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Baby names

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

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Original poster

"Proper" name for Sonny

34 replies

Chunkamatic · 03/07/2012 23:05

DS2 is 2.4 and is called Sonny. It took us until he was 4 weeks old to name him and I was never totally confident of the choice. This is mainly because I don't see it as a "proper" name, however I did really like it for other reasons.

It is obviously his name now and it suits him perfectly, I wouldn't want to change it, however I do frequently worry that we should have found a more "official" sounding name for his birth cert and used Sonny as a nn. I wonder about changing his name by deed poll, but then dont know if i'm just being silly.

Part of the issue is that I can't come up with a proper name to change it to. It would make sense for it to be something that Sonny could be derived from.

DP suggested Saul, which I like but one of his middle names is Paul so that would look a bit stupid!

Any suggestions? I'm interested to hear whether people think changing it is neccessary for the reasons I've said (but please be kind about the name Sonny, I know it's not everyone's taste but I'm really not asking for opinions on it!!)

OP posts:

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newby2 · 21/08/2012 13:43

I see where you're coming from (the old fashioned part of me says its not formal enough) But if it really suits him, Id stick with the name. Its a lovely name for a man and older man too.

AlwaysHoldingOnToStars · 19/08/2012 22:35

I know a couple of Sonny's and that is their proper names.

Don't change it, don't take any notice of the horrible names threads on here. I laugh as DS1's name is always guaranteed to make an appearance on them, I just count the posts till it appears!

Ham69 · 17/08/2012 21:37

Yes, you're being silly! Sonny's a great name, very cool and certainly no more 'nicknamey' than many popular names out right now. Don't Sophie Ellis Bextor and Noel Gallagher both have Sonnys?

Jellykat · 17/08/2012 19:50

I love Sonny, to me it's a proper name in itself and not a knickname.

If your DS suits it perfectly, why change it?

I have a DS with an uncommon name, which you'd presume it's a shortened version of something but it's not. He's 14 now, and never been teased or questioned about it.

I'd stick with Sonny, you like it!

thegreylady · 17/08/2012 19:21

I know two boys named Sonny [aged 5 and 9]
You could use one of the surnamey names if you like eg Jackson or Harrison

HiHowAreYou · 17/08/2012 18:53

My uncle is Sonny, so I think of it as a totally normal name! I don't see a problem with it as a stand alone name at all.

mathanxiety · 17/08/2012 18:09

I think it's very nicknamey and I would change the BC to a 'proper' name.

Sonny Bono's name was Salvatore, which is the equivalent of Xavier. How about Xavier?

I like Samson also as a 'proper' version.

MadBusLady · 17/08/2012 15:59

I think it can be a full name just fine. But if you do decide to change it, and like Saul, then what's to stop you changing the Paul at the same time? It's not like he even knows it's his middle name yet! Can all be done as one process I think.

nickelcognito · 17/08/2012 15:40

I think Sonny is a nn when the boy has the same first name as the father.
it's like "junior"

Sunnystormyday · 17/08/2012 15:34

I've heard Sonny be a nn for Alexander. DS1 is Alexander and there seems to be a lot of shortened versions of his name. Many don't sound anything like Alexander...Sacha is another one.

Sonny is a gorgeous name in its own right though, very sweet

LemonLovesLilac · 17/08/2012 15:30

What about Setanta

sunnybumbalina · 17/08/2012 13:51

Chunk, I have a 5 year old Sonny and I have the same thoughts...interesting thread this one xx

winkle2 · 04/07/2012 22:47

I know a few Sonny / Sunny's and that's the full name. I love it!

nizlopi · 04/07/2012 13:32

My Uncle Sonny's real first name is Christopher... I'm not sure where the link is there, but it could be that Sonny is his middle name, as my fathers side do tend to go by middle names.

Makes for very confusing family tree tracing.

herecomesthsun · 04/07/2012 13:09

So(lomo)n?

Ambrosius · 04/07/2012 12:34

Jason?

language · 04/07/2012 12:28

You can put Alexander, Simon or Sylvester as a "full name"

GnocchiGnocchiWhosThere · 04/07/2012 11:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Floggingmolly · 04/07/2012 11:23

My Dad was known as Sonny all his life, but the name on his birth cert is Thomas. (No help at all, really!)

Original poster

Chunkamatic · 04/07/2012 11:18

Thanks for all your reassurances! I will take the majority advice and leave it.

I'm sure it won't be the last wobble I have, but I agree the longer I leave it then the more bizarre it is to change it! (Should probably not click on the "which name do you hate most" threads either, it always appears on those!)

Would love to call him Santino, great name, but with his distinctly Irish surname I don't think we'd be fooling anyone that we were Italian!!!

Thanks again

OP posts:

weasar · 04/07/2012 11:14

I think it's a proper name in itself, and it's lovely! Leave it as it is. There are loads of people out there without a proper full name.

Thumbwitch · 04/07/2012 11:04

TheMysteryCat, yes, Sonny was the nn for Santino Corleone in the Godfather.

But OP, you don't have to have a "valid" long name for it - you can do as others have suggested and use a name with "-son" at the end if you really want a more formal name for your DS.

evamummy · 04/07/2012 10:59

I would certainly not change his name (by deed poll) if your son is almost age 3! Agree with nooka that your ds can make that decision later in life if he wishes and he always has his middle names to choose from in the meantime.

Personally I don't regard Sonny as any more nicknamey than Alfie, Buddy, Archie or Bertie for example, all of of which are used very widely these days.

You seem to love Sonny, it suits your ds, so I'd say stick with it!

nooka · 04/07/2012 07:24

Personally I think that Sonny is a nickname for a young boy and not a name in it's own right (like junior or buddy), but I really wouldn't be changing his name at two and a half. He already has a 'sensible' middle name as a stand by if needed. Besides Sonny isn't a diminutive of any specific name so I don't think there are any obvious choices.

If when your ds is older he wants to make a change then he could make his own choice, but I think that 3bees is probably right in that it is unlikely to cause him major problems.

sonniboo · 04/07/2012 07:04

I'd leave his name as it is. He can always go by one of his middle names (Paul) if he prefers later on.

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