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Baby names

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Original poster

James or Jamie

68 replies

Jessabean · 20/08/2020 07:32

Just wondering what people would put on BC if they were planning on using the name Jamie day to day. Do you consider it a nn of James or name that should be used fully in its own right? And thoughts on both names as well I guess!

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ellenpartridge · 21/08/2020 20:15

I'm considering Jamie and would put James on the birth certificate.

Erictheavocado · 21/08/2020 20:01

I find this conversation very interesting, the insistence from some that it is better to use the formal James on the BC and keep Jamie as a nn. I find it interesting because I cannot recall a similar argument on threads where mums to be are considering Alfie, Archie, Charlie, Harry etc. I honestly can't remember any one ever saying that a child should be named Archibald on the BC and Archie as a non, or Alfred, Henry, John (for Jack), Frederick etc etc. So I'm wondering why the opinion is so different when it comes to Jamie/ James?

Crunchymum · 21/08/2020 19:51

I'm in my 40's and know several James' and Jamie's (of varying ages) and none of them are a James/Jamie hybrid. They are all one or the other.

In fact it's only on here I've heard them as being one and the same.

Benjispruce2 · 21/08/2020 18:37

I don’t think of Jamie as a nn for James. Jim or Jimmy are though. I prefer James but it is my favourite name(shame I had 2 girls!)

whatausername · 21/08/2020 18:33

@Jessabean

What I'm taking from this basically is that either goes and is considered acceptable really and its just more a personal choice of whether to give them the formal name to allow for options or not 🤷‍♀️
That's it in a nutshell! :)
MikeUniformMike · 20/08/2020 13:18

James because it's a nice name.

If you have no intention of ever calling him James, put Jamie on the BC.

Original poster
Jessabean · 20/08/2020 13:02

What I'm taking from this basically is that either goes and is considered acceptable really and its just more a personal choice of whether to give them the formal name to allow for options or not 🤷‍♀️

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Original poster
Jessabean · 20/08/2020 12:57

@Twizbe 😂 Yea was thinking of that in part when I queried whether is thought it was more of a girls name in Australia
Is different in my mind for a boy though thankfully!

OP posts:
MissDollyMix · 20/08/2020 10:55

I know a lovely little boy who is a James known as Jamie. Jamie suits him really well and he doesn't like to be called James but I think it's nice to have the option to 'formalise' the name when you're older. My cousin was also a James known as Jamie. He's in his 20s now and I think professionally he goes by James now but in the family he will always be Jamie.

Rosewaterspray · 20/08/2020 10:48

James

Twizbe · 20/08/2020 10:47

Female Aussie Jamie's make me think of Jai'mai private school girl lol

Twizbe · 20/08/2020 10:45

I have a James. He's Jimmy day to day (sorry I don't like Jamie) but we used James on the BC because that is a name that can grow with him. He can stay Jimmy / Jim is he wants or he can be James.

I knew lots of James / Jamie as a child. All were James properly and from what I can see on FB most of them now use James rather than Jamie (I don't know if GOT had anything to do with that)

RuthW · 20/08/2020 10:35

James

latticechaos · 20/08/2020 10:19

James, Jamie is one of a number of NN.

I had a fried christened Jamie who was annoyed as it is harder to NN yourself James and he thought Jamie was young sounding in his twenties (he had a serious job).

So I'd go with James to give the child more options.

Gnome134 · 20/08/2020 10:17

I'm married to a Jamie. He gets people assuming it's a nickname for James and calling him that to try to be polite, which is a bit annoying. He also gets foreign colleagues who only know him via email assuming he is a female.

unexpectedthird · 20/08/2020 10:09

Jamie is most definitely a name in its own right. There are plenty of them up here in my part of Scotland.

I like it lots as a name.🙂

Original poster
Jessabean · 20/08/2020 10:05

@palmsandwine thanks good to know - I know I'd heard a few female Jamie's who were Aussie but wasn't completely sure how it stands out there so good to get some perspective.
Yea I really don't think there's any real issues with it being seen as an adult name later in life personally to me it's the same as being called Simon or Harry and there are imo so many other more 'babyish' male names out there now in what will be their peer group that I really don't think they'd come across as immature. It's more whether to give them the options for other unforeseen reasons such as differences in other countries or just if they don't like Jamie and want the option or whether just to stick to what they will be known as as that's what they'll more than likely stay as throughout life and it may seem weird to have another formal name I guess.

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palmsandwine · 20/08/2020 09:54

[quote Jessabean]@Greywind1523 thats a good point forgot Jamie is more popular as girl name in US- think it might be same in Australia? [/quote]
I'm a Brit in Australia and have met a mix of boy and girl Jamie's. I wouldn't say I've come across more girls than boys but it's definitely seen as a unisex here where's UK it's predominantly male.

My brother always said once he started his first "grown up job" he introduce himself as James. But he's a senior school history teacher and still goes by Jamie which I thought he might find a bit juvenile at this age (not that I think it is but he was always so insistent he'd be James as an adult) but the name does really suit him still.

Original poster
Jessabean · 20/08/2020 09:49

@Greywind1523 thats a good point forgot Jamie is more popular as girl name in US- think it might be same in Australia?

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Greywind1523 · 20/08/2020 09:47

I think it’s one that is recognised as a name in its own right but I’d still use James to give him the option later in life if he wants it.

Another thing that might put me off is my friend Jamie who now lives in the US says that anybody he meets without speaking first on the phone assumes he will be female. I think he might have switched to James by now if it was on his birth certificate.

palmsandwine · 20/08/2020 09:40

Definitely James.

My brother is James but was called Jamie from a couple of months old. It wasn't planned, just kind of happened. He's 32 now and he always said once he reached adulthood he'd switch to James. He hasn't. Still Jamie and it still suits him but I definitely think he likes having the option of being James as/when he wants to be.

Original poster
Jessabean · 20/08/2020 09:04

Thank you all for the replies. Seems quite divided schools of thought. Thought I'd get opinions as I although I'm usually an advocate for going for the longer formal name on BC and use nn day to day felt like Jamie does feel like a separate and respectable enough name in its own right compared to others comparisons and wasn't sure if it would seem a bit silly to have James on the BC bit using Jamie day to day. Do you think there is a difference geographically across UK is Jamie Vs James more popular in Scotland Vs England?

OP posts:
Ivalueloyaltyaboveallelse · 20/08/2020 08:36

James is better.

nutkin7 · 20/08/2020 08:35

NN that was supposed to say, not non!

elfran · 20/08/2020 08:35

To me they are different names - I know several of each, but have never met a James who went by Jamie. If you want to call him Jamie I'd put that on the BC, it's a legit name in its own right and I certainly don't think it sounds childish - all of the ones I know are grown men who seem to be getting on ok with it.

That said, I prefer James as a name, but it's not my baby.

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