Twenty years ago I would have picked Zachary, but every class in kiddoeaddi’s school years had at least one, often mulitple Zacharies.
[Peevish Old Lady Observation] I’d also steer clear of all the “J” names too, if it were me (I know it isn’t, but you did ask ). My workplace has a Josh, a Justin, a Joel, two Jeffs, a Jennifer and a Jamie. Nice people, all, but I still get 'em mixed up. Sheesh, were a bunch of pages stuck together in the 1980 edition of “What to Name Your Baby,” or what? [/POLO]
Maybe you and the Mister could compromise and name him William Zachary Lastname? Or Zachary William Lastname? Then you could switch to Zach if he turns out not to be a Bill, or vice versa.
Heh, you’d have a daughter named Abigal and a son named Zachary – A & Z.
It probably makes me a terrible person, but I’d steer clear of J names for another reason: I worked in a Special ed preschool where 1/2 of the boys had J names, and 4 of them had the same name. I realize it’s dumb to be supersitious of something like that, but… (not to mention a memorable question from my brother years before wanting to know if I knew why every kid he knew with a particular J name was stupid!)
Since you live in the “State of Jefferson” how about William Jefferson Whateveryersurnameis? WJ is pretty much safe from ridicule and it sounds impressive. He can call himself Bill, Will, or Jeff. You may recall a US president not too long ago that had this pair of names.
Both Joshua and Zachary are trendy right now (just FYI, if that figures into the decision).
I’d personally choose William. I think it’s lovely to name children after relatives. I’m not a fan of the nickname Bill, but there are a lot of other ways to go with nicknames (I like Will).
Oh, and I have to chime in about the J names, too. In high school, we had a running joke about people with J names. We called them “jotas” (the Spanish name for the letter j), and believe me, it was meant in a derogatory fashion. The idea being that people with J names were generic and boring because there are so many of them.
William Thomas is my grandfather in law’s name and my nephew’s name. Personally I think William is too popular right now.
I like Joshua better because I adore the nickname Josh.
Zachary is also a very good choice. I know a four year with this name. His parents tell me they’ve never regretted chosing it. It suits the little boychick quite well.
William is a bit too common, and has several potentially derogatory nicknames. Zachary will be shortened to Zack, which evokes some talentless 15 year old playing a middle schooler on a Disney Channel show. I’d go with Joshua.
Another vote for William/Will. I’ve always liked names (1) that the child can “grow into” (I have a hard time picturing an 80-year-old Tiffany) and (2) that have a “formal” version and the possibility for nicknames (mine does not, ick). So he can be “William” on the company letterhead and “Will” to his friends.
My son’s name is Zachary. I pushed for it, she agreed. This was 14 years ago, and it was very much not trendy then. By the time he was about 4, the town was thick with Zacharys ( and the appalling perversion, " Zackary " )
William? Only if he’s heir to the British Crown. Joshua is a lovely name.
I like Joshua and William. William is a strong name that fits a lot of boys well. Joshua is good because even though it seems kind of trendy now, it is still rare. Believe me, I am a Joshua. I had never met another in school, and I don’t know any other adult Joshuas right now. I like my rare name. Your son may also like it. Joshua Matthew sounds pretty good.
). My workplace has a Josh, a Justin, a Joel, two Jeffs, a Jennifer and a Jamie. Nice people, all, but I still get 'em mixed up. Sheesh, were a bunch of pages stuck together in the 1980 edition of “What to Name Your Baby,” or what? [/POLO]
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