Ben ?

[frazzled74]

what do people think of this name ? dh likes it a lot but i cant get eastenders ben out of my mind, its a shame because i actually do like the name and it is the only one that dh has suggested that i dont hate!

I don't watch Eastenders, but I assume with a name as popular as Ben it won't be an association people will make.
Ben is nice, but I only like it as a nn for Benjamin or Benedict, which are both lovely.

Nice as nickname for Benedict. Not so fussed about Benjamin, it's a bit wet.

Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull

oh yes and................

dull

What about Bear or Hal if you want something short?

DS is a Ben and it suited him when he was little and now that he's 14 it still seems to suit him. He'd be mortified by Bear!

OK, I don't watch it, but I think the name Ben transcends even Eastenders. You'd be daft to let that association put you off. :)

Boring.

Ben in Eastenders? Haven't got a clue. I was thinking more Ben 10. Personally I don't like Ben but for about a year and a half ds2 kept asking me to stop calling him by his name and he insisted I called him Ben (after Ben 10), so I think he likes it.

It's fine, don't watch EE, no associations with the name Ben, but as a nn.

Benjamin, Benedict, Benoit?

I like it. Don't like the long forms though, just Ben.

thanks, i think that will make our shortlist then, i do like boring boys names, cant see me ith a bear!

Dull, very dull - and very widely used already.

Never watched EE, so no idea what the characaters there are called.

See this is the thing with asking opinions! There'll always be a mixed bag of reactions some saying it's a classic solid name, others saying it's dull. But then I'd rather be dull and have a ben then have something utterly bonkers like Bear???! I hate names where people snigger and think wtf?? But that's just my opinion. I love Ben, think it's a nice name. Won't get singled out for having a wacky name. I think classic names like that won't date nearly as much as the more modern, funky names. Good choice! I have a DS called joseph and am pregnant with another little boy who we are thinking of callong Thomas. Nothing wrong with 'dull' names. They'll never go out of fashion!

I like Ben, it would make my shortlist. I'm not so keen on Benjamin though, which is annoying as I don't particularly see the point in giving a child a full name only to shorten it, but yet I wouldn't want just Ben on the birth cert. It's an odd one for me! I think it is a good classic that works for all ages.

Benjamin makes me think Benjaminge as a boy at school was called that (as a joke... he was actually Benjamin obviously)

I have a Ben - just a Ben, and it suits him.

I didn't like Benjamin much and although I thought I liked Benedict, a dear friend of mine went through teenage hell as 'Bendy-Dick' and begged and pleaded with me not to go there

Sooooo popular at the moment. I know 3 born at the same time as my DS. It is a nice name but agree with the poster above it's too dull for my taste. Nothing inherently offensive about it though.

I have a Ben/Benedict. It's a good, solid and classic name

I really like it, but I don't watch Eastenders so don't know what the connotations are. I couldn't use it as DH already had a nephew named Ben.

Nice name but loads around here

I have a Ben, and have found it's a name that grows with you. It seemed cute when he was little, and now that he's a big hulking thing it seems solid and manly (like a Scottish mountain?).

Quite widely used round here, so quite a few Ben's are known as Ben A. or Ben B. I wonder whether Ben10 has made it more popular?

Agree with Hopintobed

I personally think there are far nicer, less overused names out there, but the OP has to love the name, not the rest of us !