Please help us name DS! Theodore, Josiah or.... ?

[Pleasesleep]

We are rapidly running out of time on DS's name and are no further forward than before he was born! I have nc as about to completely out myself :o

The 2 names we like at the moment are Theodore (Ted / Teddy / Theo as nn) or Josiah (Joss (y) or Jed as nn).
DD is Madeleine and our surname starts with a B ends in Y and is 2 syllables!

My worry with Theodore is that its too long / formal to use day to day and he would end up always being Ted. I like that DD is known as Madeleine at nursery etc but Maddie by friends/family.
DH likes that both names have a few different options with nn's so if DS doesn't like one he can choose.

Is Josiah too biblical - I wonder if Theodore is more widely accepted and would be less of a potential problem when hes a teen? But then I dislike the popularity of Theo - just how popular is it?
We've had some fairly negative reactions to Josiah from family which I think has put me off a bit.

What do you think of them? Any suggestions of alternatives?

[MrsTrellisOfSouthWales]

I prefer Josiah, but then I have biblically named children and like the West Wing

[MrsTrellisOfSouthWales]

Edward for Ted?

[OliviaLMumsnet]

What mrs Trellis said
What about Josiah Theodore and he could be Jed (Swoon)

[OliviaLMumsnet]

PS CONGRATS ON HAVING HIM

[Littlecherublegs]

I prefer Theodore and think Theo is lovely. Im not sure how popular it is, I only know one (who is 5).
Not keen on Josiah though I imagine this is a lot less popular.

Other suggestions of biblical and/or long-ish names which can be shortened:
Zachary / Zacharias
Benjamin / Benedict
Maximus / Maximillian
Jacob
Dominic
Lawrence
Issac
Elijah
William / Wilbur / Wilfred
Alexander / Xander
Malachi
Christopher / Christian
Nathaniel
Xavier
Tobias

[SPsFanjoLovesChanningTatum]

Jed?

[Tiago]

To be honest, I love them both. Theodore means 'gift from god', and Josiah means 'the lord saves' - so not much difference there.

[Pleasesleep]

Also, can anyone think of nicknames/shortenings they might be given/we can use for either name (in case any we haven't thought of that we love or hate make the decision easier)?

[Emmeric]

Love Theo and don't think it's popular at all.
Whatever nn you give him, that's what people will use. All the different nn's sound like completely different names to me, I think the name Ted is completely different to Theo. They also could be stand alone names. Having Theodore as the 'Sunday name' though gives you (and him obviously!) options for the future.
I do like Josiah too, what about Jonah?
Congratulations by the way!

[littlemissbroody26]

I'm think big american family with 18 kids and extream christian veiws when i think of Josiah.. sorry.

I love Theodore, we have it high up on our list of boys names, we live in sweden so they dont sound the "th" sound its a hard "t" sound so the nn would be TEE-O. I am put of by the gift from god meaning but i like the sound of the name :)

[Stellan]

Josiah - it's more interesting than Theodore which, like you, I'm really fond of but it is a little too commonplace for me to really go, 'Wow!' when I hear it. It's a nice Biblical name, unusual but reasonably well-known because of The West Wing and Wedgwood, and lends itself to a range of nicknames. It fits in, but stands a bit apart from, other popular choices like Elijah and Joseph, Jonah and Tobias. But, then again, I have a bit of a weakness for names like Isaiah and Obadiah... I can't say they're names I'd personally use but I like the way they sound.

You could always use Edward, Edgar, Edmund, Edison, Theobald, Theophilus, Thaddeus, Edwin to get to Ted, some of which I'd recommend more than others!

[Jackie432]

Theodore is a great name IMO!

[VolAuVent]

Love both Josiah and Theodore :)

There's no such thing as "too Biblical". A name is either in the Bible or it isn't.

I'd go for Joe or Theo as nicknames, possibly Jed. I find Ted/Teddy too twee and Joss is a bit unisex (Joss stone).

[TribbleWithoutACause]

I love Josiah, DS would have been that if friend didn't get there first.

[Pleasesleep]

Thanks for all the responses everyone - think we are going to go with Theodore as we both seem to be leaning towards it slightly more and we're running out of time :o

Would Josiah work as a middle name? Or is Theodore Josiah too much? We liked Simon as a middle name after my late dad but will Theodore Simon make everyone think of the chipmunks?! I can see that causing problems for him - DH thinks it will be fine because the names are widely used apart from the chipmunks, its not like we're calling him Theodore Alvin!!

Also like Theodore Hugo...

Any opinions? Thank you all :)

[5madthings]

i love Theodore, but may be biased as i have one! (he is almost 13) and has always been the only one in his age group, he is known as theo mostly but when little we called him Theodorable! he doesnt like that nickname so much anymore! :(

and Theodore Josiah works fine, i prefer that to simon.

[Pleasesleep]

Thanks.. I think I do too. A friend said it sounded a bit too "regal". Then again is there such a thing as "too" regal :o

Love Theodorable.. Think that may stick :o

[5madthings]

yes i was told theodore was regal or too posh by my mil, but then she would have had us call him gordon! i know which i prefer!

and theodorable is a great nickname! he also got the 'o' man ,or teo and a huge variety of others, i think its a good name precisely becaue there are lots of diminutives, there is bound to be something that just fitsa nd they have plenty of choice when older :)

[VolAuVent]

Theodore Josiah is fabulous. Theodore Hugo very nice also.

[Pleasesleep]

5madthings: I agree about lots of choice - I hate my name - and there are very few available options to shorten it to. I hope he will like Theodore but if not there are so many different shortenings he should like at least one!

Oh no... I can see us struggling to choose the middle now! How do people manage to pick the name before its even born?! We need far more time than that! Obviously far more decisive than us.

[5madthings]

we never chose any of ours names before they were born, we had a list and ds2's name wasnt even on the list, nor was ds3's or dd's! ds1 had a name by the time he was 4 days old? ds2 was a week, ds3 was named very shortly after birth, it just came to me nad hadnt been on our list! ds4 took a fortnight! and dd took a good week or so as well! my mil was furious with us, she thought you should have one boys name and one girls name picked out and then just give them that, whereas dp and i are in the wait and see what they look/seem like camp!

[scummymummy]

I like middle names with family meaning and would go with Simon for your dad. I don't think people would automatically think chipmunk. I wouldn't!

[KosherBacon]

We've chosen Theon for a boy, which can be shortened to Theo too. I read it and my heart jumped, I emailed the suggestion to DH and he loved it too. It's just a little bit different to Theodore but just as cool. I think we might go for Theon Elliot if it's a boy. No idea what we will call a girl though.

[PicklesThePottyMouthedParrot]

I know a Theo, its a really nice NN.