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Original poster

Does Ace as a nickname for Alastair work?

107 replies

Purpletopaz42 · 02/03/2023 21:52

Really like the name Alastair, not keen on Al or Aly. A friend has suggested Ace, does that work or is it too random? Thank you

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ihavespoken · 03/03/2023 10:04

DazzlePaintedBattlePants · 03/03/2023 08:51

I now feel old because I think of Ace Rimmer….

Me too!

Muu · 03/03/2023 10:10

Alastair is a great name.

my daughter’s nickname has nothing to do with her name so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using Ace.

also you could just use his full name.

LightHousePanda · 03/03/2023 12:50

People can have any nickname but if you introduce him as Alastair then Ally or Al are naturally going to come and you can't control that with his friends etc. If you introduce him as Ace then people will just think that's his name.

devildeepbluesea · 03/03/2023 12:56

Smoke me a kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast.

Yep. Ace Rimmer.

DifferentlyMaybe · 03/03/2023 13:00

I have an Alastair. When he was first born my DN was small and couldn’t pronounce his name properly so he gained the nickname Aster. He will respond to that or his full name.
I know it isn’t a recognised shortening like Al or Ali but it works for us.
Im going to go against the grain though and say I quite like Ace as a nickname for Alastair too. I wouldn’t say it’s wanky, it sounds cute.

LivingDeadGirlUK · 03/03/2023 13:02

DazzlePaintedBattlePants · 03/03/2023 08:51

I now feel old because I think of Ace Rimmer….

Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!

Sunriseinwonderland · 03/03/2023 13:04

As in Ace Rimmer from Red Dwarf. I think not.

MaggieFS · 03/03/2023 13:07

"Really like the name Alistair" so call him Alistair!!!

Reddahlias · 03/03/2023 14:07

Picking (or worse, announcing) a nickname along with the full name is such a weird phenomenon.

Yes. If you like Alastair, then call him Alastair - it's so easy to say!

At home, when he's small, you can call him what you want - Higgle piggle, Acey, darling, whatever...

But to the outside world he should be Alastair!

octoberfarm · 03/03/2023 14:39

I know a Tair whose full name is Alistair. I always thought it was a pretty solid name. I think Ace is a bit of a stretch though, sorry.

Topseyt123 · 03/03/2023 14:53

I think Alastair is a great name. Ace however, does not work at all and sounds faintly ridiculous to me.

Call him Alastair and then over time let him pick which shortenings (or nicknames) he wants to be known by? These might be totally unlike anything you might have imagined, and could bear little resemblance to his actual name at all.

Don't get too hung up on it.

FavouriteDogMug · 03/03/2023 15:50

Glad others thought of Ace Rimmer. What a guy!

midsomermurderess · 03/03/2023 17:28

I don’t see why not really. Lots of nicknames aren’t directly derived from the formal name.

RaraRachael · 03/03/2023 18:47

Who on earth would call a child Stair or Dair 😀😀😀

juliettesmother · 03/03/2023 18:53

If I met someone who called their baby 'Ace', I would assume that they were grade A dicks.

Jellybean23 · 03/03/2023 18:56

OP, that is our son's name . Whatever you call him at home, in the big wide world, he'll be called Al or Ali. One of our boy's favourite songs is Call Me Al by Paul Simon. He loves his name either in full or shortened. And school friends often give nicknames to each other not even connected with their first name. There's only so much in their lives that you can control. His dad and I just call him Alastair.

Undermyumberellaellaella · 03/03/2023 18:58

Why not use the nickname stairs? 😅

But no Ace would not work. And whatever nickname you choose, Hel get a different ones from his friends.

CharitySchmarity · 03/03/2023 19:04

I agree with LaMarschallin. Ace could be used as a nickname for Alastair, but it could equally be used as a nickname for John or Claude or Peter, because that's what a nickname is, not a short form of a name but a jokey name chosen to suit that person's characteristics. There's an old Jilly Cooper novel where a guy is known as Ace when his real name is (I think) Ivan. It's not the worst nickname I've ever heard, but at the same time I wouldn't choose any full name where I really disliked the most obvious short form, because you can guarantee some people will call him by it and he might even like it himself.

Dolares · 03/03/2023 19:16

The Alistair I know is known as... Alistair. By all except one person who calls him Al.

Ace was a female companion in Doctor Who in the 80s.

Luredbyapomegranate · 03/03/2023 21:56

Alistair is great, Ace is not.

GoldOrange · 03/03/2023 23:02

You could go full Scottish (well bits of Scotland anyway, it might just be a Highlands thing) and call him Sandy.

hoorayhooray · 04/03/2023 11:07

No. Sorry

FineThings · 04/03/2023 11:13

LaMarschallin · 03/03/2023 09:06

I think people get mixed up between shortened names and nicknames.
The shortened form of 'Alistair' would be 'Ali' or possibly 'Stair' or 'Dare'.
They might get 'Ace' as a nickname but they're just as likely to be called 'Dogbreath' or 'Swing-yer-pants' (those are actual nicknames I've heard, affectionately meant believe it or not, based on knowing the person).
I'm sure loads of people would love a "cool" nickname, but it doesn't work that way.
Imagine him in later years telling people: "My name's 'Alistair' but call me 'Ace'!".
He'd probably end up being called "Wanker".

As is exactly the case in Red Dwarf!

RIMMER: Or what about the nickname I had a school?
LISTER: What?
"Bonehead?"
RIMMER: How did you know my nickname was "Bonehead?"
LISTER: I was only guessing.
RIMMER: I didn't mean that.
I meant the other one.
LISTER: What other one?
RIMMER: "Ace!"
LISTER: Get out of town!
Your nickname was never "Ace!" Maybe "Ace-hole."
RIMMER: It was my nickname at school, actually.
It's just, no one ever called me it despite the many times I let them beat me up.

AgnesX · 04/03/2023 11:17

Ace for Alastair...... Not sure it'll catch on (I know several of various ages and none are called that).

It's a bit American and a bit twee tbh

LaMarschallin · 04/03/2023 13:10

@CharitySchmarity

There's an old Jilly Cooper novel where a guy is known as Ace when his real name is (I think) Ivan.

Oh yes! It's "Prudence", I think.
There's a family of four - three boys and a girl. The youngest boy is called Jack, so the others get nicknamed King, Queen and Ace. And you're right that his real name is Ivan.
There's also a "Dare" in one of her later books - either "Jump!" or "Mount!" - but that's short for, iirc, Aberdare (presumably after the place in Wales).