Tommy or Freddie?

[GoldShark1234]

My wife and I have narrowed possible names for our son down to either tommy or freddie. We like the name frederick so that would be our sons full name if we went with that one. However we don't like the name thomas so it would just be tommy on the birth certificate. Which one is best?

Frederick nn Freddie. I always advise giving a full name on the birth certificate. Tommy is so infantile on its own.

I'm the opposite to you in that I love Thomas and the nn Tom but really dislike Tommy for some reason.

Freddie I don't mind so much and he still has scope for Fred when he's older.

If Freddie has scope for Fred when he's older then Tommy can be Tom

I have a Tommy who is Tommy on the bc he's a teen now and doesn't like Tom

If you don't like Thomas and it would be Tommy, I'd go for Freddie with Frederick on the birth certificate or even Wilfred or Alfred.

I have a Thomas so I'm biased but I know of two people who are 'just' Tom on their birth certificate if that's an option, the use Tommy day it day?

Frederick. That was my chosen name if dd had have been a boy so I'm biased

I like both, but Thomas is one of my favourite names, so I’d go for that. If you don’t like Thomas, how about just Tom on the bc and then use Tommy day to day? I think Tom sounds more adult as a formal name on job applications etc and then he can keep using Tommy if he wants to informally?
I like Frederick nn Freddie too.

I prefer Freddie not Frederick and

Thomas not Tommy (but Tom is a lovely name)

I also loved these names and ended up calling my son Freddie, using Thomas as a middle name 😊

I have a Tommy but he’s Thomas on his BC. I think it should be a full version of a name on BC. It gives more options as an adult, he can pick Tommy, Tom or Thomas as he gets older then and it always looks more formal for job applications. You can always shorten a name but can’t really lengthen it.

I love both your name options though!

I love Tommy and completely disagree with others saying it is too infantile. I know an adult Tommy in a professional job and have never thought that his name sounds childish! But I also don’t particularly like Thomas so maybe I am biased.

They are both great names but I would go with Tommy simply because I know so many Freddies.

Edited to add: using Tommy would also still give the option to use Tom when he was older should he want to!

I like Fred, or Freddie. In fact I really like it a lot. Tom, Tommy, Thomas etc I'm not so mad on.
But it's not horrible, just a little generic sounding.

I'm biased because my boy's name is Tommy and I love it! We went for Tommy on the bc because I didn't want him being called Thomas, to me it's entirely different name and one that I'm not overly keen on. To anyone who thinks it's too childlike, what about Tommy Hilfiger, Tommy Lee-Jones, Tommy Cooper... people grow into their names!

I think Thomas is a lovely name. Not so keen on Frederick - it’s a bit too long to yell out the front door that dinner’s ready..!
I’d go with Thomas nn Tom/Tommy.

If you don’t like Thomas then definitely Frederick. While admittedly it has been a trend for a while now, I can imagine the diminutives as given names trend will eventually fade and it could date your son. Frederick is classic sounding and gives him options.

Frederick because I dislike Tommy on its own.

I prefer Thomas personally that could be shortened to Tom when he is older, but you say you dont like that.

Infantilising Diminutive names are a definite trend. Freddie is #10 on the latest ONS baby boy name list, Tommy is #23 (plus 14 other hyphenated ones such as Tommy-Ray, Tommy-Jax); Charlie #16, Alfie #17, Teddy #20.

Honestly, Tommy [not Thomas] as a given name comes across as chavvy, and it won't do your son any favours in his adult years.

So, best go with Frederick.

Freddie sounds juvenile. Ok for a kid, but not so great when you’re 40. Also reminds me of the word “frog.”
Fred reminds me of Fred Flintstone.
Fredrick sounds like a 60-year-old man.

Thomas is okay, but I’m not totally enamoured with it.
Tommy—too juvenile again.