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Do we not have more baby boys called Kit because people don't like Christopher?

48 replies

persephoneplum · 19/01/2013 06:25

So DH and I have decided against Kit for our baby boy - mainly because of the downer feeling of using Christopher which we don't love and do not wish anyone to call him at any point in his life. It's a family name which we will joyfully use in the middle, but not as a first name, no matter how much we love the nickname Kit.

He will get people looking at his license and calling him Christopher, phone calls in official capacities where people will ask for Christopher and we just can't bear the thought of it - so Kit is out.

I'm a little upset actually, but we have a wonderful first name we're both happy with and has the cool vibe we're looking for.

I'm just wondering how many of you had a close call with using Kit, but backed out because you didn't want to use Kit as a full name, nor did you want to use Christopher. I always notice the extreme popularity of Kit here on the forums, but rarely hear of anyone actually using the name. Is this the reason?

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exoticfruits · 19/01/2013 06:28

I think that Christopher is a lovely name! I don't like Kit at all- in fact the only reason I didn't use it was that it was bound to be shortened.

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persephoneplum · 19/01/2013 06:32

I guess that's just our personal preferences swapped around - you like the full name but not the nicknames. I also have many names like this (Frederick is one that comes to mind).

I think Christopher is handsome and a very suitable middle name for our baby boy, but it just doesn't fit with our usual first name style.

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exoticfruits · 19/01/2013 06:36

It is unfortunate that you just have to rule out some names you like. We had to ditch some just because they didn't go with the surname. Edward was a first choice of mine but not used because I can't stand the short forms.

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meditrina · 19/01/2013 06:39

I think you are projecting your dislike of the name onto the wider community: I like it.

If do not want your DS ever to be called by a variant of the name you choose, do be careful to choose something that doesn't have several nns (or any at all). But even with that precaution, you had better steel yourself for the possibility of a nn that you have not previously approved appearing spontaneously.

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persephoneplum · 19/01/2013 06:42

Yeah, it's been really really hard to let this one go, because I've dreamed of having a son called Kit for a few decades.

But it's crunch time and we're admitting that using Christopher is a pretty big compromise stylistically, for us.

All my boys have/will have more conservative family middle names and less common (for Australia) first names. We don't mind going blander in the middle as we know how little those names are used and it means a lot to family.

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persephoneplum · 19/01/2013 06:45

meditrina - no, it's just a theory, which I'm asking whether is mostly correct or not amongst this particular population here on Mumsnet.

It's a very different thing to say you like the name in abstract, to being a few weeks off giving birth and really weighing up what you do and don't want and then naming an actual human that name... or not.

I still haven't heard from anyone who has actually been at the same point with Kit/Christopher. Will be interesting to see what they say.

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AKissIsNotAContract · 19/01/2013 06:45

Why didn't you just call him kit? I had no idea kit was short for Christopher before reading this. Sounds daft to me but if you like it then go for it.

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persephoneplum · 19/01/2013 06:47

Kit is not a name I'd use as a full name - it's too informal for our liking. It's a nickname. We all have formal names and nicknames and we love it that way :)

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StrawberryMojito · 19/01/2013 06:50

I'm a fan of both Christoher and Kit. I would consider Christopher as a name were it not for the fact that our surname is too long and we already have one in the family.

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legallyblond · 19/01/2013 07:27

I'm not sure. I like Christopher but def not Kit (for a boy - I think it's ok for a girl). In my very personal view, I wouldn't "lumber" a bot with Kit! It's horses for courses! Christopher is lovely.

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ZooAnimals · 19/01/2013 07:37

I think Christopher is fine, but wouldn't use it as I think there are nicer and more interesting names.

I definitely wouldn't use Kit. If I had a Christopher he would be Christopher when he was little and Chris as a nn when he got older.

I think we don't have more baby boys called Kit because people don't like the name Kit. It's girly sounding and it's a noun name.

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alwaysawake · 19/01/2013 07:37

If you're set on the nickname Kit, why not just choose a different 'formal' name for it - Christian, Beckett, Kitson? Or call him anything but still nickname him Kit - know loads of people whose nn has nothing to do with their first name.

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Partridge · 19/01/2013 07:41

Those were exactly our thoughts. Love kit, not keen on Christopher (hate Chris). Kit was very hard for me to relinquish but in the end just really, really couldn't live with Christopher.

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GirlOutNumbered · 19/01/2013 07:45

I have a friend called Kit. His full name is Christian.

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persephoneplum · 19/01/2013 07:48

alwaysawake - my dad's name is Christopher, which is a biggie for us - we really wanted to use it (and will in the middle spot) to honour him. We couldn't use another name.

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ZooAnimals · 19/01/2013 07:52

You could have a different first name in order to get Kit and Christopher as a middle name to honour your dad.

Christian Christopher - a bit mad, but quite funky
Beckett Christopher
Kitson Christopher

What other names have Kit as nn?

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GlaikitFizzog · 19/01/2013 07:53

I work with a kitson, he gets kit. I don't think Kit is the "go to" nn for Christopher, Chris would be the automatic nn, and I also know a topher! Until I MNd I didn't know Kit was short for Christopher. So I think that has more to do with there being less Kits than simply people not liking Christopher.

Chrostopher isn't the only name you can use to get the NN Kit.

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AThingInYourLife · 19/01/2013 08:04

In some parts of Dublin the "go to" nn for Christopher is Git. :o

I love both Christopher and Kit.

I think if you use a nn that is not an easy shortening of the long name (Beth, Harry, Posy), people are not likely to use the full name.

Not giving your child a name you love because if what someone might say when he gets his passport checked in the future is seriously weird.

Does it really matter that some imagined future bureaucrat thinks you are cool?

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HoratiaWinwood · 19/01/2013 08:08

I agree with the OP mostly. I think Christopher is fairly dated now so although Kit is very now, choosing a birth certificate name to go with it is trickier. We also considered Christian but gave up in the end.

We also didn't want to be barred from using a Kitty name for a hypothetical DC3 if a DD. Lots more Kit- choice for girls!

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TheYamiOfYawn · 19/01/2013 08:14

We loved Kit, but as we aren't Christian, felt that Christopher wasn't really a suitable name. We considered Kester and Caspar instead, but our baby was a girl, so it wasn't an issue in the end.

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FreddieMercurysBolero · 19/01/2013 08:17

Was just about to mention what Athin said - I know several Gits, but no Kits!

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AThingInYourLife · 19/01/2013 08:44

"I think Christopher is fairly dated now so although Kit is very now"

Confused

This is a name a person will have for maybe the next 95 years.

Choosing a name that is "now" is an odd approach.

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MackerelOfFact · 19/01/2013 09:03

I think Kit isn't popular purely because it's a pretty awful, faddy, trying-hard-to-be-edgy name. And makes the poor child sound like it requires self-assembly. Or at least in my opinion.

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persephoneplum · 19/01/2013 09:17

Whatevs Mackerel - I'd bet ten bucks I wouldn't like your most-loved names either, but I wouldn't be that rude about them.

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TheSecondComing · 19/01/2013 09:24

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