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Baby names

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

Original poster

Opinions on/Rate our boys shortlist

37 replies

marmitecheesetoast · 29/03/2017 12:31

Posted a boys names shortlist a month or so back and since then we have managed to refine it a bit further.

Neither DH or I 'love' any of these names the way we do with our chosen girls name but we both like all of the below enough to consider them. I'm hoping if it is a boy we will know the right name/grow to love the name..

Alexander
William
Angus
Finlay
Fraser
Ben (Benjamin on birth cert)
Charlie (Again I would put Charles on birth cert but DH says he hates Charles so this may be a stumbling block)

Thank you Smile

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AbernathysFringe · 07/04/2017 00:44

Alexander - strong, lots of short options, attractive written down, international.
William - lots of short options, a bit naughty little boy in my mind.
Angus - know a red haired Scot age 6. Adorable, cheeky.
Finlay - Do you have to say LAY when you say it? Or is it said 'lee'? Can't imagine this name on an actual grown man.
Fraser - Nice, very Scot
Ben (Benjamin on birth cert) - Like the full version. Short version a bit nothingy.
Charlie - Friendly, easy going, I like it even having known one I didn't like.

Queensparkles · 07/04/2017 00:34

Alexander - not keen, know of one with the nn Eck
William - hate this name (sorry) especially with the nn billy
Angus - cute
Finlay - love!
Fraser- not keen
Ben (Benjamin on birth cert) - nope
Charlie - I have a Charlie so I may be biased but he suits his name so much & I still love it, he's Charlie on his bcert as I don't like Charles either!

akorda · 02/04/2017 20:06

Fraser, Ben and Alexander (lots of possible nicknames e.g. Sandy, Alex, Ally, even Alec) are my favourite.

There are absolutely loads of Finlays around-I would avoid this one

bellamcpoopants · 02/04/2017 10:00

Alexander - I am biased as I have an Alex(ander) - was going to use no Xander but it never suited him (I call him Lex/Lexi and am the only person who'd get away with it)
William---- - love, this is on my shortlist
Angus - love but dh says it reminds him of burgers
Finlay - not a fan
Fraser - I knew one who when asked to call an ambulance in an emergency asked what the number was so would put me off!
Ben (Benjamin on birth cert) - very popular
Charlie - don't like

Bubbinsmakesthree · 02/04/2017 03:15

Alexander - love (front runner if I have another DS so biased!) - the full name is very usable but also has oodles of diminutives and nickname options, I like a name with flexibility. Xander is a bit quirky/cool, Sandy is warm, Alex is solid, Sacha is cosmopolitan...
William - OK
Angus - bit too harsh sounding for me
Finlay - bit too much in the current 'Finn' trend
Fraser - like this, good Scottish name but not harsh like Angus
Ben - I prefer Benjamin / Benji but Ben is OK
Charlie - OK, but I agree it needs to be Charles as a given name on BC (hate hate diminutives as given names) and I am not keen on Charles.

BadToTheBone · 02/04/2017 02:54

I like Fraser and Angus best. I really don't like Alexander and Finlay is very popular. William, Ben and Charlie are pretty normal nice names

mummytobemaybe · 02/04/2017 02:45

Finlay is the best

grufallosfriend · 30/03/2017 15:30

Both very popular these days.

Original poster
marmitecheesetoast · 30/03/2017 08:58

Thanks for all your comments so far, really helpful.
Sounds like Finlay may well just get lost in the sea of Finns and Finleys so that may well drop off the list.
Also Charlie was probably our least favourite from the list so maybe best to let that one go too based on some of the comments too.

Fraser - no nn potential though I was thinking this too and can't decide if that matters or not. We do both really like the name Fraser but something is holding us back, not sure what

cakerattleandroll I had Alasdair on my list for that reason but DH thinks it's dull in comparison to Alexander

DHs clear favourite is Alexander.
I do like it a lot, but worried about
a) popularity
b) I don't love the nn Alex, he can't stand the nn Xander. Although there are other shortened versions we do both like

would people say William or Alexander is more popular?

OP posts:
CakeRattleandRoll · 30/03/2017 01:14

Really like Fraser, and would consider it Scottish rather than American.
Alasdair would get you nn Al (or Adair) rather than Alex.

Orangebird69 · 30/03/2017 00:42

Like Alexander & LOVE Benjamin. Don't like the rest.

lazycrazyhazy · 30/03/2017 00:33

All nice solid names though I know 4 Finlay/Finn/Finley under 3 in the south of England alone so maybe too fashionable so will date. I couldn't settle for Charlie unless allowed full name on certificate, I agree. I love Angus, Fraser and how about Fergus or Hamish?

Joeybee · 30/03/2017 00:15

Alexander -LOVE this name. It sounds timeless and strong. Plus loads of nn potential for you/your child to pick from: Al, Xander, Alex, Lex.

William - This is on my list too, just think it's a fantastic all-rounder name. My DH is concerned with the teasing potential of 'Willy', but I don't think that would be an issue tbh.

Angus - It's a strong, solid name, but honestly to me it sounds like the name of a cow.

Finlay - Too common.

Fraser - It's okay. No nn potential though.

Ben (Benjamin on birth cert) - Popular name, but it's a nice one, and totally agree you should have the full 'Benjamin' on the birth cert.

Charlie - Too popular right now, have a feeling it'll be pretty dated after not so long.

SuperBeagle · 29/03/2017 23:02

Alexander - I've never been a fan of this, but weirdly I love Alexandra for a girl...

William - Lovely. Very popular, but always has been and always will be. Lots of nickname potential.

Angus - I don't mind this. I know one who goes by Gus. It's not my favourite though.

Finlay - I like it, but he might get lost among the sea of Finns and Finleys. Do you like Flynn? It's similar but substantially less popular. Smile

Fraser - Really like this one.

Ben (Benjamin on birth cert) - Love. Not as popular as it was 10+ years ago, but it's not the kind of name that would ever date. Perfect, really.

Charlie (Again I would put Charles on birth cert but DH says he hates Charles so this may be a stumbling block) - I love Charlie. I'm with your DH on not loving Charles, but if he'll only ever go by Charlie, then Charles doesn't matter much.

Benjamin is my favourite.

mum2be2boys · 29/03/2017 22:30

I like them all except Finlay (purely because there is a little one who lives in our road and I hear his mum screech it loudly several times a day - it really put me off!)

My favourites from your list are Alexander, William and Ben :-)

Epipgab · 29/03/2017 21:52

I like William, Angus and Alexander.

Sophronia · 29/03/2017 21:35

Angus or Fraser

witsender · 29/03/2017 21:29

I know a few Williams and no other Alexanders. Alexander can also be Xander or Xandy, which is nice. Not a fan of the others.

superbean · 29/03/2017 21:13

I like them all!

We have all these names at school, William is the most popular.

Do you like Benedict any better than Benjamin?

Original poster
marmitecheesetoast · 29/03/2017 21:03

Fraser.....Think people are getting mixed up with the American sitcom, Frasier Ah yes that may be it Mumzy

Thanks Geordie DH hates Xander as a nn but we both like Sandy. I like Callum but DH doesn't. Not a fan of Cameron (know a few not nice ones!) and can't use Ruaridh

I think Charlie is probably off the list as that was a bit of a wild card anyway.

OP posts:
CPtart · 29/03/2017 20:46

Alexander - like it
William - love it (DS2 middle name)
Angus, Finlay, Fraser - not keen. Rather dull.
Benjamin - love it. DS2 was nearly this.
Charlie- detest it. In the same vein as Alfie, Archie, Freddie, etc etc.

buttercup54321 · 29/03/2017 20:15

Love William and Alexander. Like Charlie but not Charles. Not keen on the others.
what about
Edward
Michael
Simon
David
Henry
Richard
Thomas
Jonathan
Christopher
Timothy
Stephen
James
Matthew
Daniel
Raymond

MyBootsAreMuddy · 29/03/2017 18:35

Alexander- Really like this, not keen on Alex. My favourite nn is Xander
William- like
Angus- Like this one too
Finlay- Not keen
Fraser- the more I say it the more it grows on me.
Ben- I'm not keen on Ben, but like Benjamin and Benny
Charlie- not a fan of this name, but probably more to do with the fact that I knew an awful one.

ClaryBeanHorshAndMe · 29/03/2017 18:31

I know an Alexander that goes by Alec? Not sure if you'd like that one...

geordiedench · 29/03/2017 18:28

I like Scottish names generally, so Alexander and Fraser are both lovely to me (also family names, so biased.) Al or Sacha are great shortened versions of Alexander. There's also Xander, Alec, Ally, Sandy. It's pretty versatile.
If you like Scottish names, how about Callum or Ruaridh or Cameron?

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