Alfred?

[WonkyDonkeys]

What do we think.
Choice between Alfie and Freddie as nn

(not just doing it because of the outcome of this thread BTW, but it has confirmed its popularity)

Wonky Alfie is a lovely name as too is Freddie (which I'd used if you ever have another DS) Do you Love the name or just having a wobbly?

By all means change it to Alfred nn Alfie but IMO you should stick to your guns. When my DD was 3 months...i asked my DH if we had picked the right name, he sent me back to bed to sleep and told me to stop worrying. Don't listen to anyone else....

My name has just become HUGE....and I'm 30. Gutted..yes but heyho such is life.(disclaimer real name not Scarlett )

Congrats on your wee man. xxx

Around here (southern England) Alfie has quite strong not-posh connotations similar to Jayden/Kayden etc. People do in my experience stereotype based on names, so he might end up being pigeonholed. Ditto Freddie unfortunately.

That's interesting, Somewherewest - would you say Alfred carries similar connotations?

I like Alfred with Fred as the nickname.

MavisG, I think Alfred has quite posh connotations, but would inevitably be shortened. I'm a Jennifer and have spent my whole life fighting not to be called Jenny (which I hate).

I ended up being a bit of an expert on the connotations of baby and toddler names because I used to work in the pre-school section of my local city council, with a particular focus on kids from low income backgrounds. You really could tell what part of the city a pre-school was in by the first names on the roll. I've heard enough negative comments on names perceived as 'chavy' outside work to worry that kids with those names end up being pigeonholed right through their childhoods (I'm not saying this is right or fair BTW).

Changing Alfie's name to Alfred widens his possibilities right out from 1 to 3 obvious names, isn't too big a change and isn't hard to do (call your local CAB or a solicitor, it's incredibly simple actually).

If you want to change his name to Alfred I can't really think of a lot against it but before you do consider this...

1. Mumsnet is an internet community where peoples oppinions are often flippantly expressed and disposable and where people have no idea whose toes they might be stepping on and so you should take anything you don't agree with with a big dose of salt, chances are the author will have forgotten thier comment next week.
2. I cant think of 1 name on the entire board that everyone likes unanimously. And if I could it'd run the risk of criticism for being too popular/common.
3. Name wobbles a few weeks or months after the baby is born are very, very normal and I've had them not only for all my children (2 daughters, 2 children I miscarried and currently pregnant) but for every pet, vehicle and fictional character I've ever named too. It's perfectly normal to wobble.
4. Changing a baby's name in the first 52 weeks of thier life is made easier in law than changing a childs name after that period to allow for people having made a real mistake they regret. Your son is 3 months old, you have another 9 months to rethink before anything gets any harder, so give yourself a little longer to be sure Alfred is the way to go.
5. Names are popular because people agree they are good. Look at the most popular names of the last 10 years and you will find many which are classless, have no blatently cruel nicknames, spell easily and sound nice. Popularity is not always a bad thing.

flippantly expressed and disposable is right.words on a screen - strangers opining. so no i dont attribute significance to mn opinion and certainly doesn't shape significant acts (like name change) for me

so by all means if you had misgivings,change because you want to.dont do it on mn basis

and most names posted get a pasting in some way
too weird
too popular
too unpopular
too middle class
too common