Classic but not super common boys name

[wishing3]

I like the sound and vibe of the name Alexander, but would prefer something less common. It doesn’t need to be really rare- I’d prefer it if everyone has heard of it. Something where there’s less likely to be lots in the class. Without meaning to offend others, not keen on names I think of as more trend-led/of the moment like Arlo/Albie/ Roman. Not keen on what I’d think of as cheeky chappy names like Ronnie/Alfie. Not keen on more 80s names I see suggested on theses forums like Simon/Peter/Thomas. Names like Vincent/Felix/Quentin bit too left -field for me. Like Laurence but can’t use.
If you didn’t die of boredom reading that, please help !

It sounds as though you love Alexander.
I'd be cautious about not picking a name due to popularity.
I always remember my ds's primary school class where there were 12 boys, only 2 if whom had the same name, which was 200th (or slightly below) in the statistics at the time.
He's 17 now and has never had an Oliver in his school year (his school has a year group of 300 and I'm guessing about half are boys) despite Oliver consistently having been 1st or 2nd throughout his life. He has always had one Jack despite Jack also being super popular.
Don't not pick a name that you'd regret not using on the basis that there might be more than one in his class. (Sorry for the clunky grammar!)

Thee - oh with a soft th is the normal pronunciation in an English speaking country.
Tay-oh is normal across Europe.

Congrats on your pregnancy @wishing3.

To be honest, I think you should go with Alexander. You've had probably over a hundred names suggested on this thread, but you keep circling back to it, so go with your gut. Who cares if it's popular? You clearly love the name, don't pick something you like less.

@Fivebeanchilli , no, you are wrong. It's definitely Tayo.

My jokey post was in response to @Callieviolet , who thought Theo was unusual, hence the

Interesting, thanks.

Thanks- you may be right. I think the thing is that with my daughter’s name when we found it we knew we’d stop looking. Even the name is chosen for if this baby was a girl felt like ‘the one.’ Whereas with Alexander I still feel the search continues even though it’s poss my favourite- but I think that might just be bots names for me!
Also cycling back to Laurence though Laurie sounds a bit daft with our surname (a noun).

Personally I find Laurence more interesting and memorable than Alex(ander).

With a name like Alexander that's been popular for a long time, he'll probably end up being Alex Initial at some point, but at least you are aware of it. It's not like you are deliberately choosing an unusual name and then finding that there are three Atticuses in his reception class.

Not keen on Laurie or Laurence.

And you might never have another child in the same class with the same name at all, no matter how popular. For the popular names from statistics in the years of my DC’s birth, and the years around them for good measure, not only were there no children of those names at all in the two-form entry year group at school, there also weren’t any, as far as we knew, in out-of-school activities like Brownies either. Alexander is a great name, and you clearly like it. For what it’s worth, I don’t know a single Alexander.

@MaryMollyPolly , I know loads of Alexs but I only know 3 Olivers, and they are completely different ages

I know at least 10 male/females called Alex across all ages. It's very popular.

I know one Alejandro - adult - and one Alexandra - early 20s. Not one Alexander, child or adult. I know a couple of Alistairs(various spellings). I know one Alix (though I think that’s a form of Alice, technically), and an Alexa. That’s it. No younger ones with those names, though. It may be different in other parts of the country, perhaps.

Laurence / Laurie is gorgeous.
I'd avoid it if your sn is Fox or Park but otherwise it's lovely!

@Fivebeanchilli , but it sounds like Lorry

Love Alexander - like the Xander shortening for it too.

I have a Laurence and an Alexander. I know two other Laurences under the age of 5, and no other little Alexanders.

We also considered Maximilian, Lucas and Christian.

Interesting, thanks! Out of interest do you call your boys any shortened versions?

Yes - Laurence is always Laurie, I've always introduced him as Laurie and it's always stuck.

I think Alexander will inevitably be Alex. I do really like Alec but not sure it would stick somehow, as Alex is so much more common. However for now my Alexander is still a little baby, and so is normally Ally-Bally, Ally-Bee or (to his brother) Alek-sandwich😁

Ah, nice/cute nicknames!

Wondering about Caspar now…

Ooos sorry wrong place

🤣

I like classic names and have an Alexander (Alec) and a Frederick (Freddy).

We have Andrew and so far there haven't been any other Andrews in his school. We don't use any nickname and neither does his friends.