, as many assume its “Nik”. Nope. A “C” magically pops in when I shorten it, just like the “K” does for the Nicholas’ of the world. So, yeah. Alexander all the way. Hurts nothing, gives options, saves explanation time. ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/35 "2010-09-01T04:37:51Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > 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. 😃 Seriously, when my daughter was born (we didn’t know the sex in advance by choice) we already had a girl name picked out (my great grandmother’s name which both dad and I loved and had already picked for our son’s birth 7 yrs before in case he was a girl..he wasn’t)… we had a HELL of a time agreeing on a boy name! Everything I would propose, dad shot down. I hated all his suggestions as well. We finally settled on William (he grudgingly…he argued that people would call him willie or bill and I countered that people would call him whatever he went by, like will or william (or liam, which was the name I actually wanted, william was my compromise;)) My midwife whispered to me as I was in labor, “I will put whatever name you want on the birth certificate. He’ll get over it. (my husband) did.” (she and her husband, our Dr., had 5 boys…imagine the issues over names:eek:) It didn’t come to that and I swear I would have stuck to the agreed upon name (william sage) had she been a boy, but I tend to agree that in general, the MOM, you know, the one gestating the kid for 10 lunar months, pushing it out of her tender bits and (often) nursing and caring for it most of the time for the initial period, gets the final say. All that said, on THIS one, I agree with you, dad. Give the kid a full, proper name (and a good middle name as well). The more flexibility the better. She can always call him just Alex (same as I intended to call MY son, had she been one, just Liam:D) ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/36 "2010-09-01T05:25:39Z")
Hmm…Alexander is a great name, but do you really wanna call your son “AA”? Good nick name, but playing the acronym game not so fun for him. As an advantage, you can guarantee he will always be the first name on the teachers attendance roll ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/37 "2010-09-01T06:12:39Z")
I didn’t notice the surname before. Alexander Armstrong is a fabulous name. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/38 "2010-09-01T06:51:51Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > I’d go for the full name and then call him the shorter version. It gives him more options when he’s older. This. There’ll be no problem using nothing but “Alex” if you wish; register him that way at school, etc. but leave another option on the birth certificate. I’ve a nephew Max which could be short for several fun names (Maxwell, Maximilian, or even Maxfield, Maximos). I felt they made a mistake when they put just Max on the birth certificate. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/39 "2010-09-01T06:58:23Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > 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. God, NO. That will not avoid the credit snafus (believe me, BTDT, didn’t bother buy a TS, and I still want First National to explain how could they mistake that name for mine) but it will cause a lot of trouble when people keep misspelling his name. Another vote for “Alexander on paper, Alex in usage”. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189/40 "2010-09-01T07:22:32Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > 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. Blegh. They’re naming a person, not creating an email address. Might as well call him Alexander34. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-boys-name-dilemma/552189.md?page=3)