Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Tristan or Nathaniel?

38 replies

babylily · 30/04/2011 21:56

keeping in mind that we live in scotland...my family think that we are setting up a boy for a lifetime of bullying if we name him Tristan!
I imagine a nathaniel to be quite a sensitive little lad, but a tristan to be more boisterous...?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
mumtolilh · 28/04/2013 17:43

Nathaniel all the way tristan is a terrible name (sorry!)
& it's on the most hated list
It sounds kind of 'made up' to me

BellaTheGymnast · 20/11/2012 17:47

Yes, Tristan is a chinless wonder for me too. I love Nate though.

Fifi2406 · 20/11/2012 14:15

Totally didn't notice the date on this!

Fifi2406 · 20/11/2012 14:13

Nathaniel!!!!!!! Always been a favourite

SHRIIIEEEKPoolingBearBlood · 20/11/2012 12:33

well spotted mbbh how did you come across this/

badtime · 20/11/2012 12:07

I think the OP will have made her decision by now - this is a zombie thread.

SHRIIIEEEKPoolingBearBlood · 20/11/2012 12:03

I love tristan as I have one :) but be warned it means noisy and is very accurate imo.

TessOfTheBaublevilles · 20/11/2012 11:59

Nathaniel gets my vote - but it's a biased vote! Wink

Lebkuchenlover · 20/11/2012 10:08

What is teaseworthy about Tristan Confused? The only thing that would put me off is the sad part (triste). How about Quentin, Sebastian or Caspian?

I like the sound of Nathaniel but wouldn't it inevitably shortened? Not a fan of Nat, Nate or Natty, sorry.

mbbh · 19/11/2012 21:55

I do not like tristan personally go with Nathaniel

TheVisitor · 02/05/2011 19:49

I have a Nathaniel, shortened to Natty mostly, but as he's getting older, he's starting to prefer Nat. He's a bit of a monkey, cheeky smile and incredibly cuddly.

Giselle99 · 02/05/2011 19:43

Tristan has always been a neither-here-nor-there name for me, but I was surprised to read a survey that had it as the 8th or 9th worst name for boys. Top of the list were the usual suspects (Jaden, Kayden, Brayden) and there was Michael (?) and Jackson on it too.

Nathaniel is another so-so name for me - as long as it isn't shortened.

rac123 · 02/05/2011 18:46

Like them both - it helps that I know a Tristan who is sounsd and called Tris to all thosw who know him.
Try not to get too caught on the 'negatives' as it would not do for us all to name kids the same thing and you would get feedback from all names - from David - Daffyd!

Collision · 02/05/2011 14:29

haha! True! Both my boys' names are in there too! Wink

No girls here.

ragged · 02/05/2011 14:20

haha.... Collision. In the spirit of "You can dish it but can you take it?" I have to say that all of your boy faves are ideal names... for a Dog :).

Original poster
babylily · 02/05/2011 13:51

As I expected...truly divided opinions on Tristan Grin.

I guess naming really does come down to personal taste - I have worked with under 5's and have known little boys of almost every name and spelling, but never a Tristan or a Nathaniel.
I kinda like the silence that follows when I tell people that we like Tristan for a boy (followed remarkably often by a suggestion of 'Riley,' 'Rory' or 'Lewis')

4 months left to decide, and I expect what it will come down to is how we feel on the day - if he looks like a Nathaniel or a Tristan. (Like the sound of Natey tho, kerri1983).

OP posts:
Kerri1983 · 01/05/2011 22:05

I have a Nathaniel, I really love his name although he does get Nathan from time to time which I don't like much.

We shorten his name to Natey, this is probably a scouse thing though and I am sure he will grow out of it to become Nate.

His surname is Johnson so I would imagine he will get Johno at school as did his dad and other relatives.

Collision · 01/05/2011 20:57

I usually hate K names too.

Kyle
Keiron
Kade

and

Brendon
Bradley
Jayden
Kaiden

type names.

Am actually very opinionated about names!

Love

Max
Theo
Rufus
Zac
Finn
Josh
Jake

and

Annabel
Sophia
Romilly
Adeleide
Clementine
Bea

but do not like

Ruth
Helen
Hope
and very old lady names such as Ada or Ethel or Mabel.

Maybeitsbecause · 01/05/2011 20:26

Nathaniel is strong and classy.

Tristan is awfully wet.

ragged · 01/05/2011 19:07

Am not offended, Collision, you're not the first to say something like that about Tristan. I honestly wondered what other names you thought were awful & why, what was it about Tristan that would make you want to puke. Tristan just seems too... innocuous to me. But maybe too English for living in Scotland, too. It could be that you & I quite like other names.

The only adult Tristan whom I have known personally was a nice funny cute guy, chemist who blew things up for fun. My Tristan is likely to have a Rugby build when he grows up, but with a soft cuddly teddy bear's heart.

There are no names I balk at only because I have known unpleasant specimens... in terms of "awful" names I usually only really stomach clench at names that sound purely ugly to me, and I just cannot understand why people would choose that over other nicer choices.

NadiaWadia · 01/05/2011 18:55

Nathaniel is a good name and fairly unusual and Nate is a nice diminutive as well.

Tristan has a wuss-y sort of vibe to many people, although the sound of it is nice.

captainbarnacle · 01/05/2011 18:17

I have a Nathaniel - he is called that but sometimes Nat. He's quite boisterous and extrovert and his the only Nathaniel around us at the moment!

Maternelle · 01/05/2011 17:53

Love Tristan. Dislike Nathaniel.

evamummy · 01/05/2011 17:47

I assume the OP is interested in HONEST opinions and that is what people are giving. No need to get defensive imo.

Collision · 01/05/2011 16:55

Sorry that was a bit harsh OP. But if you live in Scotland and he is going to get teased then you might want to think about that!

Ragged Sorry. Blush I have loads! If the OP had said she had called her son Tristan then I would not have commented but as it was between 2 names I think it was OK to say how much I disliked it!

I think when you have known people you dont like then it puts you off them.

Thinks......

Vanessa
Denise
Tristan
Cameron
Gareth

But we are all different and some would not like my boys' names but I do and that is all that matters.

Sorry if I offended.

Swipe left for the next trending thread