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Original poster

John? Or an Irish name?

86 replies

whattocallhim · 14/03/2021 10:21

Hello everyone. Baby number 2 due in a few weeks. What do people think of John as a name? It doesn't seem to have come back like a lot of the other older names and I don't know why. Is it a bit boring? DD has a common Irish name (living in England) and we cant really think of an Irish boy's name that we like...which leads us to John which is a family name. Thoughts please?

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TheFoz · 14/03/2021 10:25

What about changing it up and having Sean. Or Jack I believe comes from John.

TheNorthWind · 14/03/2021 10:27

I like John. Think it's due a bit of a resurgence actually.

Original poster
whattocallhim · 14/03/2021 10:30

Hi Foz, I've kinda ruled out Sean as it would normally be with a fada for the correct Irish spelling and I don't want a fada. Also not keen on the other spellings of Shawn and Shaun which I think may get mistaken for in England. Jack yes is John but a little more popular than I would like. When I say DDs name is popular I mean top 50 I think and practically unheard of in England.

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Sudename · 14/03/2021 10:33

John is a lovely, classic, strong name, go for it!

IslaRoseGraceEtc · 14/03/2021 10:33

I have a John. He's 2. It's a family name for us too. It's a fab name and quite unusual these days. There's a thread in baby names about Guy that I started, which has lots of lovely comments about John.

Lots of people are a bit Hmm and say things like "oh my grandad was called John".

Shandilarr · 14/03/2021 10:42

I love John. It's my sons middle name as it was my late fathers name.

TheFoz · 14/03/2021 10:43

That’s fair enough. I wouldn’t be concerned what others think. If it’s a name you like and has special meaning attached to it then go for it. I recently had a baby and his name would probably be classed as boring, but he’s named after my late father so God help anyone who would tell me it’s boring!!
You want it, you like it, go for it.

Original poster
whattocallhim · 14/03/2021 11:05

Thanks everyone, when I say family name I mean big time, it's unreal! On one side, there's a Granduncle (of the baby) Sean, Grandad and Great great Grandad John, and on the other side John - theres's a Granduncle , Uncle, Grandad and every Great great great going back x number of generations Grin

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Apileofballyhoo · 14/03/2021 11:09

I like John.

Slacktide · 14/03/2021 11:11

@whattocallhim

Thanks everyone, when I say family name I mean big time, it's unreal! On one side, there's a Granduncle (of the baby) Sean, Grandad and Great great Grandad John, and on the other side John - theres's a Granduncle , Uncle, Grandad and every Great great great going back x number of generations Grin
That’s pretty usual. At one point there were FOUR John Samesurnames living in my house when I was a child — my great-uncle, grandfather, father and little brother. You can imagine the postal situation.

I think it was pretty much Default Male Name for generations. I wouldn’t use it myself for that reason — it feels too generic to me — but you clearly feel differently. It’s a perfectly nice name.

M0rT · 14/03/2021 11:17

I think it's a good name. Well known but he is likely to be only one in his class/friendship group and not that uncommon as pp have shown.
It's nice to have the family connection too, especially if your in England with family in Ireland.

Original poster
whattocallhim · 14/03/2021 11:19

haha Slacktide I'm not sure I do feel differently hence my dilemma Grin

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Newmum110 · 14/03/2021 12:52

I think my favourite Irish boys name is Conor. Lots of lovely straightforward Irish names. Don't know any baby Johns but nice to hear older names making a come back

Helspopje · 14/03/2021 13:04

John is great. V few baby Johns nowadays

If I were going for a fada free boy name I’d do Eoin or perhaps Lorcan or Oisin (the fada less varieties)

Original poster
whattocallhim · 14/03/2021 16:43

The problem with our surname is it ends in an in/on sound so lovely names like Lorcan don't go! John goes OK I think. I really like Eoin.

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anormalperson · 14/03/2021 16:47

I know two Johns under five (NI) . I think it's a lovely name

FeistySheep · 14/03/2021 17:09

I would call a child John - it's a good classic name. If you think it's boring, how about Jonathan and shorten to John?
Also I don't know if you would do this in Ireland, but in the Scottish Highlands it's common to use two names together, like John Angus or John Norman, and actually say both names all the time (ie the second name is not a middle name). Would that be a way to make it more interesting?

partyatthepalace · 14/03/2021 17:17

I really like John and think it will have a resurgence soon.

Much nicer than Sean, and also nicer than the massively overused Jack.

Analysethat · 14/03/2021 18:18

My grandpa, uncle and cousin are called John, love the name! Go for it!

Helspopje · 14/03/2021 19:15

Can’t be that bad!
Lorcan is a wonderful name
Lorcan John ?

Dottybirds · 14/03/2021 19:27

Love it

Original poster
whattocallhim · 14/03/2021 19:58

Mostly positive comments so far! I like Jonathan but our surname is really long do would be a bit of a mouthful! x

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Original poster
whattocallhim · 14/03/2021 19:58

*it not do

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Si1ver · 14/03/2021 20:11

How about Eoin, that ties through to John as it also means Sean in Gaelic

YouAreYourBestThing · 14/03/2021 20:16

I have a John in my class this year...first one I've had in about 10 years! There isn't another in our school of over 400 primary children, so it certainly isn't a popular name. The last time I had a John he was one of twins, and they were John and James. They would be about 18 now I would think! It's a great name OP 🥰