Baby name regret/worry

When you gave him this name, it was your gift to him. From here, it is his to celebrate or to modify or even to change, but to create as his own.

My brother is Daniel- he has never been called Danny because my mum didn't use it and people got the hint that he was a Daniel- it was Daniel until he went to school and his friends called him Dan, which is fine- kids don't tend to pick the cutsy nicknames.
By their friends Samuels usually become Sam, Thomas becomes Tom, Benjamin will be Ben. Names like Danny, Sammy, Tommy and Benny are usually left in baby/toddler age unless the family use them.

If you tell people is Danyal or Dan they generally use it.

Well I think that it would be pretty obvious to most people that Danyal would be incorrectly pronounced as Daniel by many. Daniel will ultimately be shortened to Danny or Dan etc.

If you’re not happy with that, and you don’t want to spend the time correcting pronunciation and shortening etc then change his name.

But give it a bit of thought this time, because you
csnt Keep changing a name because you don’t like the way it “works” (or doesn’t) in practice

Danyal is quite similar to Daniel so many English speakers will mispronounce or shorten to Dan/Danny.

Personally I would change it to Farris.

Quite. I am not familiar at all with the name Danyal, but given the other names suggested in the OP were Farris and Zain it's fairly obvious that it's isn't a unique spelling but a name from a different culture. The lack of critical thinking and cultural sensitivity on Mumsnet is astonishing sometimes.

You really can't control what nicknames other people give to your child. If you really dislike Dan/Danny and can't stomach it, it might be time to consider a name change.

The issue I see with Danyal is that almost everyone in the UK will be familiar with the name Daniel, while many will have never encountered the name Danyal before - I'm not surprised if people assume it's the same pronunciation with a different spelling. I know a Michal who gets called "Michael" in this country -- which is not how it's pronounced in the original language, but correcting people on the pronunciation of your name all the time (especially if it's not pronounced how English speakers would expect) is a hassle.

I think Farris and Zain are fine though be aware (if you are a native Turkish/Arabic speaker) that English speakers may not pronounce them exactly the way you expect.

I have a friend called David who hates “Dave”. He just corrects people the first time they try and shorten it, and that works.
I think most people will follow your lead, so if you always use his full name, mostly others will do the same.

Some of the posters above are being a bit ignorant, it's not some kind of funny or unique spelling, it's a pretty common Arabic name and I think you would be justified in politely but firmly correcting incorrect pronunciations.

You can't control nicknames though, it's not worth changing your child's name for that. Some kids just end up with random nicknames that bear no relation to their name but stick anyway. Just call him what you want at home and if you're lucky he will call himself that when he's older.

Is it pronounced Dan-YAL? You mentioned the mispronunciation, but how is it pronounced?

If you don't want it shortened to Danny or Dan then you have to correct people and say that you're not using that form of the name. At 2 months you can control that - as he gets older his friends will call him what they want!

I pronounce Danyal dan-yarl.
I've no idea why people would shorten it to Danny which is horrid. Dan is better but I still wouldn't use it for a baby.
Farris and Zain are both easier names to wear I think.

Either if those is fine

If you don’t like Dan/Danny then yes you should change it

I love the name Faris, the lead vocalist of the band The Horrors. The other 2 are nice as well.

Is it pronounced Daniel?

How do you pronounce it, just out of curiosity?

I think you have to be happy with the diminutives of a name you choose. You can’t control them being used. Also if you’re in the UK the name looks like Daniel so again people will pronounce it like it until they’re corrected. If you can’t live with that I’d consider changing it, but beware of checking these for your new choices. Best of luck.

Agree with PP you can't control nicknames. It's like calling your som Patrick and getting cross when people call him Pat, Christopher called Chris, Matthew Matt, etc.

Ask your family and friends how they'd nickname the other names you are considering before you change.

I just want to say Danyal isn't 'just' a variation in Daniel.... its an Arabic word/name which is why it is said differently ...

For example: It's like Soloman vs. Suleyman

I think she meant to say Danyal is her local culture variation of Daniel.
Here its said Danyal is Turkish Daniel www.behindthename.com/name/danyal
Which goes with line with her other choices if she is Turkish in origin

I would go with Farris.

how old is baby? like PP said you may be feeling down at the moment and so it’s clouding it a little for you. Unless you have a strong preference for one of the other names? Or you could try to be quite firm that you don’t like the nn Danny? FWIW I think Zain/Zayn is lovely.

What about Daryl or Darius?

You'll never stop people shortening or lengthening names - particularly when your child starts school and makes their own friends.

Danyal is clearly going to become Dan or Danny. It will also be pronounced Daniel. How did you expect it to be pronounced? I'd assume that his name is Daniel but you've gone for a "special" spelling. I think most people would.

Farris or Zain are OK names but you still won't escape the nicknames. Farr or Zainy spring to mind. It's just what people do