What are your thoughts on long names?

[Treebauble]

I ask this question because I always loved longer names, I feel like they lend themselves to more nicknames and sound lovely.

The issue is that when I had twin boys, I named them Zachary and Nicholas, and everyone keeps making comments about them having long names. Every time we had an appointment, we would say their names and people would say things like “Well that’s quite a big name...”

Is it unusual now to use long names? What are your thoughts? Do you prefer shorter names or longer names?

Longer is good.
I don’t mean to be rude but to be completely blunt Zachary and Nicholas dont really go together as names and are a mouthful together. I think this is what people are trying to say. Zachary and Nicholas are perfectly nice names individually

My DC have short first names to avoid nn but two long middle names. I would not consider Zachary or Nicholas a particularly long name though.

No it’s fine, we tend to call them Zac and Nic. Those are just their full names and what we get comments on when at appointments.

Some long names are beautiful but I wouldn't & didn't use them. I prefer short, neat names that can't be messed around with.

Given that no-one bats an eyelid at names like Alexander or Amelia, both of which are even longer (4 syllables) I think the person who made the comment is the one with the unusual view

Appointments together right? It’s the two long names together that don’t go. Each name fine by itself.

I can see that saying the 2 names together makes for a lot of syllables but the names themselves really aren't particularly long

There will be loads of children attending appointments with names like Christopher or Benjamin or Annabelle or Elizabeth. Most (like yours) will be known by shortened versions, but listed by their full names.

It is increasingly common for children to be given a shortened version alone e.g. naming a child Ben instead of Benjamin but full names are still very common.

Try in alphabetical order - Nicholas and Zachary.

People are simple creatures who like order.

They are great names, I love them both and they definitely work together.

Why don't they go together? I don't agree and I can't really see where you're coming from. Zachary and Nicholas are both perfectly normal nice names, and at three syllables each are certainly not unusually long.

That was to Redsky BTW

Iv never really understood about names going together or matching. They are lovely names no issue with length

Yes! They sound much better in alphabetical order....!

They're perfectly normal names

I know kids called Alexander, Isabel, Darius, Anthony, Helena, Nathaniel etc and think they're all great names.

Exactly you hardly go through life joined at the hip with your sibling attending every appointment together so unless the names are truly odd (Nina and rina) no need for them to go together. They’re great names dd 2 had a three syllable love it.

They’re perfectly normal names! Whoever commented must only know children with names like Mia, Ava, Ben and Tom!

Ridiculous comments!

They go perfectly well together. Can't understand what anyone means saying they don't.

They are great names and I wouldn't consider them unusually long at all. Only 3 syllables!! An odd comment. And they make such a good pair of twins! For every opinion there must be an opposite one because I disagree with pps and think you have them in perfect order!!

Zachary and Nicholas don't really go together as names and are a mouthful together

I don't agree. I'm not crazy about the name Zachary but I think they sound fine as a pair. Something like Zachary and Lee would look stranger to me. I like the fact that they both shorten to similar (but not too similar) sounding names too.

I have a long name myself (two, in fact) with lots of short forms and I tend to like that sort of name. Elizabeth, Margaret, Alexander, Christopher, that sort of thing - all very much my cup of tea. My only misgiving is that I don't think you should give a name because it has lots of short forms and then insist the child can only use the one you prefer. It seems a bit of a waste - you might as well call them Paul or Claire if they're not going to benefit from the choices.

I prefer longer names that can be shortened. It gives your children more chance of having a name they like - the more options the better!

perfectly normal (& nice ) names, not unusually long at all! Maybe its the nickname as name trend making people unused to normal sized names?

I love long names especially those with lots of possible shortenings like Elizabeth or Katherine for a girl and Alexander or Sebastian for a boy.

I wanted to name dd a long name with a particular shortening but dh loved the short version (3letters) and said what was the point in having the long version if we were just going to call her the shortening anyway. I still regret letting him win that argument

I like long names, it gives the DC more options when they're older. DD has a 4 syllable name, but is always called by a 1 syllable shortening. DSs are 2 & 3 syllable, but known by 1 syllable.

I always imagine the longer versions on book covers when they are famous authors.

Very nice names. I'm fond of them both.

I agree with pp, say the in alphabetical order. People usually put my twins’ names in alpha order even if we don’t.

They aren’t particularly long names in my opinion and the woman was rude to comment.