Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

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

Vibe from Hugo vs Vibe from Freddie?

31 replies

FlatWhite2 · 14/03/2024 14:49

Due really soon and haven’t found a name we love apart from Hugo, husband likes Freddie. Not sure if the vibe from Hugo is off putting though, I personally don’t know any young Hugo’s but do know a number of adults.. does Freddie sound nicer/friendlier in your opinion and will it stand the test of time longer? Thanks

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
oneinamillieon · 21/03/2024 20:58

freddie is lovely but i don't like fred or frederick so i'd go with hugo.

BestnameFreddie · 16/03/2024 16:10

NC specially for this 😁

My Freddie is 20 now and I’ve never regretted it as a name choice. It suits him perfectly - he’s a fairly posh cheeky chappie 😎

NotestoSelf · 16/03/2024 16:01

Lalupalina · 16/03/2024 14:03

Do 'posh' names like Hugo, Sebastian, Quentin or Henry slowly move 'down' and eventually become mainstream?

I think the book Freakonomics mentioned something like this.

Yes, the authors look at US naming stats and analysed how names that were at one point most common in UC households would 'trickle down' as parents from lower social classes gave their children 'aspirational' names.

Lalupalina · 16/03/2024 14:04

Whist I agree with others that Hugo does seem to be becoming more mainstream, along with lots of other 'posh' names, Hugo will always sound like a private school toff to me.

This is what I was wondering.

Lalupalina · 16/03/2024 14:03

Do 'posh' names like Hugo, Sebastian, Quentin or Henry slowly move 'down' and eventually become mainstream?

I think the book Freakonomics mentioned something like this.

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 15/03/2024 14:09

Go for Hugo, love it. We wanted to go with it but live somewhere where it’s pronounced differently so decided against it

FlatWhite2 · 15/03/2024 12:35

MartineBIT · 15/03/2024 12:05

Both good names for middle aged barristers wearing a gilet at the weekend on their way to a squash game and picking up a few bits from Waitrose on the way home. (I do not think this is a bad thing.)

Vibe-wise, you can't get a cigarette paper between them.

Really enjoyed this comment.. thanks 😂

OP posts:
Wrongsideofpennines · 15/03/2024 12:15

I know a couple of young Freddies and like it. Don't know any Hugos but I like it more.

Freddie to me sort of works on a council estate and as groundskeeper on the estate! But I would just be wary of using just Freddie and not Frederick or Alfred. Just imagining a barrister or prime minister as just 'Freddie' sounds a bit odd to me.

Colinfromaccounts24 · 15/03/2024 12:12

Freddie sounds like a cheeky chappie/ lad type person. Hugo sounds like someone who works in the City. May not matter to you but Freddie is BY FAR the most common boys name around here (south east). There are SO MANY of them. Including one of my nephews, who is cheeky and can be a bit insufferable. Freddie is also the name of a naughty boy in DDs class at school.

Codlingmoths · 15/03/2024 12:08

They sound the same to me vibe wise. I like Hugo and know baby Huggies 😊😁

SirChenjins · 15/03/2024 12:06

Freddie sounds more friendly and approachable, a really decent solid person. Hugo sounds like a pretentious tosser and the sort of bloke who would sell his soul for £.

MartineBIT · 15/03/2024 12:05

Both good names for middle aged barristers wearing a gilet at the weekend on their way to a squash game and picking up a few bits from Waitrose on the way home. (I do not think this is a bad thing.)

Vibe-wise, you can't get a cigarette paper between them.

MyBigFatGreekSalad · 15/03/2024 12:02

Hugo*

MyBigFatGreekSalad · 15/03/2024 12:00

Huge is a posh middle age man to me😂

I absolutely love Freddie, it was on my baby names list. Great for all ages.

BoleynMemories13 · 15/03/2024 06:29

Whist I agree with others that Hugo does seem to be becoming more mainstream, along with lots of other 'posh' names, Hugo will always sound like a private school toff to me.

Freddie is a lot more versatile but does sound a bit infantile as a given name. Personally I'm not a fan of the ie short forms as given names trend. I would go for Frederick nn Freddie/Fred.

miniaturepixieonacid · 14/03/2024 21:28

I think they're quite similar. I work in a private school in the South East and we have Hugos and Freddies galore. Both nice names, I think.

KirstenBlest · 14/03/2024 20:43

Slight exaggeration there.

ZippyGoose · 14/03/2024 20:19

Freddie sounds like you couldn’t think of a name other than literally the most popular name in the country and there are like 4 in every class in every school.

Hugo is cool x

11NigelTufnel · 14/03/2024 20:15

If Hugo is the only name you both like, go with it. It's not a controversial name.

Roastiesarethebestbit · 14/03/2024 20:12

They both are similar types of names imo, when I look at the kids that I know. When I was young Hugo was posh, but I think a lot of the old posh boys names are no longer exclusively posh - Theodore, Sebastian, Maxwell, Hugo, Rupert, Felix - these are all names that I see regularly at the very normal comp where I teach, and belong to all sorts of boys.

RuthW · 14/03/2024 20:01

Of the two Hugo is nicer unless you are going for Frederick on the bc.

TM1979 · 14/03/2024 19:47

Neither are common where we are. I know of one Hugo. He must be about 13 now. I don’t like the sound of Hugo. It just doesn’t sound nice. Our cockapoo is called Freddie.

CookingGood · 14/03/2024 19:46

I can’t take the name Hugo seriously since the ‘what could Hugo be short for’ thread

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 14/03/2024 19:43

Hugo used to be a bit upper class, well- known public school type (like Rupert or even classic Henry - as in “Hooray Henry”) but that hasn’t been the case for those names for at least a decade or two since they’ve been moving up the charts - they are used by everyone now.

So basically, no stigma on Hugo or Freddie imo - use whichever you like. I’m not keen on either I like more classic sounding names - so it would be Hugh or Frederick for me, but that’s just personal taste.

KirstenBlest · 14/03/2024 19:38

Freddie has been popular for ages, but Hugo seems to be becoming popular quickly. Neither are posh. I prefer Hugo of the two, mainly because Freddie shortens to Fred.