Jos, Ellis or Kit?

[LooseyGoosey]

We're expecting a little boy in September and looking for a short, simple, known name, that's still fairly unusual. His middle name will be Bernard or Harry, which are family names. Our surname is 1 syllable and starts with a 'W'.

Thoughts on which you like best, any pitfalls to be aware of or brilliant other suggestions, much appreciated please!

Kit is my favourite, but I also really like Jos. I prefer the single S.

Not Ellis. It’s in the same camp as Madison and Mackenzie to me.

Love Kit

Kit is nickname for Katherine.

I adore both Ellis and Kit. Two of my favourite boy names!!

Also love
Eli
Griff(in) or just Griff
Sid(ney) or just Sid
Wilf
Otto

I have a six year old Kit so I’m biased
But they are all nice names.

I like Jos, but as a short for Joseph (a la Vanity Fair)

I like Kit, but as a short for Christopher.

Not keen on Ellis

Christopher NN Kit would be my choice. All lovely names though 😍

Love Kit! 💙
Also love,
Theo
Arlo

Kit is my favourite. I'd put Christopher on the birth certificate.

I like Joss too (spelt that way).

Not a fan of Ellis.

I love short names for boys. Some other suggestions:

Cole
Eli
Ivo
Jake
James
Leo
Max
Ray
Saul
Tate
Toby
Zack

Ellis is my favourite

I wouldn't really know what to do with Jos... "Joz" or "Joez"?

Ellis... I've never met an Ellis who wasn't a bit "wet" and pathetic.

Kit... I like Kit. I've know a couple of Christopher's who go by Kit, and they've always been really fun, nice guys.

I wouldn't really know what to do with Jos... "Joz" or "Joez"?

..... say what you see? It’s just phonics. J - o - s. Super easy for my son to learn how to write his name! I do prefer the spelling with 2 Ss personally but Jos is pretty straightforward too.

Love the name Ellis.
Kit reminds me of a dirty school bag.
Jos is good.

Ellis

Is Jos short for Josiah? I quite like it but it doesn’t fir the usual English spelling pattern so people confronted with it for the first time will probably hesitate and wonder if it’s a mistake/how to pronounce it.
Spelling it Joss would help.
I think there was an actor called Joss Ackland, though I’m not sure if that was a nn.
Ellis appears to be in the process of being taken over as a girl’s name.
Kit is a lovely strong name with a long tradition as a nn.

..... say what you see? It’s just phonics. J - o - s.

Hmm, it's not just phonics though is it. English words that rhyme with 'moss' are all spelt with a double S. Boss, toss, cross, Ross, loss, etc. I can't think of any English words that have an '-oss' sound that just have one S.

Nothing against the name Jos, but you can't argue that it's an unambiguous pronunciation.

I like Jos. Hadn't heard of it before Jos Buttler but I would name him Joseph.

English words that rhyme with 'moss' are all spelt with a double S. Boss, toss, cross, Ross, loss, etc. I can't think of any English words that have an '-oss' sound that just have one S.

Which is why I would pronounce
Jos as Jo (long o) s. Like John. Or Bon (Jovi)
Joss as Jo (short o) s

If you want Joss, I'd spell it Joss.

I have a friend called Ros (short for Rosalind) who says it Roh-s. Like Roz.

Therefore I'd assume Jos is Joh-s with a long O. Like John.

Jos is the same O sounds as John, yes. The S is not the same S sound as Roz.

As a general rule, I don’t think single syllable names sound great with single syllable surnames (had this problem!) There are exceptions, usually surnames with long vowels.

I have an Ellis. Really suites my little lad. It is definitely growing in popularity since we named our son it 8 years ago, but has never reached the Josh/Max/Stan level of other popular names. I like that it is recognised as a "proper" name, but there still aren't loads in the school/football team etc.

I chose the name as Emily Bronte is my favourite author, and she used to publish under the pen name of Ellis Belll. Nice nod to our Yorkshire roots!