Liam

[17caterpillars1mouse]

What are your thoughts on Liam? Possibly as a stand alone name or possibly as a shortening for William. I actually really like William but ways assumed everyone would shorten it to Will?

Do you know any William's who go by Liam? And how many Liam's do you know?

William tends to get Will or Willy because the first syllable is emphasised. It's not Will LIAM but WILLI am.

Liam is nice but feels like a different name.

Makes me think Gallagher but anyway...!

I think it's fine as a nn for William!

I think it's fine. I much prefer a longer name on the birth certificate and William is such a lovely name.

DD has a long name with a very obvious shortening, we chose the name so we could shorten to the obvious shortening but we have ended up using her full name the majority of the time. Saying that, after almost 3 years I have taken the middle part of her name and often use that as a shortening. The middle part of her name is actually a common shortening for another name which isn't' at all popular at the moment but it's just developed very organically over the 3 years.

I have a Liam. Gorgeous name.

I really like it but not William.

I knew a Liam short for William as a child. He was very well do di, and Irish.

Unfortunately more recently, Liam is a name I associate with badly behaved, disruptive children. There's one in each of the DC's classes, was another at nursery and one in a spurs club who have all been little thugs!

Liam is a lovely stand alone name.

I don't like Liam, but it's a perfectly acceptable standalone name.

I think it'd be very difficult to avoid Will with William.

Imo Liam is a nice standalone name.

I don't know any Williams who choose to go by Liam.

I agree with BikeRunSki- the name is associated with badly behaved boys

I've never known a William go by Liam. Just choose Liam imo!

Love the name Liam.

I love Liam.

It's a name in its own right, not short for William.

In Ireland it doesn't have any 'naughty boy' connotations, it's just a normal name - the Irish version of William.

I know two Liams, short for William and really like it. One of them is DH's uncle. We call him Uncle Liam, but his wife calls him Bill. Conversations can be a little confusing.

I know of 2 lads called Liam. In both cases their behaviour leaves a lot to be desired unfortunately

I used to teach, and every single Liam was a challenge behaviour-wise!

Lovely name though

When I replied earlier I didn't want to be the first to say it but now that others have then I will. In my mind Liam is a naughty boys name.

I have one. He's just Liam on his birth cert as it's a stand alone name.

Might be seen as a naughty boy name, but he's not nearly as naughty as his brother or lots of his friends!

Liam Gallagher is really a William.

I'd use it short for William.

It's a name in its own right rather than just a shortening of William.

I only clicked on the thread to count the 'naughty boy' comments though.

If it were to be considered a shortening techincally it would be short for Uilliam although I've never actually met a Uilliam.

Yes squoosh, it was inevitable really. At this stage I've lost count of the number of times on MN I've seen Irish boys name = naughty boy name.

I've never met an Uilliam either, maybe it's due a revival.

I think the Welsh and Scottish boys' names get the naughty tag too.

Not the English ones though...

''If it were to be considered a shortening techincally it would be short for Uilliam although I've never actually met a Uilliam.''

Squoosh why short for Uilliam and not William? I genuinely have no idea, this isn't intended to be sarcastic or snappy. Genuinely I'd like to know if there is a rule.

Because Liam is a name that originated in Ireland and would originally have been shortened from Uilliam from the Norman name Guillaume. William was the English for Guillaume.

Liam as a shortening of William seems to be a very recent thing.