St John

[hofficoffi]

St John (pro:Sinjun) is a family name. (Dads name, Grandads name, great Grand dads etc) I only have sisters so no one in my generation has the name.

Do you think we could use it as a fn?

[SuzysZoo]

He'll have a lifetime of explaining why he is not called St John (pronounced St John) though won't he? I'd say only 50% of the population knows how to pronounce it correctly. Lovely family connection though. What do Dad, Grandad say about having to explain how to say it? Maybe it's not as tricky/unknown as I think.....

[OTheHugeRaveningWolef]

It's a lovely name, but it always makes me think of that creepy guy in Jane Eyre

[greenzebra]

Always makes me think of 80's TV 'Airwolf' St John was the pilot! His brother was Stringfellow. lol

I think its a cool name, nice family tradition. Do the other St Johns have problems with pronoucing?

[greenzebra]

Sorry got that round the wrong way Stringfellow was the pilot and St John was his brother. Really wanted to know that didnt you.

[FreckledLeopard]

Reminds me of Four Weddings and a Funeral when the trainee priest is conducting the ceremony and gets all the names wrong.

I love fairly unique names though, and if you send him to Eton then it'll be fine!

[TheMitfordsMaid]

Hmm, not sure. But I love your name - I hoffi coffi too.

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

I think it's a great name actually. Presumably your male relations have survived the having to explain it bit, so go for it. (I think of Rowan Atkinson too :))

[poppydaisy]

I think your reasons for choosing it are lovely. Yes, the pronunciation isn't intuitive, but so is that of lots of names (e.g. Siobhan, etc). Most people will remember if you explain it to them. Sinjun sounds quite cool, actually.

[poppydaisy]

Yes, what about your dad - does he have problems with people mispronouncing his name?

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

The pronunciation of the Irish name Siobhan is intuitive if you're Irish! :)

[Ihavewelliesbutitssunny]

I think it would always need a lot of explaining. I also think its quite a high expectation on a child to put St infront of their name. Perhaps as a mn would be better.

[Cortina]

Is it always pronounced 'Sin Jin? Does the same apply when its' a surname? The writer Lauren St John is Lauren St John (Saint John) I believe.

[LetThereBeRock]

Personally I wouldn't. It's a dreadful name. Fine as a middle name but not as a first,plus I'm not generally fan of using the same name over and over again through the generations.

[ErnesttheBavarian]

love it, yes, use it, why not? Unless you live somewhere really rough mind.

[fedupofnamechanging]

Personally I dislike it and think your child will spend his whole childhood telling people how to pronounce it. Just because something is a family name, it doesn't automatically follow that it's a great choice for you.

I think you should truly love whatever name you choose for your baby. If you do, then fair enough, but don't saddle a child with something awful out of a sense of duty or tradition.

[TeelaBrown]

I personally wouldn't use it as a first-name, but I'm all for family names and would use it before your surname. It's certainly not a dreadful name [hmmm]

I have only ever met one person with a 'St' name as a first name, and I don't really know how to put this, but... it very much depends on your social circles/ what type of school your son will go to as to what people will think of it.

Basically, at one of the major public schools, no-one will bat an eyelid. At the local comprehensive, you will come across as desperately aspirational and it will be a source of embarrassment to the child.

Sorry if that was too clumsy . I'm only referring to the first-name scenario here btw, don't think anyone is going to give two hoots if it's a middle-name.

[Meteorite]

It's very stereotypically posh and may attract negative teasing for this reason.

[poppydaisy]

"It's very stereotypically posh and may attract negative teasing for this reason."

What is teaseworthy about a 'posh' name? Only someone jealous would find it teaseworthy imo. At our local primary there are all sorts of names, 'posh', 'chav', foreign and made up names - generally the kids couldn't care less what the names of their mates are, they are pretty open-minded . (unlike some adults it appears).

[Meteorite]

What is teaseworthy about a 'posh' name?

Nothing, although St John isn't just posh, it's extremely so.

Some people will assume that the name was given pretentiously or for reasons of one-upmanship, and will say "why couldn't they just pick a normal name like everyone else?"

[mayanna123]

I have a St John in the distant family - once you learn the pronunciation, it's generally not a problem imo.

I like your reason for choosing it and like the fact that it's an interesting name that isn't in the top 10 or so (yawn). I think we should all be encouraging more name diversity - makes life much more interesting !

[poppydaisy]

"Some people will assume that the name was given pretentiously"

Well, firstly that is their problem and secondly, they'll soon realise that this wasn't the case in the case of the op.

[Meteorite]

"Well, firstly that is their problem and secondly, they'll soon realise that this wasn't the case in the case of the op."

Maybe they'll realise, or maybe they'll just keep the assumptions they made. It's a name which I'm afraid some people are bound to find slightly ridiculous, unless you're only going to move in fairly posh circles, just as names described as "chv" on here will probably get a negative reaction unless you're only going to move in "chv" circles. Oh and I'm just describing what I think is the likely result of choosing this name, so don't shoot the messenger!