William shortened to Liam?

[Jayne1993]

Hello, me and DH quite like William Charles for our upcoming DS, but aren’t too fond of the shortening Will. I don’t mind Bill (actually quite like it) but particularly like Liam as a shortening. Is this fine, or is Liam supposed to be a full name in its own right? Thanks

"he might need a more formal longer version"

For what??

Can’t you use any name as an informal name? Why does it have to be a recognised short version? You could, for example, have William on his birth certificate but call him James day to day. Or Graham? Or Mary? Or dandelion? Or anything you choose to call them.

I know a few people who I know as a name that does not relate to their first name or even any of their names on their birth certificate.

how weird.
My William is 29, don't know if that's applicable, but I never considered liam as a nn, and we chose it because of its possibilities.

Tbh, I favoured Billy, Bill maybe when older. He came home one from school one day and said he was Will.

Lovely name, and no2 was supposed to be Harry after a family member
So regret not going for it now.

I love it. My son’s a William. I tried Liam out on him for a little bit when he was born but he’s a definite Will

Love it.

I have a William, who mostly gets Will but sometimes Liam from the in-laws in Dublin. Liam Neeson is a William as well.

In a choice between short name or long name on the birth certificate, I’d always go for the long form. Especially with a name like William where there’s so many nickname options.

I love it.

Is Liam not the Irish form of William?

@jayne1993 One of the disadvantages of working in schools is that certain names can have less than positive associations. On a more positive note I have met some lovely teenage Williams. Girls called Grace, in my experience, are polite and hardworking. Funny isn't it?

Uilliam is the Irish form of William technically iirc, Liam is a short form of it but is certainly more popular. It's a great short form of William too and is obviously a common choice when deciding on a NN

I see it as two separate names tbh
I have a Liam, he’s not badly behaved or emotionally troubled.

Pick the one you prefer, William may be shorted to bill, will etc, if you like that pick it. If you prefer Liam go with that

I'm Irish and see Liam as a name in its own right, not a shortening for William. I never even copped it's contained in William until I saw it on MN.

Also the one William I went to school with is now in prison. I don’t think his name was the factor in that....

Liam is much better than Will/Willy!

Usually I like the full version of names, but although I really do like Liam, I really don't like William. I do think of Liam as a name in its own right.

Uilliam is the Irish version of William as @abiirthdaycake said, but it isn't commonly used (though I do know one). The short version Liam is much more popular. Though often used as a name in its own right, it's definitely derived from Uilliam/William and many Irish families have both Liams and Williams, where a younger Liam may be named after an older William (Willie) for example. The older shortening of Willie isn't really used now, and Will and Bill aren't nearly as popular in Ireland as Liam is.

So, though Liam is fine on its own, it also works perfectly well as a short version of William, at least in Ireland.

I have never ever heard of Liam as a short form. In Ireland, Liam is a prevalent name. It anglicises to William.

I have a relative called Liam in honour of another relative called William. Liam is short for William, and also a name in its own right now.

William is pronounced WILLyam with the emphasis on the Will. So Will or Willy are more natural shortenings imo.

I've known a Liam for years, turns out his name is actually William. I had no idea!

Liam is short for William but is also a stand alone name.
I think it's a bit of a naughty boy's name, so would avoid, but that's me.

@Lavenderblues
William is pronounced like that, but the Irish form Uilliam is more like il-lee-am, which is why Liam developed as a short version. Liam is an Irish form of William really.

I love it! Never even considered it to be a nn of William, but it's obvious it is. Definitely good to have plenty of options if he doesn't like his name in the future too!

I went to school with a William called Liam. I actually considered it myself, William is a lovely classic name and Liam is an equally lovely well known but underused nn (unless I'm the States. I believe Liam is a very popular name there)

Liam has become a standalone name but it was originally a short form of William. I think it's completely fine if that's what you want.