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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Thoughts on Nathaniel

40 replies

youcanbeanything · 19/12/2015 07:46

Do you like it? Leaning towards this or Nicholas for a boy :)

I like Flora for a girl - what else might I like (please, no margarine 'jokes' )

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Laquila · 20/12/2015 09:36

I have a Nathaniel and love it. (We don't know any others). He never gets called Nathan and i'd give short shrift to anyone trying to do so - it's a different name! We use Nate as a nn.

I like Flora and wouldn't have associated it with margarine, tbh. You might also like Felicity?

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 20/12/2015 00:54

Violet or Emmeline are both awful.

pilates · 19/12/2015 17:02

Nathaniel is lovely
Flora is awful

How about Violet or Emmeline.

Sophronia · 19/12/2015 16:28

I like Nathaniel. Prefer Nicholas though.

Pandora97 · 19/12/2015 14:46

Love love love Nathaniel. Nicholas is nice but I think it will inevitably get shortened to Nick if you're okay with that.

I like Flora - I think of flora and fauna rather than the margarine. I don't remember the spreads easily tagline from the advert and I'm in my late 20s. I doubt it's something kids of her generation will know.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 19/12/2015 11:20

I think Stella has been rude . Why try and put some one off a name they've said they'll definitely use? It's not even what the thread is about, just getting a dig in.

OP if you are still reading, as far as I know the Floras we know don't get teased, that's such an outdated advert.

If we'd listened to MN we would never have used William for our DS because he'll 'get teased and called Willy'. Guess what? That hasn't happened. Surprise surprise (not) . Thank god i wasn't on MN when we had him.

GloriaHotcakes · 19/12/2015 10:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AuntieStella · 19/12/2015 10:24

Yes, I was at school with a Candida and it's a beautiful name with a beautiful meaning.

Yes, it has associations, so I wouldn't usually recommend it on MN. But I still think up it's a great name.

dingdongMadHairDayonhigh · 19/12/2015 10:02

I have a Nathaniel nn Nat, I know a few more. It does seem to be gaining popularity but not by loads. He does sometimes get called nathan which really annoys him, as does Daniel which he gets called when people mishear or have never heard the name Nathaniel

I like Flora. I like Florence even more :)

Original poster

youcanbeanything · 19/12/2015 10:02

Stella is blatantly taking the piss and being rude. Ignore it, I'm not going to post any more on this thread.

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Original poster

youcanbeanything · 19/12/2015 10:02

We don't all have the same taste in names, but I can see most people are just going to be rude so I'll leave it there. Thanks.

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Tirfarthoin · 19/12/2015 10:01

Candida?

AuntieStella · 19/12/2015 10:00

Other girls names with same vibe to me (ignoring the margarine):

Florence, Polly, Beulah, Doris, Elsie, Candida, Maude, Pearl, Ethel

Tirfarthoin · 19/12/2015 10:00

Or maybe Finola?

Tirfarthoin · 19/12/2015 09:58

Flora was on my list which is why I have quite a few alternative up my sleeve
Finulla (Fionnuala in Irish) was another one I loved.
We had boys

TheTravellingLemon · 19/12/2015 09:56

I liked Flora, but my last name also has an association with margarine, so it would have been weird.

I liked Florence too if that helps.

Original poster

youcanbeanything · 19/12/2015 09:50

But Stella - I don't care about what people think or mention

I really love the name. I will very probably use it if I have a daughter, but it's nice to have other options and I included flora just to give an idea of my taste so people could suggest alternatives, not so everyone could go on about margarine which is why I made a point of saying in my OP that I wasn't bothered about this.

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AuntieStella · 19/12/2015 09:45

I would never say anything like that in RL. I can always come up with a positive spin on a name when applied to an actual child.

You are 100% right. MN isn't like RL on baby names. Because people will post what they would never be as impolite as to mention in RL.

Original poster

youcanbeanything · 19/12/2015 09:40

To be honest Stella, I don't think anyone cares that much outside of Mumsnet but it's ALWAYS harked about on here and I didn't want loads of posts going 'ugh, margarine!' is all as I really don't care!

But as I've said it's nice to have more than one option.

I think Nick and Nate are fine (though I will confess I've never known the latter) it's just Nicky I don't really like!

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AuntieStella · 19/12/2015 09:37

The trouble with Flora is the advertising line "spreads easily" which hasn't been used for yonks, but remains alarmingly well-known.

And I think you know that it's an issue, even just in the brand name, because you needed to caveat the opening post with 'no margarine jokes'. That simply wouldn't be needed if a) the association was so weak as to be negligible and b) you have the patience, and are confident of producing a child with the patience to deal with them life-long.

Nathaniel is lovely.

Youcantscaremeihavechildren · 19/12/2015 09:34

We have a 9 month old Nathaniel, he's sort of stuck at being Nate but also Nat or Nath weirdly...
I like a long name for the flexibility but at the same time there's shortening I don't like, Nathan is one.
However our daughter is only really known by one nn for her slightly old fashioned full0 name and I can't imagine her using the others. I think what you call them really influences others.
Lovely name but I'm worried it is more popular now! I've only met one other until now though.

1frenchfoodie · 19/12/2015 09:27

Nathaniel is lovely. Really dislike the shortening 'Nate' for some reason. Seems likely a 3 syllable name woukd get shortened so for me the main consideration would be whether I also liked the shortened versions.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 19/12/2015 08:54

But I would say if you go with a multiple syllable name like Nicholas or Nathaniel it may not get shortened but the probability is that it will, so I think you need to like the short names or at least be able to tolerate them!

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 19/12/2015 08:50

Flora was our girls name too OP, along with Marnie, but we had boys. No one would have put me off it, it's a gorgeous name.

Original poster

youcanbeanything · 19/12/2015 08:38

I have taught two boys called Nathaniel and they were both called Nathaniel so I'm not sure there 'needs' to be a nickname. I agree I really don't like Nathan, though.

I love the meaning of Flora and the fact that there's a margarine of the same name really doesn't bother me; I just like having more than one option but while there's plenty of girls names I like, at the moment that's the only one I can see being my daughter, if you see what I mean :)

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