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Baby names

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Could Reggie work as an everyday shortening for Peregrine?

113 replies

LimeslemonsPomegranates · 16/07/2026 03:15

Is it mad, or do you think Reggie could work as an everyday shortening of Peregrine? Yes it is a bit of a stretch to pull a soft g from a hard g but there are stranger ones, like Teddy from Edward. Peregrine is quite a lot of name but an old name with some nice associations such as the falcon or the first mayflower pilgrim born in North America. I was going to put it in the middle family name slot but wonder if Reggie offers a more modern and unpretentious alternative to Peregrine as a first name. I dislike Perry as it feels like the wrong generation and I'm also visualising Kathy Burke. I'm not especially a fan of the name Reggie/Reg as a stand alone but I don't dislike it as a playground name. I'm not a fan of Reginald at all however. I quite like the contrast between Peregrine and Reggie, I could be completely wrong in how this comes across though.

I asked a few of my younger but university educated work colleagues what they thought about the name Peregrine and received answers along the lines of: Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children/Isn't that a girls' name?/Like the bird?/Is that a real name? So I'm not sure it will carry any strong connotations for younger generations other than possibly sounding like a young adult fantasy character. On that note,: Morwenna + Peregrine? I wonder if this seems quite thematic or possibly a teensy bit alternative/glastonbury/pagan revival? Or just two romantic and old fashioned names? I have slightly less grand alternatives such as Ludo/Hector/Rafe/Edmund under consideration as well.

OP posts:
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MistakenFlutterby · 16/07/2026 17:11

Never ever give your child a name where you don’t like its common shortening.

You might not like Perry, but he may well do. And then, despite your best efforts to call him Reggie, will be known to everyone as Perry.

You aren’t naming a baby, you are naming an adult, and the adult will have their own views.

Trallers · 16/07/2026 17:08

I really like Edmund from your list so that would get my vote.

StationJack · 16/07/2026 17:08

@MyEasterBonnet , PERRuh-grin (ˈpɛrɪɡrɪn)

Dragonscaledaisy · 16/07/2026 17:06

WonderWeeksArentReal · 16/07/2026 14:58

Definitely a contrast!

Reggie is quite a popular name at the moment amongst working class families in my area. I think it will date really badly in a few years.

I've never met a Peregrine in real life but I'd assume either genuinely incredibly posh or hugely pretentious tbh.

The Peregrines I know are neither. One is usually known as Per and the other prefers to use their full name.

AlgaeDreams · 16/07/2026 17:01

Play it safe and go WaltertheSofty

Monty36 · 16/07/2026 16:59

Both names a bit odd. Peregrine may work if a family name and your family have all been to Eton in the UK.
I suspect nobody names a child due names of the Mayflower pilgrims in the UK anymore.
Reggie as a name has connotations with Reggie Kray. An east end gangster. You might find some children called Reggie. But more often a dog named it.
Rafe and Edmund are both nice names.

notatinydancer · 16/07/2026 16:56

Why do people call a baby one name and immediately look for a diminutive?
If you want to call him Peregrine - call him that. If you want to call him Reggie call him that.
As soon as he goes to school his name will get shortened anyway.

MyEasterBonnet · 16/07/2026 16:47

Peregrine is a really unsatisfying word to say. Perra grin? Perry Green? Takes too much moving or the tongue. Also, not nice for a name, sorry.

MayaPyjama · 16/07/2026 16:41

Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children/Isn't that a girls' name?/Like the bird?/Is that a real name?

That was almost exactly my train of thought.

Peregrine and Morwenna sound like characters out of a sketch rather than siblings names on 2026.

You could of course call him Reggie, but it’s not a natural diminutive and so unless he is actively introducing himself as Reggie at school and work, it’s not going to be picked up by anyone else.

LlynTegid · 16/07/2026 16:40

Please be kind and choose another name.

StationJack · 16/07/2026 16:37

My preference from the names suggested in the OP is as follows:
Ludo - fine if short for Ludovic. Would be better as a dog's name
Edmund - ok if you don't mind Ed
Hector- ok apart from 'to hector' being a verb. Would be Hec.
Peregrine - not an ugly sound or a name. Perry's OK as a surname.
Rafe - I don't like the spelling

@1035tg , Theodore is very popular but I can't see why. I can see why Theo might be popular even though I don't particularly like it. OP, if she likes Teddy, could register the baby as Theomund or Theodosius.

HewasH2O · 16/07/2026 16:37

I went to school with Peregrine & his brother Talan double barrelled surname. We just called them Peregrine & Talan. They probably had random words like Piglet if their families wanted to shorten them. It seems ridiculous to shorten such distinctive names.

You may as well call the baby Reggie (middle name Kray) in the first place.

Growlybear83 · 16/07/2026 16:34

I think calling a child Reggie is just as cruel as calling him Peregrine. Why on earth would you want to saddle a child with either of those names?

Boreded · 16/07/2026 16:30

I’d call him Kes…or even worse R (our) Kes

or I would have ‘Peeeeerrrry, Perry the Platypus’ on a loop in my head.

IrrationalIvy · 16/07/2026 16:27

You can’t always guarantee the nicknames you choose will stick. There’s a kid in DD’s year at school with a formal name shortened by his parents to a diminutive which is, frankly, as much of a stretch as Pereguine / Reggie, so obviously he’s widely known as Smithy at the age of 6.

StormGazing · 16/07/2026 16:10

Not keen (I have a degree and PhD lol)
ludo is nice. Thought about Hunter?

Firebird83 · 16/07/2026 15:49

It’s awful. Just go with Edmund.

mumofoneisonOzempicnow · 16/07/2026 15:46

Peregrine will be teased for life op, unless youre Royals posh

MysticHalfWitch · 16/07/2026 15:44

HangingOver · 16/07/2026 14:33

Wait I assumed Guy's schoolboy love WAS a man?

Ohhhhh my days, my mind is totally blown now!!! But how could Julia be the second Peregrine?? Oh well I suppose she could, she just wouldn’t necessarily have to be a man? Goodness me, all the times I’ve read that book and just assumed it was a woman

Isitholidayyet · 16/07/2026 15:30

As a university educated female (a very well regarded degree if that makes a difference), I think the name is awful

Lentilcakes · 16/07/2026 15:28

Both Peregrine and Reggie and awful names, sorry (and I’m university educated, although not posh).

RosieBurdock · 16/07/2026 15:27

I think it works as a nickname. There are a lot of well known nicknames that are less linked to the original as you say. The name Peregrine isn't my cuppa soup though

1035tg · 16/07/2026 15:20

StationJack · 16/07/2026 15:12

I'm not the OP. I was responding to your post. I have no intention of naming a baby Peregrine either.
If you choose to reply to a post I've made, try actually reading it properly first.

Apologies. You are correct! I should not have quoted you (I was confused as you shared the same taste in names as the OP...). Strong disagree as to your preferences for names however.

OneAquaFatball · 16/07/2026 15:13

MrFluffyDogIsMyBestFriend · 16/07/2026 15:10

There's a chihuahua called Reggie in our village.

my dad adopted two elderly rescue dogs independently of one another, named ronnie and reggie. looks like the most wannabe hard man ever walking round calling for them

StationJack · 16/07/2026 15:12

1035tg · 16/07/2026 14:58

Are you the OP? Safe to say we (and the vast majority of people from reading this thread) have differing opinions on names we "particularly dislike" ... but in any case: yes, you can shorten Peregrine to Reggie or Grinnie or whatever you want IF you refer to your child like that from birth (with family and friends) and within childcare etc circles from an early age.

I'm not the OP. I was responding to your post. I have no intention of naming a baby Peregrine either.
If you choose to reply to a post I've made, try actually reading it properly first.