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?

@KitchenSinkLlama but surely the only reason a "willy" (ie penis) would burn is because the man has some sort of infection (ie a sexually transmitted infection). Surely most children - of the age to make jokes about names - wouldn't even know the fact that sometimes a penis gets a burning sensation. They wouldn't have ever experienced it. Would you expect primary age girls to make jokes about the name Thrush? They wouldn't because they are unlikely to have experienced the medical condition at that age or have even heard of it so wouldn't make any connection.

@IamEmmaRoids do you think that would have happened if you hadn't worked in a medical setting?
Roids and Rhodes don't sound the same so most people wouldn't make that connection with the name Emma.

Roids and Rhodes don't sound the same so most people wouldn't make that connection with the name Emma.
of course not 🙄

@FayCarew Rhodes sounds like Roads not Roids.
Emma Roads sounds zero like "hemorrhoids"

Silly me. Emma royds and Emma rhodes sound completely different.

My elderly neighbour cracked it as a joke when I introduced myself. Certainly didn’t know I was a nurse at the time. Maybe he was having problems with some piles himself so they were on his mind. Who knows🤷‍♀️ He is a little on the deaf side…

but surely the only reason a "willy" (ie penis) would burn is because the man has some sort of infection (ie a sexually transmitted infection). Surely most children - of the age to make jokes about names - wouldn't even know the fact that sometimes a penis gets a burning sensation.

It won’t just be about STIs. I knew someone who had the surname Cockburn, pronounced Co-burn, and he got lots of jokes about friction burns from wanking too much when he was at school. That’s teen boys for you. Willy Burns may well get the same sort of teasing.

Now, there’s something I didn’t think I’d be writing today, least if all on the baby names thread! 🤣

Don't do it OP!

@ThatHeSaidSheSaid well yes the surname Cockburn is doomed 😂

Beyond the age of about 10 do boys call their penis's "Willy's" though? I would have thought they are called Dicks or Cocks mostly?
Edit : I can't believe I just asked that 😂

Beyond the age of about 10 do boys call their penis's "Willy's" though? I would have thought they are called Dicks or Cocks mostly?

🙈 How did we get here? 🤣🤣

Teen boys will use anything they can to take the piss, sometimes it’s nasty, sometimes it’s all ‘just’ banter.... ‘innit’.

But when you’re on the receiving end of it day in, day out, for something as basic as your name, it won’t be much fun. With so many other names to choose from, I would advise choosing another to minimise any risk of teasing.

Right, no more talk of 🍆 for me today. 😅

All the Williams I know are Will or Bill, never Willy. If you never call him anything but his name, nor should anyone else.

Thanks everyone! My follow up question is, do you think you would have immediately thought “Willy Burns” upon hearing the name William Burns without me specifically calling it out in the original post?

Yes.

Perhaps not immediately, but at some stage yes.

I don't think it would be a kind thing.

Yes.

Yes!

My grandson is a William he is 4 and he gets called William! Occasionally Will

I went to school with a boy called Michael Hunt. It of course got shortened to Mike and you can guess the rest. Man opposite was called Richard Head. If you've already thought of it, you can guarantee kids in the class will do. Don't put him through that.

So, back to my youth again, and pre nurse training. I volunteered for a year working with disabled students. Someone in my friend group was called Richard Crisp. Pretty much everyone called him Crispy Dick op. Im sure he hated that as much as I later grew to hate emmaroids🤷‍♀️ That’s late teens/young twenty somethings for you. It really will happen. All the time. Even if only one person thinks of it, as soon as others hear it is remembered for all time.

@IamEmmaRoids , wasn't it Christopher Peacock?

William - lovely.

With Burns - no just don't do it.

Snorted my cup of tea reading that. I’m going straight to hell I know😬

I read it on here but I know a Mark Hunt, which this being MN doesn't sound anything like...

In fact, my name is Christopher and nobody has ever called me Chris. Not only that, but every single Chrisopher I have ever known has never been called Chris.

I would say this is quite a common name in Scotland and would be unlikely to be commented on. People who would comment on it are very odd. Kids in school who laugh at names are not nearly so common as you'd think. Kids are pretty accepting of names. I've taught innumerable young people with surnames like Dick, Watt, Burns etc. No one thinks twice.