Which do you like best - Alexander (Xan), Samuel (Sam) or William (Will)?

[IamnotwhouthinkIam]

So I tend to like classic names and I think I've narrowed it down to one of these three for DS. I'm not too worried about popularity (each were given to 5 babies or less out of about 800 in my area last year) - but I keep changing my mind about which I like the sound of the most. Any views/tell me your fave of the three, please?

Alexander I’d pick Xander or Lex as a nn, however once at school you have little control over nn. My dd is Imogen and we called her Immy however age 5 she declared she didn’t like Immy she has been Idgy, Imz, and Midge to friends.

I have a Xander, short for Alexander and sometimes called Xand.

He likes it a lot.

Alexander can also be sacha or sach. Or lex?

My preference is for Will /Bill just cos I've never met one I didn't like.

Sam is nice too.

Nicknames are a bit of a gamble, mine came from my surname and was completely random. You can never predict them!

I prefer William, or Alexander but not Xan.

I like Sam, but Samuel not so much.

Definately not Xan 🙄

Alexander moves easily to Alex or Sandy.
I'm struggling to get to Xan and I suspect that it wouldn't really stick as a nn.

Sam and Will are both alright but I prefer Alexander.

Alexander is lovely but I prefer Alex. If I had another son that would definitely be in the running. No more babies for me though!
I like William, both Will and Liam. I’m not so keen on Sam but that’s just personal taste, it’s a perfectly good name.

Sam!

Will = willy.
Xan = pretentious.

No way Alexander will get called Xan

All nice names. I like Alexander and William better than Samuel but not by much!

If you went with Alexander I like Xander as a nickname but I think you’d need to introduce him as Xander right from the beginning. William is so nice as well, I love Will. And then Samuel is just ok, I like Sam but don’t like Sammy for a boy. I like it as a nickname for Samantha though!

I do think in the UK Xander or Alex would work better than Sasha or Sandy though. The only Sandys I know (in Scotland) are quite old and I don’t know any British Alexanders with the nickname Sasha.

I love Sam. Will is also nice. Not keen on Xand.

Alexander is lovely but nobody will call him Xan, and also Xan is slang for Xanex and there's even a rapper called Lil Xan based on his love for Xanex, so not a great nickname. Alex or Xander are lovely though. Samuel I feel is dull and I really dislike William.

@Susannahmoody

No way Alexander will get called Xan

Yes they can.

It's a bit Jilly Cooper, but I think it's great. And the nn the parents use (and maybe list as preferred name for schools/clubs) is likely to stick

Sam is second favourite from your list

Will is a good choice too, but it's a bit dull/solid compared to the other two

William 100%

Sam definitely

And the nn the parents use (and maybe list as preferred name for schools/clubs) is likely to stick

Not in my experience whatsoever, I know plenty of kids who themselves decided against the nn their parents preferred and either only wanted the full name or a different version.

You really really can’t 100% make a particular nn stick so if there’s an issue with a very common shortening of a name the only way to avoid it is not use it at all.

William is such a beautiful name. I’ve known a fair few of completely different ages and I’ve never heard Willy. Of course, kids can get picked on for anything but I didn’t think it’s more likely than anything else.

I like all your long names but not Xan, sorry. It makes me shudder.

I love Alex but don't like Xan(der) at all.
Can't say Sam or Will set my pulse racing either, but I'd probably go with Will (Bill?) as it's family name for me - but I don't love it. Sam feels very middle of the road and a bit 90s to me.

Xan conjours an image in my mind- a child of Chinese/Malaysian origin.

William & Samuel are far nicer.

Just introduce him as Sam or Will from day 1

Sam. Definitely the nicest in my opinion.

I've always loved Xan

Samuel

Love Alexander nn Alex. Def not xan

I don't understand people saying you can't control his nn. If you are planning to call him Xan all the time and you put it down as his "known by" name when he starts school then his friends will all continue with that. I'm not saying he might not change it when he gets older or his friends might give him a different nn but it's really common to be known by the short version of your name that your family started using.