Can I call my son William or will be teased

[Burnsmama]

I’m trying to figure out whether I’m overthinking about using the name William for my son with the last name Burns. We both love the name and it has some nice family connections but we’re worried about Willy Burns jokes. Is this actually likely to happen or am I overthinking it?

How about Liam instead of William?

Nothing wrong with the name William or the surname Burns.

But they should not be put together.

It's not fair when there are literally thousands of other names to call him.

As @wherethewildtbingsgo said, there are so many other names to call him and I just wouldn’t take the risk.

There have been several threads on here about people hating their names and it can literally affect peoples entire lives.

I've known many Williams and none of them are nicknamed Willy.

I can only think of one time I've heard Willy used and that was by prince Harry in that godawful documentary.

My son is William. Always been called Will by his mates. Lovely name x

If your surname was Dick then yes but Burns is fine

I told my nephew William Arthur Francis Surname an old rhyme when he was 7 and he thought it was dead funny:

My son Billy had a ten-foot willy;
He showed it to the girl next door.
She thought it was a snake,
So she hit it with a rake,
And now it's only five foot four.

He is a well-balanced happy 24-year-old who goes by Will these days.

Nothing wrong with William or Will. I know a few.

But not with the surname Burns

I suppose name-anxiety is sort of understandable around, or just before baby time, but you do see some precious stuff on Mumsnet.

I really can't see the issue? I must be a bit slow! Looks like it's the combination of the derivative Willy with your surname that's the issue, but I can't see a problem - particularly if Willy is unlikely to be used anyway. It's not a name I really hear anymore for William - it all seems to be Will and Billy where I am, and both sound absolutely fine to me with your surname.

In any case name teasing doesn't seem to be anything like as much of a thing now as it used to be, given that there are such a wider variety of names around now. Also, if a bully sets his/her sights on someone they will look for any excuse that works and it doesn't matter what that is. If it's not a name it will be something else. Honestly, if William means something to you, then use it.

I think a good rule in general is to avoid any names that are so divided, especially because of something like that that could cause teasing. The thread implies that "Willy Burns" will occur to about half the people who hear his name for the first time. It's not you that will have to deal with it, and you can't know how resilient he'll be to things like that.

Reminds me of my old school friend, Richard Head. Also went to school with a Lorna Hedges (we called her Lawn & Hedges)

I wouldn't go for Willy Burns, no. Don't be daft. It's not even a reach for people to get there

Thank you, this is a really helpful way to think about it!

😂 thank you for the giggle

If it helps, I am related to someone called William Burns and have never once in my entire life made that connection or heard anyone else saying it either.

Call him something else

I don’t think I even get the ‘joke.’ I can’t see the problem at all. Most Williams are Will these days anyway.

Oh my God 😂😂😂Set me off on a coughing fit!

There are a lot of Williams in my family from great grandparents to 5yr old cousin I have never heard and of them called Willy, most were / are Bill or Will with a few Billy's.
I would go for it , imo it's much better than a lot of other names I have seen on mn and irl

Boys seem to go through a stage of calling each other by a variation of their surname so tbh by the time he is old enough for anyone to make that (unlikely) name joke he will be known to his mates as "Burnsy" anyway.

Can someone enlighten those of us who don't really know what the joke is? I mean, willy is obvious, but I honestly don't know what the connection to Burns is? I can think of other surnames that might be problematic but Burns really isn't one of them. I have clearly lived a very sheltered life!

I think it's fine.

I don't really understand why people are so against it?

Even if it is shortened to Willy (unlikely), what's the connotation of Willy Burns? Like someone has burnt their willy? That's a bit of a reach, is it not? It's not like it's a common phrase / common thing to happen

Obvious name change for this. I’m an Emma. Emma Rhodes. Way back in the early 90s when I started my nurse training I very quickly became student nurse ‘emorrhoids. Please don’t do this to your son.

To all those saying they don't know anyone who has shortened the name William to Willy. This is because it wouldn't be funny. The surname Burns is the factor in the problem. It is an immediate joke for a child and is likely to cause distress for the OP's DC in the future. I wouldn't risk it. It just takes one joker to call him that and it's stuck.