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Baby names

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

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Original poster

"Proper" name for Sonny

34 replies

Chunkamatic · 03/07/2012 23:05

DS2 is 2.4 and is called Sonny. It took us until he was 4 weeks old to name him and I was never totally confident of the choice. This is mainly because I don't see it as a "proper" name, however I did really like it for other reasons.

It is obviously his name now and it suits him perfectly, I wouldn't want to change it, however I do frequently worry that we should have found a more "official" sounding name for his birth cert and used Sonny as a nn. I wonder about changing his name by deed poll, but then dont know if i'm just being silly.

Part of the issue is that I can't come up with a proper name to change it to. It would make sense for it to be something that Sonny could be derived from.

DP suggested Saul, which I like but one of his middle names is Paul so that would look a bit stupid!

Any suggestions? I'm interested to hear whether people think changing it is neccessary for the reasons I've said (but please be kind about the name Sonny, I know it's not everyone's taste but I'm really not asking for opinions on it!!)

OP posts:

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Set a reminder

DoingItForMyself · 03/07/2012 23:20

I know a little Sonny and have never thought it wasn't a name in its own right. If you love it and it suits him, don't worry about it!

TheMysteryCat · 03/07/2012 23:24

It's a nickname for Santino isn't it? (vague recollection from a character in The Godfather).

Don't change it if you don't want to though.

It's a lovely sunshiney name!

iheartmycat · 03/07/2012 23:24

For what it's worth, I think Sonny is actually a great name, but for a 'proper' name, what about a name ending in -son instead? ie. Mason.

3bees · 03/07/2012 23:27

Keep the name you've chosen and is 'him'. There are so many names today that were originally nn for something else. If you're thinking about job applications etc, by the time he's at that stage ther will be so many Charlie, poppy, daisy, Alfie names around that no one will think twice. Jack is essentially a nn yet no one thinks that is strange or needs a 'longer' version even though it probably wouldn't have been a name on it's own years ago.

GloryHunter · 03/07/2012 23:28

I love the name, leave it at that!

GnocchiNineDoors · 03/07/2012 23:29

Sonny is a name in its own right imo.

Samson
Grayson
Basically anything that ends in ..son

LynetteScavo · 03/07/2012 23:29

Sonny is a proper name.

You are being silly.

amck5700 · 03/07/2012 23:37

I always thought that Sonny was a bit like Junior in that the "proper" name was the same as the child's father but that he was called by Sonny or Junior on a day to day basis to distinguish him from the parent. Don't know if that's an option for you.

VolAuVent · 03/07/2012 23:55

Samson is a nice idea.

Orson
Harrison
Jenson
Jackson
Wilson
Carlson

sonniboo · 04/07/2012 07:04

I'd leave his name as it is. He can always go by one of his middle names (Paul) if he prefers later on.

nooka · 04/07/2012 07:24

Personally I think that Sonny is a nickname for a young boy and not a name in it's own right (like junior or buddy), but I really wouldn't be changing his name at two and a half. He already has a 'sensible' middle name as a stand by if needed. Besides Sonny isn't a diminutive of any specific name so I don't think there are any obvious choices.

If when your ds is older he wants to make a change then he could make his own choice, but I think that 3bees is probably right in that it is unlikely to cause him major problems.

evamummy · 04/07/2012 10:59

I would certainly not change his name (by deed poll) if your son is almost age 3! Agree with nooka that your ds can make that decision later in life if he wishes and he always has his middle names to choose from in the meantime.

Personally I don't regard Sonny as any more nicknamey than Alfie, Buddy, Archie or Bertie for example, all of of which are used very widely these days.

You seem to love Sonny, it suits your ds, so I'd say stick with it!

Thumbwitch · 04/07/2012 11:04

TheMysteryCat, yes, Sonny was the nn for Santino Corleone in the Godfather.

But OP, you don't have to have a "valid" long name for it - you can do as others have suggested and use a name with "-son" at the end if you really want a more formal name for your DS.

weasar · 04/07/2012 11:14

I think it's a proper name in itself, and it's lovely! Leave it as it is. There are loads of people out there without a proper full name.

Original poster

Chunkamatic · 04/07/2012 11:18

Thanks for all your reassurances! I will take the majority advice and leave it.

I'm sure it won't be the last wobble I have, but I agree the longer I leave it then the more bizarre it is to change it! (Should probably not click on the "which name do you hate most" threads either, it always appears on those!)

Would love to call him Santino, great name, but with his distinctly Irish surname I don't think we'd be fooling anyone that we were Italian!!!

Thanks again

OP posts:

Floggingmolly · 04/07/2012 11:23

My Dad was known as Sonny all his life, but the name on his birth cert is Thomas. (No help at all, really!)

GnocchiGnocchiWhosThere · 04/07/2012 11:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

language · 04/07/2012 12:28

You can put Alexander, Simon or Sylvester as a "full name"

Ambrosius · 04/07/2012 12:34

Jason?

herecomesthsun · 04/07/2012 13:09

So(lomo)n?

nizlopi · 04/07/2012 13:32

My Uncle Sonny's real first name is Christopher... I'm not sure where the link is there, but it could be that Sonny is his middle name, as my fathers side do tend to go by middle names.

Makes for very confusing family tree tracing.

winkle2 · 04/07/2012 22:47

I know a few Sonny / Sunny's and that's the full name. I love it!

sunnybumbalina · 17/08/2012 13:51

Chunk, I have a 5 year old Sonny and I have the same thoughts...interesting thread this one xx

LemonLovesLilac · 17/08/2012 15:30

What about Setanta

Sunnystormyday · 17/08/2012 15:34

I've heard Sonny be a nn for Alexander. DS1 is Alexander and there seems to be a lot of shortened versions of his name. Many don't sound anything like Alexander...Sacha is another one.

Sonny is a gorgeous name in its own right though, very sweet

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