Thoughts on Xander - not Alexander.

[WishYouWereMine]

DP and I both love Xander for our imaginary son.

We have a Persephone who is never ever called by her full name, but I like to see a proper name on birth certificate for some reason.

I wouldn't want to use Alexander as really dislike the nn Alex.

Thoughts please ;) Would you think 'yuck'?

I like Hector, but not keen on the meaning. I knew a middle aged quite eccentric Hector once so I am fond of it. Maybe a bit posh for around these parts though.

Disneyaddict That's what we do with DD to be honest.. people always say they like the NN if they hear it correctly, but go a bit quiet when I tell them what it's short for.

I thought Alexander was a fairly normal name though. I'm not even pg, don't know why I'm thinking about this so much haha.

I love it. My Son is called Alexander and so far most people ask if it OK to shorten to Alex, so you may not want to use Alexander on his birth certificate.

PS. I didn't name change, also love the name Persephone : )

My friend has a Lysander who everyone calls Xander so that's another option... Xander is an awesome name.

Not a fan of Xander, sounds like the name of a spaceship.

Agree that Xander/Zander is quite popular in Scotland, but as a shortened form of Alexander. Because that's what it is.

However, there are DOZENS of different forms of Alexander, from Iskaer to Sandor or even Alasdair, and perhaps you might prefer one of those to help you avoid 'Alex'? This link might be of interest:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander

We very nearly went for Alexander nn Xander but bottled at the last minute. I just don't like Alex much and people seemed to not quite get Xander when we mulled it over with them. So we went for something else to avoid Alex, basically.

If it's spelled Zander, it's a fish

If you always call him Xander, then it's unlikely he'll turn into an Alex.

I have an Alexander nn Xander, always has been always will be to family and close friends, and also loathe Alex, but be warned - you will loose the Alex battle as soon as he goes to school unless he is totally on board with Xander for himself, and is confident enough at 4/5yo to correct his friends when they inevitably use Alex at some point.

Professor X was Xavier, wasn't he?

I don't understand how 'Xander' is pretentious either. It's simply a not uncommon from of Alexander.

some teen fantasy crap how very dare you! Buffy is amazing, and so is the name Xander. I would go for Alexander as a full name though.

I also have a small crush on Alexander Armstrong which is another good reason to love Xander.

I have one - we call him "Al"

Beware the wrath of the Buffy buffs!

I do find it faintly hilarious when people say a name is pretentious. Do you know the OP's background, social circles, heritage etc? Then how can you say its pretentious for her? It might not suit YOUR circumstances, but let's try to broaden our horizons shall we?

I'm also in Scotland and Xander is a completely acceptable and heard of abbreviation for Alexander. 10 years ago, I bet there were no little Islas running around the south of England but there are heaps now. I wouldn't worry about the geography of the name.

While Alex is the most popular nn for Alexander, I would still use the full name. If he introduces himself as Xander at school, he'll be called Xander. As another poster said, you can't really jump to 'Alex' from 'Xander'.

Good luck OP!

Ps; yes, Buffy was AWESOME!

Have you thought about Alistair, or David, Jack, Mark?

If you like it, go for it. Personally I don't like pretentious names, though they are quite popular now.

It wouldnt be my choice but I think it goes well with Persephone (what nickname do you use for her?)

I think it also works as a stand alone name and if you love it why not use it!

I have an Alexander and he calls himself Xander, always has done. Its a family name and tradition that goes way back. I don't like Alex, but he positively hates it, which is why he never gets called or referred to as Alex...he won't let anyone, not even teachers.
It does niggle him (and me) when people spell it with a 'Z', a Zander is a fish!

Tip: If you use Alexander on formal docs, then make sure at school the primary teachers know to put Xander on his school books (they tend to do this before the start of each year), it saved a lot of ag. My ds has always been the only one to go by Xander, even in his enormous secondary school and nobody ever calls him Alex, of which there are many.

I was about to say something similar to bridget!

Lovely name - I like Xander!

Much prefer it to Alex actually.

Don't get how a name can be pretentious either? What if you simply love the name, doesn't that matter more?

I love Hector. :)

We've decided on Alexander, nn Xander for our son. I much prefer Xander than Alex (although I like Alex too, so if he ends up being Alex rather than Xander then so be it!)

I really don't see how it's pretentious. Is it just because it's unusual?

Jazz We use Sephy for her - I don't think this comes across as pretentious at all. It's a pretty name that we all LOVED and really suits DD. It's only if someone asks her full name they turn their nose up sometimes which makes me feel a bit crappy.

Think we will probably go down the Alexander nn. Xander route. Although this is the same thing we did with DD and I sometimes wish we'd just put Sephy on the birth certificate to save some aggro.

I really liked Xander for DS2 (would have called him Alexander) but it's rubbish with our surname. Go for it!
For research purposes, you should watch the Buffy episode called The Zeppo to get a sense of that Xander :D

I have a 5yr old Xander. It's not pretentious?! I am pretty unpretentious! And I have never watched Buffy.

He is an Alexander on his birth cert, but only because OH claimed Xander is a fish. However we have never called him Alexander, and I even registered him for school as Xander and he's on the roll as Xander so it's Xander :)