Eoin or Billy for baby boy?

[PreggersWithBaby2]

Torn between Eoin or Billy. Which would you choose? I feel like Billy is growing in popularity which is turning me off slightly.

For some background, both names have been chosen in memory of family members. We have a daughter who has a dreaded name on mumsnet - a "shortened" name 😱😱😱 like Billy, so those style of names don't bother us and we won't be using William!

I like Billy and would never assume to call him William. Billy is becoming more popular as its own name. Wouldn’t choose Eoin unless you are Irish.

What a weird and an aggressive post. I don't know how to pronounce the name - I'm sorry I am unable to pronounce every single name in the world.

I'm sure you won't be able to pronounce Elizaveta properly but I will not judge you for that.

The more I think about it the more I am inclined to agree with you. If someone introduced themselves as Billy, who on earth would the person then call them William? 😅 as I said, my daughter has a shortened name (which is far more unusual than Billy) one stranger in a coffee shop was pretty persistent it must be short for something else, but I've never met anyone else who has questioned it. Thanks for your input!

I think if anything people may ask if he is William on birth certificate, but surely no one just calls you William if you’ve said the name is Billy. I have a few friends called Nikki and sometimes people ask if they’re actually a Nicola, but no one would ever just call them Nicola.

Billie is top of my list for a girl.

He showed it to the girl next door.

Would he appreciate Billy as an adult without the choice to be William / Will / Bill/ Liam if he wanted?

Eoin Billy has a lovely ring!

I really don't understand this! So many names only have one "choice".

Will Eoin grow up to an adult and wish he had a different name? Like I just don't get it

@PreggersWithBaby2 , I don't get the MN view that names need to have 'options' either. If I was named on MN, I'd probably be Fabiana or something. Billy/Bill is plenty.

If he’s been Billy since birth why would he ever want the option of being a William/Will/Liam. Billy is perfectly fine as an adult name.

I'm in Scotland and there was an Eoin in our school and it was pronounced Ian. So I've always assumed that was how it was pronounced having never encountered it anywhere else

I read Eoin as "yawn".
Not a fan of Billy - too much baggage!

So I'm a dumbass for never having heard or seen this name before ? Don't you thing that's rude of you ?

I thought it was like “Ian.”

I think Billy is cute!

Then at some point doesn’t someone jump on it?

Ian in Scotland, Owen in Ireland afaik.

I really enjoyed this too! Personally would prefer Eoin too

It gets mistaken for a snake and hit by a rake and now it's only four foot four... @Calliopespa

Oh that’s right! “My friend Billy had a ten foot willy. He showed it to the girl next door. She thought it was a snake, and hit it with a rake, and now it’s only four foot four.”

Still think Billy is cute …

I still think Billy is nice too 🤣 the other spelling I had for Eoin was Eoghan (I'm Irish) but seeing as Eoin posed pronunciation problems I don't think the spelling Eoghan will make it any easier 🤣

DH's DGF was Eoin, pronounced Ian - we're in Scotland!

Ian in Scotland,

Thank goodness I'm not a certified "dumbass" for thinking it was Ian! I have absolutely no idea how to pronounce most Irish names and wouldn't want to embarrass myself or the person by mispronouncing them

Billy. Of course I’m totally biased though because I have a Billy… He’s ten and no one has ever called him William, or asked if his name was short for William.

That's grand, no one expects non-Irish people to know unfamiliar Irish names! Some even have different pronunciations within Ireland depending on dialect. As long as you don't do the whole "unpronounceable jumble of consonants, naughty boy name, you've saddled your child with that name" thing often seen on MN, you're all good.

@MercyChant66

Yes I had a family member and that's how his family said it too, and that's going back 60+ years.
Actually he would have been born in the early 1920's in the Highlands.