James, Teddy, Freddy?

[PlumGoose]

Read sooo many of these threads and finally writing my own and hoping for help.
Found out we are having a boy and been stuck on names ever since! Getting close to due date and nervous we don’t have a name…we had a shortlist of 3 but not convinced on any:
like James but really dislike Jay and my manager is also called James!
like Teddy (Ted?) but really dislike Ed/Eddie and not sure how well it ages otherwise
like Freddy (ish) but had an awful grandfather called Fred and would hate it to be seen as a tribute.

any thoughts or other names to consider? No H names please due to surname. Thank you in advance hoping for some inspiration.

James is classic. Could be Jamie as a child to distance namewise from your boss?
Theo or Theodore rather than Edward would negate Ed/Eddie & could still be nn Teddy. But I think it is quite popular.
Not keen on Freddy.

A few suggestions:-
Peter
Matthew
Nathan
Aaron
Toby
George
Jack
Colby
Euan
Caleb
Andrew
Rowan
Rory
Martin
Finlay

Love James, I had a 3 year old one, haven't met another little James yet and Iv never met a James that gets shortened to Jay.
Don't mind Freddie but Iv met millions of them which puts me off, not keen on Teddy.

Please don’t take this the wrong way but where I live, every second dog is called either Freddie or Teddy (and is a poodle mix).
I like James - classic and simple - but there are a lot of them If that matters.
What about Stan or Ned?

So, it's James or Edward then? Both are lovely. Other names of the genre:

William (Will)
George
Thomas
Alexander

I don’t think it matters that James is your boss’s name - it’s such a classic and commonly used name for all generations that it wouldn’t put me off.

I like Edward nn Ted - and I think Ted will likely seem fine for an adult of this generation as it’s so commonly used. However, he might well choose to go by Eddie later on, so it’s a risk.

It sounds like Freddie/ Fred wouldn’t work because of your negative family associations.

Do you like
George
Jacob / Jake
Joseph
Thomas
Arthur
Sebastian / Seb
Luke
Matthew
Adam
Louis
Lewis
Ellis
Daniel
Samuel
Alexander
Jonathan
Nicholas
Max
Zachary
Benjamin
Evan

I have a James. He was a Jamie growing up and became a James after university! I liked the fact that there were plenty of options he could use as he went through life, who knows, he might be a Jimmy when he retires!

Definitely James.

I don't think Jay is a common nickname for James anyway, and it doesn't matter that it's your manager's name.

James

James - tends to be called Jamie, not Jay

Frederick, nn Freddie

Not Teddy, - every other baby or cockapoo/oodle around our area is Teddy also.

suggestions
Samuel
Daniel
Robert
Peter
Joseph

I have a teen James and he does get called Jay BUT only by family because he was named after his dad, so helps us in the house 😅
Outside family, at school or anyone new he meets, he is James and nobody has ever attempted to shorten it.

James is a great name.

Nicknames could be Jim, Jimmy, Jem, Jamesie...have never heard Jay as one.

James is great- a classic. Never heard Jay as one

James NN Jim or Jimmy

Freddie and Teddy are silly juvenile names

James, definitely. Could be Jimmy or Jamie. I’ve never met one shortened to Jay!

Freddy and Teddy are both fine, but they seem to be the name of every little boy I meet. The last three newborn baby boys I know are all Freddie.

As others have said, Theodore can shorten to Teddy too if you want to avoid Edward. Although if you only ever call him Teddy or Ted it's unlikely anyone would go down the Eddie route. People generally follow parents leads with nicknames and children will usually correct if anyone deviates as they see what their parents call them as their name and don't accept other versions as well as, to them, it's not their name.

I would definitely avoid Freddy if your grandad Fred wasn't a nice man. Personally I can't even bring myself to like a name associated with an unpleasant person, let alone name my child the same name. People will definitely ask or assume whether it's after him.

James is a lovely traditional name with many nn options. Most people I know called James are just James but there's Jim/Jimmy or Jamie among others. He definitely doesn't have to be Jay.

Other suggestions:-

Thomas (Tom, Tommy)
Joseph (Joe, Joey)
Samuel (Sam, Sammy)
Matthew (Matt, Matty)
Daniel (Dan, Danny)
William (Will, Billy)
Oliver (Ollie)
Alfred or Wilfred (still get the Fred sound you like but be known as Alfie or Wilf to avoid association with your grandad Fred).

Jamie is not a nickname for james

I remember my DM saying, don’t choose a name that can be shortened! She hated nicknames! Everyone seems to end up with one though!

James, Frederick or Edward - overused really. It’s difficult when you don’t know what other parents are doing. We always went a bit unusual with names in our family. Just to be different! Works for us.

I have a James Edward! He's 18...

He was Jamie when younger and some people do call him J ( both sisters I think ). But I call him Ed a lot.

However, he's very much a James... I love it and never regretted choosing a classic name. (We also have an Emily )

Love Teddy and Freddie but with Theodore/ Edward and Frederick as full name

other suggestions

arthur
vinnie
lenny
leo
kit
george
frankie
reggie
charlie

Is it just me, or does any one else think of Rod, James and Freddy when they read this title?

James is the best choice of the three.
James or Jim

Do you like ..
Ned
Cedric
Benjamin
Quentin
Wilbur
Forbes
Charles
Gordon
Roger

James. But call him James. Don’t call him him Jay or Jamie. I know two James who’d hit the roof if someone shortened their name to Jamie or Jay.

If you like James then how about

David
Edward
Timothy
Christopher
Simon
Benjamin
Alexander
Tobias
Conrad
Michael
Alan
Joseph

I like James - I don’t know any known as Jay - they are either just James or Jamie, Jim or (in Scotland) Jem - do any of these work for you? I think Jim/my is very underused as a short form.

James is popular but it’s very classic - Jacob or Joel are less popular alternatives

Teddy is sweet - I wouldn’t use it as a full name but it’s short for Theodore and Edward (or any other Ed name like Edwin) so go for one of those.

Teddy is quite overdone right now - so how about Toby (either just as is or short for Tobias)

Don’t use Fred if you didn’t like your grandad

Other ideas w shortforms

Robert - Bobby / Robbie / Robin
Christopher -Christy / Kit
Alexander - Sandy
Arthur (shortened to Art/Artie if you want)
Alistair - Al
Ernest - Ernie
Philip - Pip
Guy
Laurence (Laurie)

I like James, and there's lots of ways you can shorten it.
Teddy is cute for a baby but I really think it should be Edward or Theodore on the birth certificate so he can choose a more grown up name if he wants to in the future.
Freddie is also quite babyish so with the connection to your uncle probably not the one for you