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Baby names

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

Original poster

Jack, Alexander, Thomas or William

94 replies

Imtryingmybest123 · 24/05/2022 13:59

Which do you like for a first name and why?

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Original poster
Imtryingmybest123 · 24/05/2022 14:59

I wasn’t sure if it was too similar- Jacob never gets shortened to Jake which I suppose would be too similar to Jack …

OP posts:
fluffycereal · 24/05/2022 14:54

Jack…I love but should mention DS1 is Jacob 😬

Definitely don't use Jack.

Ohrwurm · 24/05/2022 14:49

My son is Alexander so I'm biased :)

Classica · 24/05/2022 14:43

I'd pick Alexander because I really like Alex and would intend for that to be his name day to day. Not a fan of Alec, Sandy, Xander etc.

AcrobaticCardigan · 24/05/2022 14:40

William. A good strong name, with many great Williams throughout history. Definitely avoid Jack if you’ve already a Jacob! Far too similar.

DuchesOfSausage · 24/05/2022 14:25

They are all nice. My choice would be Thomas

17CherryTreeLane · 24/05/2022 14:23

Alexander! My DS is Alex and he is truly wonderful Smile. I love his name.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 24/05/2022 14:20

William
Alexander
Jack
Thomas

In that order. All good names, though.

LivesinLondon2000 · 24/05/2022 14:18

I love all 4 of those names. I don’t think that just because a name is common that it’s boring at all.
An unusual name doesn’t make a person interesting by default - and likewise a more common name doesn’t make someone boring - it takes a lot more than that! It’s the personality you remember not just the name!
I guess though you might want to think about whether you also like all the shortened versions that come with e.g. Thomas & William too

AssignedSlytherinAtBirth · 24/05/2022 14:18

None is likely to frighten the horses - they are all classic, traditional names that people know how to spell. I like William best. It appears a lot in my family as Bill. The comment about him being called Willy is daft - I know a Will and I'd be very surprised if anyone called him Willy. They are totally separate names. Personally I'm not keen on Jack. It was overused a few years back. It was also my dad's nickname (he was John) by some of his family and to me feels more like a nn than a name in it's own right (daft, I.know. Jack and the Beanstalk, etc.). I like your choices :)

Original poster
Imtryingmybest123 · 24/05/2022 14:18

Yes it’s the length of Alexander that bothers me really! I think Alex is okay. Although strangely a lot of people don’t like it (I’d be interested to know what people’s thoughts were on that!) I’m not keen on Xander …
I love Thomas but my DH doesn’t although he doesn’t mind Tom, he’d go for it as a compromise I reckon…not a lot of love for William which is good as that name is one I was on the fence about anyway ;)
Jack…I love but should mention DS1 is Jacob 😬

OP posts:
Mumofgirls2017 · 24/05/2022 14:15

Alexander. Less boring than the others somehow

shoofly · 24/05/2022 14:10

I have a Jack and my other son has Alexander as second name.
My Dad was Alexander, shortened to Sandy.
Quite like Thomas but am not keen on William

obsessedwithsleep · 24/05/2022 14:08

I like all of them! Probably Thomas if I had to choose.

fluffycereal · 24/05/2022 14:06

I'm in Scotland so Alexander/Xander/Zander/Sandy is quite common, definitely not giving middle or upper class vibes. I think I like Thomas the most, Jack was far too common for many years and William - well Prince William will become King during your child's lifetime so I would actively avoid that.

DramaAlpaca · 24/05/2022 14:05

Thomas. No particular reason why, I just like Thomas and Tom.

Alexander is too long, William and Jack are fine but not as nice as Thomas.

Finalcountdowntoourtripaway · 24/05/2022 14:04

With all my dc I considered possible shortenings.
Your list would see me choose Alexander.. Xander for every day as dislike Alex.
Dislike all variations of Thomas. William may become Willy. None of my dc get anything but their names.

Heckythump1 · 24/05/2022 14:03

Not William, I know thousands of them and it's just really boring!

Thomas is my favourite on that list, closely followed by Jack :)

marmitecake · 24/05/2022 14:02

Alexander!

If you like NNs, Xander is great. I think it might be less popular than the others. It also has quite a middle/upper class "vibe" (if you like that sort of thing!).

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