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Baby names

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Original poster

Tristan or Nathaniel?

38 replies

babylily · 30/04/2011 21:56

keeping in mind that we live in scotland...my family think that we are setting up a boy for a lifetime of bullying if we name him Tristan!
I imagine a nathaniel to be quite a sensitive little lad, but a tristan to be more boisterous...?

OP posts:
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MayBankHoliday · 30/04/2011 22:11

They're both great names, I love them both!

Tristan I think of as a bit more of an arty name, Nathaniel more of a classic.

Greenwing · 30/04/2011 22:26

Nathaniel is stronger and more classic.

Tristan is a bit 'wet' and weak sounding to my ears, as well as ultra 'posh'.

thisisyesterday · 30/04/2011 22:32

ooooh hard one, i really like both names

hmmm... do you have middle names yet?

Kyrie · 30/04/2011 22:38

I love Tristan, I think of it as a strong name - I think romantic hero as in 'Tristan and Isolde'. Not easy to shorten Tristan either so you wouldn't get lots of nicknames like you would with Nathaniel which would be Nat, Nate etc.

Sirzy · 30/04/2011 22:41

Love nathaniel not as keen on Tristan

albania · 30/04/2011 22:43

I love them both, but it'd be Nathaniel for me

MelinaM · 30/04/2011 23:59

I much prefer TristanSmile Nathaniel is nice, but I absolutely hate the shortened Nathan, Nath etc...

evamummy · 01/05/2011 10:05

Tristan is too close to Triste (sad) for me, I'm afraid.

How do you pronounce Nathaniel, like Nathan with -iel at the end?

ragged · 01/05/2011 10:18

Nuh-than-yul, "than" rhymes with flan, no? I'd use Nat as nn.
Both names I quite like too. DS2 is Tristan, not at all arty, quite boisterous but a big cry-baby, too.

Original poster
babylily · 01/05/2011 12:01

Think would have to be:
Nathaniel Tristan...or
Tristan Nathaniel...

Nathaniel would be shortened to Nat by english relatives (in our part of scotland at least they don't seem to go for nicknames...). I always think of Puritans when I think of Nathaniel though (just because of Hawthorne and the Scarlett Letter)
DH's family are cornish, so we like the celtic/cornish connections of the Tristan & isolde story....

If I could just see what he will look like in 5 years time it would be much easier!

OP posts:
Collision · 01/05/2011 12:04

Sorry but I do not like either

Tristan is awful - imvho one of the worst boy names ever!

Nathaniel is OK but only cos I like Nat as a nickname (which you might hate!)

ragged · 01/05/2011 12:21

What other names do you think are the worst ever, Collision, and which are the best ever?

megbess · 01/05/2011 16:23

Love tristan don't like nathaniel.

Collision · 01/05/2011 16:55

Sorry that was a bit harsh OP. But if you live in Scotland and he is going to get teased then you might want to think about that!

Ragged Sorry. Blush I have loads! If the OP had said she had called her son Tristan then I would not have commented but as it was between 2 names I think it was OK to say how much I disliked it!

I think when you have known people you dont like then it puts you off them.

Thinks......

Vanessa
Denise
Tristan
Cameron
Gareth

But we are all different and some would not like my boys' names but I do and that is all that matters.

Sorry if I offended.

evamummy · 01/05/2011 17:47

I assume the OP is interested in HONEST opinions and that is what people are giving. No need to get defensive imo.

Maternelle · 01/05/2011 17:53

Love Tristan. Dislike Nathaniel.

captainbarnacle · 01/05/2011 18:17

I have a Nathaniel - he is called that but sometimes Nat. He's quite boisterous and extrovert and his the only Nathaniel around us at the moment!

NadiaWadia · 01/05/2011 18:55

Nathaniel is a good name and fairly unusual and Nate is a nice diminutive as well.

Tristan has a wuss-y sort of vibe to many people, although the sound of it is nice.

ragged · 01/05/2011 19:07

Am not offended, Collision, you're not the first to say something like that about Tristan. I honestly wondered what other names you thought were awful & why, what was it about Tristan that would make you want to puke. Tristan just seems too... innocuous to me. But maybe too English for living in Scotland, too. It could be that you & I quite like other names.

The only adult Tristan whom I have known personally was a nice funny cute guy, chemist who blew things up for fun. My Tristan is likely to have a Rugby build when he grows up, but with a soft cuddly teddy bear's heart.

There are no names I balk at only because I have known unpleasant specimens... in terms of "awful" names I usually only really stomach clench at names that sound purely ugly to me, and I just cannot understand why people would choose that over other nicer choices.

Maybeitsbecause · 01/05/2011 20:26

Nathaniel is strong and classy.

Tristan is awfully wet.

Collision · 01/05/2011 20:57

I usually hate K names too.

Kyle
Keiron
Kade

and

Brendon
Bradley
Jayden
Kaiden

type names.

Am actually very opinionated about names!

Love

Max
Theo
Rufus
Zac
Finn
Josh
Jake

and

Annabel
Sophia
Romilly
Adeleide
Clementine
Bea

but do not like

Ruth
Helen
Hope
and very old lady names such as Ada or Ethel or Mabel.

Kerri1983 · 01/05/2011 22:05

I have a Nathaniel, I really love his name although he does get Nathan from time to time which I don't like much.

We shorten his name to Natey, this is probably a scouse thing though and I am sure he will grow out of it to become Nate.

His surname is Johnson so I would imagine he will get Johno at school as did his dad and other relatives.

Original poster
babylily · 02/05/2011 13:51

As I expected...truly divided opinions on Tristan Grin.

I guess naming really does come down to personal taste - I have worked with under 5's and have known little boys of almost every name and spelling, but never a Tristan or a Nathaniel.
I kinda like the silence that follows when I tell people that we like Tristan for a boy (followed remarkably often by a suggestion of 'Riley,' 'Rory' or 'Lewis')

4 months left to decide, and I expect what it will come down to is how we feel on the day - if he looks like a Nathaniel or a Tristan. (Like the sound of Natey tho, kerri1983).

OP posts:
ragged · 02/05/2011 14:20

haha.... Collision. In the spirit of "You can dish it but can you take it?" I have to say that all of your boy faves are ideal names... for a Dog :).

Collision · 02/05/2011 14:29

haha! True! Both my boys' names are in there too! Wink

No girls here.